Wheelchair space in balcony suite

[Zenblue100]

If I booked a balcony suite on Sky would a wheelchair fit in the room? My mother does not need it all the time so walking around the suite will not be an issue. I was going to book a mini suite but the only ones that are left on the cruise have a bath with a shower over it which she may struggle with. Any advice would be appreciated. many thanks.

Edited July 17, 2022 by Zenblue100
Did not mention which Ship

[cruzsnooze]

Full suites will have lots of space for a wheelchair.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

Generally speaking it is the mini suites with a shower over the tub. The name can be misleading as these are not full suites.  
 

A balcony cabin will have a walk-in shower and no tub. A full suite will have a walk-in shower and separate tub (usually jetted). If you look at the deck plans and click on any particular cabin it will give a diagram and the square footage. 
 

I hope others with more experience regarding how well a wheel chair will fit in a balcony cabin will pipe in. Of course full suites would have plenty of room. 

[tillys mom]

We usually get a standard balcony, and my husband’s 21 inch wide scooter clears the door with about a half inch clearance on each side. The scooter fits in the closet under the hanging clothes. If that wouldn’t work for the wheel chair, I’m not sure where you would put it. Are all the accessible cabins sold? The deluxe balcony or mini suite would give you more room.

[Zenblue100]

Yes all of the accessible cabins are sold only ones without a balcony are available. Thank you for your responses. Will measure the width. 

[JF - retired RRT]

4 minutes ago, Zenblue100 said:

Yes all of the accessible cabins are sold only ones without a balcony are available. Thank you for your responses. Will measure the width. 

Book a full suite. If your wheel chair is collapsible, you're good to go.

We've been in one suite and there was room for 3 or 4 wheelchairs.

[Yehootu]

Traveling with my Mom, she had her own balcony room, I'd remove the center bedside, and move the beds tightly together. I'd have her drive her scooter all the way in till she hit the mini fridg and stop. In the am I was able to spin it around and face it outbound and charge it. She was still able to pass by the scooter to get to the bathroom. To get more room, you could also move the other bedside table but then 1 person has to go off the bottom of the bed to get out.

[NavyVeteran]

We never book a mini-suite on Princess. Although DW does not use a wheelchair, she has mobility problems with her knees. Except for accessible cabins, Princess mini-suites have shower in tub, and that would not be useable for her. We will book a full suite, a balcony cabin, or an outside cabin - but not a mini-suite. I would recommend you not book a non-accessible Princess mini-suite. If you book a balcony or outside cabin, make sure you mark it "No Upgrade" so they don't upgrade you to a mini-suite.

 

You stated she does not need the wheelchair in the cabin, so it is only an issue of storing the wheelchair and getting it through the door. There would be room to store a wheelchair in a full suite. In a balcony or outside cabin, there would be room to store a collapsible wheelchair - but possibly not one that is not collapsible.

 

Would you be with your mother to help her every time she enters or leaves the cabin? If so, a collapsible wheelchair could work even if it were too wide for the door. She may need to stand up outside the cabin and use a cane to walk through the door while you collapse the wheelchair to take it through the door - and do the reverse when leaving.

 

Another problem would be the cleaning carts used by the cabin stewards and left in the hallways. It may not be possible to pass by the cart to get through the hallway. If the cabin steward is there with the cart, he would move it out of the way, but the carts are often left unattended. To get by, you may need to move the cart for her. Another option would be for her to stand up and walk past the cart using a cane and for you to collapse the wheelchair and move it past the cart.

 

On one cruise (pre-COVID), DW was using a collapsible walker for walking long distances. It would not fit through the cabin door without collapsing, and it also needed to be collapsed to get by carts in the hallway. However, we had no trouble using it.

[cr8tiv1]

I tried to sign into Princess.com today.  They seemed to be having issues, again.  I was trying to check where you could order a shower stool for her.  I think it is under onboard services (same place you would order distilled water for CPAP machines).

 

As others have mentioned, you need to either book a balcony category stateroom or a FULL suite.  Mini-suites/Club Class mini-suite (not to be confused with a FULL suite) would probably not be suitable because of the show/tub combo.

 

You did not mention if you will be along. on the cruise.  Next door?  Different deck?  Be sure to link your bookings.  See if you can waitlist for an accessible cabin.

 

Edit:  How strange that I could not open in Chrome, but okay in Safari.  Shower stool is not available via personalizer.  Maybe it's in the MC app?  (that is not responding today).  If it is not one thing, it is another that is broken.  

 

Go to app, Preferences, Accessibility, it will then take you to a page with in-Cabin Accessibility Amenities.

Edited July 17, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[NavyVeteran]

36 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I tried to sign into Princess.com today.  They seemed to be having issues, again.  I was trying to check where you could order a shower stool for her.  I think it is under onboard services (same place you would order distilled water for CPAP machines).

 

As others have mentioned, you need to either book a balcony category stateroom or a FULL suite.  Mini-suites/Club Class mini-suite (not to be confused with a FULL suite) would probably not be suitable because of the show/tub combo.

 

You did not mention if you will be along. on the cruise.  Next door?  Different deck?  Be sure to link your bookings.  See if you can waitlist for an accessible cabin.

 

Edit:  How strange that I could not open in Chrome, but okay in Safari.  Shower stool is not available via personalizer.  Maybe it's in the MC app?  (that is not responding today).  If it is not one thing, it is another that is broken.  

 

Go to app, Preferences, Accessibility, it will then take you to a page with in-Cabin Accessibility Amenities.

I had already completed entering information for our upcoming cruise in the MedallionClass app, Both DW and I have arrival status "Green".

 

Click "My Preferences". Click "Accessibility". Under "In-Cabin Accessibility Amenities", I ordered "Hand-held Shower Head", "Raised Toilet Seat", and "Shower Stool". These should help DW use the shower and toilet. With these items and the large walk-in shower in a full suite, I do not believe DW needs an accessible cabin.

 

I'm not sure how the Shower Stool would fit in the small walk-in shower in a standard balcony or outside cabin, but it should work with no problems in the large walk-in shower in a full suite.

[Zenblue100]

Thanks everyone