Cuba pier question on the Empress

Hi all! My parents and I are going on the Empress to Cuba next month. In looking at the excursions offered thru Royal, they are all saying it is "42 steps" to where you pick up/board the busses. My mom uses a wheelchair but can walk a little bit.

My question is...are they actual steps, as in a staircase? If so, does anyone recall there being a railing?

Thanks!

 

My question is...are they actual steps, as in a staircase? If so, does anyone recall there being a railing?

 

Thanks!

42 stair steps down to the street, after a walk through the terminal.

There is, however, an elevator, that works just fine.

Tell your mom to go to the right before she gets to the stairs, the elevator is right there.

As you walk through to the end of terminal from the ship:

Bathrooms to the left (avoid at all costs!!!), money exchange in the middle, then stairs, and then elevator. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes, streets and sidewalks are bumpy and uneven. This is not the town for "cute strappy sandals".

I toured independently, but I remember there were clear instructions about where to go if meeting a ship tour.

We just did the cuba cruise last month,first of all there is an elevator to get you down to where the buses are.We took the bus site seeing tour the first day and it was very good,except when we went to the statue of Jesus it was pouring and some people got off,we didn't.As for Old Havana,it is right across from the pier and should be easy for a wheelchair to get around.If you are going to use money there I would recommend that you change USD to euros,you will get more of the Cuban cuk.

Hope you enjoy the cruise.

Hi all! My parents and I are going on the Empress to Cuba next month. In looking at the excursions offered thru Royal, they are all saying it is "42 steps" to where you pick up/board the busses. My mom uses a wheelchair but can walk a little bit.

 

My question is...are they actual steps, as in a staircase? If so, does anyone recall there being a railing?

 

 

Thanks!

Hi, my wife uses a wheelchair, and we did an overnight in Cuba. To answer the question, there is an elevator, and it is well marked. Sounds like you are doing an excursion with RCCL, so I might point out, the excursions aren't for wheelchairs. My wife can walk, short distances, and we took a 3 hour bus tour as soon as we arrived. Getting off the bus there were some areas she did not walk but was able to see from a distance, such as the Jesus stature. The stops we did make would not have been easy with a wheelchair.

After the bus, we went back to the ship, got our light weight travel scooter and went out to dinner, in an area at least a mile from the ship. We stopped in a few pubs with live music. We used it on cobblestone streets, sidewalks, and other areas. I did say the scooter was light weight (54lbs), and my wife can walk, so often times, it required getting off, going up and down a curb etc. Following day we spent the day in Havana making our way to numerous sites and lunch, following a guild book I bought. Although it was "challenging" it was not difficult. Of course it depends on a number of things such as the companion and a little planning.

Another note is ATT is now doing business in Havana and the iPhone app "maps.me" worked well.