Handicapped friendly Norwegian Dream?....

[Luv4dacruise]

Hey everyone! My family and i reside about 30 minutes north of Boston, so to cruise out of the port of Boston is much preferred to our annual drive to the port of NY or Bayonne. Norwegian has put the Norwegian Dream in Boston instead of the Majesty for the 2008 Bermuda run. The Majesty was not very handicapped friendly, i mean you could make due, but it was not even close to one of the bigger, newer ships. I noticed the Dream has quite a few handicapped cabins, which are actually handicapped unlike the ones on the Majesty which were "modified" ones.

 

My question is, other than the rooms, which we know will not be a problem, how is the general layout of the ship for a handicapped person?....

 

We had also been on the Celebrity Zenith a couple times which was built the same year as both the Majesty and Dream and was actually very handicapped friendly.

 

We really would like to cruise out of Boston, but if we have to :(, will make the trip again to NY/Bayonne where the bigger ships are.....:p

 

Happy Crusing!

[leoandhugh]

We have sailed on Norwegian Dream twice and on her sister ship Wind, once and each time in an accessible cabin. Cannot tell you about the inside cabins, but of the four outside ones, the 2 on International Deck by the forward bank of elevators (9013&9214)are better than the other 2(8056&8255)on Norway deck; they are larger and better laid out.

 

The ship itself is reasonably accessible considering its vintage; it was "stretched" by adding a midships area which enlarged the main dining room as well as adding more cabins. As a result, the center of the main 4seasons dining room is slightly higher and is gradually ramped up and down to the sides. The Terraces dining room on International deck is accessible only at the upper level; there are steps down to each of the other levels.

Back when we sailed these ships we did transAtlantic crossings and we thought they were reasonably accessible. Now, we never go on ships more than 5years old because we have been spoiled with all the newer accessiblity features. My main concern would be that Norwegian has already stated that this is the last year before Dream will be transferred out of the fleet, which would make me wonder about the upkeep to the standards of new ships. We sailed the Dawn for 2weeks when she was new and found her to be very, very accessible.

[Luv4dacruise]

Thank you very much for your reply leoandhugh. I have been leaning towards the Dream, however now i am stuck right in the middle :D. We have been on the Dawn twice and it is very accessible for Mom, but then again there is the hassle of getting to NY vs. a hop, skip and a jump to Black Falcon pier in Boston.

 

I guess the main thing i am looking for is, will mom be able to get around on her own?.....The Zenith and Majesty are of the same vintage as the Dream, however, Mom was perfectly able to get around herself on the Zenith, automatic doors and no lips around the ship. Not so on the Majesty, its was lips and heavy manual doors everywhere.

 

Any more light you would be able to shed on the subject?......:p

[leoandhugh]

I do not want to mislead you and it has been so many years back - at least 10 since we were on Dream - that I really do not remember whether there were lips or not to the outside. And the same with automatic doors. I know that within the ships public rooms there were no big accessibility problems other than those minor ones I have cited. If your mother is able to propel her own wheelchair she should not have a problem, except perhaps getting to open decks; assuming that you are traveling with her and Boston is so convenient, I say go for it, but since you have already sailed on Dawn, just don't expect that degree of accessibility. Hugh:)

[cruznut1111]

We were on the Dream last fall. This is a ship that has made adjustments for the handicapped rather than a ship designed for the handicapped. If you are willing to accept that you can't go everywhere and there will be some problems, you CAN do it. The positives may make the limitations worthwhile.