Cruising out of Bora Bora with friends a la Austin Powers
I love cruising – by now I’m sure that comes as no surprise to you. It’s easy, generally accessible and incredibly cost effective. But there are four questions you should know the answer to before you put your final payment down.
How old & how big is the ship?
I’ve mentioned this one before, but I cannot emphasize strongly enough the impact this will have on your experience. Ships built after 2006 have benefited from a legal case between Norwegian Cruise Line and a disabled passenger. This legal kerfuffle showed cruise lines their fleets needed to meet the needs of a growing accessible market. While many have refurbished their vessels to get them up to code we have found some of these attempts leave much to be desired. Newer ships have been built to code and this seems to make all the difference in the world.
I also want you to consider the size of the ship you want to sail on. We are living in the age of the mega ship. And I know that they look like fun, and they’re so shiny and new, but pushing or pulling the length of four football pitches just sounds like a lot of work to me. And can you imagine the waits for elevators when some 5,400 people are trying to get from point A to point B?! If you do decide to sail on a mega ship carefully consider your stateroom location – where are you more likely to spend your time?
How is tendering done? Which ports will I need to do it in?
Know which ports on your itinerary could or will require you to use a tender boat. Be prepared to miss those ports should you be unable to use the tender. I know this sounds harsh, and on seven different cruises we have only had one problem, at a non-consequential port, but it’s important. If the seas are rough or there is any danger you could be hurt cruise lines will not allow you to go ashore. This doesn’t strictly apply to people with disabilities, in every passengers contract with the cruise line they acknowledge the cruise line staff reserve the legal right to deny anyone access to shore.
The other situation you should be aware of is the actual tendering process on the ship you want to sail on. On one of our cruises Jason and I ran into a situation we had never encountered before: typically there is a second “accessible” ramp entrance to the tender gangway. Because of the age of the ship we were travelling on no such ramp existed. We were faced with an interesting set of options, the easiest of which was helping Jason walk down the stairs to the tender boat. I wouldn’t want anyone to “discover” this like we did.
Where is your stateroom?
I did touch on this a little already, but I want to highlight a few more points about the location of your stateroom. Accessible rooms are typically located near elevators, which is a great thing and minimizes the amount of pushing/pulling you’ll need to do to get around the ship. We’ve never noticed any increased noise because of the room location and have almost always been delighted with our stateroom. Personally I prefer staterooms located towards the aft, or back, of the ship. This is often where the dining rooms and the buffet are located. These areas, especially the buffet area, are more likely to be tiled instead of carpeted and can make getting around a lot easier. I do want to caution you against sailing in the bow of the ship – inside staterooms near the elevators are fine, but I have sailed in the most forward oceanview cabin available and even though it was billed as accessible I wouldn’t recommend it to any of my clients.
Tango dancing with a busker in Buenos Aires. One of my favourite days of travelling with Jason.
How much can YOU do?
At the end of the day it comes down to you and your accessibility needs. Cruise ships adapted wider door frames, roll-in bathrooms/showers, built-in shower chairs, lower toilets with stability bars and roll up sinks may not be sufficient for you. If you have any questions about the accessibility of a ship then ask. That’s what travel agents, and blogs like this, are for. If I don’t know the answer I will find it for you.
In the end you can only be so prepared for travelling but I promise, once you’re out there and seeing this world it is unbelievably rewarding.