Which cruise line is most friendly to electric scooter?

Thinking of taking a cruise and taking our own scooter is there a cruise line better suited for ths

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In what way? Accessibility and use on board will be on par with most ocean going ships. None of them let you leave it in the hallways for any amount of time.

I think Disney has alcoves near the banks of elevators you can charge them in. Otherwise it must be charged in the cabin.

Depending on the actual scooter, it will fit in a regular cabin. You might need to have a piece of furniture removed to make room to maneuver. Like the table.

Some ports may be off limits if tendered and how the ship handles it. Some may require you to go down stairs for instance.

Getting around on board should be fairly easy although elevators can be tough to get at certain times of day

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Thanks so much for your reply, we were on a 25 day to the South Pacific in January with Oceania and couldn't have been happier. Their treat for my wife was great. Would now like to go to Italy and Greek islands but O doesn't seem to have a good itinerary so was wonder about other lines

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Will do thank you

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All the mass market lines are reasonably scooter-accessible and quite scooter-friendly AFAIK. If you qualify for an accessible cabin, that makes a huge difference IMNSHO as far as ease of getting around and having room for the scooter in the room. I picked both our cruises based on a HC room being available!

As spookwife said, tendering can be an issue. I err on the side of caution and just don't pick cruises where tendering is likely. (Of course there aren't any guarantees that a given cruise won't have to fall back on tendering.)

My husband took his scooter on the Oasis of the Seas in February and there were no issues. We did have a handicap assesible room, which worked out great. Took it off to all ports (San Juan, Labadee, St Martin and around the ship. They always found a place to store it in the dining room.

We've cruised RCL, Princess, Celebrity and NCL all with a mobility scooter (and always in a HA cabin). Never had any issues and were always treated very well by staff.

The Celebrity S class and the Royal Caribbean Radiance class ships have automatic doors for their accessible cabins - when you put in your key the door opens and there's a button inside the cabin that opens the door too. We were on the new Harmony of the Seas last fall and those cabins did not have that feature, and their doors were very heavy. The automatic doors make it truly accessible since you don't have to open and hold a heavy door when you leave or enter your cabin. Other ships may have this feature, but these are the ones we've used.

Kate

I use a mobility scooter and love Celebrity's S-Class ships. Very easy to get around the ship. I have had both HA rooms and non when an HA room was not available. There is an alcove outside the area of the main elevators on the decks with cabins. If you park your scooter into the Alcove there is no issue to leave it there and obviously, take the key. You bring your battery into the cabin to charge.

We also sailed Nieuw Amsterdam this winter. We had an HA cabin but it's configuration did not allow for the scooter. We parked the scooter in the elevator lobby with the charging cord in the basket. Our room steward took it away at night (around 11pm), stored it and charged it and brought it back to the elevator lobby at about 6:30am. Great solution! Great service!

I have also had the scooter on the Regal and Royal Princess. Very easy to get around. The newer the ship the more accessible features i.e. doors that open automatically in the public areas. Cannot speak about the doors to the cabins. All HA cabins on all ships (new or old) should open automatically. Unfortunately this is not the case.

> We had an HA cabin but its configuration did not allow for the scooter.

That boggles my mind. If you can't get a scooter in, you almost certainly couldn't get a wheelchair in either, so how the heck dare they call it an accessible cabin?

 

We also sailed Nieuw Amsterdam this winter. We had an HA cabin but it's configuration did not allow for the scooter. We parked the scooter in the elevator lobby with the charging cord in the basket. Our room steward took it away at night (around 11pm), stored it and charged it and brought it back to the elevator lobby at about 6:30am. Great solution! Great service!.

Scooters should not be stored in elevator lobbies either as they also comprise part of the paths of exit travel from one side of the ship to the other and/or to the exit stairs.

There is no exception that allows for storage in the elevator lobbies for any amount of time.

Don't Holland's cruise contracts require mobility devices to be stored in the cabin when not in use?

conom,

I have been on NCL, Celebrity, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. All were scooter friendly. Oceana IMHO is a top tier Cruise line. So I would think any of the top lines would give you similar treatment. I can let you know about Azamara in November :D.

Scooters should not be stored in elevator lobbies either as they also comprise part of the paths of exit travel from one side of the ship to the other and/or to the exit stairs.

 

There is no exception that allows for storage in the elevator lobbies for any amount of time.

 

Don't Holland's cruise contracts require mobility devices to be stored in the cabin when not in use?

Copied directly from HAL's website :

Additionally all Cruise Lines are mandated to comply with SOLAS ( Safety of Life as Sea) regulations which requires due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS regulations, mobility equipment and or any other personal items of a passenger cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or any other public area.

The cabin attendants of most cruise lines tend to ignore the regulations as they don't want to upset the passenger which certainly doesn't make it right. However I for one will contact Ship's Security to have the mobility scooter removed when it's improperly stored.

Copied directly from HAL's website :

"We recognize that for some people, a larger scooter may be essential. If you believe you need a larger scooter, please contact our Access & Compliance Department so that we can discuss your requirements.

For the safety of all guests and crew:

Scooters and other mobility equipment need to be securely stored and charged in the guest's stateroom; not in hallways or elevator lobbies.

 

Scooters left in hallways and elevator lobbies could restrict people needing to travel through these areas in an emergency, particularly other guests using mobility aids, since they would have no way of getting by a scooter left in a hallway."

Additionally all Cruise Lines are mandated to comply with SOLAS ( Safety of Life as Sea) regulations which requires due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS regulations, mobility equipment and or any other personal items of a passenger cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or any other public area.

 

The cabin attendants of most cruise lines tend to ignore the regulations as they don't want to upset the passenger which certainly doesn't make it right. However I for one will contact Ship's Security to have the mobility scooter removed when it's improperly stored.

I, too, report them. On a recent extended cruise, it took until day 13 before all of the corridors were clear. They just weren't getting it, even after repeated on-board complaints, until I contacted the corporate maritime safety officer. Suddenly, the mobility devices disappeared from the corridor and I was getting phone calls to my cabin thanking me for my concerns. One of the offenders was forward on the same deck as the bridge and ship's officers offices. How many officers walked by that one without taking any action?

I get the Okie Dokie treatment so much on shorter cruises that I get the impression that they think I'll be off the ship soon, so no worries. This time it was a transocean cruise of 25 nights, so I persevered.

I wonder why, when they are so strict on enforcing some maritime safety issues, that they are so lax on keeping the corridors clear of obstructions?

SargassoPirate,

I think it depends on the Cruise Line. NCL has no sense of humor if you leave your scooter outside. don't ask me how I know :cool:.

Basically, all cruise lines treat the handicap very well. There will always be incidents where the overall situation may take presidence over an individual.

Some of the newer ships have the automatic doors, which is a great improvement. Most of the “accessible” rooms provide adequate space for mobile devices. “Modified” cabins usually lack adequate space for a mobile device, especially on Carnival ships.

If you have specific concerns, I'd suggest you write to the respective “Accessibility” department.

Have a wonderful cruise,

Betty

I recently went on a Royal Caribbean (Liberty of the Sea) cruise, and I would park the scooter outside my door and my cabin steward would pick it up every night (about 11 pm), and bring it back in the morning (at 7 am) - fully charged. And, at dinner I would ride the scooter to the table and the table steward would park it for me and bring it back when I was ready to leave. Was that just special treatment 'cause I'm so cute :D or has anyone else made those kind of arrangements?

LettaRose,

I think it's because you're cute :cool: