Cruising with a disability

I have been very lucky and managed to go a few holidays, Ireland, France, Las Vegas, Tunisia, caravanning and of course cruises. So far, cruising has been the most hassle-free to book and to get to and of course to holiday with. Cruising is not for everyone but if you can, I recommend you take at least one cruise in your life.

Our Cruise

My apologies from the offset, this may end up being a lengthy review of cruising with a disability.  In all fairness, would you want it any other way? Most holiday reviews in my opinion, or holiday tips, are always about flying, airports, assistance etc.?  Is this the only type of transport one can go on holiday with?  What about, riverboats, caravanning, camping and of course cruising??  Do these no longer exist?  Well, I’m going to show you they do!!

I have been very lucky to have been able to do two previous cruises and thoroughly enjoyed both.  In this review though, I am going to talk about our next cruise, which will have already happened by the time I publish this.  I hope this review will help anyone thinking of taking a cruise holiday.

It was April 2017 when I actually booked our holiday.  Yes I know that’s very early but for those of you who have booked holidays yourself, you will know how disabled rooms/facilities get booked up very quickly indeed.  As cruising is becoming ever more popular, I put nothing to chance as previous experience has shown me that the accessible cabins go like hotcakes.

We decided to go with Royal Caribbean, as a friend who is also a wheelchair user had recommended them to me. She said she had a great time and found them very good for wheelchair users. So we looked online, found a cruise we liked, and booked it. We booked a two-week Mediterranean cruise on the Navigator of the Seas (pictured below), an inside cabin with a virtual balcony and my time dining.

Royal Caribbean Website

Unfortunately, their website designer should be sacked immediately.  RC website is one of the most confusing websites I’ve ever had the misfortune of browsing.  It is practically impossible to find the information disabled passengers would/may require and if you do manage it, don’t expect to find it again.  Bits of information on their site seem to appear, disappear and reappear again……Very confusing indeed!!

To initially book your cruise, everything seemed to go according to plan but once we booked and wanted to find more information at our leisure, this is where things became a bit twilight zone!!  Forget finding out how accessible the ports are, there’s no information regarding that whatsoever.  I have supplied links at the end of this review, taking you to different sites that help with this type of information.

In my experience, their site seems to contradict itself in many places.  Especially where excursions are concerned, see the Accessible Excursions section.

Accessible Excursions

Why book a cruise?

So, the first thing you should obviously do is decide if cruising is for you. After all, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea.

• If your cruise starts from a port in your country, then boarding the ship should be pretty simple and easy.
• You arrive at the port, your car is parked for you (Not all car parks offer this).
• Your luggage is taken away and boarded for you and delivered to your cabin.
• You’re on a floating hotel and the world comes to you.
• You get to see more than one destination (depending on length of cruise)
• Many different bars/clubs to keep you entertained, all in one place
• Wheelchair-accessible cabins. To name a few…

Once you’ve decided a cruise is the way forward, you then have the wonderful experience of choosing where to cruise.  Mediterranean cruise?  Caribbean cruise?  Or even a Fiords cruise?  So many to choose from, how do you decide?  Well, there are a couple of factors to bear in mind.

Decisions

• Do you want to have to fly to get out to the ship you are cruising on and get another flight to come home?  Do you want to sail from Southampton (Or a port in your country) and return to Southampton (or port in your country)?
• What countries would you like to visit?
• Do you want to cruise on a large ship (up to 3000 Passengers) or would you prefer a smaller ship?
• How long do you want to cruise for?  Length of cruise can determine what destinations you can visit.

I think the biggest factor to keep in mind is whether you want a fly-cruise holiday or not. Let me explain: Some cruises, regardless of company, sail from Southampton docks and return to Southampton at the end of the cruise. 

On a fly-cruise holiday, you must first fly out to where your ship is docked.  Let’s say we’re doing a Caribbean cruise holiday.  This would entail you flying out to let’s say Jamaica, you then get on your ship, do your Caribbean cruise and then sail back to Jamaica or neighbouring country to then fly home again.  (Just remember, not all cruises will require you to fly home from the same place you flew out to. 

Sometimes you will fly home from the last port of call your cruise ship makes).  So you need to decide if you want to fly and cruise, or just cruise.  Many cruise operators like P&O and Royal Caribbean (links at bottom of page) will offer cruises that sail from and back to Southampton, so no flying is needed.

Booking your Cruise

Once you’ve decided you want to cruise and you know where you want to go, the next question you need to ask yourself is do you go to the travel agents, or do you book directly with the cruise company? This really boils down to personal choice. Our previous cruises, we booked via a travel agent, this time we booked directly with the cruise company. The table below shows the pros and cons for both routes, please bear in mind everything I’ve mentioned is from my own experiences, so I can’t cover every aspect, plus this is only my opinion.  It is meant to be a helpful guide, not a rule book.

As I mentioned before, we booked directly with Royal Caribbean cruises via the telephone rather than online via their website, as I had a few questions before going ahead.  I found them to be very friendly and willing to do their best to answer my questions.  So we went ahead and paid our deposit.  One thing to remember….RC did not offer any child prices.  We had to pay full price for our daughter, (aged 14 at the time of travelling).

When making your initial booking, there are a couple of bits of information you will be given

• your cabin number – now you can take a look on your cruise company website and see where you’re cabin is situated on the ship
• dining option you have chosen – most cruise companies will require you to book your dining option at the time of booking your cruise.  Royal Caribbean offers traditional dining and my time dining (this was our choice) – an explanation is given below

Traditional Dining

As the name implies, traditional dining is the classic way to experience dinner on your Royal Caribbean cruise. There are two seatings: first and second. The first seating is usually around 6:00 p.m., and the second seating is usually around 8:00 p.m. Exact times will vary.

When you book your cruise, you can choose which seating you like. Typically families choose first seating because it’s harder to keep kids up later for the second seating.  You will still see kids in the second seating, but there tend to be more families in the first seating.  You will be assigned a table in the main dining room that can be as small as two people or as large as 16 or even larger.  Royal Caribbean can also place you at a table with other guests onboard your ship.  Who you sit with (if anyone else) depends on a few factors, but it’s usually the norm to sit with others.    You can change your seating if you prefer not to sit with others or are unhappy with whom you are seated.  Speak to the head waiter to arrange a change, although changes are subject to availability.  

Source:  Royal Caribbean website

My Time Dining

My Time Dining is a lot like traditional dining, but with one big exception: you do not have a set time that is the same every night of your cruise.  You will still dine in the main dining room, but you can choose between making reservations or showing up and waiting for a table.

My Time Dining advertises its benefit as being you do not have a set time to eat each night.  So if one night you feel like dinner at 6 pm but another night you want to stay at the pool later, you can come to eat at 8:30 pm.

Like the main dining room, you may be seated with other people at your table.  Where you sit is subject to availability.  Unlike the main dining room, you may not have the same wait staff each night.  You can request certain waiters but you may have to wait to be seated at a table they serve.

My time dining experience, once seated, is nearly identical to traditional dining.  You order off of the same menu as traditional dining and can order as much food as you like from that menu.  

Source:  Royal Caribbean website

Once Booked

Once you have booked your holiday and paid the deposit, you then receive a few emails with all your holiday details, deposit/payment confirmation and a special needs form that you MUST fill in.  If my memory serves me right, I did mine via email.  Once you receive these, you will have the ability to sign in to your holiday account on the RC website, where you can:

• Pay any remaining balance.
• Print your Set Sail tickets – Time-dependent – normally 90 days before your sail date.
• Book excursions
• Buy drinks packages
• Purchase WIFI packages
• Special event packages

You should receive emails leading up to your holiday informing you of any procedures or forms you may need to fill in along the way, so don’t worry.

Now we get all excited as our holiday is now booked….Very exciting indeed.

Accessible Excursions

RC’s website leaves a lot to be desired, and trying to find the information you want can be like trying to get blood out of a stone!  We’re looking for accessible excursions via our holiday account. 

To say this was difficult would be an understatement, I’m sorry to say.  Hubby was getting completely different info from what I got when we each logged into our account to find the excursions. 

Also, most of what RC advertise as “accessible” excursions are very misleading.  For example, we looked at one supposed “accessible” excursion but when you then read the description, it says you must be able to navigate the steps of the coach??  So, how is this accessible for full-time wheelchair users or people unable to climb steps???  Very confusing!! 

Then, when we view our online cruise planner, at the available excursions, we’re told there are 14 available, but we can only see a handful of them.  RC doesn’t make it clear as to what excursions are for full-time wheelchair users like myself.

I was then forced to phone RC; beware…..they charge 7p a minute, and whatever connection charge your provider charges!!  I explained my issue and was told he would put me through to the excursion department, where I could be helped better.  Only to find I’d been put through to the private excursion line??  He then told me I needed to speak to RC??  Oh my god, pulling my hair out much?  He gave me an email address so I could contact the department needed as they don’t do phone calls.  So, for now, I’m taking a break and will email them tomorrow.

The Following Day

I emailed them the following day, explaining that I am a full-time wheelchair user. Can they tell me if the following excursions are suitable? I supplied the names of the excursions we were interested in. Oh boy, the response I got made me want to punch my monitor!!!! They gave me NO information regarding the “Accessible Excursions” I asked about but instead another form to fill in about my wheelchair. 

Their reply:  Read reply here

You will see the number of questions they ask and what measurements they want about me and my wheelchair, which I might add were already supplied in their “Special Needs” form I had to fill in months ago.  RC mentions the two types of excursion levels.  You are not given this info via their website.  There is no mention whatsoever that excursions come in two levels……Again, very misleading!!

Putting all the trials and tribulations aside, being unable to take the planned excursions is not the end of your holiday. Most ports of call will have a town close by. For example, when we arrived in Rome, we were unable to take either RC’s own excursion or any other means of getting into Rome, but you had Civitavecchia’s old town by the bus station you were dropped off at via the shuttle bus. So you should still be able to get off the ship and visit a town to shop if you wish.

Warning! Your ship pass is your entry back onto the ship if you get off the ship at any of the ports.  If you lose your ship card, don’t expect to get back on the ship. Your card is not only for purchasing stuff on the ship, it is also your room key and your pass to get on and off the ship.

Your Holiday is Booked, Now What?

One word of warning: we found RC excursions to be astronomically overpriced.  So please exhaust every option before you decide what to book.  I feel it’s vital to look into what you can visit without having to book an excursion before booking your holiday.  After all, you don’t want to book a holiday where you can only take in the sights via an excursion.  That would be very disappointing and expensive.  On our last two cruises, we were able to see what we wanted to see by ourselves.  At one port, we did have to catch a bus, but it was wheelchair accessible and free, as it was supplied by the cruise company to take passengers into the local town.

I wanted to know if RC knew anything about accessibility, like disabled toilets, while at the different ports.  RC was unable to answer this question.

So I took it upon myself to do my own research. I have listed below two websites that I have found to be extremely helpful.  These websites seem to have a mountain of information regarding ports, where most cruise ships will dock on their journey.  One even sorts out excursions for you.  As I mentioned, excursions can be very expensive indeed.  For example, we would love to do an excursion that takes us to Pisa, this is costing £169 per person through RC.  So for 4 people, that’s a whopping £676.  When you have already paid over 6 grand for your family holiday, do you really want to pay this on top??  To take their excursion to Rome, they wanted £285 that’s £1,140 for a family of 4.  So for two excursions for a family of 4, you are forking out £1,816, really??  (Prices correct at time of writing this).

Cruise Countdown

Most cruise companies will have their own countdown to your holiday. It will inform you of things like when you can print off your set sail tickets and luggage tags and provide information on drinks packages, excursions, and special event bookings, such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Cashless System

Here’s something you may not know. To my knowledge, ALL cruise ships operate a cashless system on board. We had to tell RC how we would like to settle our onboard account.  Our options were:

• Credit/debit card –
• Cash
• bank transfer

The cashless system works like this: When checking in at the docks, your photo will be taken and attached to your ship account/card, which will then be given to you.  Your ship card is then used, similar to a credit card, while aboard the ship to pay for anything and everything you purchase.  From drinks to the shops onboard.  At the end of your holiday, the bill must be paid.  Hence, the options above.  Our preferred method is cash. Purely because we are terrified of getting an astronomical bill at the end of our holiday and not being able to pay it.  You see, it is very easy to get carried away while on holiday and not really be aware of what you are spending.  14 days is a long time to keep tabs on every penny you and your family spend, especially when you’ve got kids.

Also, by choosing the option cash, you have the ability to go to reception every couple of days, ask for an up-to-date bill and pay off what you owe at that point.  Remember though, RC is an American company, so your account will be in dollars.  Bear this in mind with the exchange rate.  Again, at the end of the day, it is a personal preference.

Tip: RC don’t inform you of this beforehand but if you pay your account by any means other than cash, you are charged a %5 convenience fee in the casino every time you use your ship card to purchase chips at the tables.

Boarding Your Ship

We took RC’s pier assistance which turned out to be the best decision we made, the check-in terminal was so chaotic I doubt very much we would have navigated the system by ourselves. We had a gentleman assist us to the check-in desk, sort out all our documents and then take us in the lift up to what I would call the boarding ramp/gangplank onto the ship. He took us up the ramped zigzag undercover gangplank, right up to the entrance of the ship itself. We were told this was as far as he could take us. We were now left to our own devices. Somewhat confused and unsure of what we should do next.

Accessible Cabins

All accessible cabins will have wider doors and ramped thresholds into the wet room. 

As an example, Royal Caribbean advertises its accessible cabins as having;

• Stateroom door width: 32″-34″ (vessel-dependent)
• Bathroom door width: 32″-34″ (vessel-dependent)
• No doorsill to get into the stateroom
• Ramped bathroom threshold
• Bathroom grab bars
• Lowered sink and stateroom vanity
• Roll-in shower bench
• Fold-down shower bench
• Hand-held shower heads
• Lowered closet rods
• Refrigerator in stateroom (upon request)
• Raised toilet seats (most are between 17 to 19 inches high; commode chairs available – please request prior to sailing)
• Accessible balconies (selected staterooms)
• Lowered safes for easy access (not including Majesty of the Seas, where safes are located at Guest Relations)

Please note: Accessible suites have roll-in showers, not bathtubs, except on Quantum of the Seas.

Source: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/accessible-staterooms

Our Cabin

I also found information regarding inside cabins on the ship we are sailing on.  I found the following info:

• Door width – 32 inches wide
• Wet room door width – 32 inches
• Toilet height from floor – 18 inches
• Grab rails when seated – left-hand side

As a right-handed person with very weak upper body strength, it would have been beneficial to have known about the grab rails before booking our holiday, as I would have preferred them to be on my right. Hopefully, now you know this information, this will benefit you.

Note:  Our room only had ONE 240v plug socket.  It had two 120v plug sockets but I believe they are not good for European electrical equipment.  The video below shows more.

Our bed was so hard it felt like we were sleeping on stone, I suffered two nights in pain before I went to Guest Services and asked if there was anything they could do, thankfully they were able to supply a mattress topper.  This helped greatly but still wasn’t perfect. So remember, if you find any kind of issues/problems with your room, it is worth having a word with your stateroom attendant, reception/Guest services and asking them if there is anything they can do.

One thing to remember about your cabin, the door is a storm door therefore it will be extremely heavy.  So, anyone like myself with weak upper body strength you may find it very difficult to open the door, hold it open and manoeuvre yourself through the doorway.

More Blogs

Palins Holiday Park – Disgusting, Misleading & Nothing To Do!

How Accessible Is The Spread Eagle Inn – Gailey – My Review

Tapi Carpets: How Good Is Their Service And Products?

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