Disney cruise disabled

[Kerryn]

iwe are thinking about raking the kids on the Disney cruise to western Caribbean I’m in a wheelchair due to left side weakness from a stroke. I can walk a very little with my caneI also have paraysisin my left hand and arm I want tom make sure I can do excursions has anyone done any I know castaway cay should’ve finesince they have the beach wheel chas

 

[RaySharpton]

iwe are thinking about raking the kids on the Disney cruise to western Caribbean I’m in a wheelchair due to left side weakness from a stroke. I can walk a very little with my caneI also have paraysisin my left hand and arm I want tom make sure I can do excursions has anyone done any I know castaway cay should’ve finesince they have the beach wheel chas

Hi, Kerryn. I found this recent quote that says they do have those beach wheel chairs.

From Trip Advisor:

My adult daughter is a walker/wheelchair user and it was great to see that Castaway Cay truly is fully accessible, as we had been told. We used our own wheelchair to exit the ship and were able to walk all over the island on the paved paths. When we wanted to go directly on to the sand, there are multiple highly visible spots all over the island where you can pick up a sand wheelchair. We just left our wheelchair with the attendant, exchanged it for a sand wheelchair, had fun on the beach, then got our own wheelchair back. You can move around from beach to beach this way if you want to - use your own chair on the paved paths to get from one beach to the next, then when you get to the beach, turn in your chair for a sand chair - it was much easier and more straightforward than I had thought it would be. Like everything else, Disney does it right.

We very much enjoyed the adults-only beach, Serenity Bay. There is a bar there and a BBQ - only for those over the age of 18 - so if you are traveling without children, you can go straight there and spend the entire day. We even had a cabana massage there, so idyllic, in a cabana directly on the beach, the sound of the waves and the palms surrounding you, lovely!

We took my parents that had limited mobility to castaway cay with their wheelchairs. When we had a cabana, we just used their travel wheelchairs as we were only moving on paved paths until we were at the cabana. If we needed a sand wheelchair (we didn't, my parents were able to walk the short distance to the water from the cabana) the cabana host offered to have one/two waiting for us.

When we didn't have a cabana, we did leave the ship with their travel wheelchairs and did use the sand wheelchairs on the beach themselves. If you never used a beach wheelchair, they do allow you to move on the sand - just not easily! There seem to be plenty available, I know we didn't have a problem getting two of them when we needed them.

Some things I've learned - if you are leaving the ship at a busy time and there is a crowd for the tram, it might be better to skip the tram. It takes about the same amount of time to take the path to the main part of Castaway Cay as it does to take the tram. Each tram has one area for wheelchairs and if there is any crowd, it is difficult to get around them. If there is another wheelchair party waiting, you'll probably have to wait for the next tram.

If you use the sand wheelchair, choose your beach location with thought. There are parts of the family beach where the beach part is wider, some where it is more narrow - so depending on how close to the water you are intending to be more or less sand to cross to get from paved path to water. Also some parts that have more chairs/umbrella obstacles than others. So really look at the map of Castaway Cay to see where you want to be and send a scout ahead if you can.

 

[lanejudy]

Yes, Castaway Cay has beach wheelchairs. At what other ports will you be stopping? Some(most?) of the Carribean port cities are older and not as accessible as we find in the US. But there are some excursions DCL noted as accessible - read the descriptions as some require transfers and/or manual wheelchairs.

You might also cross-post to the DCL Forum as several people there are familiar with HA but don’t venture to this forum often.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[blondietink]

Yes, we used the beach wheelchairs at Castaway Cay. Very easy to push as the sand isn't real soft at least in the adult only section. I will say that we were on the Disney Wonder and it was not very wheelchair friendly at all. Hope you are on one of the larger, newer ships.

 

[RaySharpton]

It has been years since I was last on the Disney Wonder, but if I recall, the aft top floor to the outside had handicap doors from the inside to the outside, but the forward side did not. I could push open the forward doors, but my mobility scooter always got stuck on the high threshold. I believe the threshold on the aft side was build longer with a type of ramp to make it easier to cross and not get stuck. The handicap doors helped also. That's all that I remember about the Disney Wonder. When on Castaway Cay, I was able to roll my mobility scooter out the ship and on all of the sidewalks and hard pavement. I used my cane to walk to a hammock on the beach.

Yes, we used the beach wheelchairs at Castaway Cay. Very easy to push as the sand isn't real soft at least in the adult only section. I will say that we were on the Disney Wonder and it was not very wheelchair friendly at all. Hope you are on one of the larger, newer ships.

 

[Simba's Mom]

As one who has used those wheelchairs on the beach (not Castaway Cay, HHI), they're awesome!

 

[blondietink]

It has been years since I was last on the Disney Wonder, but if I recall, the aft top floor to the outside had handicap doors from the inside to the outside, but the forward side did not. I could push open the forward doors, but my mobility scooter always got stuck on the high threshold. I believe the threshold on the aft side was build longer with a type of ramp to make it easier to cross and not get stuck. The handicap doors helped also. That's all that I remember about the Disney Wonder. When on Castaway Cay, I was able to roll my mobility scooter out the ship and on all of the sidewalks and hard pavement. I used my cane to walk to a hammock on the beach.

Yes, those thresholds are a bear to get over to get to the outside deck. It was also terrible to have to try and maneuver around the buffet area with a wheelchair or scooter. Very close quarters. The expansion joints going through the hallways are also higher than they should be. Not impossible, but not great. The elevators are very small and we could not fit everybody in our party of 4 onto them with my son in his wheelchair. I saw people with scooters try and get in the elevators and they could barely fit by themselves. Lastly, the hallways are very narrow compared to other ships we have been on and when the steward had their carts in the hallway, it was impossible to get by them when my son was in his wheelchair. The stewards had to move their carts part way into the cabin they were cleaning just so we could get by. As I said, not a very wheelchair friendly ship. However, if you ask nice of the cast members outside of the show area, they will lead you a round about/secret way to get a seat right up front for your scooter/wheelchair.