Best ship / itinerary for disabled family member?

[DaisyDogMI]

About 18 months ago, the entire family (Dad, Mom, me, my sister, BIL, niece and nephew) went to Disney World for 7 days. While everyone enjoyed the trip, physically, it was a little too much for Dad. He is a bit wobbly these days (due to exposure to Agent Orange while he was in the service). Mom has been thinking about a Disney Cruise and Dad says he is too wobbly for a boat. What boat / itinerary would be best given these circumstances? I believe we prefer to stay in the Western Hemisphere.

 

[lklgoodman]

We've taken 4 Caribbean and 1 Alaskan cruise. I believe Alaska is usually smooth sailing because you sail along an inside passage for most of the cruise. We've had Caribbean cruises that have been smooth the entire time, and others that have had a little bit of motion for a very short amount of time. The way the ships are built, you really don't even feel any movement. The only time I feel any movement is when we cross the gulf stream. I was on crutches one time and had no problems with walking. If your dad is worried, he could rent a scooter to use on the ship. They also have a lot of railings along the hallways on the ships and many places to sit down if he should get tired or feels wobbly. The Magic and Wonder are smaller ships, so you may want to look at a cruise on one of them.

 

[smilingmouse]

You may want to avoid sailing with tender ports (i.e. Grand Cayman-- part of many of the Western sailing) since moving from ship to tender can be different even with calm seas.

 

[MausFan]

We have traveled often with a family member who had limited mobility...one reason we have gone on so many cruises with Disney. She did well on all of the ships, but the biggest game changer was renting a scooter as mentioned above. We were able to do so in Europe, Alaska as well as in Florida, which opened up all of the Caribbean cruises for us. Also, you can book a handicapped room on the ship, which has room for the scooter. The newer ships have more room for the scooters. (You pick them up on the ship itself...there are companies that deliver directly to the cruise lines.)

 

[Lisa F]

my parents both have mobility issues and I would never go on a WDW trip with them... it would be miserable (not just for the mobility issues, my dad does not travel well either so add both of their mobility issues and the heat and crowds and bleh.)

But I did want to take my son on a vacation with his grandparents, so I chose a cruise for a low stress, low toil vacation. It was amazing though we did get a wheelchair for my mom because at the time she could only walk about 10 feet on her own.

I live on an island and spend more time on boats than average and the Disney ship is not like the "boat" your dad is thinking of. There are no ships ladders, no hatches with trip hazards (though the thresholds in staterooms are a bit high but not like hatches), no bunks to climb into (unless you want to sleep in the one bunk in a room), no pump toilets where you require strength and leverage to flush it. Being on a smaller boat (even one meant for overnight and longer) can be utterly exhausting but being on a cruise ship is entirely different. It's like a giant floating luxury resort and WAY less taxing than a WDW vacation.

I spent 5 nights on a schooner recently and I have never been more exhausted in my life - it took me a full week to recover from the experience. It was nothing like a cruise.

I would do either a 4 day bahamian or 7 day eastern caribbean cruise as both include a stop at castaway cay, the private island where there is even a tram to take you places. If he did WDW without an ECV he won't need one on the ship, there is much less walking. if he's wobbly for the uneven sand, there is a sand wheelchair to take him out to the sand. I would not miss castaway cay on a first disney cruise - it's as safe and accessible as you can get for a beach vacation.

 

[Dug720]

my parents both have mobility issues and I would never go on a WDW trip with them... it would be miserable (not just for the mobility issues, my dad does not travel well either so add both of their mobility issues and the heat and crowds and bleh.)

But I did want to take my son on a vacation with his grandparents, so I chose a cruise for a low stress, low toil vacation. It was amazing though we did get a wheelchair for my mom because at the time she could only walk about 10 feet on her own.

I live on an island and spend more time on boats than average and the Disney ship is not like the "boat" your dad is thinking of. There are no ships ladders, no hatches with trip hazards (though the thresholds in staterooms are a bit high but not like hatches), no bunks to climb into (unless you want to sleep in the one bunk in a room), no pump toilets where you require strength and leverage to flush it. Being on a smaller boat (even one meant for overnight and longer) can be utterly exhausting but being on a cruise ship is entirely different. It's like a giant floating luxury resort and WAY less taxing than a WDW vacation.

I spent 5 nights on a schooner recently and I have never been more exhausted in my life - it took me a full week to recover from the experience. It was nothing like a cruise.

I would do either a 4 day bahamian or 7 day eastern caribbean cruise as both include a stop at castaway cay, the private island where there is even a tram to take you places. If he did WDW without an ECV he won't need one on the ship, there is much less walking. if he's wobbly for the uneven sand, there is a sand wheelchair to take him out to the sand. I would not miss castaway cay on a first disney cruise - it's as safe and accessible as you can get for a beach vacation.

The 7-night Westerns from PC include Castaway as well.

 

[Lisa F]

The 7-night Westerns from PC include Castaway as well.

I haven't done one in a while so wasn't sure if they tendered anywhere, which is a little tougher on mobility issues.

 

[Starwind]

I haven't done one in a while so wasn't sure if they tendered anywhere, which is a little tougher on mobility issues.

If they stop at Cayman it is a tender port.

SW

 

[Dug720]

If they stop at Cayman it is a tender port.

SW

You can always stay on board. Given that pretty much everything at Grand Cayman includes willingly and purposely being in the water with stingrays, that is what I would do if I ever get a Western to line up with my schedule. Zero desire to have those things flapping all around me.

 

[mevelandry]

About 18 months ago, the entire family (Dad, Mom, me, my sister, BIL, niece and nephew) went to Disney World for 7 days. While everyone enjoyed the trip, physically, it was a little too much for Dad. He is a bit wobbly these days (due to exposure to Agent Orange while he was in the service). Mom has been thinking about a Disney Cruise and Dad says he is too wobbly for a boat. What boat / itinerary would be best given these circumstances? I believe we prefer to stay in the Western Hemisphere.

I'd pick a bigger ship (Dream/Fantasy) for more stability and more room in the public spaces for sure (the elevators are extremely tiny on the classic ships). And pick an itinery that do not have tender ports.

 

[DaisyDogMI]

You may want to avoid sailing with tender ports (i.e. Grand Cayman-- part of many of the Western sailing) since moving from ship to tender can be different even with calm seas.

Is there a schedule of tender ports anywhere ?

 

[DaisyDogMI]

You can always stay on board. Given that pretty much everything at Grand Cayman includes willingly and purposely being in the water with stingrays, that is what I would do if I ever get a Western to line up with my schedule. Zero desire to have those things flapping all around me.

I would be afraid that my niece and nephew would refuse to leave the ship if their Papa wasn't going.

 

[Dug720]

I would be afraid that my niece and nephew would refuse to leave the ship if their Papa wasn't going.

I would just make it a “stationary Sea day”. No law that you have to leave the ship.

I guess my family is weird - we have pretty much always been a “We will do dinner together, but the rest of the time you do you” kind of family.

 

[DaisyDogMI]

I would just make it a “stationary Sea day”. No law that you have to leave the ship.

I guess my family is weird - we have pretty much always been a “We will do dinner together, but the rest of the time you do you” kind of family.

How common are tender ports? Is this an anomaly or would this happen regularly on the trip? We have only been on one cruise (non Disney) and we stayed at the same port the entire time. We would walk on and off the ship at our leisure.

 

[Dug720]

How common are tender ports? Is this an anomaly or would this happen regularly on the trip? We have only been on one cruise (non Disney) and we stayed at the same port the entire time. We would walk on and off the ship at our leisure.

Grand Cayman is the only regular one in the Caribbean I know of. But I have not been lucky enough to have a Western fall during my school breaks (I’m a teacher) other than summer.

 

[lklgoodman]

Grand Cayman is the only Caribbean port that I've been to that requires tendering. We've been to St Thomas, Tortola, St. Maarten, San Juan, Cozumel, and Jamaica, none require tendering. None of the ports in Alaska that we went to had tendering either, most ports that Disney goes to in the Caribbean don't. It will say on the DCL website which ones have tendering.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

Tender ports are very uncommon. Cozumel, Jamaica, Costa Maya, Nassau, Castaway Cay, St. Thomas, St Maarten, Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, St. Kitts, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Vancouver, Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, Rome, Livorno (Florence), Messina, Naples, Olbia (Sardinia), Pireaus (Athens), St John (Canada) and Mykonos are all pierside ports that I've been to/going to in the near future.

Grand Cayman, Cannes and Santorini are the only tender ports

Just my experience, but the pierside visit list is much longer than the other

 

[DayOhDisMom]

We just returned from 7 day western traveling with a family that is almost 90 years old. She was able to get into the tender with some assistance and was okay. She moves a little slow but we planned extra time to get from point to point. We all have a great time and she's looking forward to going again.

 

[Starwind]

You can always stay on board. Given that pretty much everything at Grand Cayman includes willingly and purposely being in the water with stingrays, that is what I would do if I ever get a Western to line up with my schedule. Zero desire to have those things flapping all around me.

We went on a nice excursion at Grand Cayman that did NOT involve stingrays Got to touch a jellyfish (optional) which was pretty neat

Discover Native Cayman and the Saltwater Forest (G33)
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/...cover-native-cayman-and-the-saltwater-forest/

 

[mevelandry]

I don't do stingrays in GC. I take a cab and go to Royal Palms Beach Club. The beach is great. Probably my favorite beach so far.