Princess Cruise Line Special Needs Programs

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Special Needs Passengers

Source: www.princess.com

In 1984, Royal Princess debuted as the line's first ship designed with facilities specifically for passengers with physical disabilities. The company initiated its award-winning Princess AccessSM program in 1992 to raise the standards of cruise ship accessibility across the fleet, while keeping in mind the constraints and special considerations inherent to a ship at sea.

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Princess Access

Princess makes every effort to accommodate our passengers with disabilities. Have your travel agent notify Princess Cruises of your wheelchair usage and/or any special needs prior to sailing. If you require a mobility device, you must provide your own. You can pre-reserve a wheelchair and have it and other medical equipment delivered to the ship by contacting CareVacations at
1-877-478-7827 or at www.cruiseshipassist.com.  Some Princess ships have areas that are not wheelchair accessible.

Accessibility varies widely on pre- and post-cruise land tours and hotel packages. Not all providers have lift-equipped transportation options and when available, arrangements must be secured in advance. The maximum weight of the wheelchair and the guest cannot exceed 600 lbs on transportation lifts. For pre- or postcruise land tours, please call the Tour Realization Department at 1-800-627-4212 with questions or concerns.

If you have purchased a Princess Transfer at the start or end of the cruise, be aware that lift-equipped transportation may not be available in your port of embarkation or disembarkation. Arrangements must be secured in advance by contacting us at 1-800-PRINCESS as soon as possible.

Passengers utilizing mobility devices with batteries are advised that the batteries must be a dry cell type and must be stored and recharged in the stateroom. Mobility devices of any kind, like other items, may not be left outside the stateroom.

Not all port facilities are accessible for those using mobility devices. Ports of call may be accessed by a variety of methods including, but not limited to, a ramped gangway, series of steps or by tender. In some cases, you may be able to access the tender; however, the shoreside facility is not accessible. With your safety and comfort in mind, the decision to permit or prohibit passengers from going ashore will be made on each occasion by the ship's Captain, and the decision is final. Those ports which normally use tenders to access the shore are noted on the itinerary.

In many ports of call, a mechanism known as a "stair climber" is used to assist passengers up and down the gangway. This requires that passengers transfer to a Princess wheelchair which is then connected to the stair climber and operated by the ship's personnel. If you cannot transfer or your personal mobility device cannot be easily disembarked due to size or weight, you may be precluded from going ashore.

Accessible Staterooms

Princess fleet offers more than 350 wheelchair-accessible cabins. Each vessel features up to 31 accessible cabins, across a variety of stateroom categories. These rooms all follow guidelines set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Every shower in the fleet has a grab bar, and Princess Cruises also can provide shower stools or toilet seat riser for any stateroom upon request. Wheelchair-accessible staterooms are available on every ship in the fleet. These come pre-equipped with additional grab bars around the toilet area, a roll-in shower, a wider doorway entrance, and extra room to maneuver a wheelchair or scooter around the interior.

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More about the Princess Access Program