Disney Cruise Line Shore Excursions for people in wheelchairs

[CHD New York]

Hi is there any Disney Cruise Line Shore Excursions at Nassau or castaway cay for people in wheelchairs?

My dad will be cruising with us and he can walk but only for a few steps so he uses a wheelchair.

 

[peemagg]

My understanding is that Nassua is not handicapped accessible for most things, unless you can use a manual wheelchair. There is only one bus or van on the island that is equiped with a lift.

I will be there in Nassua this week (We leave Saturday and return on Thursday), so I will look and see what accessibility there is on the island. I do know that Atlantis is handcapped accessible, but getting there might be the issue.

We are doing a excursion that claims they can handle my scooter, but I am just going to use my hands free crutch instead, because I don't want to have to be lifting the scooter up and down curbs or leaving it outside of shops. I will report back as to my findings. Even though I won't be using my scooter, I will keep my eyes open to the issues of us that need wheeled transportation.

 

[CHD New York]

My understanding is that Nassua is not handicapped accessible for most things, unless you can use a manual wheelchair. There is only one bus or van on the island that is equiped with a lift.

I will be there in Nassua this week (We leave Saturday and return on Thursday), so I will look and see what accessibility there is on the island. I do know that Atlantis is handcapped accessible, but getting there might be the issue.

We are doing a excursion that claims they can handle my scooter, but I am just going to use my hands free crutch instead, because I don't want to have to be lifting the scooter up and down curbs or leaving it outside of shops. I will report back as to my findings. Even though I won't be using my scooter, I will keep my eyes open to the issues of us that need wheeled transportation.

if you could report back with any information after your cruise, that would be very helpful. Thanks

My day will be using a manual wheelchair that we will push him in.

 

[Bete]

I'm searching over the last few months about wheelchair tour vacations in the US and let me tell you there's nothing. Disney style park buses are a rarity with the lifts and special spots on the bus to secure them. We decided to go by car on our next adventure westward to the national parks.

Foreign countries tend to be worse; because, there are no real regulations.

I hope travel gets better in this way in the future with all the baby boomers coming up.

 

[SueM in MN]

This is a link to a past thread about Nassau accessibility, with pictures of the ship ramps and some land scenes.

There is some more cruise information that may be helpful in post # 13 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[Figaro]

All I know about traveling outside the USA is when we travel to Mexico. And I have found that although almost nothing is accessible by USA standards, the people there go out of their way to make it work. I've done just about everything a non-disabled person does on vacation (snorkeling, boat rides, horseback rides and a variety of tours) and have managed because the people are so helpful and willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.

One of my favorite restaurants with an incredible view of the harbor in Puerto Vallarta is up 73 stairs (no elevator of course). All they did was get four guys to lift the wheelchair and they carried me up the stairs (teasing me that I was a "queen on my throne" and then refused the tip I offered for all of the extra work. They did the same when we left.

As long as I am willing to deal with whatever way they decide to handle the accessibility, they will work with me to make sure that what I want to do is possible. I know that it is not for everyone (not everyone wants to be lifted by different guys and carried to wherever they want to go), but I don't like having my being in a wheelchair restrict what I can do and so I am willing to make that kind of trade-off.

 

[peemagg]

Hi all,

Just got back last night from a wonderful trip to the Bahama's.

Here is what I found out while in Nassua. I never saw a vehicle that had a wheelchair lift anywhere. I do think that if you had a manual wheelchair, you could rent a taxi for a reasonable amount (It cost us $8 for a trip from the Atlantis back to the ship. DO NOT take the water taxi's! They are accidents waiting to happen, and cost us just as much and is a scam on top of it.)

One thing that I did notice, was that there are curb cuts in places, but their curbs are a lot smaller than ours and are sloped instead of straight up in down. I also saw a lot of ramps going into the stores. I didn't use my scooter off the ship (in fact it never left the cabin, since my RSD was the best it has been in 2 yrs, but that is another story.), but I know that I could have traveled around the city, a few blocks from the pier without any problems. It is not smooth sidewalks, but very much travelable.

Just as a side note, we took an outside tour that we booked online and was a very enjoyable and if you can use a manual wheelchair or walk some, it is well worth the money. If you want to PM me I will give you the link to the site. It was a tour of the city's historical areas and highlights of Atlantis and a Bahamian lunch for very little money, and it was a small, quaint group that you went with. Really nice, there was only 6 of us in our tour and a great tour guide.

It was a fun cruise all the way around and if there is any questions I can help with, just ask.