Sometimes everything,one, place moves so slowly.

[LHC]

Dear Fellow Travelers,

 

I am so glad for the disabled board questions and people, through these boards for the upcoming cruise with my DS son in December, I have made my reservation at the Hampton Inn Airport/Port and have an accessible room plus the transportation arranged for free from the Hotel for the airport and to the port for the next day.

DS has a new travel wheelchair order, that thanks to Splinter has been ordered (I got the doctors order in Feb but after verifying insurance payments from 2 companies and then getting the equipment company to order it, it is on the way.

 

We will be flying United and we have them alerted to our needs. We have sent in the Special Needs form to HAL with our requests for the room, measurements of our chairs, etc.

 

Excursions: There is a company in Aruba who does private island accessible tours (they normally transport patients to and from their appointments on the island) and that has been set up along with another CC member ArubaLisa who is looking into us renting a beach/sand wc in Aruba and doing some hang time at the beach.

 

In Curacao the sea aquarium has a special program that Greg can participate in, we just have to get the transportation set up from the port to the aquarium.

 

The decision in Panama has been to stay on the boat, enjoy the locks and the ship, then enjoy the sights in Costa Rica where I am still researching what is best for us at this port.

 

Does it seem like to you guys that it takes more research, more planning, more discussion with the cruise line, the travel agent to even get the simplest of information? Then you have to keep digging to see if it is truly adapted to your needs.

 

I know that one of the threads had a comment about are there no rich handicap cruisers...we are rich in blessings, rich in love but we have to plan and save for these wonderful times so that by the time we actually get to travel we can do it smoothly.

 

Linda

[Amy from Delaware]

Does it seem like to you guys that it takes more research, more planning, more discussion with the cruise line, the travel agent to even get the simplest of information? Then you have to keep digging to see if it is truly adapted to your needs.

Linda

 

Linda,

 

I agree that everything takes a lot more planning when someone in your group is disabled, especially if they are in a wheelchair and cannot transfer. I miss the days when my DH and I could be spontaneous, get in the car and drive "wherever" and then just find a hotel room for the night when we were ready. Now everything is planned to the smallest detail (and even then sometimes things aren't what we expected!).

 

As an example, we're planning a few days away this summer and it took me a while to find a hotel that had an accessible room. I booked it, and got myself all excited about going. Then when I called the hotel back to check on some details, I found out that their "accessible room" doesn't have a roll-in shower. Of course, we needed to cancel. :( I found another hotel that has a roll-in shower, but their ONE accessible room has a view of the building next door. :rolleyes: All the other rooms in the entire hotel have a view of the quaint town or the lake. We're booked there anyway, because by this time we'd gotten ourselves hooked on the idea of going, but I'm very disappointed that we won't have a nice view.

 

The lake where we'll be staying has a dinner cruise, and I called to see if it was accessible. Told "yes" and of course I was excited. Then asked for dimensions of the opening to actually get from the lift onto the boat. It's 1" too narrow for DH's chair. :(

 

We are planning our first cruise, which isn't until next year. We'll be on RCI, and when I called their special needs department, I was very pleased with how things were handled. :) In our particular case, DH sometimes has trouble in restaurants because his knees don't always fit under the table. I asked RCI how much knee clearance there was at the dining room tables, and their response was "tell us what clearance you need, and we'll make sure it's right for you". I almost cried with relief! Eight nights of going "out for dinner" without having to worry about DH fitting at the table! It's a small thing, but knowing it won't be a worry during the cruise is actually a huge thing for me. :D

 

So yes, I agree, everything requires checking and checking again (and again).

 

That's why this board has been such a wonderful thing for us. It's really great to correspond with people who have first-hand knowledge of what's going on.

 

I'm glad you are able to find so many accessible things for your DS. I'm sure you'll both have a wonderful cruise!

[sueart46]

Dear Fellow Travelers,

"then enjoy the sights in Costa Rica where I am still researching what is best for us at this port."

 

 

I travelled to Costa Rica last year and found a wonderful person who has a w/c accessible van and took us on a fabulous tour. Here is his website... www.gowithwheelchairs.com. His name is Erik and he understood all our needs.

 

Susan

[Queenie2]

Dear Fellow Travelers,

 

 

Excursions: There is a company in Aruba who does private island accessible tours (they normally transport patients to and from their appointments on the island) and that has been set up along with another CC member ArubaLisa who is looking into us renting a beach/sand wc in Aruba and doing some hang time at the beach.

 

 

Linda

 

Linda/

Unfortunatley we've had some bad reports on that company. Their first priority is the locals (as it should be) and thye have cancelled excursions on short notice to accommodate a heavier patint load. There is really nothing you can do about it, except to be aware of the possibility, as there is no other accessible option/transportation in Aruba.

 

Another thing to note, when you made your hotel reservation did you specify that you needed an accessible room with a roll-in shower (if you require it)? All accessible hotel room don't have roll-in showers; some have tub/shower combos with grab bars.

 

Candy

[LHC]

Greg and I traveled for an aphasia program in Michigan 2 years ago. One the way to the program we stopped outside of Cincinatti for the night. We stayed at a new Holiday Inn Select in an accessible room. We had to do a little furniture rearranging and had some things removed but the staff was wonderful to help us. It was not a cheap stay. On the way back 6 weeks later I thought we would try someplace new to stay. We must have stopped at 15 places all who said that had accessible rooms, only to look at them and know that it was not, at least for us and a 300 lb electric wheelchair. Ended up called the HI and they remembered us and set the same room up just the right way before we arrived.

I wrote the company bragging on the staff by name. When people help us we pay the favor back tenfold.

 

As for the transportation, I understand as a nurse but we would like for it to work if not we are taking his travel wheelchair and with time and patience we can get him up steps and into a bus or van. It is simply not a fast process and when other get impatient with us, it makes him feel bad, so I try to avoid upsetting Greg.

Linda

[l2c]

We also learned something about hotels on our last tansatlantic cruise. We had two nights post cruise in Amsterdam. I tried to call ahead and get a handicapped accessible room at the hotel. The hotel had them but because we were a part of a group we personally could not ask for a room other than what was assigned to us as part of the group. The travel agent could do nothing (or so they said) and when we got to the hotel no handicapped room was available. We did (thanks to the efforts of the porter) get a room closer

to the lobby rather than in a very far wing as we were supposed to get.

 

I will never again book with a group. We had the same problem with the airline.....no one can get into the group booking to make any changes!!!!

 

DH has ALS.

[LHC]

For so many it is simply choosing the cruise and letting the travel agent do the rest. Not so for us with challenges.

We have to plan, to look at rooms, dimensions, services, transportation, and all the other stuff, plus pack lots of stuff.

Our upcoming trip might have a woohoo moment. DD on her recent trip to San Diego used the same airlines we will be using in December. She was talking about a hold up while the staff worked to get a wc passenger on board into a commuter plane. It was successful but took the staff and the family of the passenger over 40 mins to execute it.

When others start grumbling, my 29 yr old executive daughter politely stood announce her youngest brother was in a chair due to an accident at age 18 and after 4 years she thanked God everyday for her health and always goes out of her way to help anyone with difficulties because she has been blessed with great health. She told the others to stand up feel their legs, move their arms and say a prayer and not to worry about a few missed minutes of airtime.

We may well be the family disrupting others plans in December. No matter how much I plan, notify, prep, read, research, something is always just a little off kilter, we have learned to laugh, smile, and thank God for our blessings while ironing out the wrinkles.

Linda

[DesrtDrmr]

LHC,

It does seem to take a lot of planning to do anything while trying to book accessible stuff.

I notice, from your last post, that you live in Knoxville, and you mention that there was some trouble at the airport getting a w/c passenger onboard a plane. On a personal note, we are renting a mountain cabin (with elevator and ramps), and are flying into Knoxville this weekend. Our daughter is being sent to Iraq, and we wish to have one family gathering before she has to go. Am I going to have trouble getting onto and/or off of a plane at TYS? I have notified my airline.......UAL of my scooter.........but had a new agent who didn't know about scooters or anything about accessibility. (noone had ever ASKED her that stuff before!) Anyway, any information would be appreciated. My email is DesrtDrmr at good ol' Yahoo.com. (please remove the extra words if you decide to email) Thanks so much!

Have a great cruise!