Mobility Tips please?

I have an upcoming cruise with Princess in Feb17 and it is the first time I am bringing a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 scooter. It is a full size scooter although I have seen larger. My questions are: Is there enough space in a handicap accessible room to park the scooter and move around comfortably? Is there anything I should be aware of beyond the potential for MDR staff mixing scooters up? In port at Maui a tender that is 'limited wheelchair accessible' is noted on the itinerary. What the heck does that mean?

Thanks in advance.

I have an upcoming cruise with Princess in Feb17 and it is the first time I am bringing a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 scooter. It is a full size scooter although I have seen larger. My questions are: Is there enough space in a handicap accessible room to park the scooter and move around comfortably? Is there anything I should be aware of beyond the potential for MDR staff mixing scooters up? In port at Maui a tender that is 'limited wheelchair accessible' is noted on the itinerary. What the heck does that mean?

 

Thanks in advance.

Based on my experience unless it's an accessible suite, Princess accessible cabins tend to be smaller than that of Celebrity, RCCL or HAL. The will be room to park the scooter and to move about in a reasonable manner .... comfortable is not a word I'd use in regards to the floor space in a Princess Non Suite Accessible Cabin. Particularly since your 4 Wheel Pride Victory requires a turning radius of 54". You may have to do a tight 3 point turn to reverse the scooter in order to move about the room.

My Alaska cruise this past September I had a Pride GoGo Elite Traveler scooter on the Crown Princess in an inside accessible cabin. Even though the Pride GoGo Elite traveler has a tighter turning radius of 33" I had have the cabin steward removed the coffee table and re-position the chair to give me more floor space..

RE: Tendered Port Maui "Limited wheelchair accessible" means if the tender does not have roll-on capability so you can drive the scooter on board you most likely won't be allowed to go ashore.

Re: Dining Room - If you have booked Traditional Dining proceed to the MDR after boarding to locate your table and to determine that you have an accessible path to the table. If not than see the Matre'D to change the table location.

Suggest you do a GOOGLE search to see if you can find a video of the accessible cabin on the ship your cruising. For example the search phrase could be formatted such as "You Tube video of Crown Princess inside accessible cabin"

Go to http://www.cruisedeckplans.com and choose Princess, then Star Princess. It is a member site to see all of the photos, but if you click on Handicap in each category, if anyone has submitted pictures, you can see them without being a member. EM

My sister and I were on Regal Princess in October in an accessible balcony cabin. She uses a Luggie, which is a small collapsible scooter. We had room in the cabin to get around but it was by no means spacious. Only way for her to turn the scooter around was to use the space between the beds (set up with twin beds) to do a three-point turn. Also getting in and out of the cabin was challenging at times because the cabin steward kept parking the cart in front of our cabin door so I had to move it every morning.

Princess uses lifeboats as their tenders and they always add a caveat regarding wheelchairs. One day we used the tender with the scooter. It was very calm seas and two tender attendants carried the scooter onto the boat -- she could not drive onto the tender - she had to talk on. Another day we were scheduled for the tenders but chose not to go because the seas were a little rough. Don't know if they would have allowed us on.

I have an upcoming cruise with Princess in Feb17 and it is the first time I am bringing a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 scooter. It is a full size scooter although I have seen larger. My questions are: Is there enough space in a handicap accessible room to park the scooter and move around comfortably? Is there anything I should be aware of beyond the potential for MDR staff mixing scooters up? In port at Maui a tender that is 'limited wheelchair accessible' is noted on the itinerary. What the heck does that mean?

 

Thanks in advance.

With a 4 wheeler, you may have trouble getting around corners, let alone

maneuvering your cabin.

Cato

Completed Cruises !

Pre-cruise Days - The Big Red Boat, 1993 ??

1st cruise - Coral Princess, 19 November 2008, 10 day Panama Canal, FLL to ACA

2nd cruise - Coral Princess, 15 May 2009, 3 day Repositioning, Los Angeles to Vancouver.

3rd cruise - Sapphire Princess, 25 November 2009? 7 day Mexican Riviera.

4th cruise - Golden Princes, 12 June 2010, 7 day Alaska. (Golden Anniversary Cruise)

5th Cruise - Island Princess, 04 October 2010, Vancouver - Los Angeles, Repositioning

6th cruise - Sapphire Princess, 05 January 2011, 10 day Mexican Riviera. LA to LA.

7th cruise - Golden Princess, 11 May 2011, 3 day, LA to Vancouver, Repositioning

8th cruise - Sapphire Princess, 14 May 2011, 1 day, Vancouver to Seattle, Repositioning

9th cruise - Coral Princess 19 May 2011 2 day, San Francisco to Vancouver, Repositioning

10th & 11th cruises - Coral Princess 02 July to 16 July 2011, round trip Vancouver - Whittier Alaska, B2B

12th & 13th cruises - Sapphire Princess, x2, Cabins, 18 Sep. 2011, 1 day, Seattle to Vancouver, Repositioning

14th & 15th cruises - Golden Princess, x2, Cabins, 24 Sep. 2011, 1 day, Seattle to Vancouver, Repositioning.

We have now reached Elite status with Princess Cruise Lines

16th cruise - Oasis of the Seas, 26 Nov. 2011, 7 day, Western Caribbean, Ft. Lauderdale, Ret.

17th & 18th cruises - Crown Princess B2B, 03 - 10 Dec & 10 - 17 Dec 2011, 14 Days, South & western Caribbean

19th cruise - Grand Princess, 31 Mar. - 07 April 2012, 7 Days, Eastern Caribbean, FLL - FLL

20th cruise - Island Princess, 06-16 June 2012, 10 day cruisetour Vancouver - Wittier

21th cruise - Emerald Princess, 16 day, 10 - 26 Sep. 2012, TA, Copenhagen - New York

22nd cruise - Carnival Ecstasy 10 - 14 January, 2013, 4 Day Bahamas, Port Canaveral Ret.

23rd cruise - Sapphire Princess 30 March - 06 April, 2013, 7 Day Coastal LA - LA

24th cruise - Coral Princess, 19 May - 22 May, 2013, 3 Day Repositioning Cruise, LA - Vancouver

25th cruise - Royal Princess 16 June - 05 July, 2013, 19 Day Inaugural cruise, Southampton - Venice.

26th cruise - Emerald Princess, 06 - 16 October, 2013, 10 Day Canada - New England, Quebec city to New York

27th cruise - Royal Princess, 24 November - 01 December, 2013, 7 Day,Eastern Caribbean, Fort Lauderdale Ret.

28th cruise - Sapphire Princess, 20 - 24 Jan, 2014, 4 Days, California

29th cruise - Crown Princess, 03 - 10 May 2014, 7 Day, LA to Vancouver.

30th cruise - Pacific Princess, 05 - 12 Aug. 2014, 7 Days, Vancouver RT, Alaska

31st cruise - Golden Princess, 13 - 17 Oct. 2014, 4 Days, LA - Mexican Riv, RT,

32nd cruise - Crown Princess, 20 - 27 Dec. 2014, 7 Days, LA - Mexican Riv, RT.

33rd cruise - Coral Princess, 27Apr. - 02 May.2015, 5 Days, LA - Vancouver, Repo

34th cruise - Coral Princess, 10 - 14 May. 2016, 4 Days, LA - Vancouver, Repo

My sister and I were on Regal Princess in October in an accessible balcony cabin. She uses a Luggie, which is a small collapsible scooter. We had room in the cabin to get around but it was by no means spacious. Only way for her to turn the scooter around was to use the space between the beds (set up with twin beds) to do a three-point turn. Also getting in and out of the cabin was challenging at times because the cabin steward kept parking the cart in front of our cabin door so I had to move it every morning.

 

Princess uses lifeboats as their tenders and they always add a caveat regarding wheelchairs. One day we used the tender with the scooter. It was very calm seas and two tender attendants carried the scooter onto the boat -- she could not drive onto the tender - she had to talk on. Another day we were scheduled for the tenders but chose not to go because the seas were a little rough. Don't know if they would have allowed us on.

TO: OP

It's important to note that the Luggie is a compact folding scooter (folds to the size of a suitcase) and weighs on average 51-55 Lbs . Thus the reason Princess as well as other cruise lines will attempt to board the Luggie on a tender that doesn't have roll-on capabilities provided the person is able to walk up/down to get on/off the tender. In addition to sea and weather conditions being acceptable. Princess does not allow staff to lift more than 50 lbs. Boarding a Luggie scooter onto a tender versus a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 that's a full size scooter which weighs approximately 165 lbs and requires quite a bit of more floor space that life boat tenders don't have is an apples to oranges comparison.

Everyone's experience is different when attempting to board a tender that does not have roll-on capabilities with a scooter is different. There's a lot of variables at play such as size of tender, weight of scooter, passengers ability to walk onto/off the tender, passengers ability to walk up/down steps, sea conditions. Therefore there's no way of knowing ahead of time (even if your were to call Princess' Access Department) as to whether or not you'll be allowed to go ashore in Maui. You'll have to check with security at the gangway the day you arrive in port. Not trying to be a kill joy rather just attempting to prepare you for the possibility Princess will not allow you to go ashore in Maui. Safety of it's passengers as well as it's staff is of the utmost importance. The Captain has the final say in whether or not passengers in non collapsible wheelchairs and scooters will be allowed onto the tender.

I appreciate the input all. You've given me some insight on what to be prepared for, I can only hope all goes well. Thanks again.

I cruised with a rented scooter 3 years ago on Oasis of the Seas. One tip I got here was to look for videos of accessible cabins on YouTube. You would be amazed at how many people have posted videos of ship cabins! I was able to find one for the exact same cabin as we are travelling on next spring on a sister ship.

The MDR staff was excellent. They whisked my scooter away as soon as I was seated at table and whisked it back when I was ready to go. Never a mixup.

For questions about tendering, I'd suggest calling the Accessibility Desk. I haven't cruised Princess but on the 2 cruise lines I have experience with, they have been very knowedgable and helpful.

Also, and you won't like this suggestion, but Cato's point about the 4-wheel scooters being less maneuverable is valid. If your ship has narrow corridors, you should at least think about renting a 3-wheel scooter for your cruise. I recently purchased a folding Triaxe Sport scooter and although it's a 4-wheel model, the 2 front wheels are only a couple of inches apart so I have almost as tight a turning radius as a true 3-wheel.

And if my steward left his cart in front of an accessible cabin door, I would make a BIG stink!

I have an upcoming cruise with Princess in Feb17 and it is the first time I am bringing a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 scooter. It is a full size scooter although I have seen larger. My questions are: Is there enough space in a handicap accessible room to park the scooter and move around comfortably? Is there anything I should be aware of beyond the potential for MDR staff mixing scooters up? In port at Maui a tender that is 'limited wheelchair accessible' is noted on the itinerary. What the heck does that mean?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance.

You probably won't get a handicap room but you will be fine in a balcony room... i have the same scooter and it fits fine... four wheel scooters are very maneuverable unless you have never driven one!I I have never hd a mix up on Princess. Not sure about tendering but can tell you more after we get back!

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We will be on the Royal princess at the end of March. If my daughter can crutch onto the tender can we bing a transport chair on ourselves and use it on the islands? We would not need help lifting it onto the tender. She has a power chair but we know that we will not be able to take that onto the tender

We will be on the Royal princess at the end of March. If my daughter can crutch onto the tender can we bing a transport chair on ourselves and use it on the islands? We would not need help lifting it onto the tender. She has a power chair but we know that we will not be able to take that onto the tender

Generally speaking being that a transport chair is foldable it will be allowed onto the tender provided you're daughter is able to walk up/down a few steps. With that said if the weather and sea conditions pose a concern even though you state that your "daughter will be able to crutch onto the tender" and the transport chair is foldable she may not be allowed to board the tender. The Captain has the final decision to not allow anyone onto the tender in which weather, sea conditions, angle of ramp etc. poses a threat to the passenger's safety.

Important to note that using crutches on a ramp that bobs up and down from the movement of the water can be an issue in attempting to board. Therefore since holding onto the crutches means that your daughter is unable to hold onto the railings of the ramp boarding using crutches may be problematic. Even abled bodied people generally have to hold the hand railings of the ramp in order to steady themselves getting on/off the tender.

Though typically Princess uses it's own life boats as tenders on occasions some port authorities provide its own tender that my have roll-on capabilities . Again you won't know this until the day of your arrival at that port. However if for some lucky reason the tender has roll-on capabilities and sea conditions are good she may be allowed to board the tender with her power chair. Suggest someone from you group go down to where the tender is being boarded and check before you all go down.

Bottom line : No one on this forum can say with 100% certainty that your daughter will be allowed to board the tender even with a folding transport chair. You will only know for certain on the actual day.

Take along something you can add to the steering tiller so you can recognize yours. Maybe a ribbon or pom-pom or such. Or if yours has a basket you could attach it there. All rentals I have ever seen were red so when I purchased mine I bought blue.

The OP said they were in an ACCESSIBLE cabin...there will be plenty of space!

We will be on the Royal princess at the end of March. If my daughter can crutch onto the tender can we bing a transport chair on ourselves and use it on the islands? We would not need help lifting it onto the tender. She has a power chair but we know that we will not be able to take that onto the tender

It is ultimately at the captain's discretion, but if weather and tides are good, most likely. Though with the way the ship/tender platforms move, I would suggest that IF she's allowed to tender, she'd be safer staying in her transport chair and leaning on yourself and/or whoever else is with you to make those last steps across into the tender - and if she needs to go down a few steps to get to to the tender platform she's probably safer holding onto rails if she can than trying to balance with her crutches. We were always taken down to the lower level in the staff access lift - but I guess that's also tide dependent?

My experience with Princess is that the assistance staff on board are truly amazing, I'm a manual chair user and they got me on/off at each and every tender port (4 from memory) on our South Pacific cruise - I can walk a few steps with assistance, one of the guys would give me a shoulder to lean on, they'd get me across and seated, then lift my chair across and we'd be good to go. Then just wait at the other end till everyone else was off and repeat the process.

We were in an accessible balcony cabin on the Emerald Princess last year and we had plenty of room to maneuver - and we had TWO scooters. We generally scooted straight into the cabin, and backed out, using the round table to keep the door propped open as we did so. I use a cane, which was helpful in holding the door open as we entered/exited. I positioned my scooter straight into the wall, so there was a tiny bit of space to walk around the end of my bed leading to the balcony, while still leaving the vanity chair accessible.

Dining was wonderful. We were traveling with a group and had a table close to the entrance of the dining room. Every night, we'd scoot to the table and one of the wait staff would move the scooter to the hallway entrance for us, and bring it back at the end of the meal. Just be sure to get your key back.

I rented a 4-wheel 'heavy duty' scooter and my roommate owns a 4-wheel scooter. We didn't ever feel that a 3-wheel would have been easier.

We found on the Emerald that we could easily get both scooters into any given elevator except for the far aft ones. Your mileage may vary, depending on the ship.

If attending one of the production shows in the Princess Theater, there is an area for wheelchairs and scooters at the back of the top level (usually deck 7). There is a ramp to get to this area.

We'll be on the Star Princess Hawaii cruise next month, and I'm also concerned about the tender situation. From everything I've read/been told, I'm not expecting to be able to take the scooter on the tender, but plan to use a rollator.

Unfortunately, the Princess accessible office, or whatever they are called, have been extremely unhelpful every time we've contacted them. It takes weeks to get a response (no phone number - you have to email) and they generally just regurgitate the official policy, which of course we had already read.

We had booked two HC accessible tours months ago that were summarily canceled (with NO notice!) - although the normal tour is still available. We then went with a third party vendor for two of our stops - they will have an accessible vehicle that can accommodate both of us with no problem.

I think you'll find that cruising with a scooter is easier than many people think - I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

I have an upcoming cruise with Princess in Feb17 and it is the first time I am bringing a 4 wheel Pride Victory 10 scooter. It is a full size scooter although I have seen larger. My questions are: Is there enough space in a handicap accessible room to park the scooter and move around comfortably? Is there anything I should be aware of beyond the potential for MDR staff mixing scooters up? In port at Maui a tender that is 'limited wheelchair accessible' is noted on the itinerary. What the heck does that mean?

 

Thanks in advance.

Have you contacted the special needs office at Princess to let them know about your scooter? Carnival required it. They want to know the size and weight etc about the scooter. I bet Princess wants to know too.

I know this is off the subject...but does anyone know how to open cabin door when on a scooter and how to keep it open as you drive scooter in cabin. My hubby won't be along to help with this issue..

Thanks for any answers.

I know this is off the subject...but does anyone know how to open cabin door when on a scooter and how to keep it open as you drive scooter in cabin. My hubby won't be along to help with this issue..

Thanks for any answers.

I have my cabin steward leave me a rubber door stop; one of the ones they use to prop the cabin door open when they are cleaning.

When leaving I prop the door open, drive out and park, then take the doorstop and close the door. On returning, I pull up to the cabin, get off the scooter and prop open the door, then get back on and drive through.

You could also pack one to bring with you. If it's yours, take it with you when you leave the cabin, just so the steward doesn't forget and take it.

When I need to use the restroom at a store and I am on an electric cart, I take my cane with me. It works well to open the door (although that might be more difficult when a room key is involved) and also to hold it open while I drive through.

Thanks Ruth C and Mamasylvia, I will take my own door stop ad keep it with me when coming and going. :cool: Lilabet

lilabet,

If I may make a suggestion re: the door stop. Make sure you attach a cord to it so you can pull it out when you leave your stateroom.

I will be taking an Elite Traveler 4 with me on the Carnival Sunshine April 15th. This is an 8 day cruise with stops in St Maarten, St Kitts, Grand Turk and San Juan. Does anyone have experience at these ports with a scooter? I will have my cane for shorter distances on ship.

I used my rented scooter at St. Maarten. Ship was Oasis of the Seas and I believe it docked at the regular RCL dock. I scooted off the ship no problem, scooted to Philipsburg (roughly 1/4 mile away), shopped, ate, got back to the ship and onboard, no problem. Roughly half the stores were scooter-accessible, I simply didn't go in the others. ;) Didn't go further away than Philipsburg so I don't know anything about the accessible taxi situation, sorry!

Check out our YouTube channel. It's Called cruising with wheels and is all about cruising with disabilities. https://www.youtube.com/c/cruisingwithwheels

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I used my rented scooter at St. Maarten. Ship was Oasis of the Seas and I believe it docked at the regular RCL dock. I scooted off the ship no problem, scooted to Philipsburg (roughly 1/4 mile away), shopped, ate, got back to the ship and onboard, no problem. Roughly half the stores were scooter-accessible, I simply didn't go in the others. ;) Didn't go further away than Philipsburg so I don't know anything about the accessible taxi situation, sorry!

(y)