The cast was myself and an adult friend in a manual wheelchair. She can walk a few steps with something to hold on to. At age 60+, upper body strength is not wonderful either.
The cabin was totally HUGE and met all her needs. She was joyful in telling her daughters about it. The beds were split into twins when we entered the room. The balcony had a very minimal lip at the door and a ramp on the balcony side which kept that part dry as well as functional for the chair.
The bathroom had rails everywhere including one by the toilet that could be moved out of the way if not needed. The shower was roll in with a fold down seat, railings on all walls, and the hand held shower head. There were drains along the length of the shower and the door which effectively prevented water from getting out of the bathroom and mostly prevented it from getting out of the shower area.
The ship in general was about as "wheelchair friendly" as a ship could be with a couple exceptions. There are a LOT of mild "up and down" inclines. While these are thing you would barely notice in walking, it made a difference when pushing a chair on carpet. The ramps up to doorways and bumps over could be difficult--they were quite steep and needed serious force to get over..then hang on tight to stop the chair. One exception--we were going to Studio Sea from aft. Took elevator to 4 and found Shutters closed off with a sign indicating that guests were to get midship access by using the outer area of deck 4. Getting OUT was fine, but the entrance was a 6 inch threshold with NO ramp of any sort. Fortunately, there were 2 maintenance type guys checking on something. They lifted the chair in for me.
Cruise report in general--CD Christiaan, Captain John, event hostess was Tia or Tiva or Tifa (sorry)
What shocked me was the guest behavior. Admittedly, I'm a Magic guest and really not used to 3 day cruises. MANY "entitlement parents" who thought the rules and signs didn't apply to themselves and their kids. The first day there were kids literally ALL OVER deck 9 forward--literally more than 100 walking thru, but kids in the Cove Cafe and in the adult pool as well. This was reported and handled much better by day 2 (see post on cruise forum). Parents lifting kids onto the stage for pictures and intercom announcing that they needed to be removed. LOTS of alcohol use and frankly drunk guests at the shows and in the evenings.
I thought DCL was really pushing the alcohol this cruise. We were asked at least 3 times each night if we wanted something despite never ordering...and it wasn't just "would you like...?" When we declined it was accompanied by a frown and a comment about how the after dinner drink went so well with our dessert or "No?...." with a huge question in the voice. I do have an occasional drink, but since I was responsible for others, I chose not to on this trip.
Castaway--yes, there's construction, but nothing that impacted us at all. We didn't see it happening when we were on the island, but as the ship was pulling out, the bulldozers, etc. were getting busy! It looked like they weren't going to waste the 2 1/2 hours before sunset. I snorkeled--saw Barry in the family area, huge schools of smaller fish. I saw some fish that I'd never noticed before.
Food--my first time on the new menus. No problem getting meat without sauces, etc. One of the beef cuts was a bit tough, but good flavor. I had no complaints with the food or the menus. Our dining companions felt it was the best food they'd had on 8 different cruise lines. We were at a table of 4 adults placed on an aisle for wheelchair access. Head server made a big point of emphasizing that if we needed anything at all we should let him know.
These are the points that I think others may have question about or benefit from hearing. I'm happy to share more if desired.
The cabin was totally HUGE and met all her needs. She was joyful in telling her daughters about it. The beds were split into twins when we entered the room. The balcony had a very minimal lip at the door and a ramp on the balcony side which kept that part dry as well as functional for the chair.
The bathroom had rails everywhere including one by the toilet that could be moved out of the way if not needed. The shower was roll in with a fold down seat, railings on all walls, and the hand held shower head. There were drains along the length of the shower and the door which effectively prevented water from getting out of the bathroom and mostly prevented it from getting out of the shower area.
The ship in general was about as "wheelchair friendly" as a ship could be with a couple exceptions. There are a LOT of mild "up and down" inclines. While these are thing you would barely notice in walking, it made a difference when pushing a chair on carpet. The ramps up to doorways and bumps over could be difficult--they were quite steep and needed serious force to get over..then hang on tight to stop the chair. One exception--we were going to Studio Sea from aft. Took elevator to 4 and found Shutters closed off with a sign indicating that guests were to get midship access by using the outer area of deck 4. Getting OUT was fine, but the entrance was a 6 inch threshold with NO ramp of any sort. Fortunately, there were 2 maintenance type guys checking on something. They lifted the chair in for me.
Cruise report in general--CD Christiaan, Captain John, event hostess was Tia or Tiva or Tifa (sorry)
What shocked me was the guest behavior. Admittedly, I'm a Magic guest and really not used to 3 day cruises. MANY "entitlement parents" who thought the rules and signs didn't apply to themselves and their kids. The first day there were kids literally ALL OVER deck 9 forward--literally more than 100 walking thru, but kids in the Cove Cafe and in the adult pool as well. This was reported and handled much better by day 2 (see post on cruise forum). Parents lifting kids onto the stage for pictures and intercom announcing that they needed to be removed. LOTS of alcohol use and frankly drunk guests at the shows and in the evenings.
I thought DCL was really pushing the alcohol this cruise. We were asked at least 3 times each night if we wanted something despite never ordering...and it wasn't just "would you like...?" When we declined it was accompanied by a frown and a comment about how the after dinner drink went so well with our dessert or "No?...." with a huge question in the voice. I do have an occasional drink, but since I was responsible for others, I chose not to on this trip.
Castaway--yes, there's construction, but nothing that impacted us at all. We didn't see it happening when we were on the island, but as the ship was pulling out, the bulldozers, etc. were getting busy! It looked like they weren't going to waste the 2 1/2 hours before sunset. I snorkeled--saw Barry in the family area, huge schools of smaller fish. I saw some fish that I'd never noticed before.
Food--my first time on the new menus. No problem getting meat without sauces, etc. One of the beef cuts was a bit tough, but good flavor. I had no complaints with the food or the menus. Our dining companions felt it was the best food they'd had on 8 different cruise lines. We were at a table of 4 adults placed on an aisle for wheelchair access. Head server made a big point of emphasizing that if we needed anything at all we should let him know.
These are the points that I think others may have question about or benefit from hearing. I'm happy to share more if desired.
