disabled parent

[sheilauk]

I would love to take my 84 year old mother on a cruise around the Fjords, but I really don't know if she will manage it. She is not quite in a wheelchair, but her mobility is very poor. She can hardly walk and is unable to manage any steps or even a small threshold. She can only walk a very short distance, just around her bungalow.

 

She has a mobility scooter but is too nervous to use it and I don't think she would leave the ship.

 

Would I be able to find a suitable cabin, I think it would have to be a disabled cabin because of the steps to the bathroom and which cruise line would you recommend that I try?

[leoandhugh]

This may sound stupid, but by Fjords, I assume you mean Norway and not Chile or Alaska, and I note that you have already done a Greenland and Fjords on P&O. Assuming you do mean Norway, the smaller Norwegian ships that do the trip from Bergen to the North Cape would be out of the question for someone with those kind of mobility problems.

Yes, you would need an accessible handicapped cabin on a ship built within the last 5years or so - Crystal, Royal Caribbean, P&O, Princess, Costa all make those trips every summer. But accessible cabins are few and usually have to be reserved months in advance. You would need to start working now on a cruise for next summer. As far as a mobility scooter is concerned, it would be fine on the ship as long as you have an accessible cabin, but impractical and worthless ashore because of uncut curbs, cobblestone streets and even just going up and down a gangway. We travel with a scooter and a manual wheelchair - the manual is for use on shore excursions only. Since you have already travelled on P&O and are familiar with one of their newer ships, why don't you try dealing with them - your mother would probably feel more at home on a British ship anyhow.:)

[Hebe]

We just did the Norway Fjord's on RCL Jewel. Husband was in wheelchair. Bergen is fine for a wheelchair. Also the tram to the top of the city is wheelchair assessable. You would definitely need to take her in a wheelchair since it requires some bit of walking.

 

The Fjord excursions could be a little more challenging. One of the Ferries did not have a lift so it required walking a full flight up and down. The train through the fjord's required a large step up and down. We managed both of these with help from our good friends.