WHEELCHAIR WANDERER LOU
  • Home
  • BLOG
  • MY STORY
    • SIDE EFFECTS OF NMO
    • CHALLENGES WITH NMO
  • WHAT IS NMO
    • SUPPORT
    • TREATMENT
    • RESEARCH
  • OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
  • LIVING AS A PARAPLEGIC
    • Daily Exercise Routine
    • Transferring
    • Being Indepenent
  • PHOTOGRAPHY
    • iPHONE PHOTOS
    • JAPANESE GARDEN PHOTOS
    • JAPANESE GARDEN PAGE TWO
    • NATIVE GARDEN PHOTOS
    • SECOND PAGE NATIVE GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHS
  • Dogs I Meet Along the Way
  • YOUTUBE VIDEOS
  • NEW ZEALAND CRUISE
    • CABIN PHOTOS >
      • INSIDE THE SHIP
      • DECK PHOTOS
      • FOOD
      • AUCKLAND PHOTOS
      • TAURANGA
      • GISBORNE
      • WELLINGTON
      • AKAROA
      • DUNEDIN
      • FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK
      • PHOTOS OF US & OTHERS
      • AMAZING SUNSETS
      • WATER
      • VIDEO CLIPS

I'M GOING ON A CRUISE IN MY WHEELCHAIR! BLOG 1

1/1/2018

9 Comments

 
I'll write about this holiday in 2 blogs. The first being all about the cruise, and the second more about the details of preparing for it.

​My year of 2018 is starting off with one big bang, and that is I'm going on a cruise to New Zealand! My gorgeous Mum is going, as well as a lovely friend of mine, who will be staying with me and helping me out when I need it. 

Friends of mine had told me about this cruise to New Zealand, and how they'd seen people in wheelchairs on board. Not to mention how fabulous the cruise was for them, and that there was so much to do on the ship and on land at the ports. So I decided that we needed a holiday and that this might be the only way I could do it. It's been 14 years since Mum had one, and 10 years for me. I started to entertain the idea and see if it would be possible, as I have so many special needs. I always felt that it would present to many obstacles and not be possible. 

May 2016 the journey began, I had no idea where to start. I first asked a travel agent friend of ours who was unable to help other than name which ship was a good one to go on. Then I called into a travel agency near home who specialise and only do cruises. They had no idea how to help me or what direction to steer me in. I googled like crazy to see if there was anything online for people in wheelchairs that would make it easier for me, however there was nothing. Another dear friend gave me a big book/brochure she'd come across at a travel agency she'd gone to. I looked at the brochure and their website but the cruises they had were very expensive. I then remembered that friends had been on the cruise, so asked them which boat they'd been on. That led me to look at Princess Cruises online to get a little bit of an idea of the cruises that were available.
PRINCESS CRUISES
Luckily I am pretty competent when it comes to looking around at websites and researching things on the internet, plus I enjoy it, so I started to look at their site. I looked at what cruise types were available, where they left from, how long they were for, what was available for people in wheelchairs, and of course the cost. My final move was to call Princess Cruises. 

Through May to September 2016 I kept see sawing between entertaining the idea of a cruise, then feeling that it would too hard with my needs. The result being that I didn't do much about it other than every now and then I'd look at the cruise site. By the time September 2016 came around, I thought no, I'M GOING FOR IT! I called Princess Cruises and spoke to a fabulous lady based in Sydney, who gave me heaps of information and steered me in the direction of looking at certain pages on the website. I got different costings, wrote them down, and then spoke to Mum about the idea and details. My instinct was telling me to GO FOT IT, I'D WORK OUT ALL THE DETAILS LATER. The one thing that works in my favour is that my mind still works, I'm great at problem solving and coming up with solutions. The cruise also left from Melbourne so I wouldn't need to fly anywhere, which I didn't want to do. The deal was that I wanted Mum to have a total rest from caring for me, so she'd have her own cabin. I'd then invite a friend who was able to assist with my needs in the morning, at night time, then any ad hoc needs during the day. After getting the price and doing my costings I knew it'd be possible. Although It'd take me 1.4 years to save for it, it’d be worth it. WE BOOKED IT IN SEPTEMBER 2016 for 13 nights from Melbourne 

THE TOTAL AMOUNT FOR MY SPECIAL WHEELCHAIR CABIN, WITH A PORTAL WINDOW -  $ 5,138.00. 
THE DEPOSIT - $ 912.00.
BALANCE DUE to be paid in total by OCTOBER 2017.


Looking at these figures I decided that it was possible to save the amount needed, and have some left over for excursions and spending. WOOOHOOO! 
THE BOAT WE ARE GOING ON IS CALLED "THE GOLDEN PRINCESS". Below is the link to the site for the ship if you are interested in looking at it.
LINK TO THE GOLDEN PRINCESS
THE CRUISE DETAILS - 

- Day 1 - The ship leaves from Port Melbourne where all the cruise ships come into, and the Tasmanian ferry is frequently seen.
- Day two, three and four we are at sea for three days. 
LET THE PAMPERING BEGIN - On day two I have booked a Shellac manicure, followed by a deep tissue massage (my feet, legs, back, neck and head) on day three. I'll stay in the wheelchair (as I'm unable to walk), and the massage therapist can work on the areas mentioned above as he wheelchair tilts back.
- Day 5 - Auckland is the first stop. I can't wait as I HAVE A COUSIN who lives there and I haven't seen her since she was a little girl. So, we'll get to meet her and her family. As well as wonderful friends who we grew up with in South Africa who also live there. It'll be SOOOO EXCITING. The ship is there between 1 pm - 8 pm.
- Day 6 - Next stop Tauranga where we are doing a fabulous excursion. I can't remember and can't get in to see it on the booking today. I can remember that it's about a 9 hour excursion. I have to go on the excursions in a manual wheelchair. I'm not sure why but will be able to say why when I get back. 
- Day 7 is Gisborne. Unfortunately the ship can't pull into the port so I'm unable to get off. They use smaller boats for people to get into to go to land. Mum is off on an excursion, and I've booked in for a fancy facial!
- Day 8 we pull into Wellington. Here we are doing a bus ride around the city for 3 hours or so in the morning. Then we'll venture off on our own. I've researched all the things we can do for the afternoon, it'll be fun!
- Day 9 Akaroa where again I am unable to go to shore. The next pampering session is another deep tissue massage! 
- Day 10 Dunedin. Sadly there were only three wheelchair accessible excursions I could go on, and they have very limited spots. I missed out on this excursion although Mum is on it. So we'll be doing our own thing which is fine.
- Day 11 we spend the day cruising to and through the Fiordland National Park which is supposed to be stunning. I can't wait for that!
- Last but least two days spend on the ocean relaxing, and finally back home. 
1st TIME ON A CRUISE
1ST TIME TO NEW ZEALAND
1ST HOLIDAY AS A PAREPLEGIC
1ST HOLIDAY IN 10 YEARS
Picture
Picture
9 Comments
Jenny Hibbert
8/1/2018 09:11:25 pm

Oh Lou you will love cruising I have been on a few , love the pampering and being cooked for :) The crew are so lovely !! Your room gets cleaned daily and the beds are turned down each night.
There's so much to do and see on the ship it's fantastic :). My next cruise is in March I fly to Singapore stay 3 days on Sentosa Island then cruise to Vietnam,Thailand ect ... Make sure to pack sea sickness tablets and take an hour before getting on the ship <3 Happy Cruising Lovely xx

Reply
Jenny Hibbert link
9/1/2018 10:10:31 am

Thanks so much sweetheart. Have a fabulous trip in March xxx

Reply
Tung Tung
9/1/2018 06:23:16 am

Have a great trip😆🎉🎉🎉

Reply
Tung Tung link
9/1/2018 10:11:22 am

Thanks so much sweetheart :)

Reply
Joe Bruni
9/1/2018 11:34:31 am

I loved NZ and am sure you will too
The cruize is a wonderful way to see that beautiful country. Don’t wear out your photo trigger finger and absorb the beauty of nature
Have a wonderful and safe holiday

Reply
Dianne Dalton
9/1/2018 12:18:36 pm

Sounds wonderful. Look forward to hearing all about it.
Enjoy the pampering Lou. 😘 xxx

Reply
David & Miranda link
9/1/2018 01:55:28 pm

OMG Lou,

you, your mum and friend are going to have a ball of a time... very jealous but you are inspiring us to do our first cruise... hopefully in 2018 too!
Looking forward to your review and stories of the cruise when you get back to Melbourne... I am sure you will have stacks of great photos too!

ENJOY!

Reply
Shirley Arnoldshir
9/1/2018 03:18:02 pm

Have lots of fun. Much love Shirley

Reply
Clare B
9/1/2018 06:00:03 pm

Hi Lou,

When you said you were going on a cruise, I thought that sounded exciting. However I think you are going on an amazing adventure, it will be so wonderful to see your NZ and SA family!! Looking forward to some great photos.

The folks love the second photographic publication - stunning!

Looking forward to hearing all about your high seas adventures when you get back to land 'me hearty'.

Love,
Clare

p.s. Thank you for all your support over the last 6 months. Xx

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

      SUBSCRIBE FOR BLOG UPDATES

    SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG UPDATES

    Author

    In a wheelchair permanently since early 2010 due to a disease called NMO. I am loving getting out and about in my wheels. My blogs capture my journey. 

    Archives

    January 2019
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    Categories

    All
    Art Fair In New Wheelchair
    Art Gallery
    Australian Tapestry Workshop
    Broken Equipment
    Devic's Side Effects
    Exercise Equipment
    Funny Breakfast Story
    Funny Stories
    Jean-paul-gaultier-exhibition
    Meetup-social-group
    Movie Review LUCY 2014
    Movie Reviews
    Parties
    Photos
    Public-transport-journeys
    Renewing-lost-friendships
    Trip To Melbourne Central Myer Emporiumcde2ab748f
    What-a-day
    Youtube-videos
    Youtube-videos

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • BLOG
  • MY STORY
    • SIDE EFFECTS OF NMO
    • CHALLENGES WITH NMO
  • WHAT IS NMO
    • SUPPORT
    • TREATMENT
    • RESEARCH
  • OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
  • LIVING AS A PARAPLEGIC
    • Daily Exercise Routine
    • Transferring
    • Being Indepenent
  • PHOTOGRAPHY
    • iPHONE PHOTOS
    • JAPANESE GARDEN PHOTOS
    • JAPANESE GARDEN PAGE TWO
    • NATIVE GARDEN PHOTOS
    • SECOND PAGE NATIVE GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHS
  • Dogs I Meet Along the Way
  • YOUTUBE VIDEOS
  • NEW ZEALAND CRUISE
    • CABIN PHOTOS >
      • INSIDE THE SHIP
      • DECK PHOTOS
      • FOOD
      • AUCKLAND PHOTOS
      • TAURANGA
      • GISBORNE
      • WELLINGTON
      • AKAROA
      • DUNEDIN
      • FIORDLAND NATIONAL PARK
      • PHOTOS OF US & OTHERS
      • AMAZING SUNSETS
      • WATER
      • VIDEO CLIPS