I'm cruising in January with my husband. He uses a wheelchair, but they have no handicap rooms available. He is able to stand for very brief periods, but cannot walk. Are the 'regular' cabins even do-able for someone in a wheelchair? I know the rooms are small, but can you make it work if you really want to? Are scooters easier to use in the regular rooms than manual chairs?
I've been in non wheelchair rooms only twice and I would have to say that yes they are do-able. I cannot walk at all and was able to use the rooms. Both times I had to sit on a towel in the shower and have my wife turn the water on. I was able to sit in my chair and use the sink for brushing my teeth. Since your husband can stand for a short period of time, I don't see a problem at all. I would however suggest a manual chair the folds in half. 1) The bathroom door may be too narrow and 2) If one of you needs to get up in the middle of the night, a manual chair would be one less thing to trip over.
Stepping up 6" into the bathroom, and the fact that you cannot fit a wheelchair through the door or between the furniture will make traveling in a non-accessible cabin very difficult for someone who cannot walk at all. You can sometimes fit a deck-chair into the very small shower stalls for sitting while showering, but not always, and you can sit on the toilet (if you can get into the bathroom at all) while shaving or brushing teeth as it is usually so small reaching the sink is no problem.
We would not even consider it, which is why we book at least a year in advance, and often must forego a cruise we wanted because there are no more accessible cabins.
I'm cruising in January with my husband. He uses a wheelchair, but they have no handicap rooms available. He is able to stand for very brief periods, but cannot walk. Are the 'regular' cabins even do-able for someone in a wheelchair? I know the rooms are small, but can you make it work if you really want to? Are scooters easier to use in the regular rooms than manual chairs?
Hi, Just yesterday I was discussing this same subject with a disabled man. He cruises a lot and has a motorized wheel chair. It is quite large. He cruises as often as possible. He has been able to fit his whelchair through the normal cabin door, very close fit though. With the aid of his care giver he was able to access the bathroom.
Laura
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Parrot Pop uses a rollator and it would not fit into our cabin on the Gem..The only problem he had was getting in and out of the shower.. What makes me angry and I mean angry is being on a cruise ship and a woman bragging how they had a handicapped access cabin because of her husbands knee...he used NO CANE and was seen by me walking around rapidly the ship.. By what I think is pure dumb luck we have a handicapped access. cabin on the Soltice this weekend.. We booked another Celebrity cruise last July and when we got off a ship in november discovered that we really needed a Handicapped cabin, but there are none available.. supposedly we MAY be on a wait list.. I have also since discovered that healthy people book these cabins because they are bigger...grr