Accessible Tours on South Pacific Cruise

[iuki]

We’ll be going on a cruise to Tahiti, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and ending in Sydney.  All shore excursions indicate health and disability warnings and don’t usually allow foldable wheelchairs.  I’m beginning to wonder if all these warnings is just to cover themselves in case someone falls and gets hurt.

 

Do any of you know of, or have taken, an accessible tour in any of the ports?  Our cruise will be on the Ovation OTS beginning 10/15/2023 for 18 nights.  Feeling very frustrated.  I have a foldable electric wheelchair.

[katisdale]

I do not have personal advice as I have only been to Australia which I found quite accessible. One web site I found very helpful is "Have Wheelchair Will Travel". It has lots of helpful advice from a mom named Julie Jones who has a son with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. She has been to New Zealand, Uluru and other areas. I hope this helps.

[Covepointcruiser]

We are on the Odyssey South Pacific, Papeete to Honolulu.   All ports, except Papeete and Honolulu are tender ports.   We have seen passengers with sticks and canes go ashore with little difficulty.   Two passengers have scooters and I have not seen them get onto a tender.   One can walk around the buffet unaided.    The tenders require you to walk down a flight of stairs and then be helped onto the ships tender.   I am fairly able bodied, right now, and find maneuvering around the tender difficult but doable.   Hope this first hand experience helps.

[suramom]

On 4/25/2023 at 9:49 PM, iuki said:

We’ll be going on a cruise to Tahiti, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and ending in Sydney.  All shore excursions indicate health and disability warnings and don’t usually allow foldable wheelchairs.  I’m beginning to wonder if all these warnings is just to cover themselves in case someone falls and gets hurt.

 

Do any of you know of, or have taken, an accessible tour in any of the ports?  Our cruise will be on the Ovation OTS beginning 10/15/2023 for 18 nights.  Feeling very frustrated.  I have a foldable electric wheelchair.

we just went to hawaii and tahiti and samoa.  most ports were accessible.  However, tahiti and samoa are poor and do not have much in the way of accessible buses.  We took a taxi tour around in one of the ports.  the ship might have accessible tours.  Best bet is to find private operator or take taxis.  Tenders are dicey.  If the wheelchair is foldable and not heavy, they can often take it on the tender, as they do with our walkers.  But not scooters.  Did you talk to the accessibility department on the cruise line.  Princess is very helpful, but they didn't have many accessible tours that trip.

 

[iuki]

On 4/26/2023 at 2:52 PM, katisdale said:

I do not have personal advice as I have only been to Australia which I found quite accessible. One web site I found very helpful is "Have Wheelchair Will Travel". It has lots of helpful advice from a mom named Julie Jones who has a son with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. She has been to New Zealand, Uluru and other areas. I hope this helps.

Thank you!

[iuki]

On 5/15/2023 at 11:57 AM, suramom said:

we just went to hawaii and tahiti and samoa.  most ports were accessible.  However, tahiti and samoa are poor and do not have much in the way of accessible buses.  We took a taxi tour around in one of the ports.  the ship might have accessible tours.  Best bet is to find private operator or take taxis.  Tenders are dicey.  If the wheelchair is foldable and not heavy, they can often take it on the tender, as they do with our walkers.  But not scooters.  Did you talk to the accessibility department on the cruise line.  Princess is very helpful, but they didn't have many accessible tours that trip.

 

When I get on board I’ll check.  Do I check with Shore Excursions, Guest Services, or with the Diamond Lounge Concierge?  Or, do they have a Special Needs Desk?

[suramom]

i would think shore excursions is where to start.  i don't know specifically what they have on the diamond.  however the people there have not necessarily taken the tours, nor are disabled, so their perspective is read the book, and so you'll see.

 

[dmccue]

We did this cruise in the opposite direction on Celebrity Solstice. As with most cruise lines there is little or nothing available that is prefectly accessible. We did a hire car and drove around the Island in Papette, My wife stayed on board in Moorea and Bora Bora as they are tender ports and she cant walk or step into the tender boat. Auckland was fine but we had been there before so we just walked to where we wanted to visit. Bay of Islands is also a tender port so we both stayed onboard. Hope this helps and I wouldnt be concerned with the warnings you have mentioned.

[kokopelli-az]

On 6/24/2023 at 10:22 PM, iuki said:

When I get on board I’ll check.  Do I check with Shore Excursions, Guest Services, or with the Diamond Lounge Concierge?  Or, do they have a Special Needs Desk?

Check with Royal's Accessible Shore Excursion department.   Having a foldable electric wheelchair is better than a nonfoldable device as it will fit into more vehicles.   There is no special needs desk or anything similar once on the ship.    My experience has been that the Shore Excursion folks know little to nothing about accessible cruises other than to read the same information that would be available to you.   In other words, you need to have your excursions lined up before your cruise.   And accessible shore excursions fill up quickly.  

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/accessible-shore-excursions

[kokopelli-az]

And here's an interesting article:

https://wheelchairtravel.org/guest-post-my-wheelchair-accessible-adventure-on-bora-bora/