scooters?

My 90 year old mother is considering joining us for a cruise. She is very active & has few mobility issues. But I think she would be happier & less stressed if we could somehow get her a scooter to ride instead of walking on the decks. My questions are: does CCL rent them? If not, can we bring one from home? What type of problems can we expect? I have no experience with this & am looking for advice from those of you who have experience. Any tips from fellow scooter riders? Any thoughts that I might need to consider? Thanks I appreciate your help.

Carnival doesn't rent them but there are several companies that do. Yes, you can bring the one from home.

The doorways are narrow, less than 22" without the door, which is at least an inch or so. (About 20" clearance.) You can rent a scooter that will fit thru a regular cabin doorway.

Scooters cannot be left in the hallways, only stored in your cabin.

Handicapped cabins have an adequate door width. There are two types-Modified accessible with a wider door and fully accessible with roll in shower etc.

The Disabled Cruising board has lots of info.

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Thank you SadieN. I forgot about the disabled cruising board, thank you for the reminder. Will check there. She doesn't really need the walk/roll in shower of a handicapped cabin, but the door width is something I forgot to think about. Storing the scooter will also be something we need to consider while onboard. Thx, just the type of input I am looking for.

Carnival doesn't rent them but there are several companies that do. Yes, you can bring the one from home.

The doorways are narrow, less than 22" without the door, which is at least an inch or so. (About 20" clearance.) You can rent a scooter that will fit thru a regular cabin doorway.

Scooters cannot be left in the hallways, only stored in your cabin.

 

Handicapped cabins have an adequate door width. There are two types-Modified accessible with a wider door and fully accessible with roll in shower etc.

 

The Disabled Cruising board has lots of info.

 

On the Miracle, I always see at least 1 scooter in the hallway.:mad: So much for the rules for keeping the scooters in the cabins.

On the Miracle, I always see at least 1 scooter in the hallway.:mad: So much for the rules for keeping the scooters in the cabins.

Me too. Always see one or two in the hallways. Rules are made, not always followed.

We had 2 in the hallway just down from our cabin. That's how we knew we were getting close to our cabin.

We get one for my dad each trip because he has a bad back and it helps him to get around as well. I usually book my parents an OS so they never have the storage problem with it since they have more space. We use specialneedsatsea.com to rent ours and it is always there waiting for us in the room.

When we get to the Port for embarkation we find someone who can help us with a wheelchair to get on the ship and then park him in the lobby or go to lido for some people watching and drinks while we wait for the rooms to be ready.

He has taken them off the ship as well in a few PORTS to explore and then we have had wheelchair assistance in others to get down the pier to get on an excursion. Now he has only cruised on the Dream class ships and loves the Deck 5 wrap around. I think only during debarkation have we ever had an issue with elevators and trying to get down for assistance off the ship.

And wish the people who used them got a course in manuevering them

h........... I think only during debarkation have we ever had an issue with elevators and trying to get down for assistance off the ship.

At crowded times we get into any empty elevator. Eventually it'll get to the right floor.

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At crowded times we get into any empty elevator. Eventually it'll get to the right floor.

 

 

 

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So do we.

Being one from home. Have her practice before the trip. Take her to the mall and let her learn how to operate it.

Special needs at sea. Sorry I don't have their number. That's where I rent my scooter. They deliver and pick up from your cabin

Here is special needs at sea's phone number 800-513-4515

If she's "active", then she probably won't need a scooter....does she use one at home? If not, she won't need it on the ship! Ask her! It doesn't sound necessary, but your description!

Get the scooter, my DH loves his. He could never keep up with me without it, lol. And I don't have to worry if his back or knee is hurting, or walk so slow I go crazy. ;) He has a cane holder on the back of it so when we get to the show allthe way forward, or to dinner all the way aft he parks it out of the way and grabs his cane. I love to walk alot on the ship, his scooter is wonderful. Your scooter needs to be 21 inches wide or less. We've always had a balcony so had enough room in cabin. If I did a inside i would have the beds as twins so I could park the scooter between them.:D

I'm not disabled and I don't know or cruise with anyone who is. However, I have to ask the complainers: Where should these people park their scooter if it doesn't fit through the doorway? No cruise line is going to make a disabled person drive their scooter through a doorway to determine if the scooter can come aboard the ship or not. As for the driving, my dad is 86 (87 on Tuesday). His memory is failing and his coordination is going with it. He admitted to me a few weeks ago that he got down on his hands and kneads to dig through the bottom of his hall closet and it took him forever to stand back up. SCARY. When I see someone quite elderly in a scooter bumping into things, like yesterday in the grocery store, I take my healthy, agile self out of the way and feel some empathy for this person that at one point in his or her life was probably just as healthy and agile as I am. Give these people a break, some help onto the elevator and a little respect. Karma will come back to you in spades.

 

There but for the grace of God go I.

While on a cruise with daughter-n-law and her mom, the cabin steward told the mom to park scooter in the hall. I was surprised but we did see several scooters in the hallways. We thought she would have to park it by the elevators.

They're supposed to be in the cabin. Along with wheelchairs and strollers.

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They're supposed to be in the cabin. Along with wheelchairs and strollers.

 

 

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As we all know many people and employees dont follow their rules

Thank you to all for your responses.

A special shout out to fyree39

Mom is capable of walking, but not long distances, she has trouble with her hips & knees. She has frequent falls, yet is too proud to use a cane or walker. Even though we all (5 children) try to persuade her. She has used a scooter when we've gone to theme parks, zoos, etc & does pretty well. She refuses to accept the fact that she needs to slow down. I did go to the "cruising with disabilities" board & got some wonderful information. Thank you cruise critic for this special section.

I'm not disabled and I don't know or cruise with anyone who is. However, I have to ask the complainers: Where should these people park their scooter if it doesn't fit through the doorway? No cruise line is going to make a disabled person drive their scooter through a doorway to determine if the scooter can come aboard the ship or not. As for the driving, my dad is 86 (87 on Tuesday). His memory is failing and his coordination is going with it. He admitted to me a few weeks ago that he got down on his hands and kneads to dig through the bottom of his hall closet and it took him forever to stand back up. SCARY. When I see someone quite elderly in a scooter bumping into things, like yesterday in the grocery store, I take my healthy, agile self out of the way and feel some empathy for this person that at one point in his or her life was probably just as healthy and agile as I am. Give these people a break, some help onto the elevator and a little respect. Karma will come back to you in spades.

 

There but for the grace of God go I.

^^ this

With such a limited number of accessible cabins on each ship it's bound to happen that some are left in halls. Plus someone traveling with a scooter probably doesn't even think to ask if they will fit through a door on the ship until they board and realize it won't get through.

The reality is people today have no patience, tolerance or compassion when it comes to other people. It's sad.

It is not that I have no patience or tolerance for people with scooters it is they need to remember their manners also.

Our last cruise on the Liberty we were getting shoved out of lines by people with scooters cutting to the front of lines. This was not one person but several. Courtesy would be nice.

My DH is handicap and would NEVER think of just walking to the front of a line ahead of everyone else.

Scooters left in the hall ways are a fire hazard. They block access up and down the hall. All scooters should be put into the users cabin for the courtesy of other guests who have to walk up and down the isle.

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If she's "active", then she probably won't need a scooter....does she use one at home? If not, she won't need it on the ship! Ask her! It doesn't sound necessary, but your description!

I would disagree, my dad is active and does not have one at home nor does he use one in everyday life. But when we are on vacation and happen to go to Disney, Universal or a cruise he tends to walk so much more than the average day. We started getting him a scooter when at Universal and staying at Portofino Bay. He was in so much pain he was miserable and could not make it to dinner one night. I went to the desk, back then they had them at the resort, and got him one. Talked him into it and he had the most amazing trip he said later, was able to even go to the park and see Harry Potter and that almost made me tear up :) Now we always get him one even though he might leave it in the room most the time since his back is doing much better.

Leaving scooters in the hallways is a fire hazard. I also cannot get my son and his wheelchair down the hallway if there are scooters parked in it. We have been on cruises where there have been scooters and strollers in the hallways and I have reported it to guest services. They have then been quickly removed.

Thank you to all for your responses.

A special shout out to fyree39

Mom is capable of walking, but not long distances, she has trouble with her hips & knees.

I would add to check with your local Medical Supplies places. You may well be able to rent a scooter for far less than what the companies that deliver them charge. Another plus is you might also be able to rent one of the narrower ones that will go through all the doorways.

Although I use a scooter at times, except for our last cruise, I've taken my scooter. Learned my lesson well and it goes with me on this next cruise. If I have to replace mine (it's a 4 wheel and takes more room to maneuver than the 3 wheel ones) I will get one of the travel ones. They are narrower and I saw one that even folded up and was no bigger than a rolling suitcase. That would allow me to book any cabin I wished to and not have to have one with the wider door.

I'm not disabled and I don't know or cruise with anyone who is. However, I have to ask the complainers: Where should these people park their scooter if it doesn't fit through the doorway? No cruise line is going to make a disabled person drive their scooter through a doorway to determine if the scooter can come aboard the ship or not. As for the driving, my dad is 86 (87 on Tuesday). His memory is failing and his coordination is going with it. He admitted to me a few weeks ago that he got down on his hands and kneads to dig through the bottom of his hall closet and it took him forever to stand back up. SCARY. When I see someone quite elderly in a scooter bumping into things, like yesterday in the grocery store, I take my healthy, agile self out of the way and feel some empathy for this person that at one point in his or her life was probably just as healthy and agile as I am. Give these people a break, some help onto the elevator and a little respect. Karma will come back to you in spades.

 

There but for the grace of God go I.

I like you posts and agree mostly. Like 99% of it. Special needs will give a person considering a scooter, the exact measurements (wide) it needs not to exceed to get into the doorway. There are many travel scooters that can fit into any room, but many more scooters that only will fit in a standard doorway. Those scooters are not permitted to be in the hallway. Some cruise lines actually have a parking lot on each deck for those people. Someone in a scooter needs extra planning, and working with the cruise line, who all have a special needs department.

On a side note. Most people who get run over, get so, because they stand directly in front of, and on the side of the scooter. It's just like a car, and you wouldn't stay that close to one of those.