Door Size on RCL Radiance of the Seas

[cunnorl]

We have booked a grand suite for a Cruise in 10/08. No handicapped rooms were available ( even though it is 14 months away!). The agent at RCL assured me that my daughters wheelchair would fit through the door because all the doors to the suites are wider than regular cabins. I spoke to the Special Needs desk today and she told me that is not true. She told she would call to see if the rooms were really needed. I am glad that they will do this but do not hold out much hope.

Does anyone know the size of the door? I do not know why the original booking agent would tell me that if it was not true.

Thanks.

[CaptData]

The doors to the suites are a little wider but not much. See if you can get someone to actually measure the door for you. Good luck. How wide is your daughter's wheelchair?

[leoandhugh]

even if (and it is an IF) your daughter's wheel chair will fit through the cabin door, is she able to get out of the wheelchair to get in to the bathroom? Because the suite is not accessible, there is a lip to get up and over going in to the bathroom. Once in there, no grab bars and no rollin shower should she need that. Also there will be a lip(with no ramp) going out on to the verandah. I suggest that you talk to Ebony in the Special Needs Department because she seems to be knowledgable in this whole subject of accessibility. We use her services every time we book and we travel with both foldup wheelchair and scooter - and we always need an accessible cabin because of that equipment (usually an accessible JS, of which there are only 2.:)

[cunnorl]

Thank you for your replies. My daughter`s wheelchair is 24 inches wide. I will call Ebony on Monday for assistance.

My husband and I had booked this trip for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Our daughter goes everywhere with us.

The handicapped rooms were already booked and I was assured by the booking agent ( RCCL) that the chair would fit. I gave him the dimensions and he went off and spoke to someone. Called me back and that is when we booked. I guess I should have called sooner but I thought 14 months out would be OK.

[chelle the cruise junkie]

Cunnorl;

I posted this on the Radiance thread but thought I would do it again,

the measure of the doors is 31 to 36 inches.

chelle

[leoandhugh]

cunnorl, Again, even if the wheelchair will fit through the doorway to the cabin, make sure in talking to Ebony that there are no other obstacles that your daughter would find unmanagable such as the bathroom with lip up. Not sure about the bathing facilities but I believe I recall seeing a whirlpool type bath and stall shower - neither with grab bars.:)

[berylde]

We are in an OS cabin on the Jewel in December. Do you know if the OS Radience class doors are as wide as the GS?

[JSR]

I hope Ebony was able to help you because the non special needs agents are just not well informed. They think the only wheelchair cabins that will hold 3 are the JS and there are only 2 of them on the ship. You can easily put a roll away in any of the E1 or E3 cabins. The cabin steward will fold it up out of the way during the day. The E1 balcony is bigger then the E3 which is nice. Also if your daughter can sleep in her own cabin there is a non accessible E3 which connects to an accesible E3. I have some pics if you want you can email me at rtravel at aol dot com. you put Cruise critic or something in the subject line so I do not think it is spam.

[chelle the cruise junkie]

berylde;

I am pretty sure the doors on the owners suite are the same size or larger than GS, not positive though, I'll be there in a few days and I can check for you.

If you need specifics you could always email RCI and they can answer anything you need do know: www.special_needs.rccl.com (special_needs).

chelle:D

[berylde]

I called the Special Needs Dept.today and was told that the doors on the Jewel for an OS cabin are 24 inches

[leoandhugh]

With few exceptions such as accessible cabins and a couple of suites, the standard door size on all Radiance class ships is 24inches and a regular wheel chair and certainly a scooter just will not fit through that opening.

We have been on all the Radiance Class over the past few years and have made it a point to go throughout the ship to check. We were on Brilliance last year in an accessible JS which was great for us, but when we went to visit friends in a standard cabin and a GS we could not get through the door with either a wheelchair or scooter.

[berylde]

Do you think a Pride Go-GO with width of 19.25" will be a problem?

[cunnorl]

This is so frustrating because I am getting conflicting information. The agent plus his supervisor told me again that the door width is 32-34 inches. I spoke to the Special Needs desk again today and they said the door is 22-24 inches which will not work. There are currently no accessible cabins available for 2008 for Hawaii. Lifting her in and out of the wheelchair to get into a room does not appeal to me. My husband says we can do it, we have done it before.

We are currently still booked in a Grand Suite but will probably have to cancel.

[leoandhugh]

A Pride Go-Go is exactly what Leo has and we could not get it through the so called 24" wide opening. If the door were not there the opening is indeed 24". BUT with the way the hinges are set, when the door is open, the opening is reduced by the width of the door - approx 2inches - leaving a mere 22". Imagine you are in the cabin with the scooter - that somehow you managed to squeeze through - to get out the person in the scooter would have to reach forward enough to open the door and somehow get it past the front wheel, then squeeze out and reach in somehow and close the door. If you want to try it - go ahead. It is your cruise you booked. With Go-Go we would never book anything that was not accessible. On the Radiance class, the doors in to the accessible cabins are 34" and are hydraulic - push the button, the door opens and stays open long enough for you to enter or leave.

[Arlened236]

Just a thought...can you get a folding ramp so the bathroom will be accessible. There will probably be enough room in the suite for your daughters chair. If you can lift her getting in and out of the cabin should be no problem. You can always have the steward remove extra furniture if needed to make more room....we do this all the time, I never need so many chairs.

The bigger problem is why people that need accessible cabins have to book so far in advance. I use a w/c and an electric scooter so I must have a HC cabin. We tried to book a Panama cruise 1 yr ago and all HC cabins were books...we were lucky enough to get an accessible balcony cabin on Princess for the 15 day cruise (RT from LA) at the time we could cruise. WE booked the Panama cruise we wanted for Feb 2009 one month ago, ...as soon as the dates for this cruise were posted on line. It makes me so mad that the cruise line has such a big deposit so far in advance. I hope the cruise lines wise up that there are many more people that would cruise more often if there were Universal design cabins that could be used for both HC and non-Hc travelers.

Dont give up on your dream for a cruise for your 30th anniversary. There will be a way. Good Luck