Catagory 3 wheelchair accessible cabins

[Biscuitsmom31]

My family of 6 is staying in the connecting accessible catagory 3's. Has anyone stayed in these cabins? How were they?

 

[Tahoe]

I can't tell you how those particular staterooms are, but this link, "Virtual Stateroom Tour," might be helpful. It has pictures of a handicapped accessible cat 3.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1025732&page=1&pp=15

If you haven't already, you can find stateroom reports on the main DCL page of this website.

We loved our Cat 3! Have fun!

 

[justmestace]

We were in 8602 and loved it. Loved the huge verandah and the location at the far aft. These rooms basically have their own private little hallway, and a "secret" back stairway to the buffet. Close to the drink station, too.

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

and a "secret" back stairway to the buffet. Close to the drink station, too.

I just found this last week when we left Castaway...i thought it was cool that you had that little stairway...HUGE balcony..but everyone at topsiders looks at you...I didn't..I swear..but everyone else did!

 

[KSDTink]

We were in 8602 on the Wonder last year with DM who is in a wheelchair. The room is fairly well laid out for access with wide doors and grab bars in the bathrooms. The main issue we had was that because there is no lip in the shower water runs everywhere so in the master bathroom we closed the door between the shower/toilet area and the area with the sink and tub and then put a rolled up towel on the floor to help keep the water from going into the rest of the bathroom. The shower portion of the bathroom floor (including where the toilet is) would get flooded but it kept the other part of the bathroom dry.

 

[outahere]

We were in 8602 for the August repo last year and liked the cabin. The showers were huge, especially the one not connected to the master bedroom.
We also toured 8600 (connecting cabin) and it was very nice as well. We did like being at the back of the ship, because there was no noise from the hallway and the stairs up to Topsiders were right around the corner. There are also stairs that go down as far as deck 4 and the muster station was in Animator's.

The only drawbacks to 8602 involved the verandah -- 1) You have absolutely no privacy, since anyone on deck 9 (Topsiders) can look directly down onto the verandah. 2) Make sure you're not out on the verandah around 9:00PM or so. That is when they hose down the outside area of Topsiders and the water comes pouring down onto the verandah. 3) Since there is no overhang from deck 9, there isn't much shade, unless the sun is on the other side of the ship. It got pretty hot out there.

One thing that was fun was standing out on the verandah and drinking our coffee while the ship backed into Castaway Cay.

Hope that helps.

 

[justmestace]

We had all of the same issues with 8602 on the Magic as everyone above has mentioned, but I still really liked that location. I didn't feel that too many people were above us looking down.....and I guess I decided that even if they were, they weren't seeing much anyway. We've cruised on Princess, where the balconies are "tiered", and everyone from above and the sides can see in. You just don't go out there naked!


One thing that DOES need to be mentioned.....8600 & 8602 are not "held" for handicap use. Anyone can book these rooms w/o needing the medical form, because they are not to code for accessibility, and the emergency call buttons in the rooms are not connected.
I also had concerns about whether or not a wheelchair could get over the sliding door track to the balcony..??.....it's not a flat surface.
So if you absolutely need one of these rooms and use a wheelchair, going on the balcony might be a problem.

 

[Biscuitsmom31]

We are in 8100 and 8102. I think it's kind of funny that there is a secret stairway and they are handicapped rooms. My husband uses an electric wheelchair full time so the stairs won't be much of a benefit for us.

This is our first cruise so I'm totally clueless. What is Topsiders?

 

[Jandreas]

Just returned from the 09/30 eastern - stayed in 8600. It was very spacious. All pocket sliding doors, large balcony - very nice.

 

[justmestace]

We are in 8100 and 8102. I think it's kind of funny that there is a secret stairway and they are handicapped rooms. My husband uses an electric wheelchair full time so the stairs won't be much of a benefit for us.

This is our first cruise so I'm totally clueless. What is Topsiders?

Topsiders on the Magic and Beach Blanket on the Wonder are the buffet restaurants in the back of the ships, Deck 9.
Another good thing about 8600, 8602 and 8100, 8102 is that they are near the aft elevators, which are often less crowded.