travel with elderly relative

[MLShealy]

Dear Members, if any of you are disabled or have experiences or references that you would be willing to share with me regarding cruising with a disabled senior, please let me know. I am an RN and wish to take my aging mother on a shorter cruise with my teenage children, somewhere with lots of sunshine. Any recommendations. Concerns are size of accomodations, rigid schedules, WC access considering liners are exempt from disabilities act. Thankyou and blessings to all who respond.

[DesrtDrmr]

Hello,

We have found that most of the newer ships are very accessible for scooters and wheelchairs. The only schedules you would have would be those that you set for yourselves. Princess and other cruise lines, have personalized choice dining, so that you can eat when you want to, and with whom you wish. You can choose to have traditional dining, at a set time, with the same waiter and same tablemates, or you can go to a dining room when you wish, or you can eat in the Lido, or buffet restaurant, which, in many cases, is open 24 hours, OR you can have room service, which is included in your cruise price, and usually available 24 hours a day. The choice is yours. The only other scheduled things I can think of are activities for you to do or not, as you wish, and shore excursions, which you book at your convenience.

If you book a handicapped cabin for your cruise, your cabin will be large enough for a wheelchair, and will probably have a roll in shower, grab bars in the bathroom, and a wider door to accommodate a wheelchair or electric scooter. If your mom can do a scooter, that might be more convenient for shipboard movement. Many ships are very large, and pushing a chair over carpet can get very tiring. A scooter/and/or chair can be rented from Scootaround.com, or CareVacations.com, and be waiting for you on the ship. Wheelchair and pusher can be arranged at no charge with your airline, for getting to and from the gate. Most cruise lines also have wheelchairs available for embarking and disembarking passengers, but are not available for full time use aboard ship.

All in all, cruising is a GREAT way to go for one whose mobility is limited, as traveling is made easy, and crewmembers have always proved to be helpful to me. I'm sure some other more experienced cruisers will also have tips for you.

Oh, shore excursions are not always accessible for a scooter, but a folding wheelchair can fit in the bottom of an excursion bus, and on a tender, which is a small boat used to take passengers ashore at ports where the ship cannot dock.

The Caribbean is lovely and sunny for much of the year, as is the Mexican Riviera, where you would depart from California. I know there are 3 and 4 day cruises from Los Angeles, and I would guess that there are shorter cruises available in the Caribbean as well. I KNOW that Disney Cruise Lines do three and four day cruises, and would guess that other lines do too.

 

Hawaii - On the Island

 

[whiterose]

My area of "expertise" is hearing loss so I can't answer about wheelchair access but just for your information, US courts have ruled that cruise ships ARE covered by the ADA Americans with Disabilities Act IF they use USA port facilities. The federal advisory board (forget exact name) made recommendations nearly 3 years go but we're still waiting for federal standards on construction and program access to be issued.

[CaptData]

Hi, I agree with above posters. Do get a handicap room. for your mom. The shower will have hand rails a pull down seat. The shower head is a handheld type. There is also emergency pull cords in the room and the bathroom to get aid if needed. The phone in my handicap room was right by the bed as well. Do take your own wheelchair, a light one is perferred but not the one with little front wheels. The wheelchair does not count as baggage if you fly. Contact the airline to inform them ahead of time. You can gate check the wheelchair which means you can pushmom right up to the door of the plane if you wish. Can she walk at all, if not they can transfer her to an isle chair and take her to her seat that way.

 

If you have any more questions please ask. Oh only go on newer ships. Most of the new ones have handiwashrooms and automatic doors which make it easier for you. Ask for any aid you need as most of the staff will help if you tell them how to do it.

 

Hopfully a Hawiian Cruise

 

 Until we sail away on the ocean blue

 

 

 

Navigator of the Seas Western Crib 08/03

Dawn Princess - Eastern Carb 01/03

Dawn Princess Panamal Canal 11/02

 

[joramrose]

Several years ago my sister and I took our mom, then 91, on a Carribbean cruise.

 

Our TA suggested Carnival because of the size of the rooms for three adults. I was a little leery because of Carnival's reputation as "fun' ship for the younger crowd, butit worked out great.

 

The people on board could not have been nicer to my mom. Our stateroom seemed to be designed for her light weight wheel chair. (She could get around a little, slowly, without it.) It rolled well onto the elevators as well. We wheeled her to the dining room where the wait staff escorted her to our table each night. We left the wheel chair at the door, but it could have gone into the dining room.

 

She did not take any of the ship's excursions. Twice we arranged for a taxi to drive us around to the various sites, which actually worked out cheaper for us than the ship tours.

 

Everyone on the ship, from crew to passenger, made her acquaintance. We never lacked for someone to "push" her around. She loved all the attention. She attended all the shows, played Bingo every day and fully participated.

 

It was a great trip. She talked about it up until the day she died two years later.

 

If you are planning to take an elderly relative on a cruise, I say Go for it. I do not think you will be disappointed.

 

Incidentlly, we took her own lightweight wheel chair, and checked it through on the plane. At the airport other wheel chairs were provided for her and also at the port of embarkation.

 

love

joan

[Splinter]

Not all cruise lines offer the "open seating, dine when you want" options noted above. Some like this, some do not. We like dining with the same people every night, and like not having to stand in line to dine when we want. Holland American, RCCL and Crystal, amoung others, still has traditional dining times. Given that you have the option of eating in either the dining room or the Lido in all large cruise ships. The Lido is buffet. There are also snack bars for pizza, hamburgers, etc. on many ships. We prefer the service of the formal dining room for all 3 meals, but if we get up late, we eat breakfast in the Lido, and if we get back late from a shore excursion we may eat a burger too.

 

Try to find a cruise with few or no tender ports. This makes it much easier to get ashore without a long wait, and tender ports are iffy for people with mobility impairments if the seas are rough.

 

We have had the best success with ships newer than 1995, and with cruise lines including RCCL, Celebrity, Crystal, HAL and (somewhat) with Princess, which is our least favorite. Have heard less favorable reports on Carnival and Disney, but have not traveled these ourselves.

 

As far as locations, look at the Mexican Riviera during the winter, or the Caribbean in the winter and spring. Alaska is best for the summer. While there are cruises to Mexico in the summer, it is hot, rainy and muggy. The Caribbean can be the same way, and you want to avoid hurricaine season. A tropical storm or hurricaine can divert your ship to ports you did not plan on.

 

If you mother has problems climbing into a bus, don't plan on shore excursions through the ship. Cabs work better in most ports. If she has a mobility or endurance problem, consider renting a scooter for her use on the ship (have her try out one at home first to get comfortable with it) and a light-weight folding wheelchair with large rear wheels (like a Breezy) for use ashore.

 

Keep in mind that many ships do not have handicapped cabins that will accomodate more than 2 people, so if you are going with your family and need this, you may have to book two cabins. Rarely are adjoining cabins available in this configuration either. Don't assume that a handicapped cabin has a roll-in shower either. Some (for example, HAL) have accessible cabins with tubs, while other cabins have a roll-in shower...you have to be VERY specific about your needs when booking and double and triple check on what you are getting.

 

HA Constitution 1986

NCL Skyward 1988

Crystal Harmony 1992

Dawn Princess 1994

HA Independence 1995

Celebrity Zenith 1997

Grand Princess 1999

Regal Princess 2000

Crystal Harmony 2000

HAL Ryndam 2001

HAL Statendam 2003

RCI Vision of the Seas 2003

HAL Ryndam 2004

[DEL67]

We go on several cruises a year and have been on most of the major "Home Port" cruise lines with the exception of Princess. As the other posters have said, most of the ships built in the last 10 years are accessible with the ones built in the last few years being the most so. And the staff is usally eager to assist. In fact it is funny to see then try to help my husband by trying to push his power chair.

 

I also agree that a scooter would give your mother independence around the ship, but that a manual chair is best ashore.

 

Some things to think about:

 

Many ships do not accept more than two in a handicap cabin and I do not know any that are quads. We travel with our daughter in the summer time and have been able to get handicap triples on RCCL and Holland America. We were unable to get triples on Princess or Carnival, but I beleive that some of their newer ships accomodate them.

 

Handicap room size varies by line, and sometimes by ship. In general, the handicap rooms on Carnival are just adequate (barely enough room to turn the wheelchair around). Our cabins on RCCL and Holland America were bigger and we had a huge handicap cabin on Celebrity.

 

Since you have teenagers, I would suggest RCCL or Carnival because they attract passengers of all ages rather than Celebrity or Holland America which attract mostly an older crowd.

 

Yes there are schedules on ships, but you can choose what you do and do not want to do. Except for getting back to the ship on time at ports! We like the ships with traditional dining because we like to sit with other passengers and get the more personalized service of a single team of waiters. However, if you want more flexibility or your teenagers don't like to sit though formal meals you might prefer "free style" dining. And of course there is room service as well as alternative dining choices on most ships.

 

Since your are from Pennsylvania, you might want to try a ship that leaves from one of the ports you can drive to - NYC, NJ, Boston, Philadelphia or Baltimore. The cruises tend to cost more, but you save plane fare and aggravation. One warning though, the seas tend to be rougher, especially if you are going to Bermuda.

 

As for destination, it depends on what you and your family like. If you like beaches, then I would suggest the Caribbean since flying to Florida or even Houston would be easier and less expensive than California. The Eastern Caribbean has nice beaches and good shopping, but the Western Caribbean also has good beaches and is a little more exotic.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Dale