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Ok – here goes
Let’s get the gripe out of the way - We were seriously considering cancelling the cruise because we felt we were not getting anywhere with our concerns about being able to access any of the ports & basically being put off by the extortionate costs of both transfers from airport to hotel & hotel to ship etc – we were quoted some $400 per transfer by Virgin & a similar amount by NCL for a wheelchair accessible van for each trip.
In hindsight I think we would have been better booking it all through NCL & making sure our transfers were covered, however this was our first cruise & we had no previous experience to fall back. We have travelled to the USA many times in the past with Virgin & have generally been happy with the arrangements. When we originally booked the cruise with Virgin we were told transfers were not included but the costs were minimal. In the past our experience has always been favorable on how we were treated with a wheelchair & my wife made to feel safe & secure.
When travelling with a wheelchair you need to know that all arrangements are taken care of to ensure we both have an enjoyable holiday. This was the first time that we had felt that we were going out on a wing & a prayer. We decided to take our own commode/shower chair which, from previous experiences, made sense to us & this was carried free by Virgin although it meant another piece of luggage to carry along with 3 suitcases – OK I agree we took too much but my wife insisted that she wanted to take plenty of clothes for both the day & evening!!
At JFK we managed with some airport assistance to get a yellow taxi which managed to get all of our luggage in & with help of a sliding board got my wife into the taxi very easily – although the taxi driver was a little phased by having a commode on his front seat although I would hasten to add that it was securely wrapped & obviously clean. So, for the cost of $50 we arrived at our hotel in Manhattan, New York.
We did seem to be handing out tips almost everywhere to porters as I needed some help with the luggage every time we needed to transfer.
The next day we were ready for our cruise – It may have helped if the travel directions had stated the port number as the directions sent to us seemed to confuse everyone – however as we approached the terminal there was our Cruise ship in all her splendor. The embarkation process was wonderful, we were whisked through & helped on board & met with a glass of champagne & then into the buffet – where we met a wonderful couple from Florida, who we met up with for dinner later in the week & had a great evening.
Our balcony cabin was everything that we could have asked for – the stewards fixed a ramp for the wheelchair to go on to the balcony. It was totally wheelchair accessible with roll in shower. We were able to get around the ship very easily & all the restaurants were very friendly & accommodating. My wife had also been diagnosed as gluten intolerant just before our cruise & after asking to see one of the restaurant Managers Harold, we were told that nothing was too much trouble & we were able to order in advance to meet my wife’s dietary requirements. This also included a meal at Impressions which was truly excellent & worth the extra cover charge.
Other than a quick snack in the Garden Café after a day out we had breakfast & dinner at either the Venetian or Aqua, we couldn’t manage lunch or the midnight buffet! The meals were on the whole excellent & waiters very attentive.
We did go & see the excursions desk but they were not able to assist us & suggested that we would be better off doing our own thing!
All of the ports were accessible – Halifax was ideal with a good 1 mile boardwalk & short walk into the town , there were a few steep paths but we managed to safely navigate our way around & had a good day. Easy to get on & off the ship with the crew helping out up the gangplank.
The same at St John – although the town was slightly steeper but once we reached the top of King Street we managed to see something of the old town before exploring the shops & light refreshments!
Bar Harbor was our favorite port, beautiful views & a tender port! The crew were fantastic in getting my wife & wheelchair on board - & we were able to get a trolley tour with Ollie’s Trolleys who had a wheelchair ramp - & we took the 2-3 hour tour of Acadia park including getting off at our stops.
Boston – we got on the cruise bus at the dock which had a wheelchair ramp & off we went to Quincy market with everyone else & we did our own thing walking the Freedom trail before getting back on the bus & back to the ship. Another great day out although the weather was not so good.
Newport – another tender port , again no problem. We also got on another trolley bus with ramp & visited 2 Mansions ( both accessible) before returning to ship.
The days had really flown by, we had also seen all the shows in the evening which we enjoyed before finishing off with a nightcap at Pearly Kings. One suggestion I would make is to have someone responsible for ensuring disabled guests are looked after in the theatre & acting as point of contact during the cruise. Sometimes the girls at reception seemed a little phased if asked for example if we could have some extra help on disembarkation as I needed to hold back some of the luggage. To have to wheel though the ship the commode was not my best experience.
The actual disembarking was very efficient & once we got to Spinnakers lounge we got the help needed to the road side & getting another taxi – this time a proper wheelchair taxi which took a few extra minutes to organize.
We then spent 2 days in New York, hoping on & off the accessible bus, the Subway ( we thought we needed to do this & probable not a good idea as we got into a slight muddle & what should have been a 5 minute trip turned into a 1hour trip ) before returning home.
So did it meet our expectations – yes it did & we will probably book another cruise in the next 2 years – Cruising is definitely a great way to holiday for us. I would like in future to avoid the flights & board in the UK or only have to deal with one Company. Also, I think it would have been helpful to have given us some other advice rather than promoting your own excursions which plainly were not suitable for us, which would have gone a long way to overcoming our initial concerns rather than quoting your T & C’s at us.
Finally, we did have a great cruise, we saw & experienced some wonderful places & met lots of interesting people & made new friends – I suppose that’s what cruising is all about.
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