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I just need to make time to get those passports ....

For US citizens the Alaska Cruise, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and others no Passport is required. Call Royal Caribbean and ask they have always been very helpful.
 
Thanks, Pete. We're on the East Coast, so the Carribean might be a good choice.
 
I thought the combination of no cooking or cleaning up, and some use of kids club would be a break, but he doesn't do my shower and dressing so maybe it's daunting. I not sure about going without him. Would cals think that was a break? Or missing out on shared time? We never had a honeymoon... Maybe taking someone with us, but also not perfectly romantic!
 
Sleepy,
Talk to him -- ask him what he would consider a break? Get on the Net together and explore some options? Of course, it would be ideal if you both could get a break and be a couple. If the shower is where he breaks down, for a short trip, there are other options. Maybe start with a day trip on a train or something where you can see sights without too much effort-- he might be afraid of nothing more than the unknown.

Best,
Laurie
 
I'm not sure how good QLD rail is with disabled access these days.
At least you have trains, we don't even have trains here so you can't come down this way ...

I really agree though a good conversation could be centred on - what would he feel would make a good holiday of some kind. What if someone could come to help, what are his main concerns. Sometimes that can open up a conversation where something that would work that you haven't even thought of could be discovered.

Another option some of our female CALS have done is to do a cruise or hire a holiday place with a few girlfriends and have a great girls weekend or week. Would that work as an alternative? Maybe he would then feel if you could go away with friends he could do something with you too?
 
Different cruise lines have different shower setups. On royal caribbean, we had a very small bathroom. The shower was about half of the bathroom and definitely couldnt fit 2 people. On holland america, we had a tub/shower combo and it was much larger.

If you want to cruise, use a travel agent who knows how to get the accessible rooms and what exactly is in them. Get dimensions etc. Ask if any equipment is available on board for use or rent. Ask if any help is available. There are usually medical people available. Finally, if none of this is possible, can you have a helper stay seperate from you?
 
Thank you so much for posting this thread. My husband and I love to travel, and did a lot of it even in the years after he was diagnosed. We haven't done it for several years, and I really miss it.

I have found a cruise that we would like to do. Some folks have told me that it wouldn't be much of a vacation for me. Our extended family is always offering to help, but because of the distance it never materializes.

I think that if I plan the cruise and ask people to go with us and help us out, they will. I would love to give my husband something great to look forward to.
 
You might want to check out cruisecritic.com for disabled cruiser information. Follow the links - boards, then special interests, then disabled cruisers. We cruise frequently and find this web site invaluable. The ports of call link is also great especially for finding private hire tour guides or ground transportation to and from airports.

When we take a caregiver with us she sleeps in the same cabin. When we travel with family we try to get cabins with a connecting door. A wheelchair accessible cabin with a roll in shower is a necessity for us so we book a specific room number and have the cruise line document no upgrades or room changes without our approval first.

If you are a US citizen and any of the ports of call are not in the US (or a US territory) check to see what the required documents are.
 
I agree that Cruise Critic is helpful. Most ships now have accessible rooms, but they are few in number and you have to book early. We had great rooms on Norwegian and Royal Caribbean. The rooms are larger, that bathrooms are also much bigger with roll-in/walk-in showers. On the 3 ships I've been on, it appeared that they took 3 regular cabins and made them into 2 accessible cabins. I use a travel agent who specializes is disabled travel (mostly cruises) -- she is knowledgeable about ports, etc. -- Dianne
 
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