HC accessibility on Princess

[Oceanwench]

We're looking at taking a cruise on Caribbean or Ruby Princess, and we were wondering about accessible cabins.

 

I know there is a forum for disability issues here, but I think this board gets more traffic.

 

We'd be booking a balcony cabin - I believe my TA said it's a BC or BB.

Does anyone have experience with those?

Also, the pillow-top beds are too high for DH to access - he has very limited mobility.

We typically sail on HAL and always request a lower mattress.

Does anyone know if that can be done on Princess?

 

We'd like to broaden our horizons, but accessibility is always an issue and there sometimes are obstacles that are tough to overcome. (We've had more problems at Disney World than you can imagine! :()

 

Thank you!

[Thrak]

There are handicapped accessible cabins. My son is a disabled veteran. He's a high functioning quad. He cruised on both Sea Princess and Star Princess in an accessible room. Roll in shower, etc. The doors are wider to allow wheelchair access.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Thrak

[geoherb]

We just disembarked from the Caribbean Princess this morning and we sailed the Ruby on three cruises in the past year. What I noticed about the Caribbean Princess is that it wasn't as accessible around the ship. For instance, the Ruby has some doors that will open with the push of a button onto the promenade. On the Caribbean Princess, someone in a wheelchair would have to have someone open the door and hold it. That's probably not a problem most of the time.

[olvrxyzh]

I don't know if your aware . . . Princess requires passengers with a wheelchair or scooter to have a Handicapped accessible cabin. This was done due to the hazards created by passengers putting their wheelchairs or scooters in the hall - their regular cabins were too small the accommodate these items.

[Ron the Rev]

DW is mostly wheelchair bound so we book our cruises as early as we can so as to get an hc cabin. She can't use the side hand wheels so I do the pushing. The cabins are a lot larger than normal and there are those rotten people who are not at all disabled who will try to book them. Princess knows this and now require the passenger to declare this when booking, but still the cheating goes on. Get in early then keep looking at the price and take advantage of the price drops if they happen. Have a nice cruise.

[dorisis]

DW is mostly wheelchair bound so we book our cruises as early as we can so as to get an hc cabin. She can't use the side hand wheels so I do the pushing. The cabins are a lot larger than normal and there are those rotten people who are not at all disabled who will try to book them. Princess knows this and now require the passenger to declare this when booking, but still the cheating goes on. Get in early then keep looking at the price and take advantage of the price drops if they happen. Have a nice cruise.

 

We have never seen a price drop when we book HC cabins.

[timetravler]

DW is mostly wheelchair bound so we book our cruises as early as we can so as to get an hc cabin. She can't use the side hand wheels so I do the pushing. The cabins are a lot larger than normal and there are those rotten people who are not at all disabled who will try to book them. Princess knows this and now require the passenger to declare this when booking, but still the cheating goes on. Get in early then keep looking at the price and take advantage of the price drops if they happen. Have a nice cruise.

WOW, so true what you said. Some people continued to book handicap cabins even after Princess started cracking down. People have lied and faked using a wheelchair just to get a handicap cabin. One couple even did strenuous hikes but claimed they were handicap. In order to book a handicap cabin your handicap must be a mobility issue that requires you to use a scooter or wheelchair. Too bad there are some that lie in order to get a handicap cabin.

BTW if you or your spouse is in a handicap cabin, you will not have any trouble getting on the bed or using the facilities in any way. The down side is if you go to the Princess theater, you have to sit in the back of the theater unless you are on the Royal or Regal. Then you can sit closer which is a nice feature of those two ships.

[scmexico]

We just returned from the Grand SEA to SEA 7 day Alaska cruise. I rented a scooter from the preferred provide for Princess. It worked out great for us. It was in our cabin when we arrived. Our Stewart said to leave it in the hall during the day. When we we were turning in call passenger services and they would store it overnight and charge it. It was fine going thru the door to the cabin. We always brought it in the cabin at night. We did not have a HC cabin.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

In order to book a handicap cabin your handicap must be a mobility issue that requires you to use a scooter or wheelchair.

 

There are some handicaps that don't use a wheelchair but require a h/c room for the restroom facilities. I have muscular dystrophy but I can walk and am not in a wheelchair. However, I cannot get off a standard toilet. I require either a h/c height toilet or handrails. I cannot walk up stairs easily. People that don't understand my issues may look at me funny like I'm where I don't belong. Give me a break.:rolleyes: Please don't judge what you don't know.

[kiwimum]

On a recent Baltics cruise on the Royal we had an inside guarantee and were assigned a HC room. We were assigned this 3 days out. Verified with GS that there was no passengers looking for a HC cabin. The room was very large. Large closets with doors, enough space on one side of the bed for wheelchair access, bathroom large, rails and seat in shower, toilet rails. The vanity was way smaller than a regular cabin. There was a light on in the bathroom 24/7. We asked to have it disabled and was told no. Towels at the base of the bathroom door solved the problem.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Thanks for the tip on the towels under the door. I like total darkness when I sleep which is why I prefer an inside over an ocean view. Balcony is my preference but when I can't afford it, I go inside.

[caribill]

We have never seen a price drop when we book HC cabins.

 

When there are price drops, they are for all the cabins in a category, not for all the ones except HC cabins.

 

So if you have never seen a price drop, then nobody else in that category could get one either, assuming you were checking for price drops often enough.

[Thrak]

On a recent Baltics cruise on the Royal we had an inside guarantee and were assigned a HC room. We were assigned this 3 days out. Verified with GS that there was no passengers looking for a HC cabin. The room was very large. Large closets with doors, enough space on one side of the bed for wheelchair access, bathroom large, rails and seat in shower, toilet rails. The vanity was way smaller than a regular cabin. There was a light on in the bathroom 24/7. We asked to have it disabled and was told no. Towels at the base of the bathroom door solved the problem.

 

Must be a new thing with the new ships. On Sea Princess and Star Princess the light was on a standard switch. My son loved the inside cabins for the absolute dark.

[Treven]

When there are price drops, they are for all the cabins in a category, not for all the ones except HC cabins.

 

So if you have never seen a price drop, then nobody else in that category could get one either, assuming you were checking for price drops often enough.

I've never gotten a price drop either, regardless of the category I happened to be in. Coincidentally my cabins have always been accessible ones.

[Treven]

Must be a new thing with the new ships. On Sea Princess and Star Princess the light was on a standard switch. My son loved the inside cabins for the absolute dark.

I've never seen this either. I would absolutely HATE to go into the bathroom in the middle of the night and the lights are on. I have a small night light that gives me enough light so I can take care of business while not waking me up.

I agree with your son about sleeping in an interior cabin. I love taking a nap in the middle of the day in a pitch-black "cave" (interior cabin).

Edited August 10, 2014 by Treven

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I've never seen this either. I would absolutely HATE to go into the bathroom in the middle of the night and the lights are on. I have a small night light that gives me enough light so I can take care of business while not waking me up.

I agree with your son about sleeping in an interior cabin. I love taking a nap in the middle of the day in a pitch-black "cave" (interior cabin).

 

I totally agree with all of your post. I usually get up several times a night and a light on in the bathroom would probably wake me up too much to fall back to sleep. I love inside cabins. Many people say once you cruise with a balcony you will never go back and to me that isn't the case. I do prefer a balcony depending on the time of year and itinerary but an inside cabin works great for me.

[kiwimum]

If I can work out how to post photos, I will post the ones from the Royal. The cabin was great, but the drains in the shower were a health hazard.. We complained several times and we thought they were cleaned but in hindsight it as airfreshner. The final day we pulled up the grates and their was major mold which did not grow overnight. Let Princess know in the surveys and email of the issue with absolutely no response.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Oceanwench]

Thanks for the replies.

 

DH is completely dependent on his power wheelchair - and he could not book a non-accessible room.

If we can't get an accessible room, we can't cruise. :(

 

We are three-star Mariners on Holland America, so I know the ins and outs of cruising with a HC person. I am also familiar with people lying to get bigger cabins. Though interestingly enough, I see a lot of people complaining about getting assigned HC cabins on a guarantee, because in suites the bathrooms are smaller and there's no double vanity or Jacuzzi tub!

 

My biggest concern, in contemplating a first-time cruise on Princess, is the height of the bed. So often it is an obstacle for my husband - on land and at sea. Pillow-top mattresses are popular, and they are just too high for him to transfer onto from his wheelchair.

 

There are HC cabins available on the November cruises we are looking at. I just don't know how many hassles we'd encounter with a new (to us) cruise line.

 

And we are used to the bad seating at the show venues ... :(

Which is why we don't tend to go to the shows when we cruise.

(You'd be amazed at how many people not in wheelchairs take the accessible seating.)

[Thrak]

Thanks for the replies.

 

DH is completely dependent on his power wheelchair - and he could not book a non-accessible room.

If we can't get an accessible room, we can't cruise. :(

 

We are three-star Mariners on Holland America, so I know the ins and outs of cruising with a HC person. I am also familiar with people lying to get bigger cabins. Though interestingly enough, I see a lot of people complaining about getting assigned HC cabins on a guarantee, because in suites the bathrooms are smaller and there's no double vanity or Jacuzzi tub!

 

My biggest concern, in contemplating a first-time cruise on Princess, is the height of the bed. So often it is an obstacle for my husband - on land and at sea. Pillow-top mattresses are popular, and they are just too high for him to transfer onto from his wheelchair.

 

There are HC cabins available on the November cruises we are looking at. I just don't know how many hassles we'd encounter with a new (to us) cruise line.

 

And we are used to the bad seating at the show venues ... :(

Which is why we don't tend to go to the shows when we cruise.

(You'd be amazed at how many people not in wheelchairs take the accessible seating.)

 

My son is a "high functioning" quad. He has partial use of his hands and arms. (Broke his neck in the Army.) He can transfer himself from his wheelchair to the bed in the Princess HC rooms.

The seating for wheelchairs in Princess Theaters is non-existent. You have a short empty row at the very back of the theater. Anybody with the person in the wheelchair has to drag in a chair from the hall or somewhere else if you want to sit together. If there are a lot of wheelchairs or scooters there is no place for the able bodied people to put chairs to be able to sit with the person in the wheelchair. We found this to be the case on the Grand class of ships as well as on the Sun class of ships. I don't know about seating on the Royal class - maybe they've improved it there.

[Oceanwench]

Thanks, Thrak.

DH has use of his right arm and leg, but his left side is very weak.

 

Terrible about the theater seating.

On HAL, it's at the very back and there are seats and then space for wheelchairs. But often the seats are taken up by people who don't want to go into the theater but want a quick escape route.

 

On some ships the view is partially obstructed as well.

We prefer to find other venues to enjoy, knowing the theater is an exercise in frustration.

[dorisis]

I don't know if your aware . . . Princess requires passengers with a wheelchair or scooter to have a Handicapped accessible cabin. This was done due to the hazards created by passengers putting their wheelchairs or scooters in the hall - their regular cabins were too small the accommodate these items.

 

My husband uses a scooter but it is very narrow and can get thru cabin doors so a mini can work but is crowded with the scooter, and it is harder to bathe without a seperate shower.

 

We take a suite wnen possible for the extra room but it is more expensive. HC cabins sell out quickly and so do suites.

 

Also cabin doors on Princess are not automatic. Ask the steward for a door stop.

 

Pool towels around the shower help keep the bathroom from flooding. get those from the steward.

[MtnBikerFallDown]

My husband uses a scooter but it is very narrow and can get thru cabin doors so a mini can work but is crowded with the scooter, and it is harder to bathe without a seperate shower.

 

We take a suite wnen possible for the extra room but it is more expensive. HC cabins sell out quickly and so do suites.

 

Also cabin doors on Princess are not automatic. Ask the steward for a door stop.

 

Pool towels around the shower help keep the bathroom from flooding. get those from the steward.

 

Thanks for that tip! We are traveling in our 1st HC cabin (mini-suite) on Ruby this November. Mom has gotten to the point she needs the cabin. I had wondered if the bathroom might flood with the flat floors. I would not have thought to ask for pool towels. So, thank you!

 

OP, if you cruise after us, I fully intend to document the crap out of that room, as it's very hard to find pictures of the HC mini-suites. So, if you can hang on until November, I'll have pics for you!

[Oceanwench]

Thanks - but we would be going Nov. 1 or 3.

 

We've never had cabin doors that open automatically on HAL.

We're used to a few obstacles, but we're always together, so I handle the heavy lifting!

[SHayesShip]

I must have been fortunate. My 12/13/2014 ruby cruise is a HC cabin that I booked Jan 2014. I had one major price drop. $200 pp.

 

 

I've never gotten a price drop either, regardless of the category I happened to be in. Coincidentally my cabins have always been accessible ones.