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Accessable Staterooms and Europe


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We are booked on Symphony maiden voyage April 21, 2018 from Barcelona.  We now want to add my wife's parents to the trip, but her father is disabled and in need of wheel-chair access.  So I reach out to the knowledgable Royal Caribbean Blog folks to gain from their universal knowledge on all things cruising:

 

1:)  Are they charging extra for the accessable stateroom over a normal stateroom of the same category?

 

2:) How is the room in the stateroom around the foot of the bed and such for wheelchair movement?

 

3:) He is a big guy. . . Is the roll-in shower large enough for him to sit in a shower seat for bathing?

 

4:) The itinerary includes Msarsaille France, Pisa, Rome, Naples, and Palma de Mallorca.  How awful are the cobbles on the streets?  I know you can find streets that are not cobbled, but is it going to detract from the joy of visiting these cities?

 

Any and all information I can gain from your wisdom and experience is greately appreciated and will be accepted with the utmost of attention.  (enough of the sucking-up now. Just help me please)

 

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I have cruised several times with a powered wheelchair user on RC but not on the ship you are asking about.

However I have found all  accessible staterooms more or less the same.

There is room around the bed for wheelchair access.

The bathroom has an open wheel in shower so no problems there.

 

Europe isn't always the best of places for accessibility around the streets depending where you go and shops can be challenging with step/s sometimes high.

 

If you want to book accessible excursions you need to be 'on the ball' when booking as they can be limited.

 

For Pisa and Rome we  used an excursion, toilets can be tricky ( unless they've changed things ) as most are in stores and there are steps. On our second visit to Pisa we checked out an accessible cab to take 3 of us to the Leaning Tower area/shops but it was very expensive for the time we would actually have had in Pisa itself. 

 Msarsaille France again we used the ships excursion and the harbour area was ok.

Naples and Palma we haven't done when with the wheelchair user but I didn't like Naples - didn't feel 'comfortable' walking around the streets.

 

I don't think any of the ports are tender so no problem there.

 

 

I have photographs of accessible staterooms we have used and if it's allowed I will post them for you tomorrow.

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Hi I hope these are helpful. as you will notice we also take a light weight wheelchair with us as back up and have always found room to put it.

 

The shower may look small but it is a roll in and taking photo's wasn't good for a fuller picture of the size.

 

Balcony is wider door and easy to get in and out of.

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Hi I hope these are helpful. as you will notice we also take a light weight wheelchair with us as back up and have always found room to put it.

 

The shower may look small but it is a roll in and taking photo's wasn't good for a fuller picture of the size.

 

Balcony is wider door and easy to get in and out of.

Thanks for the photos. They are really helpfull with making our decisions.

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4:) The itinerary includes Msarsaille France, Pisa, Rome, Naples, and Palma de Mallorca.  How awful are the cobbles on the streets?  I know you can find streets that are not cobbled, but is it going to detract from the joy of visiting these cities?

 

 

 

I've been to some of this great ports, so here is my view:

- Rome: The biggest problem could be coming to Rome. The ship will be in the port of Civitavecchia, which is approx. 70 km away from Rome city centre. A guided tour will probably go to Rome per Bus, another choice could be the train. But the trains in Italy are not very wheel-chair-friendly. The best option could be a guide private tour in a car, but this id definitely also the most expensive one. And don't forget that Rome is located on 7 hills, so it is not very flat and always an ups and down. 

- Naples: The port is is in walking distance to the city centre.

-Barcelona: The port is about 3km away from the city centre, there are shuttle buses wich bring you to the city. The station in the city is close to the "Ramblas", the main shopping street in Barcelona.

-Palma: same as Barcelona, also a bit outside the port.

 

Public restrooms could be a problem in any of this cities, as well as public transportation.

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I can't talk about the ports but the cabin if you book an accessible cabin, your father-in-law will be fine. I found when I book accessible they run about $100 to $200 more. The reason I say this is I just booked a Canada New England and the price originally was $2198, but when I put in I wanted an accessible room the price jumped to $2346, about $150 more. The cabins are larger, a normal Ocean View, that I book, is around 150 to 170 square feet, but an accessible Ocean View is around 200 to 225 square feet or larger. All door entries are flat so a chair can wheel in to the cabin, bathroom, balcony, etc. The shower is sized for a wheelchair to roll in. You can get around the bed without a problem. The tight fit is the hallways getting to and from your room. I rented a scooter after my hip replacement and when all of the room attendants carts are in the hallway or passengers put trays of dishes in the hallway it makes it almost impassable for a wheelchair or scooter. 

 

Another hint is you need to notify Royal at special_needs@rccl.com. I send mine at least 6 months before my cruise. They will send you a form to fill out and will note on your file you will need wheelchair access. This reserves a wheelchair at the ports, even though you have to wait for wheelchair service, and if you want to use a Royal wheelchair. I wouldn't advise using Royal chairs, you can't take them off of the ship and some are in pretty sad shape. If you are flying in and out of the port cities, you also need to advise the airline that you will need wheelchair assistance at the airports in both cities.

 

You might want to rent a scooter for your father-in-law. There are several companies that do this and the scooter is waiting in the cabin when you arrive at the ship and you just leave it in your room when you get off the ship. It can cost a couple of hundred dollars but they are more maneuverable then a wheelchair.

 

Candie 

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