Accessiblity in Alaska and on Golden Princess

[Mikeyto]

Hello, I just got off my first ever cruise and wanted provide a little information about my experiences. First of all let me mention that I am 34, with Spina Bifida. I use a manual wheelchair but am able to walk up a few stairs or take a few steps with the aid of railings, tables, etc. I did travel with my parents but often onboard I was away from them. My overall experiences while on the cruise were great. There were a few thinigs onboard that I felt could be better. For instance, getting onto the outside decks is difficult as the doors are very heavy, especially when it's windy outside. Every time I wanted to go outside, if my family wasn't with, other passengers or crew members were willing to assist. Also, most doorways did have small lips to go over but I found them to be pretty easy to navigate and did see several folks in scooters navigate them easily. I never had any issues with elevators except while the ship was in Seattle and pax were coming onboard.

 

Our room, which was a non-accessible Window Suite on the Fiesta Deck was pretty accomodating. The doorway was plenty wide enough for my wheelchair. However, while exploring the ship it was clear that was not the norm for non-accessible rooms. The bathroom did have a lip to go into it and the doorway was not wide enough for my wheelchair, so I usually walked a few steps inside or crawled in. The toilet was in a good location for me to access the sink. Also, our bathtub was full size and was farily easy for me to get in and out of as there was some room for me to sit on the side as I maneuvered myself in.

 

While in port I found the Princess staff to be most helpful. The security team was always ready and waiting to assist me up and down the gangway, which at times was very steep. The Excusion Desk was most accomodating in arranging accessible transportation for Princess tours. While in Juneau we did the Whale Watching & Wildlife Quest with Allen Marine. Their high powered catamarans were accessible and had plenty of room for me to move around if I so chose to. Also the crew were very helpful in getting me on/off the boat and up and down the dock. Transportation to/from the excursion was on an accessible tour bus. After we came back to the ship we spent the next few hours downtown. Most of the shops were accessible and there were plenty of sidewalks. In Skagway we boarded another accessible bus to take us to our Gold Rush Sled Dogs tour, along with Gold Panning and a 40 below zero experience. All parts of the tour were accessible to include a boadwalk to each area. Again upon our return we explored downtown without any issues. Finally in Ketchikan we had arranged a private tour with Ketchikan Taxi Cab Tours. Our guide, Dave picked us up in a mini-van and took us all over the island to see wildlife, Totem Bight State Park and a few other places. All were accessible.

 

As I said before, I really enjoyed the cruise and found very few obstacles. I realize we were still in the US so ADA did apply and won't on other cruises I may take. But with that in mind I was still so impressed and grateful to the Staff at Princess for their help during my cruise to Alaska. I will definately cruise Princess again soon!

[davemder]

Thanks for this info! I'm a paraplegic and use a manual wheelchair; my husband and I are taking a cruise to Alaska on the Star Princess in less than two weeks, so this was info that was good to know!!

[xxoocruiser]

Thanks for the information.

 

For future reference if it would be easier when using a non-accessible you can request a shower seat to be placed in the tub . This can be done for free by contacting the Special Needs Department.