Wheelchair for boarding?

Hi, my friend will be renting a scooter in Baltimore for the cruise. However I understand they are delivered to the cabin, so she would need help boarding. I hear you can get a wheelchair at the port for boarding. Is there someone to take her, or does one of our party push her? Just planning ahead re: luggage, etc., for boarding and if we want to try and take ours. Not doable if no help with wheelchair. Thanks in advance for any replies :)

Hi, my friend will be renting a scooter in Baltimore for the cruise. However I understand they are delivered to the cabin, so she would need help boarding. I hear you can get a wheelchair at the port for boarding. Is there someone to take her, or does one of our party push her? Just planning ahead re: luggage, etc., for boarding and if we want to try and take ours. Not doable if no help with wheelchair. Thanks in advance for any replies :)

The Cruiseline will provide wheelchair assistance for boarding and an attendant will be provided to push he/she onto the ship. Once at the port your friend will have to go into the terminal and find a cruise line rep. Assistance is on a first come first served basis so be prepared for the fact that some waiting will be involved. The wheelchair is not left with your friend afterboarding as it will be needed in order to bring other passengers onboard that are waiting back in the terminal.

The attendant will drop your friend off in a public area of the ship, usually the buffet area, until the cabin are available which is usually around 1-1:30 PM for most ships. The scooter rental contract specifies that the scooter will be delivered to the ship by 2:00 PM. However it's important to note that the ship's supplies take priority during the loading process so the scooter may not appear in the cabin until after 2:00 PM.

The will be no wheelchair assistance provided by the ship to get your friend from the public area that he/she was originally dropped off at upon boarding to theuir cabin to pick up the scooter. If he/she is unable to walk than someone in your group needs to go to the cabin and bring back the scooter. If your friend uses any mobility aids such as a cane, crutches and or walker/rollator they still should bring it regardless of having rented a scooter.

When disembarking your friend will be directed to go to a public area of the ship for wheelchair assistance. He/she will not be picked up at their cabin by a wheelchair attendent. Therefore he/she will have to get themself to the wheelchair waiting area.

Thank you for a very comprehensive reply. My friend CAN walk, but has Parkinson's which varies as to how it affects her walking, plus she has a bum knee which also varies, so no telling how mobile she will be on the day.

Having said that, our cabins are two doors down from the antrium elevators so she is capable of getting from the Lido or Atrium to the room. We hope to get FTTF so hopefully can go directly to the rooms.

Knowing there will be an attendant to take her up the ramp to the ship is a load off my mind. We are fine with waiting to be helped. The ship isn't leaving without us (especially as we are usually there around 11am).

Thanking you again for your reply.

It's been my experience that the cruise line staff are more than accommodating to help get one on and off the ship with a wheelchair - and it's always nice to offer them a small gratuity for their service.

Please be aware of passenger safety needs and store the scooter inside the cabin overnight so that it does not partially block the corridors and/or exit stairways.

Enjoy your cruise!

It's been my experience that the cruise line staff are more than accommodating to help get one on and off the ship with a wheelchair - and it's always nice to offer them a small gratuity for their service.

 

Please be aware of passenger safety needs and store the scooter inside the cabin overnight so that it does not partially block the corridors and/or exit stairways.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Aware of the law stating no scooters in public places over night. Wouldn't think of doing that anyway. Glad to know we can get help for boarding, and wouldn't think of not tipping. :)

We hope to get FTTF so hopefully can go directly to the rooms.

Definitely keep trying for FTTF. This is one of the instances where immediate access to your cabin is extremely helpful.

Having said that, it may be quite a walk from the cabin to the Lido for lunch. If you are planning to have lunch there, it may be best to have the attendant take your friend to the Lido and you and the others can go drop things off in the room. As stated before, the scooter may not arrive until around 2:00 or later.

Carnival's cabins are open by 1-1:30. So if you do not get FTTF arrive to port s little later.

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Definitely keep trying for FTTF. This is one of the instances where immediate access to your cabin is extremely helpful.

 

Having said that, it may be quite a walk from the cabin to the Lido for lunch. If you are planning to have lunch there, it may be best to have the attendant take your friend to the Lido and you and the others can go drop things off in the room. As stated before, the scooter may not arrive until around 2:00 or later.

The cruise is not until a year from now, April 2017, but trying to get our ducks in a row! I keep checking for FTTF and cabanas. I put in another post our rooms are two cabins away from the atrium elevators and her husband generally fixes her plate of food for her, so she only has to get to a seat, but will probably follow your advice and have them lead us to the lido (while I stop at the excursion desk).

I will pay close attention to this thread throughout the coming year as this will be my first cruise post stroke (November, 2014). While I'm mobile, I do still need the assistance of a cane for walking and I cannot stand for long periods of time due to numbness and pain from the waist down on my right side. I've made great strides in this past year+ and hopefully this will be a non-issue next April when we cruise, however, my mother will be on the doorstep of 90 years young at that time so a wheelchair might be needed possibly for her. We will be cruising RCCL.

I just did this in Baltimore for a Carnival cruise with my Dad a few months ago, and here's my story so you can hopefully not repeat my mistakes.

1. Even with handicapped tags, the parking guys gave us a hard time and insisted that we could not drop my Dad off (we later found out they were just wrong). Handicapped parking was still quite a distance, so my husband dropped us off at the end of an aisle. It almost killed my Dad trying to get him to the terminal.

2. Once you're at the terminal, they would NOT let my Dad wait inside until my husband joined us. They insisted that the whole party had to be there, and he couldn't wait inside even though it was very cold outside (this is a 74 year old frail man). It was HORRIBLE. It was late November, and it was colder than normal in Baltimore - the wind was whipping. The port rep was like, "Well, there's a little heat blowing from this vent over the sidewalk, but that's the best I can do." Seriously, this frail man had to stand outside being beat up by the wind because some port regulation deemed it a security risk to allow him to wait inside.

3. To get to the part where there are wheelchairs, you still have to go through the entire security line area on your own. It's quite a bit of walking, something which we were not prepared for.

4. We were in a suite. They told us that my Dad would have to walk down to the far side where the suite check-in was. At this point, I honestly had had enough - it took getting demanding and very firm before they agreed to go get him a wheelchair to push him to the suite check-in area. They honestly expected my Dad to be able to walk to the far end of the terminal, check-in (two desks available in a small office) and then walk all the way back through the entire terminal to where the wheelchair pick up was.

5. This whole thing was literally exhausting for my Dad, and I was in tears by the end of boarding.

6. We had a scooter rental in his cabin; however, the cabin was nowhere near the entrance to the ship which is the farthest they will push you in a wheelchair. It took a significant additional tip, and some basic pleading, to get them to push him to his cabin. The young man who was pushing my Dad kept saying that he could get in trouble if anyone found out he did this. I felt bad for the guy, but I felt worse for my Dad. In hindsight, I should've just gone to the cabin and got the scooter, but by this point we were all overwhelmed.

7. At the end of the cruise, if you have a scooter, you're supposed to leave it in the cabin. That can mean quite a bit of walking to then get to the wheelchair assist area. What we did was have Dad drive it down, then I drove it back to the cabin, then I walked back down - not an easy thing to do on the busy disembarkation morning.

My Dad has a host of health issues, including Parkinsons. While he CAN walk limited distances, this was just too much.

We're soon doing another cruise. For this one, I have bought a transport chair. I realized by watching others that people typically brought their own wheelchairs for the boarding process. My Dad is not ready yet to commit to a full-blown wheelchair, so a transport chair ($199 on Amazon) will hopefully do the trick for getting him on and off the ship at the beginning and end of the cruise. This last cruise was our first cruise with my Dad being in such poor health - I felt like the WORST daughter in the world for the stress that the whole embarkation put on him physically. I talked with others who had scooter rentals and they all said that I should've had a wheelchair for him to get through the boarding process.

I can only imagine how you felt as things crumbled around you in regards to trying to take good care of your dad and being thwarted at every turn.

Through our local "rummage sale" Facebook page I have bought a nearly new wheelchair for my friend for $50. We intend on her using it to get to the cabin, then she'll have a scooter and we'll put the wheelchair in our room. We didn't get them a handicapped room as it was decided that since she doesn't need the wheelchair IN the room that the risk of falling after a shower with the water covering the entire bathroom floor was more risk than the extra room in the cabin was worth. She will also need the wheel chair for Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk as I know one is a tender port. Not sure about taking a scooter to the other.

But your information will be of great importance to anyone traveling out of Baltimore and much to keep in mind. Thank you so much for posting it! And give your dad an extra hug for me for hanging in there through all of this. (I lost my mom and dad around 9 years ago. Cherish your time with him!)

I just did this in Baltimore for a Carnival cruise with my Dad a few months ago, and here's my story so you can hopefully not repeat my mistakes.

 

1. Even with handicapped tags, the parking guys gave us a hard time and insisted that we could not drop my Dad off (we later found out they were just wrong). Handicapped parking was still quite a distance, so my husband dropped us off at the end of an aisle. It almost killed my Dad trying to get him to the terminal.

 

2. Once you're at the terminal, they would NOT let my Dad wait inside until my husband joined us. They insisted that the whole party had to be there, and he couldn't wait inside even though it was very cold outside (this is a 74 year old frail man). It was HORRIBLE. It was late November, and it was colder than normal in Baltimore - the wind was whipping. The port rep was like, "Well, there's a little heat blowing from this vent over the sidewalk, but that's the best I can do." Seriously, this frail man had to stand outside being beat up by the wind because some port regulation deemed it a security risk to allow him to wait inside.

 

3. To get to the part where there are wheelchairs, you still have to go through the entire security line area on your own. It's quite a bit of walking, something which we were not prepared for.

 

4. We were in a suite. They told us that my Dad would have to walk down to the far side where the suite check-in was. At this point, I honestly had had enough - it took getting demanding and very firm before they agreed to go get him a wheelchair to push him to the suite check-in area. They honestly expected my Dad to be able to walk to the far end of the terminal, check-in (two desks available in a small office) and then walk all the way back through the entire terminal to where the wheelchair pick up was.

 

5. This whole thing was literally exhausting for my Dad, and I was in tears by the end of boarding.

 

6. We had a scooter rental in his cabin; however, the cabin was nowhere near the entrance to the ship which is the farthest they will push you in a wheelchair. It took a significant additional tip, and some basic pleading, to get them to push him to his cabin. The young man who was pushing my Dad kept saying that he could get in trouble if anyone found out he did this. I felt bad for the guy, but I felt worse for my Dad. In hindsight, I should've just gone to the cabin and got the scooter, but by this point we were all overwhelmed.

 

7. At the end of the cruise, if you have a scooter, you're supposed to leave it in the cabin. That can mean quite a bit of walking to then get to the wheelchair assist area. What we did was have Dad drive it down, then I drove it back to the cabin, then I walked back down - not an easy thing to do on the busy disembarkation morning.

 

My Dad has a host of health issues, including Parkinsons. While he CAN walk limited distances, this was just too much.

 

We're soon doing another cruise. For this one, I have bought a transport chair. I realized by watching others that people typically brought their own wheelchairs for the boarding process. My Dad is not ready yet to commit to a full-blown wheelchair, so a transport chair ($199 on Amazon) will hopefully do the trick for getting him on and off the ship at the beginning and end of the cruise. This last cruise was our first cruise with my Dad being in such poor health - I felt like the WORST daughter in the world for the stress that the whole embarkation put on him physically. I talked with others who had scooter rentals and they all said that I should've had a wheelchair for him to get through the boarding process.

My experience with RCCL at the Port of Baltimore was totally opposite of yours with Carnival. First must make the disclaimer that I never arrive at port prior to 11:00 am. Particularly ports such as Baltimore and Galveston that have limited to no space outside seating. Just for information purposes I have MS.

Upon arrival at the RCCL/Baltimore, all my taxi driver had to do was state that he had a disabled passenger and the Police allowed the taxi to go directly to the main entrance to the terminal rather than the designated taxi drop-off area. Upon entry into the terminal an RCCL rep placed my name on a list as wheelchair assistance is provided on a first come first served basis and than directed me to a seating area to wait for wheelchair assistance. Once an attendant was available I was wheeled through the check-in process and than directed to another waiting area with seats until boarding started. It all went very smoothly.

Regarding the scooter being delivered to the cabin is all explained at the time of rental and is also stated in the rental contract so that shouldn't have been a big surprise. In fact the rental contract states it may not be there until 2:00 pm. I always tip any wheelchair attendant $5.00 when first seated in the chair. Most people don't tip so when the attendant know there's tip involved right from the get go they're generally very helpful with any special request. Because I travel most of the time solo, once on board I than tell the attendant there's another tip if he/she would check my cabin to see if the scooter had been delivered. That generally always seem to the trick. Than prior to disembarkation day I find out what cruise personnel will be overseeing the disembarkation wheelchair waiting area. I than ask to speak to that individual and explain the situation about the scooter having to be left in the cabin and ask politely if there's anyway I could drive it to disembarkation wheelchair area and than have someone take it back to the cabin that morning ? 90% of the time the cruise line will agree. Given the cost of the cruise the extra tips are insignificant when it comes to my overall comfort and convenience.

We found a very nice wheelchair locally through a Rummage Sale local Facebook page for $50. We will use that for getting her onto the ship and store it in our cabin during the cruise. Who knows, DH has knee problems, I may end up pushing HIM in it some days! :)

We were able to get Faster to the Fun so will have early boarding and tendering. This way she can use the wheelchair for the tender port as well. I understand that is allowed. It is not the traveler kind, but does fold up nicely.

I just did this in Baltimore for a Carnival cruise with my Dad a few months ago, and here's my story so you can hopefully not repeat my mistakes.

 

1. Even with handicapped tags, the parking guys gave us a hard time and insisted that we could not drop my Dad off (we later found out they were just wrong). Handicapped parking was still quite a distance, so my husband dropped us off at the end of an aisle. It almost killed my Dad trying to get him to the terminal.

 

2. Once you're at the terminal, they would NOT let my Dad wait inside until my husband joined us. They insisted that the whole party had to be there, and he couldn't wait inside even though it was very cold outside (this is a 74 year old frail man). It was HORRIBLE. It was late November, and it was colder than normal in Baltimore - the wind was whipping. The port rep was like, "Well, there's a little heat blowing from this vent over the sidewalk, but that's the best I can do." Seriously, this frail man had to stand outside being beat up by the wind because some port regulation deemed it a security risk to allow him to wait inside.

 

3. To get to the part where there are wheelchairs, you still have to go through the entire security line area on your own. It's quite a bit of walking, something which we were not prepared for.

 

4. We were in a suite. They told us that my Dad would have to walk down to the far side where the suite check-in was. At this point, I honestly had had enough - it took getting demanding and very firm before they agreed to go get him a wheelchair to push him to the suite check-in area. They honestly expected my Dad to be able to walk to the far end of the terminal, check-in (two desks available in a small office) and then walk all the way back through the entire terminal to where the wheelchair pick up was.

 

5. This whole thing was literally exhausting for my Dad, and I was in tears by the end of boarding.

 

6. We had a scooter rental in his cabin; however, the cabin was nowhere near the entrance to the ship which is the farthest they will push you in a wheelchair. It took a significant additional tip, and some basic pleading, to get them to push him to his cabin. The young man who was pushing my Dad kept saying that he could get in trouble if anyone found out he did this. I felt bad for the guy, but I felt worse for my Dad. In hindsight, I should've just gone to the cabin and got the scooter, but by this point we were all overwhelmed.

 

7. At the end of the cruise, if you have a scooter, you're supposed to leave it in the cabin. That can mean quite a bit of walking to then get to the wheelchair assist area. What we did was have Dad drive it down, then I drove it back to the cabin, then I walked back down - not an easy thing to do on the busy disembarkation morning.

 

My Dad has a host of health issues, including Parkinsons. While he CAN walk limited distances, this was just too much.

 

We're soon doing another cruise. For this one, I have bought a transport chair. I realized by watching others that people typically brought their own wheelchairs for the boarding process. My Dad is not ready yet to commit to a full-blown wheelchair, so a transport chair ($199 on Amazon) will hopefully do the trick for getting him on and off the ship at the beginning and end of the cruise. This last cruise was our first cruise with my Dad being in such poor health - I felt like the WORST daughter in the world for the stress that the whole embarkation put on him physically. I talked with others who had scooter rentals and they all said that I should've had a wheelchair for him to get through the boarding process.

We had that experience with Royal Caribbean at Port Everglades. My mother was not allowed to wait inside the terminal (and she has her own wheelchair) when the sunshine was beating down and she's photosensitive until my dad returned from parking the car. I asked if she could just be inside and I would wait outside for him and they said No and were quite rude. There was also a time sailing with Celebrity where we had an all in one boarding pass for the 3 of us and they would not allow him into the terminal because I had it and was waiting with my mother. Basically they told him too bad and if he couldn't sail because he didn't have his boarding pass, oh well, he should just deal with it.

I have not found security at ports very helpful - ever.

Back before Dudette traveled in her own wheelchair our TA would always request a wheelchair assist for embarking and disembarking. When we arrived at a terminal for embarkation, I would have her sit on her walker and then I would go off and find a cruise line rep and tell them we had arrived and needed a wheelchair assist. I would be directed to return to where Dudette was waiting and normally within 10 mins a wheelchair and attendant would arrive and take us thru the preboarding routine. Depending upon the port and/or the cruise line once thru preboard we may have to wait for a ship's steward to arrive to push us to our cabin. Again depending upon the port and/or the line she might have had to transfer from a shore side chair to a ships chair before boarding the ship.

In the past, and always on RCI, I would board with DW and find a spot to enjoy the view. I would then go to the cabin, available or not, and get the rental scooter. I did not take our carry-ons as the cabins were still being cleaned. The Steward seemed to be OK with it as it was one more obstacle out of the way. When we left, she would scoot down to the area for wheelchair assistance and I would reverse the process.

In the past, and always on RCI, I would board with DW and find a spot to enjoy the view. I would then go to the cabin, available or not, and get the rental scooter. I did not take our carry-ons as the cabins were still being cleaned. The Steward seemed to be OK with it as it was one more obstacle out of the way. When we left, she would scoot down to the area for wheelchair assistance and I would reverse the process.

Hi,

What a good idea.

Pete

It's been my experience that the cruise line staff are more than accommodating to help get one on and off the ship with a wheelchair - and it's always nice to offer them a small gratuity for their service.

 

Please be aware of passenger safety needs and store the scooter inside the cabin overnight so that it does not partially block the corridors and/or exit stairways.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

We/are/just/wondering/what/a/fair/tip/would/be.(spacebar/not/working!!)-thanks

we/are/just/wondering/what/a/fair/tip/would/be.(spacebar/not/working!!)-thanks

I tip $5.00.

I tip $5.00.

Thanks!