Thread: Princess Cays - Eleuthera, Bahamas

Originally Posted by LMadden180

Do they have any wheel chairs on Princess Cays? I did not even consider taking my mother to one these private islands until last year. I took my aunt to RCCL's private island and they had wheel chairs with HUGE tires---as well as paved lanes/sidewalks. I realized I could have taken my mom if I had known. Does anyone know about Princess Cays?

You do have to tender tino Princess Cays, so I don't know if there would be accomodations for a wheel chair or not. Might want to call Princess and ask.

It's also a very nice day to stay onboard if you can't tender in...no one around and the pools are wide-open!

Just bumping this up .. . we've been there twice since this thread was started, and everyone in our group had a wonderful time, as there was something for everyone.

We rented one of the private bungalows, and that really made the day for the guys, who are sun and heat sensitive. The fact that we were able to eat oprivatelyt, and have a home base was great. The shioppers and wanderers in the group had a safe place to leave their things. The water was amazing, and snorkeling is an easy walk-in from right in front of the bungalows.

We finally got to Princess Cays in Nov 09 onboard the Ruby Princess. We also rented a bungalow and I'm sure glad we did. It was hot hot hot and the a/c sure helped out a lot. If I were to go there again (and I hope I do), I would rent the bungalow again. It was pricey, but to me it was well worth the money.

Princess has probably one of the most restrictive access policies of all the major lines. When I sailed to Hawaii on the Golden last October our tender port was Lahaina, Maui which is where I first came to see and begin to understand just how restrictive. Passengers with disabilities/wheelchair users were told if they were unable to navigate the stairway to the tender under their own power they could not go ashore. Since I could not recall ever read anywhere in an of my Princess training about these restrictions and nothing had been sent prior to our embarkation it frankly angered me. Afterwards I spoke with a few wheelchair users onboard and asked their opinion. None recalled being told ahead of time and most felt hurt and/or angry by being denied the chance to go ashore.
Official Princess Policy:
Access at Docked Ports
Embarking and disembarking can be challenging for those with limited mobility. Many major ports of call provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters. However due to various conditions; steepness of the gangway, weather, shore-side facilities, tidal and sea conditions, passengers using mobility devices may be required to transfer to a stair climber or be precluded from going ashore. Princess staff will make every effort to assist but are not allowed to individually physically lift more than 50 pounds (22 kg).
Access to Tenders
Some ports of call require the ship to anchor off shore. Passengers are then taken to shore by small boats or tenders. When tendering is required, passengers using mobility devices will not be transferred into or out of the tender, if lifting in excess of the above limitation is required. Many tender ports do not provide wheelchair access so even if the passenger can board the tender they may not be able to disembark ashore. Again the shore-side facilities, movement of the tender, weather and tidal conditions can also preclude tendering.
The decision to allow any passenger to board a tender or disembark the vessel will be made by the Captain on the basis of the safety and welfare of all involved and is final.

Originally Posted by LMadden180;612070[B

]Do they have any wheel chairs on Princess Cays?[/B] I did not even consider taking my mother to one these private islands until last year. I took my aunt to RCCL's private island and they had wheel chairs with HUGE tires---as well as paved lanes/sidewalks. I realized I could have taken my mom if I had known. Does anyone know about Princess Cays?

Yes, they have a limited number of beach wheelchairs (big fat wheels) for use on a first come first serve basis. I've heard folks complain that there aren't enough.

You do have to tender. I've seen wheelchairs stowed on tenders for Princess Cays. Don't know for sure .... but it seems a person must be able to walk enough (with help) to get on and off the tender. There are a few paved walk ways there.