My husband and I intently read your Weekend Cruising article in The Miami Herald on Sunday, June 1, 2008. The article is great, however I feel that you should be aware of a very important fact, often overlooked until it pertains to the party involved.
My husband is handicapped due to a stroke he suffered almost twelve years ago and currently receives dialysis. He is paralyzed on his right side and uses a cane to walk short distances. Steps are difficult for him, especially in unfamiliar places. With his limitations, we must have an accessible room, primarily for the bathroom facilities whether on a cruise or in a hotel.
With that said, we have explored weekend cruises from Miami and/or Fort Lauderdale, as he can have his treatment Friday morning, leave on a cruise and return Monday, to return for dialysis. For us a four night cruise is not an option. The three night is perfect for us.
My husband and I have cruised extensively over the years and never realized the difficulties for handicapped individuals until we needed a handicapped accessible cabin. Most ships for the particular weekend (3 day) cruises only have inside cabins that are for passengers with disabilities - if you want an outside cabin with a balcony - they are non-existent. Not even the suites including mini/junior etc. have walk-in showers.
Please be aware of the following:
• Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas has two Superior Oceanview cabins that are accessible, but none with a balcony, as previously noted. We have sailed on this ship.
• Norwegian Cruise Line’s Sky does not even have an accessible outside cabin. Please note, they just introduced this ship here after being refurbished.
• Imperial Majesty has no outside cabins that are accessible.
It truly is a shame that many in the travel industry feel that travelers needing handicap accessible rooms should be satisfied with the lowest cost room available. I would encourage them to travel with a special needs person to understand our frustration at times.
I can appreciate her situation. I never realized how difficult it might be to travel or even shop with someone with limitations until my aging mother began spending much of her time in a wheelchair.
This past week, we ran another story about a weekend cruise, with a bit more information about accessibility.
Do cruise ships do enough for passengers with disabilities? Have you had an experience, good or bad, traveling with someone with disabilities? Please let us know about it by commenting here.
Comments