Itchy&Scratchy

So, at the moment my dad's back is in agony, and he has limited mobility issues. He is getting treatment and physical therapy, but as of right now there are no improvements. Some days are better than others, but even better days leave him in a lot of pain.

 

We are taking him on his first cruise in November, so he still has a couple of months to get somewhat better. At this time he can sit, stand for a couple of minutes, lie down and walk about a 100 yards without assistance (but slowly). When he flew a month ago, we had to get wheelchair assistance for him, because at that time he could barely walk.

 

This would be our first time traveling with someone with a limited mobility requiring the use of a wheelchair for long distances.

 

We are flying to FLL to the cruise, but driving a rental minivan back (10+ hours).

 

If he doesn't get much better by our sailing, I was thinking about two possible ways to make his getting around a little more comfortable.

 

1) buy a push wheelchair at walgreens, currently $89 + ground shipping. Take it with us, wheel him through the airport ourselves or he can push it himself. At this time his arms are working just fine. Gate check the wheelchair, wheel him to ground transportation after the flight, get a minivan taxi to the port, wheel him through the port and onto the ship. He may or may not need it on the ship, depending on the distances and his pain status at that time. I am inclined to think that he may need it at times if the walk is long, but he won't need it all the time. Do this same thing in reverse on the way back to the airport car rental.

 

2) have the airline personnel wheel him through the airport to the gate and then to the ground transportation. Have the cruise/terminal personnel to wheel him from the taxi to the ship. Either rent a push wheelchair for him for $75 or let him hobble around on his own. Request Princess assistance for disembarkation.

 

We aren't doing any strenuous excursions. We'll mostly go to the beach at the ports. I am sure we'd NOT be using the wheelchair at ports .

 

If we were to request port wheelchair assistance from Princess, how far would they be able to transport dad in a princess wheelchair? He can come down the gangway by himself, but the long distance to the taxi stand may or may not be a challenge. I am sure that personnel would not venture out as far as the end of the pier.

 

What do you think? Door #1 or door #2?

 

P.S. We will also be wheeling around a large car seat on a luggage cart for the kiddo. I am not sure how strong a person needs to be to push my dad around in his wheelchair. He is just over 200#.

you should really consider getting an accessible room. It's extremely inconvenient to bathe your kiddo in the regular shower stall, even if they don't have mobility issues, but having a roll in large shower for a kiddo in a wheelchair gives you a lot more room to maneuver around. It truly is very helpful. Plus, having a larger room to move the wheelchair around is nice.

 

Granted, I am comparing a regular inside room to an accessible inside room. The difference in space was immense. Perhaps, the bathroom in a mini-suite is roomier than a regular bathroom in an inside room.

just curious - how long is your cruise? We had an 8 night cruise last time (3 of us in the cabin), and I got the water preordered, and we didn't even finish the pack. We do drink a lot, but there were 4 sea days for which we didn't need bottle water. It was kind of sad to let it go to waste. This time there are 6 of us and 4 port days, so I think we'll finish a pack.

We didn't want to book an accessible stateroom, taking away from those who really need it, because she doesn't need all the bells and whistles the room has.

 

Thanks!

 

~Katrina

we were booked into an accessible room on RC (we didn't really need it at the time, but we appreciate it), and it didn't have any bells or whistles aside from being bigger, wider and having a roll-in shower. It also had a sofa bed instead of a Pullman bed.

My husband has always had a major fear of going to mexico since a former employee of ours was detained by the police there years ago. I finally got him on board with cruising there and dang it, he saw the warning on the news last night. We are still doing our 2 night - wasn't getting off the ship anyway, but I bet I'll have to cancel my spring time cruise now. :(

just stay on the ship.

My friend refuses to leave the ship on our upcoming trip to Cozumel, but it's because she had a horrible taxi driver experience... Not because of violence.

It it just occurred to me - when you have parents traveling with two children - you will of course come up to the limit on the number of cabins which would accommodate four - that would explain the limitations - without it being simply age-based.

nope, the 3-4 person cabins were NOT sold out, and it allowed me to book a 3 person cabin all the way to the point where I indicated the 3rd passenger which was 5 years old at the time. That's when the warning popped up and said - the age group 4-8 years old is closed and you may not proceed with the booking.

It makes perfect sense since they have a maximum capacity for each of their kid club age ranges. If they didn't do this we would be having outraged threads about how someone's kid wasn't allowed into the kid's club because it was full, or outraged threads about how badly overcrowded their kid's club was.

my kid refuses to go to kid club, but that's not the point I am trying to make. When I register him for it online during my check-in - because Princess compels you to do it, and not because I want to - there is a very clear warning that on sailings with more than 200 kids the kid's club is on a first come first serve basis, and it may become full. So, nobody should be crying because "they didn't know in advance".

On two of our cruises the main pool, and then a hot tub, were closed for over 24 hours for cleaning, after a diapered child left a deposit.

on our previous cruise, a kid puked in a pool. We also had a norovirus outbreak. Yeah, good times.

 

We don't like pools on cruises, because the water is freezing. Even in April in the Caribbean. We either use hot tubs or nothing at all... Even my kid (kids are frost-proof, right?) couldn't get in the pool, because the water was unpleasantly cold.

Menus in MDR are just not that interesting. The only thing special I order every night is french fries. Many nights that's what I end up eating.

yeah, I can have French fries at home - any time. Literally - McD's is open 24/7.

I go on a cruise to eat wonderful food, mostly, seafood, but I love all food. I don't want to pay thousands of dollars to get on a boat, travel to exotic locations, while being served great food... and all I would eat is French fries...? wat? :evilsmile:

You/they need to get started NOW. The process to receive Rehabilitated status is not a short one and depending on the charges, it will take a year plus for the application process - and there is no guarantee that it will be approved.

I'd probably just pick a cruise to the Caribbean instead.

One might be no big deal, but say on one of the mega ships, there are 200 children under 2 that are sailing free. That is a LOT of adult fares that are being lost. Say and average price of $1000 per person, would YOU give up $200000 in income for 1 week?

not many adults want to be stuffed 4 to an inside cabin. I considered for a minute putting my parents and mother-in-law in the same cabin, but quickly changed my mind. But 2 adults and 2 small kids in an inside cabin is doable.

 

Oh, and by the way, cruise lines do limit the number of kids in certain age groups on a sailing. Last year we couldn't join our friends because Regal Princess didn't allow any more kids aged 4-8 on board. Our friends' family was also in a predicament, since they had an 8 and a 10 year old. They were waitlisted, and when somebody with kids backed out, they were allowed to book the cruise.

The stop in Victoria might be an issue. If the Canadians want for info , they be looking for documents that you are rehabilitated . They don't care how many years but are you rehabilitated .

I've wondered lately how Canadians would know about a 20 year old DUI charge.

Our oldest loves the kid's clubs/camp and may be out late with them and I'd rather be in our cabin after the younger one goes to sleep.

I honestly can't imagine leaving a 4 yo in a cabin by himself, even with a monitor on. Even the most mature 4 yo can slip out unnoticed and you may not hear it on the monitor.

 

P.S. We have a 6 yo, and we wouldn't put him in a separate cabin, unless it's with a responsible adult (not a 13 yo that will be out with friends).

You dad will probably generate more profit with onboard sales, which is where most of the profit comes from.

nope... This will be his first cruise, and no, no additional purchases will be made by him or my mom. He is not allowed to drink alcohol, and neither of my parents is going to a specialty restaurant, cruise excursion or buying anything extra. It's strictly a cruise fee+tax+tip.

But they are taking up a space on the ship that could be occupied by someone who buys a drinks package, gambles, and pays to eat at specialty restaurants.

what about us, though? We (the adults) don't buy drink packages, gamble or eat at a specialty restaurant. Should we be charged more for a cruise, because the cruise line is not making any additional money off of us that way?

I think it's nice when Princess charges $99 for the 3rd and 4th passenger. And they don't even stipulate that these are only kid prices. That's a perfect price for a kid, though.

If children under a certain age should be able to travel for free or at a significant discount, then anyone over 65 should also be able to travel for free or at the same discount. This well thought out opinion is based on my 67 years of thinking about such things, by the way. ;p:p:):halo:

however, at 69 years of age my dad will eat his weight worth during the cruise, totally justifying the $619+tax+tips, but a 7 month old won't. :)

Sounds like a great idea except we are 8 with luggage and spirit charges for check in and carry on luggage and we would have to rent a larger van and all the luggage probably wouldn't fit in.

 

Great suggestion, just don't think it will work for us.

 

Thank you for your suggestion.

yes, I prepaid for 4 suitcases on Spirit already. We flew with them last year - they had reasonable fares, even with $30 per suitcase. Checking in online is free, and we didn't get charged for printing boarding passes on the way back after a cruise (I checked in on the phone, but printed boarding passes at the airport).

 

My friend sends her elderly parents on the plane, while she, DH and 2 kids drive to and from FLL. That way they keep costs down (by not renting), while accommodating the elders. My DH hates driving for more than 6 hours, but he hates paying $2,000+ for flights more.

 

If you keep checking Spirit and Southwest every day, you may be pleasantly surprised by the fares. They have sales all the time, but you gotta catch it. Last year SW had $78 each way ATL-FLL during thanksgiving. Those fares sold out within an hour. Good luck! Oh, and since they allow one way fares, sometimes it's worth flying in on one airlines, and flying back on another.

Looking for inexpensive because we are footing the cost of this cruise for our daughter's family and trying to keep expenses down with the extra's. All advise is welcome.

 

Thank you.

 

We are in ATL as well. I calculated that flying Spirit one way from ATL to FLL for 6 of us ($109 each) and renting a minivan on the way back (7 passenger minivan, $218 total price, unlimited mileage) is within $100 of renting a minivan and driving ATL-FLL-ATL because we'd need 2 hotel rooms half way to FL. So, we are flying to and driving back from FLL. On the way back we won't need a hotel and we don't have to be home by 1-2 pm either.

P.S. We are footing the bill for all of our parents...

Your child is a person, are they not? Why is it crazy to you that they might have to pay?

probably, because a 7 month old is not going to fully partake in the buffet, MDR, excursions, or kid's club. :)

So, paying $800+ for a 7 month old kiddo doesn't sound reasonable.

and that's why we now sail on Princess. We catch a $99 sale for the 3rd and 4th passenger every time. Royal Caribbean has had the most unreasonable prices for a few years now. I recently looked up a cruise with them, and it seems like a reasonable $699 pp, until I got to adding a 3rd passenger - $800 for the kiddo. He can't even eat this much! Even when RC is running their 50% off the second passenger, their prices are unreasonable.

 

So, Princess it is for us.

We are in ATL as well. We've been on Regal and Caribbean Princess. We chose Caribbean Princess last time only because of the itinerary. This time we are choosing Regal because the ship is better, cleaner and newer, and the food is much-much-much better (the whole family loves food).

Regal all the way, since the itinerary doesn't matter to you. Plus, FLL is so much closer to ATL.

 

P.S. Disclaimer - we only get inside rooms.

I am relatively young and only now starting to lose my hearing a bit. I usually have to stick my fingers into my ears at Princess theaters because the sound is deafening.

Safety 1st Guide 65 (and its current clone Cosco MIghtyfit) is notorious for needing a pool noodle or a pyramid of three in many vehicles in order to install it securely in a rear facing mode. I am not making it up, and it's not just "my personal experience with installation quirks".

The older Princess ships are much better, in my opinion.

nope. If it weren't for the destinations, I wouldn't have chosen Caribbean princess over Regal Princess.

first of all, the buffet. Terrific. Huge. A wonderful variety of foods and desserts.

second, free on demand movies and cartoons. That's a huge perk if you are traveling with kids or are quarantined due to noro- or rotovirus (our friend). They are also dubbed in foreign languages.

third, menus in foreign languages. Very helpful.

fourth, they are newer and cleaner.