Wheelchair at Vancouver Terminal

[izdgrama]

My husband is 80 and has compromised breathing while walking. Stairs and inclines are a particular challenge. For that reason alone, I have booked the Club Class Mini Suite to avoid waiting and have priority embarkation for him.

 

Normally, we cruise with HAL and accessible boarding goes with that/our demographic. I haven't been able to locate information regarding being met by a porter with a wheelchair to board, in Vancouver. Does anyone have any info to help?

 

Also, any experience with Luggage Valet in Vancouver would be of interest.

 

Thanks to you all in advance for helping us! 😎😎🍾

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Call Princess AND your airline both to book this. I also suggest you call them both again right before to confirm. We actually had a problem on our last cruise and we were not met with the wheelchair as promised. It was a super long walk and we didn't have much time to spare. Best of luck to you both.

[NavyVeteran]

Princess normally provides a wheelchair for those who need it for embarkation and disembarkation. DW has used a wheelchair to board in Vancouver, but it hasn't been recent. You need to ask the first Princess representative you see at the embarkation port. For disembarkation, you will need to tell Passenger Services you need a wheelchair - they will announce in the disembarkation instructions which location will have the wheelchairs available.

 

Even without Club Class dining, he would not have to wait in line for anytime dining. He could sit in a lounge while you wait in line and possibly get a beeper. Then when you get to the front of the line, or your beeper goes off if you got one, you could get him from the lounge. Club Class dining may mean less time waiting than anytime dining, but he wouldn't have to stand while waiting anyway.

 

Priority embarkation will not affect the availability of a wheelchair, the amount of walking, or the amount of waiting you will have in line. It will get you into the line earlier, but it won't be any easier. The only thing it will save you is time sitting in the terminal waiting to board.

 

Princess does not provide a wheelchair for use on the ship or in any other ports. They only provide a wheelchair for someone who has an accident during the cruise - not for someone who arrives needing one. If your husband needs a wheelchair on the ship or in any ports, you will need to provide your own - either by bringing one or by renting one.

 

Unless you have an accessible mini-suite, a Princess mini-suite has a tub with a shower in the tub. Stepping over the tub wall to get in to take a shower can be a problem for someone with mobility problems. Balcony and below cabins have a walk-in shower which (although small) may be better for someone with mobility problems.

[izdgrama]

Thanks for the prompt replies, The club Class has us very close to the mid ship lifts so that will help him getbto the MDR or wherever and to th casino. Once aboard, we just walk and wander at his pace.

 

I will tell the first Princess rep. we see of our need. Does anyone know of any paperwork to be done, or just phone calls? John gets a bit anxious when things seem so,etching other than smooth. He's very kind, but not as patient as I'd like. LOL

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and knowledge. 😎🍺👏

[NavyVeteran]

I will tell the first Princess rep. we see of our need. Does anyone know of any paperwork to be done, or just phone calls? John gets a bit anxious when things seem so,etching other than smooth. He's very kind, but not as patient as I'd like. LOL

 

I don't think it makes any difference if you notify Princess in advance. They won't know when you're arriving at the terminal so they wouldn't be able to hold a chair ready for you even if they know.

 

Sometimes one of the representatives out front is able to get a wheelchair for going through the check-in lines. Other times, not. That depends more on the terminal than on the ship.

 

When you check in, tell the person who checks you in that you will need a wheelchair for boarding. They will direct you to a specific waiting area where he will be picked up by someone with a wheelchair. This is normally handled by the ship's crew - not by the terminal. Sometimes DW asks for a chair and sometimes not - it depends on how she is doing that day. Sometimes the wheelchairs will be available at the beginning of boarding, and sometimes they will be after some or all of the priority boarders - it depends on the availability of the crew doing the pushing.

 

BTW, most of the crew pushing the wheelchairs are waiters or bartenders from the ship.

 

For using a wheelchair for disembarkation at the end of the cruise, tell Passenger Services on the ship - it won't do any good to tell anyone before you board. The disembarkation instructions sheet you will receive close to the end of the cruise will tell you which location you will go to wait for a wheelchair. Everyone needing a wheelchair will go to the same location - not the location specified for your disembarkation group.

 

The one thing you absolutely should do in advance is to tell the airline (either by phone or on their website if that option is available) that you will need a wheelchair at originating, connecting, and terminating terminals. Then when you check in at the airport, verify that they have the wheelchair request on file.

[Colo Cruiser]

There are reps with WC's there in the terminal at Canada Place.

[MKMC]

We have wheelchair assistance in Vancouver every cruise, You ask a Princess representative to direct you to the waiting area for wheelchairs. Someone comes and takes everyone's name in order of arrival. The men with the wheelchairs do not arrive from the ship until 11;30. Then everybody is called in order, If you chair pusher does not get lost you end up with the priority boarding people and are on the ship about noon

[cruise4fun66]

Boarding in Vancouver is easy. Once you leave your luggage with the porters, the wheel chair place is right there and they will just take you through check in and onto the ship with the first available wheelchair. We left my parents with them two years ago, and they were on the ship long before us.

 

 

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