Alaska - Wheelchair on excursions transportation

[Brentm77]

My daughter can walk short distances, including stairs, but uses a wheelchair for longer distances. Does anyone have experience on whether they could fit a fairly compact and light, but non-collapsible wheelchair on the bus/transportation with us for the 1) Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Bake and 2) Destination Highlight: Enchanting Butchart Garden? I could rent a collapsible to take on these excursions, but it would not be her preference since it would be bigger and bulkier to use compared to her own chair. The descriptions on the Celebrity website say you must be able to walk stairs, etc., but don't say no wheelchairs.

[Georgia_Peaches]

When we went on one of our excursions to the glacier we were hearded onto a large tour bus…the kind with the big luggage compartments underneath. Though big, I’m not sure  it could house a wheelchair that didn’t fold. I suggest you rent the foldable for those excursions and contact your TA to dig a little further into the wheelchair capabilities of the excursions in question. IMO must be able to climb stairs implies that it’s not wheelchair accessible and though she might be able to manage, there may not be an appropriate place for the wheelchair chair afterward. 

[Brentm77]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

When we went on one of our excursions to the glacier we were hearded onto a large tour bus…the kind with the big luggage compartments underneath. Though big, I’m not sure  it could house a wheelchair that didn’t fold. I suggest you rent the foldable for those excursions and contact your TA to dig a little further into the wheelchair capabilities of the excursions in question. IMO must be able to climb stairs implies that it’s not wheelchair accessible and though she might be able to manage, there may not be an appropriate place for the wheelchair chair afterward. 

 

That's helpful, thank you.  The reason I didn't think the stair thing was a problem is because some of the excursions specifically say no wheelchairs, and since it's in the U.S., they would need to make reasonable accommodations unless it's an undue hardship (for example, some place that can't be physically accessed with a wheelchair).  But I a may be assuming too much to think they would be consistent with the "no wheelchair" designation.  It's better to be safe than sorry.  We could also leave her chair behind, but it would limit what we could do at the destinations.   

[Brentm77]

I found a form we are supposed to fill out 30 days in advance, which is too late for us, but I did it anyway.  Unfortunately, Celebrity didn't flag that when booking the ADA room and I only found it from googling.  However, the form had an email address for excursion accessibility questions.  Hopefully there is time for them to respond, but we are only about a week and a half out.

[Essiesmom]

You might ask on the Alaska board here who runs this excursion.  Probably the same company runs it for several cruise lines, and even for independents.  That also might be able to tell you the type of vehicles used.  EM

[jelayne]

I had an excursion booked that noted walking stairs when I booked the tour stairs were not a problem.  A few days before boarding my sciatica flared up and more than a 8-10 stairs were not going to work.  I went to the Shore Excursion desk and they were great.  They dug out the details from the excursion provider which specified there were 92 stairs but did not say whether they were continuous.  The SE folks called the tour operator who explained the stair configuration and that every 10 -15 stairs there was a small area where one could stand and rest.  

We made it work by skipping some points of interest so I could get a head start on the rest of the tour group so as not to impact the schedule

 

In hindsight I probably should have passed  on the tour although I navigated the stairs DH and I missed some of the best points.  
 

 

[ccqueenanne]

We did the Mendenhall/Salmon Bake this summer and it was a coach with the luggage hold underneath. Two women were using mobility scooters and those were able to be loaded, so I imagine there'd be no issue with a standard wheelchair. (I'd also consider both of those stops to be quite wheelchair friendly.)

[Brentm77]

50 minutes ago, ccqueenanne said:

We did the Mendenhall/Salmon Bake this summer and it was a coach with the luggage hold underneath. Two women were using mobility scooters and those were able to be loaded, so I imagine there'd be no issue with a standard wheelchair. (I'd also consider both of those stops to be quite wheelchair friendly.)

Fantastic!  I am not in touch with a department at Celebrity who is checking for me too, but this is a relief to hear, as it's one of the excursions I really want to do.  At least in Victoria, I could catch a cab to the gardens if needed.

[Jim_Iain]

You might also check each location.   I know that Buschart Gardens site say it is wheel chair accessible and also offers free loaner chairs.