Disabled Cruising 2017 Part 4: On the Ship

For this vacation, we decided to use Kim's eBay earnings to see how the other side lives. We booked a wheelchair accessible suite, which is of course larger than a normal suite, which is larger than a normal cabin.  Certain perks came with the suite package too, such as a butler (who we shared with ten other suites), unlimited internet, premium drink package, private cocktail bar and dining room, champagne upon arrival, preferred seating at the theater, and a bunch of other, mostly minor, stuff.

I’m reminded of the movie Titanic, where the first class and steerage passengers were kept separated. Like Rose’s fiancé in the movie, I knew I would have to remain diligent to keep Kim from sneaking out of our cabin to go below decks and party with the real people. I think I succeeded, but there was that one night when I didn’t hear any snoring from the other side of the bed…

The Ship 

I find large, modern cruise ships to be more accessible than even the nicest hotels. This ship, Celebrity’s Silhouette, did not disappoint. The cabin was spacious and wheelchair friendly, especially the bathroom. When I pushed my key card into the slot, the door to our cabin not only unlocked, but it opened for me. And the public spaces shined. Almost every door I encountered opened and closed for me automatically. The entrance to every public bathroom was equipped with a pushbutton, as was the entrance to the accessible stall within. Few ramps were required because few elevation changes existed. And elevators? There were banks and banks of them.

Outstanding food options are included in every cruise package, but they try to get you with high-end restaurants that require you to pay a premium. With our suite package, we had access to a couple of these without an extra fee. I remember on our first cruise seven years ago, we ate in the main dining room every night, and we considered the quality of the food and the service to be five-star. By dining at the same table every night, we were waited on by the same service folks and sat with the same dining companions. We learned a little bit about the staff and our companions, and they learned a little about us. By day two, our favorite drinks were awaiting us when we arrived. On this cruise, however, we ate at a different restaurant almost every night. Again, the food and service were outstanding, but we did miss out on that classic cruise experience of the main dining room.

Kim and I like to gamble. I play the blackjack tables, and she plays video poker. We frequented the ship’s casino, as did my brother Andy. I came in second place in the blackjack tournament, but that pot wasn’t enough to offset my losses for the week. Kim didn’t make out so well either, but we met a lot of people and had fun.

Each evening we rendezvoused with the rest of our gang on the appropriate deck to have a drink and watch the sunset. Here are a few photos.

The iBot

Although almost nine years old now, the iBot still impresses. My other chair, a Permobil, does more tricks than the iBot, and it is better suited for everyday use, but nothing turns heads like the iBot’s balance mode or stairclimbing mode. In my Permobil wheelchair, people treated me politely if they noticed me in all. In my iBot, I was a rock star. I encountered a problem, however, which was a first for me with the iBot. In balance mode, the chair is quite good about adjusting to various inclines, but it has no ability to adjust for elevation differences in the opposite axis, sidehill situations. Here’s what I mean.

One day Andy rented a cabana on the top deck of the cruise ship. One of the unique features of the ship, or this class of ship within Celebrity, is the real grass lawn areas on the top deck. The first time I approached our cabana, I didn’t realize that a curb crept up on the sidewalk. When I hit the angled curb in balance mode with just one of my tires, see picture below, I thought I was screwed. But the iBot quickly diagnosed the fact that I was about to tip over, and it dropped me from balance mode into four-wheel-drive mode so quickly that I didn't tip over at all. As everyone does when they stumble, the first thing I did was look around to see if anyone had seen me, and they hadn’t. Still, I confessed my story as we sat in the cabana and sipped on tropical drinks.

One evening, as we were hanging out at a nightclub, a gentleman approached me when I was in balance mode.

“How long have you been in your iBOT?”

“Almost nine years. I got one of the last ones made.”

“We’re making an iBOT 2.0, you know.”

“You work for DEKA?”

“Yes I do.”

“Hey, I’m the guy on the landing page of your website…”

We had a nice conversation on all things iBot, and he is excited about the next generation product, although he couldn’t provide me with many details.

I’m going to miss my iBot when it finally reaches the end of its life.

One more post about the cruise!

For part three, click here.
For part five, click here.