14 Day Caribbean Cruise
On Board Norwegian ‘SUN’
Nov. 6 to 20, 2010
On the NCL SUN Part 1
On the NCL SUN Part 2
On the NCL SUN Part 3
Accessibility Information
On The Norwegian SUN
The ship itself by an able bodied definition is fully accessible. By a person with a mobility disability that is traveling with a wheelchair or scooter is not 100 % easy for wheelchairs without help from another able bodied person to open certain doors and some may find it difficult to pick up food when in the buffet.. But on the ships that we have taken cruises on for the most part a wheelchair can get around most of the ship unaided.
There was 2 automatic sliding opening doors inside the ship that I was aware of, one on the 12th deck and one in the 11th deck buffet exiting to the outdoor eating area. The 6th deck doors to the outside walking and jogging area had heavy doors, now if you had another person open the door and allow you to exit or come back inside you could bring your wheelchair in and out of the outside area on this deck, but to bring a scooter up the door and get it open while in the wheelchair or scooter and get thru it on your own would be difficult. Certain doors to this outside deck on the 6th floor had ramps but there is a small bump at the top of the small ramp, now on some powered mobility scooters, the bottom of the scooter is low to the surface, so you need to get a little speed up when you go thru these doors (after someone has opened it for you) so you do not get hung up there. If you get a run on even if you do rub under the scooter or the anti-tip wheels raises the power wheels up off the surface you have enough speed to get out over this and out or in the doorway. If your mobility device’s bottom has higher clearance it may not be as much an issue. Some interior doors may also have this bump that you will have to use the same approach when going thru them.
The 1st day or so on the ship you will start to get to know the layout of the ship and know ways around more difficult doors when no one is available to open it for you. For example on one end of the ship on the 11th floor you must physically open the door to the pool deck, but if you go to another deck you can go to the other end of the ship and then go to the 11th deck there go thru the buffet area to a door to the pool deck that most times is left open.
Even though the doors to the 6th deck outside area has heavy doors there is an outside deck on the 12th that is accessible by an automatic opening door.
The theatre is fully accessible with a designated disabled seating section, the theatre entry is from the 6th floor which is where you should go if using a mobility device as that section is a low angle ramp to the front and has a designated section for wheelchairs and disabled seating, the 7th floor is balcony seating for the theatre.
The outside observation deck on the 12th floor has a door to in and out to the outside observation deck (not automatic), and there is not a great deal of room between a fully opened door and the outside deck railing, there is a ramp at the door but a bump at the door floor itself, with some mobility devices that are low to the surface you must get a run on so you do not get hung up on the ridge at the doors middle, but you must turn as soon as you get out and coming back in particularly with 3 wheel scooters to get a run on turn into the turn to the doorway with some speed on could leave you prone for the possibility of tipping the scooter over. There is a door on either side of the ship from the inside observation area to the outside and I believe one side has a bit more space outside the door but that side is more prone to be blocked by chairs inside. Just be careful the angle in which you hit the ramp at this location and the stability of your mobility device when going thru this door. It can be windy sometimes in this outside observation area so do not have anything loose in a basket on the mobility device or it may be picked up by the wind and end up in the ocean.
Be certain to read the section regarding cruises at the link below…
and the accessibility page on there…
The accessibility page above also explains how to select a stateroom and the issues with tenders.
By: Donald Kerr