Scooter travel questions

[prarie cruiser]

I am taking my elderly mother on a Princess cruise out of pier 91 in Seattle. She can walk a little with assist. We are both experienced cruisers, just not with her scooter. I am feeling a bit anxious and have some questions I hope you can help me with. She has one of those small scooters that break into 5 parts. I think it is a Pride Ultra with 3 wheels.

First question, getting around from airport in Seattle. Will there be any problems with the cab just putting this into the trunk like luggage? Will they do that if I break it down into the smaller parts? I once had this thing in the trunk of a Chevy Cobalt with no problem so I know it can fit in a trunk. How about transport on one of the cruise line buses to the cruise ship? Will they take scooters?

I think I read enough about the airline travel to have those questions answered but am worried about the whole ground transport thing. Any encouragement would help!!

[uppitycats]

Originally Posted by prarie cruiser

I am taking my elderly mother on a Princess cruise out of pier 91 in Seattle. She can walk a little with assist. We are both experienced cruisers, just not with her scooter. I am feeling a bit anxious and have some questions I hope you can help me with. She has one of those small scooters that break into 5 parts. I think it is a Pride Ultra with 3 wheels.

First question, getting around from airport in Seattle. Will there be any problems with the cab just putting this into the trunk like luggage? Will they do that if I break it down into the smaller parts? I once had this thing in the trunk of a Chevy Cobalt with no problem so I know it can fit in a trunk. How about transport on one of the cruise line buses to the cruise ship? Will they take scooters?

I think I read enough about the airline travel to have those questions answered but am worried about the whole ground transport thing. Any encouragement would help!!

There should be no problems with what you've described for groung transport for your mother's scooter. You might find a cab driver balking, but then just go to the next one. You'll find one who will gladly take it.

As for transfers through the cruise line -- is your mother able to step up into a van or bus? If so, then you'd do the same thing -- break it down, carry it on. Otherwise, if you inform the cruise line in advance, they will arrange a wheelchair-accessible transfer for your mother (and you).

Do you have a handicap accessible cabin on the ship? While your mother may be able to walk a few steps, having the space in the cabin, not to mention grab bars, no threshhold into the bathroom, etc., would certainly be a benefit for her.

[DavidPatrick]

We just returned from a Seattle cruise using a ZipR 3 scooter. When we left baggage at the airport we had to cross over to the Cab line. There was a Lincoln Town Car limo waiting in the cab line which had all the room in the world to put my wifes scooter into the trunk. There is a standard cab fee from the airport to anywhere downtown and the Limo was only $10 dollars more. We liked the limo driver so much we had him pick us up at our hotel (We always go a day early so as to not miss the boat) and take us to the Fish Market where we had dinner. My wife drove her scooter back to the hotel. The limo driver also picked us up at the hotel to go to the pier where he dropped us off directly in front of the entrance. The HAL support personal couldn't have been nicer and got us through our paperwork and onto the ship without having to wait in long lines. When we returned we called the limo driver as we were picking up our suitcases and he was there to pick us up in 10 minutes. No dirty cabs, no surly cab drivers and for 10 bucks more you feel like a million.

[MarkSeattle]

You won't have any issues at the Seattle airport. There are some cabs with natural gas conversions and not much trunk room running around, but there are ample cabs and usually a few vans in line, and never a long wait for a cab. They'll also call for a van if your luggage and scooter won't all fit in a regular cab. A cab from the airport to docks would be about $40ish (I don't think the fixed rate to the downtown hotel district would apply, although it's very close to it...)

Princess just moved to the new cruise terminal this year, so I haven't been there yet, but it's supposed to be an improvement so I wouldn't expect any issues getting on the ship either.

[EileenN]

Last week we used a town car recommended by our hotel and he was awesome. We had a wheelchair and walker and he took us to Pikes Market and a city tour for $40. It was well worth it. We got around Pikes Market and the water front and had lunch and called him to pick us up and then tour. It was great.

[prarie cruiser]

Thanks so much for all your encouraging posts! So far, I have taken the following actions:

First, finally figured out it was a Go Go ultra scooter, red and breaks into 5 parts.

Second, found a way to add something to hold her cane (for use in the casino of course)

Third, talked with the hotel about ground transport from airport to the hotel. They provide transport and were very nice about answering my questions. They said should not be a problem.

Hired a town car to take us from the hotel to the pier, and scheduled an early time so as to try to deal with any issues that may arise, either with transport or the cruise line. Hope to be able to use the past cruiser lounge area to hang out in prior to boarding opening.

Finally, I talked to the Southwest airline and they did not think it would be any problem, so I think we are set to go in a few weeks!!!! Thanks again for all the encouragment, it may be the last she will be able to cruise, so I want to make it as easy for her (and me) as possible.