Care Vacations vs Special Needs at Sea

I just had the most interesting conversation with someone from Care Vacations. I was attempting to rent a scooter for my cruise on HAL. I was told it would be delivered to my cabin. I said I understood that they had a kiosk where it could be picked up before boarding.

Her: "no, it will be dieivered to your cabin."

Me: 'I thought you had a kiosk."

Her: "We Do".

Me: Well what is it used for?"

Her: "I don't know."

Called Special Needs at Sea and the scooter will be waiting for me at the kiosk before boarding. Incidently, also cost $60 less.

We have used both of the companies previously and been satisfied.

I've never, ever seen any kind of kiosk for either company in any port I've been to, and rented a scooter. The scooter, regardless of company, has been delivered to my cabin.

CareVacations only has a few ports with Kiosks based on the high demand for scooter at those ports. Seattle is on port that has a kiosk due to the high demand for scooters on the Alaska cruises. THe ports with kiosks used to be posted on Carevacations website but the site has recently been revised and no longer states this information.

I would never use Special Needs at Sea!!!!!!

3 different cruises rented equipment from special needs at sea. 3 times I had to carevacations the day of the cruise. 3 times Care Vacations saved my butt and got me what i needed in time!!!I kept trying special needs at sea to use up the credit they gave me, not even worth it!! I would never use anyone but Carevacations ever again

I've never, ever seen any kind of kiosk for either company in any port I've been to, and rented a scooter. The scooter, regardless of company, has been delivered to my cabin.

Darcie, this is what the Kiosks look like at some of the Ports, both for Care Vacations and Special Needs at Sea. This particular photo was taken just outside the terminal door (Terminal 26 in Forrt Lauderdales, Port Everglades) to Holland America Line's Entrance and is Special Needs At Sea:

http://abqreunion2008.com/Westerdam/Termal-26-Handicap-Pickup-Dropoff_Infi-1.jpg

We've had them like this in Seattle, Fort Lauderdale and i believe in Vancouver (but not positive in Vancouver as I had my scooter delivered to and picked up in my hotel)

Joanie

Prior to buying my own(insurance paid for it) I rented from both and the service and equipment has always been better from Special Needs At Sea, the scooter was always brand new all 3 times, while Care Vacations equipment was old and had very little range, always had to charge it.

Regardless of who the scooter is rented from , I have found that whether the equipment is new or not can vary from port to port. High demand ports have a faster turn over of replacing equipment and the lower demand ports have the equipment in use longer . It's the same for both CareVacations and Special Needs at Seas.

The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples either which impacts pricing along with, the port of call, weight capacity and duration of the cruise. CareVacations uses all Pride Scooters models where as Special Needs uses Shop Rider for it's compact, Pride's Victory for it's 300 lb capicity and CTM for it's Bariactric model.

Personnally I have found that CareVacations better suits my needs.

Regardless of who the scooter is rented from , I have found that whether the equipment is new or not can vary from port to port. High demand ports have a faster turn over of replacing equipment and the lower demand ports have the equipment in use longer . It's the same for both CareVacations and Special Needs at Seas.

 

The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples either which impacts pricing along with, the port of call, weight capacity and duration of the cruise. CareVacations uses all Pride Scooters models where as Special Needs uses Shop Rider for it's compact, Pride's Victory for it's 300 lb capicity and CTM for it's Bariactric model.

 

Personnally I have found that CareVacations better suits my needs.

Special Needs At Sea rents Pride scooters also, the Victory model holds up to 350lbs which suited my needs perfectly.

Special Needs At Sea rents Pride scooters also, the Victory model holds up to 350lbs which suited my needs perfectly.

Suggest you go back and re-read my post more throughly . I clearly stated that Special Needs at Seas uses the Pride Victory .

So forgive me if I typed the weight wrong ... should have said 350 lbs.

Unlike Carevacations that uses ALL Pride Equipment for it's scooter rentals Special Needs at Seas only uses the Pride Victory for it's Heavy Duty Rental. The Pride Victory requires that the person must have an HC cabin because it's too wide to fit through the door of a most standard cabins.

Unlike the Carevactions Midsize rental which is the Pride Go Go Elite Travel HD Plus which has a weight capcity of 325 lbs at 21" wide and can fit through the door of most standard cabins not requiring the user to have an HC Cabin. The Pride Go Go ( unlike the Pride Victory) easily comes apart to fit into the trunk of a taxi and does not require a lift accessible vehicle. It's also generally rents for less than than Special Needs at Seas heavy duty model. Special Needs at Seas Basic rental is a Shoprider scooter which can also breakdown and fit into the trunk of a car but the weight capacity is only 250 LBS unlike Carevacations Pride Go Go Elite Traveler HS plus at 325 LBS capaicty. ALL these variances support what was stated in my previous post which was that The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples

Suggest you go back and re-read my post more throughly . I clearly stated that Special Needs at Seas uses the Pride Victory .

"Special Needs uses Shop Rider for it's compact,

Pride's Victory for it's 300 lb capicity

and CTM for it's Bariactric model.

"

So forgive me if I typed the weight wrong ... should have said 350 lbs.

 

Unlike Carevacations that uses ALL Pride Equipment for it's scooter rentals Special Needs at Seas only uses the Pride Victory for it's Heavy Duty Rental. The Pride Victory requires that the person must have an HC cabin because it's too wide to fit through the door of a most standard cabins.

 

Unlike the Carevactions Midsize rental which is the Pride Go Go Elite Travel HD Plus which has a weight capcity of 325 lbs at 21" wide and can fit through the door of most standard cabins not requiring the user to have an HC Cabin. The Pride Go Go ( unlike the Pride Victory) easily comes apart to fit into the trunk of a taxi and does not require a lift accessible vehicle. It's also generally rents for less than than Special Needs at Seas heavy duty model. Special Needs at Seas Basic rental is a Shoprider scooter which can also breakdown and fit into the trunk of a car but the weight capacity is only 250 LBS unlike Carevacations Pride Go Go Elite Traveler HS plus at 325 LBS capaicty. ALL these variances support what was stated in my previous post which was that The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples

That's not what you said, "CareVacations uses all Pride Scooters models where as Special Needs uses Shop Rider" .

Suggest you go back and re-read my post more throughly . I clearly stated that Special Needs at Seas uses the Pride Victory .

"Special Needs uses Shop Rider for it's compact,

Pride's Victory for it's 300 lb capicity

and CTM for it's Bariactric model.

"

So forgive me if I typed the weight wrong ... should have said 350 lbs.

 

Unlike Carevacations that uses ALL Pride Equipment for it's scooter rentals Special Needs at Seas only uses the Pride Victory for it's Heavy Duty Rental. The Pride Victory requires that the person must have an HC cabin because it's too wide to fit through the door of a most standard cabins.

 

Unlike the Carevactions Midsize rental which is the Pride Go Go Elite Travel HD Plus which has a weight capcity of 325 lbs at 21" wide and can fit through the door of most standard cabins not requiring the user to have an HC Cabin. The Pride Go Go ( unlike the Pride Victory) easily comes apart to fit into the trunk of a taxi and does not require a lift accessible vehicle. It's also generally rents for less than than Special Needs at Seas heavy duty model. Special Needs at Seas Basic rental is a Shoprider scooter which can also breakdown and fit into the trunk of a car but the weight capacity is only 250 LBS unlike Carevacations Pride Go Go Elite Traveler HS plus at 325 LBS capaicty. ALL these variances support what was stated in my previous post which was that The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples

This part is NOT true, you can see the Pride Victory fit fine through my door of a standard balcony cabin.

And btw if you get the bigger scooter(Pride Maxima 500lb capacity) you can park it overnight at the service desk and charge it, my friend is an executive with Carnival and explained to me the company cannot limit scooter storage due to international law.

Please state facts only

That's not what you said, "CareVacations uses all Pride Scooters models where as Special Needs uses Shop Rider" .

Again you have not read my post correctly. Go back and read Post #8 in which I clearly stated and I quote

"The equipment rented by each company is not apples to apples either which impacts pricing along with, the port of call, weight capacity and duration of the cruise. CareVacations uses all Pride Scooters models where as Special Needs uses Shop Rider for it's compact, Pride's Victory for it's 300 lb capicity and CTM for it's Bariactric. "

This part is NOT true, you can see the Pride Victory fit fine through my door of a standard balcony cabin.

And btw if you get the bigger scooter(Pride Maxima 500lb capacity) you can park it overnight at the service desk and charge it, my friend is an executive with Carnival and explained to me the company cannot limit scooter storage due to international law.

Please state facts only

I clearly stated that it does not fit through most standard cabin doors. What part of this statement do you not understand ?

Depending on the ship sometimes a balcony or suite cabins have doors that are sometimes larger but it's alway not the case. That's why I clearly stated it does not fit MOST of the time.

In general the Average cabin door is 23 " and than you have to deduct 2" for the depth of the door as it does not open flush to the wall. Therefore the average cabin doorway is 21". The Pride Victory is 22.25" wide at the base and could be even wider depending how far apart the armrest need to be set. The picture you posted shows that the armrests were removed making it possible to squeeze the scooter through a standard cabin door. Many people cannot removed the arms rests as they need the support thus making it iffy that it will fit through a standard cabin door.

This part is NOT true, you can see the Pride Victory fit fine through my door of a standard balcony cabin.

And btw if you get the bigger scooter(Pride Maxima 500lb capacity) you can park it overnight at the service desk and charge it, my friend is an executive with Carnival and explained to me the company cannot limit scooter storage due to international law.

Please state facts only

I have stated only the facts you just haven't through read myy post.

Your Carnival Friend is correct that the cruies line cannot restrict any one from coming on board ship with a mobility scooter but contrary to what you have been told the Cruise line can restrict the location as to where a scooter can be stored on the ship as it is against Coast Guard Safety Regulations and the Cruise Lines Safety regulations for scooters, wheelchairs and any other forms of mobility to be stored in public hallways on the ship. By doing so it impairs safe passage of the passengers needing access through these hallways and also hinders others using any form of mobility equipment from be able to safely move through the hallways.

Yes you are correct that guest services will make arrangements for it to be properly stored and charged on the ship. I have posted this very information many times on the board . The problem is that the cabin attendents often ignore these safety regulations and tell passenger to just park iin the hallway outside their cabin rather than sending them to Guest Services to make the proper arrangements.

I clearly stated that it does not fit through most standard cabin doors. What part of this statement do you not understand ?

Depending on the ship sometimes a balcony or suite cabins have doors that are sometimes larger but it's alway not the case. That's why I clearly stated it does not fit MOST of the time.

 

In general the Average cabin door is 23 " and than you have to deduct 2" for the depth of the door as it does not open flush to the wall. Therefore the average cabin doorway is 21". The Pride Victory is 22.25" wide at the base and could be even wider depending how far apart the armrest need to be set. The picture you posted shows that the armrests were removed making it possible to squeeze the scooter through a standard cabin door. Many people cannot removed the arms rests as they need the support thus making it iffy that it will fit through a standard cabin door.

Wrong Wrong Wrong, please check your facts before spewing out garbage, on a standard cabin the door way has 22" clear, the scooter I had is 21" with the arm rests removed, gosh it is so hard to pull 2 little pins

Wrong Wrong Wrong, please check your facts before spewing out garbage, on a standard cabin the door way has 22" clear, the scooter I had is 21" with the arm rests removed, gosh it is so hard to pull 2 little pins

Again you have chosen to selective read what you want . Yes it's easy to pull the little pins but my post did not state that it was hard nor did it imply that it wasn't easy to remove the arm rests. Rather my posted stated and I quote :

"Many people cannot removed the arms rests as they need the support thus making it iffy that it will fit through a standard cabin door."

Let it go and move on !!!!

The cabin door width depends on the cruise line. Carnival and Princess are about 22 inches. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean ships I have been on have a door widths of 24-25 depending on the ship. Handicapped cabins can accommodate most scooters,

Cabin door width even varies between ships on the same cruise line. I've learned to call the accessibility desk and ask about the particular cabin I am considering!

In most cases it's not just an issue of which is better. You need to know what company the cruise line u are sailing on allows. Also, care vacations is now owned and called Scootaround. We have a YouTube channel called cruising with wheels and talk it about it in a few videos. Check us out https://www.youtube.com/c/cruisingwithwheels

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Hi there

After looking at this thread, I realized that the initial comments about the comparison of the products between Special Needs at Sea and Care Vacations -now Scootaround were 5 years old.

What are people's thoughts about the two companies now and the different products they offer...We are looking at the choices for the electric scooters (the 2 lighter weight choices). Are they offering comparable products?

thanks for your opinions

Hi there

 

 

 

After looking at this thread, I realized that the initial comments about the comparison of the products between Special Needs at Sea and Care Vacations -now Scootaround were 5 years old.

 

 

 

What are people's thoughts about the two companies now and the different products they offer...We are looking at the choices for the electric scooters (the 2 lighter weight choices). Are they offering comparable products?

 

 

 

thanks for your opinions

Your first question should be with the cruise company your traveling with. Most lines will only allow the rental company they choose. From there I would say the companies are comparable. We have used both on different cruise lines and are both reliable and reasonably priced.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Your first question should be with the cruise company your traveling with. Most lines will only allow the rental company they choose. From there I would say the companies are comparable. We have used both on different cruise lines and are both reliable and reasonably priced.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Hi there

Yes, we contacted Celebrity and they deal with both of these companies, so we were going to use Special Needs at Sea and rent their "standard" scooter unless somebody had a reason why that wouldn't be a good choice.

Also wanted to say that I watched a few of your utube videos and was looking for some insight.

For many years now when my wife and I travelled, I have pushed her in a manual wheelchair. She really doesn't have much strength to push herself. This cruise I suggested the electric scooter as a way of allowing her a little more independence. (which she thought would be worth trying) My question is "if you are confined to a wheelchair, what would be the best way to keep the door of the cabin open when you are entering or exiting?" I know that some of the "accessible" cabins have the automatic door openers, but I don't believe ours does.

thanks if you can shed some light on this topic

The power of the scooter moving forward, once she slides her key card should be enough to get the door open. It can be very difficult to get and keep those doors open if they don't have the electric door opener installed. There really isn't a good answer I can give other than the method I have described above. Sorry. Sometimes when I'm in my manual chair I use my cane to prop against the door but most times my hubby is with me so I don't find it to be that big of an issue.

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Hi again,

Thanks, figured there would be no easy answer. We will give a try and see how it goes. If she can't do it herself, I'll be there for her too.

thanks