Hawaii in a Wheelchair

[510picker]

My wife and I are looking at booking a November 2020 cruise to Hawaii on Holland America as an early 25 anniversary celebration. Curious to hear from others that have made the trip to Hawaii. I am a full-time, manual wheelchair user that can stand some, but can't do steps. Thanks for the input!

[Splinter]

What kind of questions do you have? Hawaii is relatively accessible, although not as much as the other 49 states in my experience. If you have a tender port (Lahaina and/or Kona) HAL will not let you on the tender unless you can walk on (including steps) under your own power, so be prepared for that.

 

We have found some tours through HAL on wheelchair accessible (lift) buses in Hilo and Nawiliwili but not always available. Shopping shuttles are nearly always non-accessible, which is a violation of the ADA, but no one seems to care. The (city) Bus in Honolulu is wheelchair accessible and easy to catch near the cruise ship terminal to go to Waikiki. Also consider renting a car and doing your own touring since it appears you can easily transfer to a car and put your wheelchair in the trunk. Just a caution that most of the shuttles to the rental cars are not accessible, so someone in your party would need to pick up the car and drive back to the pier to pick you up. 

 

[510picker]

4 hours ago, Splinter said:

What kind of questions do you have? Hawaii is relatively accessible, although not as much as the other 49 states in my experience. If you have a tender port (Lahaina and/or Kona) HAL will not let you on the tender unless you can walk on (including steps) under your own power, so be prepared for that.

 

We have found some tours through HAL on wheelchair accessible (lift) buses in Hilo and Nawiliwili but not always available. Shopping shuttles are nearly always non-accessible, which is a violation of the ADA, but no one seems to care. The (city) Bus in Honolulu is wheelchair accessible and easy to catch near the cruise ship terminal to go to Waikiki. Also consider renting a car and doing your own touring since it appears you can easily transfer to a car and put your wheelchair in the trunk. Just a caution that most of the shuttles to the rental cars are not accessible, so someone in your party would need to pick up the car and drive back to the pier to pick you up. 

 

Thank you for the input! Your insight is exactly what I am looking for. One big question is whether the ship docks or tenders at the stops, and if it is a tender, is it accessible. If I can never get off the ship, I don't want to go. The stops are Nawiliwili, Honolulu, Lahaina, Kona and Hilo. I see you listed two out of the five stops above as tender ports that I won't be able to visit. I did send an email to HAL's Access and Compliance department last night asking about tendering.

 

I also see you are from San Diego, so if we do end up taking this cruise, I will be picking your brain for suggestions on where to stay before the cruise. Thank you again for sharing your information!

[Buckimion]

Although my trip is in the distant future, my own 'legwork' 😉 on ADA transportation did turn up a couple of things of use. Robert's Hawaii does have accessible tour buses, but there is a minimum number of paid passengers. If you hold an ADA card from your own local transit agency, these are good in most areas as a visitor for a limited time. Per their advice, about 2 weeks before my travel date of my plans, I'm arranging for 'The Bus' ADA service known as 'TheHandi-Van' in Oahu to go to and from the PCC and Maui Bus ADA to go to the Tropical Plantation. These aren't tour busses, but they'll get us to places for the day. 

[kokopelli-az]

We were in Hawaii on the Celebrity Eclipse in May.   My husband has a wheelchair and rents a scooter for use on the ship.  We had a slightly different itinerary than you have but the only port we were able to get off at was Hilo, which this was fine with us as we love days on the ship (and days at sea).  

 

In Hilo there were a lot of people walking to the downtown (?) area, even in wheelchairs, even though the walk was over a mile instead of taking a cab.  If you have a collapsible wheelchair you can go on some of the ship's shore excursions (or private ones) that have a place to stow the chair.   Holland will have a list of their wheelchair accessible shore excursions (although probably not until closer to sailing).  But you can take a look at their shore excursions for their Hawaii cruises for this fall and get an idea of what might be offered next year.   Or contact private tour operators in your port to see what they offer.  

 

As far as getting off the ship in tender ports, this is direct from Holland's website:

 

For individuals with limited mobility, the use of a wheelchair will be the primary mobility assistance aid for getting on and off the ship. Certain ship transfer operations (i.e. during tendering and at the gangways) may not be fully accessible to wheelchairs or scooters. When a ship is unable to dock, guests are taken ashore on smaller boats called tenders. Some guests with limited mobility may find it difficult to embark or disembark the ship at certain times while tendering or while docked due to steep gangways and steps, particularly during low or high tide. Also, please note that scooters and wheelchairs which are more than 100 lbs. without the battery are not allowed to be transferred from the ship to tender and/or from tender to shore. Follow this link to view the tender list by port:    https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility/port-tender-list.html

 

As to tenders, with the exception of the Amsterdam, Volendam, Veendam and Prinsendam, Holland America Line vessels have been retrofitted with a tender-lift system that enables guests to roll directly on and off tenders while remaining in their wheelchairs. However, please be advised that adverse weather conditions such as wind, swells, or extreme tide levels may prohibit the use of the ship's tender lift equipment. Additionally, some port facilities may not be able to accommodate the lift equipment. If you require the use of this equipment, please speak with the Guest Relations Manager upon embarkation for further details or to coordinate specific arrangements.

 

Situations may occur in which guests with limited mobility may not be able to go ashore at the time they desire or are unable to go ashore at all in certain ports. For the safety of all concerned, the Captain shall make the final determination regarding whether or not it is advisable to provide assistance to guests with mobility limitations, or to carry their mobility assistance device (wheelchair, scooter, walker, etc.), taking into account all appropriate matters including, but not limited to, weather conditions, ship's location, weight of the guest or their mobility device, etc.

 

 

[510picker]

Thank you to Buckimion and kokopelli-az for the additional information.

[DUTRAVEL]

Good advice to contact HAL regarding tendering. I was on the Solstice (Celebrity) in 2018 and was not able to use the tenders in Maui and Kona. In Hilo, we rented a car (but as noted above, my husband had to go get the car because the shuttle was not accessible). In Honolulu, all of the City buses (the Bus) have ramps and are accessible. There is a bus stop right outside the port - you can either go towards Waikiki or Pearl Harbor. We took the bus to Pearl Harbor - it takes longer than a cab, but I found that Honolulu does not have many accessible cabs and I was unable to find an accessible Uber. Also, check with Roberts Hawaii - they can provide accessible transportation.

[Splinter]

Yes, these ports are tender v. pier:

 

Nawiliwili: pier

Honolulu: pier

Lahaina: tender

Kona: tender

Hilo: pier

 

Even if you are on a ship with a tender lift, you may not be able to access it based on sea conditions, and it will only take people in manual wheelchairs of maximum 18" seat width (no power chairs or scooters).

While my mother used a power chair on the ship, for any shore excursions, even at a pier port, we took a manual wheelchair. While Hawaii is part of the USA, it is amazing how much of it does not meet ADA regulations, so you may have to bump up a curb or two, or a step into a shop, and there are few wheelchair accessible cabs. With a manual chair, you can fold it and put it in the taxi or rental car trunk as long as you can transfer to the passenger seat.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Splinter

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 6/18/2019 at 5:16 AM, Buckimion said:

If you hold an ADA card from your own local transit agency, these are good in most areas as a visitor for a limited time. Per their advice, about 2 weeks before my travel date of my plans, I'm arranging for 'The Bus' ADA service known as 'TheHandi-Van' in Oahu to go to and from the PCC and Maui Bus ADA to go to the Tropical Plantation. These aren't tour busses, but they'll get us to places for the day. 

 

Aloha!  You undoubtedly know that your ship will be docking in Kahului instead of tendering in Lahaina, so that is good news for you.  A word to the wise though.  As the parents of a quadriplegic daughter who lives here on Maui and has the ADA Paratransit service, we are well aware, however well-meaning they may be, that you can't always rely on the service here.  Check to see if they can get into the port area to pick you up or if they must wait outside somewhere.  Check on their definition on "curb-to-curb" service if you want to go to the Plantation.  It is well set into the property and the buildings are not directly adjacent to the highway that fronts it.  You would need more door-to-door service.  Allow extra time because the vans may have other passengers to pick up and deliver before they drop you off.  Just be patient and flexible (and work on "Maui Time").

[Buckimion]

11 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

 

Aloha!  You undoubtedly know that your ship will be docking in Kahului instead of tendering in Lahaina, so that is good news for you.  A word to the wise though.  As the parents of a quadriplegic daughter who lives here on Maui and has the ADA Paratransit service, we are well aware, however well-meaning they may be, that you can't always rely on the service here.  Check to see if they can get into the port area to pick you up or if they must wait outside somewhere.  Check on their definition on "curb-to-curb" service if you want to go to the Plantation.  It is well set into the property and the buildings are not directly adjacent to the highway that fronts it.  You would need more door-to-door service.  Allow extra time because the vans may have other passengers to pick up and deliver before they drop you off.  Just be patient and flexible (and work on "Maui Time").

Having been a long-time user of my own local ADA service (Too long if you ask me. 😀 ), I'm aware of most of the idiosyncrasies of ADA transit. The only question is both distance from the port and the drop off/pick up return. Either way has to be better than the regular Maui bus though? (The regular bus stop appears to be a good half-mile from the highway entrance of the tropical plantation, let alone getting up to it.)

 

I haven't totally ruled out Robert's on this one yet though. My wife LOVES shopping 😵 and I could see her spending a good hour or more in the shop, but taking a Maui highlights tour and seeing other stuff does have its appeal as well.

[Silver Sweethearts]

11 hours ago, Buckimion said:

I haven't totally ruled out Robert's on this one yet though. My wife LOVES shopping 😵 and I could see her spending a good hour or more in the shop, but taking a Maui highlights tour and seeing other stuff does have its appeal as well.

 

Have you looked at Tom Barefoot's handicapped-accessible tour list?  Yes, there really is a Tom Barefoot (Tom Barefoot's Tours) and he lives here on Maui.  He has been in business for years.  We have never used him because we live here and don't need tours, but you might google his website about the subject and hopefully get some ideas of what is out there. 

[510picker]

We decided to book the cruise. I've always said the ship is my vacation and anything I can do off the ship is a bonus, so I'm sure we will have a great time. The cruise isn't until November 2020, so we have plenty of time to plan.

 

Any suggestions on where to stay in San Diego? We plan on arriving a couple of days early.

[DUTRAVEL]

10 hours ago, 510picker said:

We decided to book the cruise. I've always said the ship is my vacation and anything I can do off the ship is a bonus, so I'm sure we will have a great time. The cruise isn't until November 2020, so we have plenty of time to plan.

 

Any suggestions on where to stay in San Diego? We plan on arriving a couple of days early.

 

Springhill Suites & Residence Inn by Marriott, InterContinental San Diego, and Wyndham Diego Bayside are all basically across the street from the B Street cruise pier. You can walk/roll to the pier and won't need to book accessible transportation.

[510picker]

34 minutes ago, DUTRAVEL said:

 

Springhill Suites & Residence Inn by Marriott, InterContinental San Diego, and Wyndham Diego Bayside are all basically across the street from the B Street cruise pier. You can walk/roll to the pier and won't need to book accessible transportation.

 

Sounds like a great plan! Just have to convince the wife she doesn’t need to pack everything she owns 😉

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 6/18/2019 at 8:06 PM, DUTRAVEL said:

Good advice to contact HAL regarding tendering. I was on the Solstice (Celebrity) in 2018 and was not able to use the tenders in Maui and Kona. In Hilo, we rented a car (but as noted above, my husband had to go get the car because the shuttle was not accessible). In Honolulu, all of the City buses (the Bus) have ramps and are accessible. There is a bus stop right outside the port - you can either go towards Waikiki or Pearl Harbor. We took the bus to Pearl Harbor - it takes longer than a cab, but I found that Honolulu does not have many accessible cabs and I was unable to find an accessible Uber. Also, check with Roberts Hawaii - they can provide accessible transportation.

 

The buses I was on in Honolulu were able to kneel!  And Pearl Harbor has way to many veterans to not be completely accessible!  

 

I’ve never been to Maui went there weren’t swells!  I was however surprised the RCL Explorer had a fixed dock for boarding tenders that was an amazing improvement.  I don’t recall the immediate area of the pier as being particularly wheelchair friendly with missing bricks and various potholes along the area.  And that I remember with a rollator!