Is a Cruise fun/doable for mobility impaired

[kfaboo]

My 30th birthday trip to WDW broke my mother 4 years ago -- actually the aftermath just exposed her spinal stenosis but she likes to joke that I broke her back -- and while she no longer has to use a store ECV to do grocery shopping (though she needs to lean on the cart) she can't walk a park anymore and quite often she has to walk with a cane.

So I was thinking that for her 60th, in 2 years, we might do a Disney Cruise because from the literature it seems like it could be fun and not too much walking if planned right.

But I wanted to see what was the experiences of other folks with similar problems. And what sort of excursions/experiences seemed the most appropriate for mobility impaired people.

 

[LindaBabe]

I use a cane to walk long distances, lean on the cart to grocery shop, and use an ECV at WDW. Cruising is GREAT fun, even if you never leave the boat! There's TONS to do.

Getting around the ship is easy except for the long waits for elevators at prime times or when children are playing in them. Recommend getting a stateroom either fore (closer to adult pool and spa) or aft (closer to drink station and food) since those elevators are less busy than the main bank.

Some of the docks are really long (Cozumel comes to mind) making for a long hot walk.

Check out this trip report on a supposedly accessible excursion http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2215363

Some ports require tendering - it looks scarey but even in choppy seas there are enough hands available to make sure one doesn't 'fall in'. Grand Cayman is one of those, but have no fear. The tenders don't run if it isn't safe.

There can be a lot of walking in the ports. She'll need to chose her activities carefully, or maybe let you push her in a wheelchair. (My spouse found pushing me to be great fun - me? not so much!) I walked over to and through the strawmarket in the Bahamas, successfully, she probably can too - it's pretty flat, but also pretty hot.

St. Martin has a long dock, but it also has a shuttle boat that takes passengers from the ships to down town for a small sum - WELL worth it.

 

[videogal1]

The ships are HUGE. Just walking to meals three times a day, or four, or five, counting snacks, midnight buffets, etc. will be time consuming, not to mention the trips to the special activities, looking at photos, exploring...and getting turned around, lost, and otherwise disoriented. The bathrooms are never nearby when you need them the most AND, if you're in pain, the thing you need the most will be left at the pool, left in the stateroom, or left on shore. Trip to the first aid station? at least half a mile. Rent a tiny ECV. The rental companies will deliver to the ship and pick up when you dock.
Most of the shore excursions are inaccessible in some way. If you plan to cruise as a couch potato, you'll do just fine. Otherwise, start exercising now. A cruise is not designed for the habitually inactive. Unless you realize that everyone who comes back from a cruise is usually ten pounds heavier or more than at the start of the cruise and can work in mountains of stairs or an hour of exercise every day, you'll find your going home clothes a wee bit uncomfortable unless you save the loosest for last. I love cruises but I'm a sick, masochistic glutton for punishment. I also never travel without my ECV...even if I feel like I could leap tall buildings with a single bound before departure...accidents will happen, it takes so little extra planning to be comfortable.

 

[kfaboo]

Thanks for the opinions videogal1 and LindaBabe. I have 2 years to save for, plan and price out her birthday trip but it is never to early to start planning for Disney.