xxoocruiser

Most still need to access the toilet for bowel movements. My mother had MS, and we traveled with both a travel rolling shower/commode chair (which rolled over the toilet) and a travel mobile lift (keep in mind that Hoyer is a brand name, and not the best lift on the market by far).

Good point about Hoyer not being the best. IMPO Hoyer is more often used as a generic term for a transport lift much in the same Xerox became a generic term for copying.

No, you are not be able to take your wheelchair on the plane. They have a wheelchair available that fits down the aisle. If you need a wheelchair in flight, to go to the lav, each aircraft has a portable fold up chair that is located in the rear of the a/c, most likely behind the last row of seats.

 

 

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Though the information you posted is correct if the person is non-ambulatory it does not apply to the OP. Reason being she is traveling with a Transport Chair which means she is ambulatory.

Called Delta twice, 2 different people, 2 different answers, one yes, one no, it must be checked. Going to call a third time. Can my wife bring her folding transport chair on the airplane? Anyone had experience with this? Thanx.

With all do respect there is some mis-information in this thread.

• Airlines have to allow you to bring your wheelchair
  
• You are not required to get a letter from your doctor . In fact no airlines can ask for a letter to confirm your medical condition as to why the wheelchair is need as by doing so it violates USA Federal Privacy Laws.
  
• No you are not required to check it as luggage as your were previously advised by a Delta agent. Though if you choose to check it as luggage it's your decision. However checking it as luggage pretty much guarantees that it will arrive damage
  
• Though post # 6 has good information if the person is wheelchair bound it does not apply to your situation .
  

This is what you do and yes I'm speaking from first hand experience

• As previously posted Wheelchairs/Transport Chair are classified as Medical Equipment and the airlines cannot impose a fee .
  
• The wheelchair/transport chair can be gate checked.
  
• If you need assistance pushing your wife to the gate you can use the airports wheelchair assistance service.
  
• When checking in your luggage advise the agent that you need wheelchair assistance. The agent will contact the service , write a number on you boarding pass envelope and than direct you to the wheelchair assistance waiting area.
  
• Upon arriving at the gate go the gate desk and have the agent issue you a tag for the wheelchair if it was not issued when checking in your luggage.
  
• Once boarding begins you or a gate agent will push your wife to the door of the plane. She can than walk onto the plane. The wheelchair/transport chair is to be left on the jet way and ground crew personnel with than place it in the cargo hold.
  
• On arrival at your destination the ground crew will deliver it to the jet-way where your wife can than transfer back into the wheelchair/transport chair .
  
• If you pre-order wheelchair assistance that person will meet up with on the jet-way.
  

If requiring assistance to push your wife through the airport phone the airlines and have your wife's reservation marked as requiring wheelchair assist for all flights

Thank you for the input!

 

What information I really looking for is if I can use the scooter on the island, as in, are the pathways concrete (or wood or equivalent)? I know I cant use the scooter on the beach in the sand but wasn't sure if there was a layer of sand on the walkways.

.

Yes the scooter can be used on the island. The paths are a combination of cement and hard packed sand.

 

 

FWIW - I can get off the scooter and walk onto the boat, and as long as my scooter isn't over 100 lbs they will carry it down the step or two to the tender from the ship.

I stated in Post # 2 that NCL uses a tender with roll-on capabilities so you can ride the scooter directly on/off .

But if you are wheelchair bound and cannot walk at all and weigh over 100 lbs total weight of you and your chair, you cannot get off

 

Crazy

NCL has a roll-on tender docked at Great Stirrup Cay so your post does not apply. Refer to post # 2

Thank you for the time and effort that went into doing this video. It's a terrific asset to this forum.

xxoocruiser - great summary. What was your source? May I save it and use it when necessary?

Source - I'm the author. First hand experience cruising with a mobility scooter and owning 2 Pride GoGo Elite Travelers.

OK to save ibut when using something you didn't author than it's polite to name the person who did.

We will be cruising from Alaska to Vancouver with husbands elderly parents. We rented them scooters mainly for off the ship but was wondering if they will be able to use them to get around the ship as well. Thank you in advance for any help!

Scooters can be used on board the ship.

Did you book an accessible cabin for your Parents? There is not enough space to store 2 mobility scooters in a standard cabin. Read info below .

It appears that perhaps this is the first time your parents will be using mobility scooter so have posted some information you need to know :

Embarkation Day: The rental scooter will be deliverto the cabin on embarkation day and must be left in the cabin on disembarkationday. If you use the ship's wheelchair assistance on embarkation day note thatyou will be dropped off in a public area . If not taken directly to your cabinand dropped off in a public area than once cabins are available to passengerssomeone from your party will have to go to the cabin to get the scooter ifyou're unable to make the walk. The scooter rental contract states that thescooter will not be delivered until 2:00 PM . It's also important to note thatrental equipment delivered to the ship is not given priority loading by thecruise line as ships supplies take precedent. Therefore the scooter might notappear in the cabin until closer to the sailing time though it was deliver tothe port by 2:00 PM.

Disembarkation Day: The rental scooter must be left in the cabin ondisembarkation day. The cruise line will not provide wheelchairassistance/pickup from the cabin. The night before a location for wheelchairassistance for disembarkation will be published in the daily cruise newsletter.You can ride the scooter to that location but than someone from your group mustthan take the scooter back to cabin for pickup from the rental company.

If you have not booked an accessible cabin than depending on the type ofscooter required due to weight capacity it may not fit through the stateroomdoor. All scooters and wheelchairs MUST be stored in the stateroom. Due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS (Safety of Lifeat Seas) regulations, it cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or anyother public area. Ignoring these regulations can and does impede thesafety of others whether disabled or abled bodied moving about the hallways notto mention impedes the safety of all on board the ship in the event of anactual emergency. Even if the cabin attendant tells you it's Ok it's NOT !I for one will contact the ships security to have the scooter removed if one isobserved left in the hallway.

Scooters or any personalitems for that matter CANNOT be stored on balcony.

After you obtained the scooter you should go to the dining room to check thelocation of your assigned table if traditional dining has been chosen. Reasonyou need to check that there is a good path to drive the scooter to the table.Once at the table you can transfer to a chair and the wait staff will than parkthe scooter in area that will not hinder others in the dining room. If there'san issue than go to the Matre'D and request a change in table location.

Scooter keys are not unique as car keys. Scooter keys are universal and ascooter can easily be mistaken. Therefore I suggest you bring an extra luggagetag for the scooter to identify your rental scooter.

The most common scooters rented by SpecialNeedsatSeas and Scootaround (formerly CareVacations) are the Pride Go Go Elite Traveler or the Pride Go GoSport which both have a very low under clearance of 1.5". Therefore it'snot unusual that the scooter will get hung up on the gangway joints. Under nocircumstance should you allow the ship's personnel to force push the scooterover the joints which is the crews first reactive response. The scooter needsto be placed in freewheel mode and then rolled over the joints. To place infreewheel mode there is a yellow lever on the rear wheels directly under theseat. When the lever is in the LockedIcon Mode the scooter is able to be driven. If in the Un-Locked Icon mode the scooter will be in Freewheel mode. Ifyou aren't able to walk down/up the gangway than a person from the ship's crewmust guide the scooter up/down the ramp while another pushes the scooterup/down the ramp while. If you're able to walk up/down the ramp it'srecommended that you do so while the scooter is than freewheeled pulled up/downthe ramp. If the scooter isn't placed in freewheel and the crew force pushesthe scooter over the gangway joints the scooter can be permanently damaged andsince it's a rental you will be responsible for the repair costs or possiblythe complete replacement cost.

Reset Button:The Pride GoGo Elite Traveler and Pride GoGO cannothandle steep inclines. When the incline is too much for the scooter to handlethe motor is designed to shut down the scooter automatically. Should this occur there is a reset button onthe battery casing below the seat. There’s a rubber bubble cover it. Turn the scooter off. Press the bubble thus pushing the reset buttonback in to place and then restart the scooter. If after doing this a couple oftimes and the scooter does not reset than that an indication that the motor hasbeen damaged by forcing it to exceed its limitations. Note : Some people willtell you the bubble lights up but it doesn’t as it does not contain a light.

If there are any tendered ports you will only be permitted onto the tender ifthe tender has roll-on capabilities. Also note regardless of whether it's adocked or tendered port Captain has the discretion to not allow wheelchairs andscooters from exiting the ship as safety of the passengers is always the utmost concern.

The scooter does notstop a dime. It has a rolling stop… the slower the speed prior to stopping theshorter the roll… the faster the speed the longer the roll. Therefore you needto always be aware of this so as not to run into other passengers and orobjects.

You may encounter thresholds going to and coming from anoutside deck that the scooter can get hung up on which makes it difficult toclear. You at times will have to scout out other routes that have a betterleveled doorway threshold.

Elevators will also be an issue with scooters as able-bodiedpassengers will jump in front of you toget into the elevator first no matter that you were there first. It's not justkids. I have found that adults are often worse than the lids on-board. At peaktimes you're best to take the elevator that's further from your destination asit will be less congested.

Get on the first elevator that has open space for thescooter regardless if it's going the opposite direction of what you want. Whatgoes up must come down and vice versa.

Arrive at the muster drill early to avoid all the crowdsgetting onto elevators.

It's recommended that you remain at the muster drilllocation for at least 15 minutes if not more after it's ended to avoid thecongestion at the elevator. It will be impossible to get onto an elevator untilthe crowds have cleared.

Expect that there will be obstacles such as room servicecarts as well as inconsiderate passengers that have intentionally left theirwheelchairs, scooters , other mobility equipment as well as baby strollers inthe hallway of where you cabin is located. For any mobility equipment left inthe hallway which blocks you passage don't think twice about calling the shipssecurity to have it removed immediately. As far as the room service cartthere's usually a cabin steward nearby so just yell out for assistance and itwill be repositioned so you can pass.

If you don't intend to go on excursions than suggest youwait to get off the ship until the masses have gone. Reason being that securityand gangway personnel generally have to shut down the process to make certainyou get off safely with scooter. Other passengers waiting in line get restlessparticularly if they're on a time restriction to meet up with an excursion.

Has anyone done Great Stirrup Cay (GSC) with a Scooter?

My cruise is on 4/21 (so close!) and I don't know if i should attempt it or not. I would hate to get sand caught up in anything mechanical on the scooter so I am wondering what the paths are made of (wood,concrete,sand?)

• NCL uses a tender with roll-on capabilities so you can ride the scooter directly on/off .
  
• NCL maintains a limited number of wheelchairs on Great Stirrup Cay that have been designed for use on sand. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The wheelchairs are free to borrow, and can be picked up at the Tender Pier. The beach wheelchairs are made for use on the sand.
  
• None of the excursions offered on Great Stirrup Cay are accessible by wheelchair or scooter
  
• The bar and dining facilities on Great Stirrup Cay are wheelchair accessible.
  
• All of the rest rooms are wheelchair accessible; however, they do not accommodate companions.
  

In October, we sailed the costal cruise and the only way I could have disembarked was if I could walk down the steps to the tender platform and walk on to the tender. I suggest you contact the Celebrity accessibility department at (866) 592-7225. They can answer any questions you may have regarding taking the wheel chair with you.

 

I hope you booked an accessible cabin.

pretty sure SB was not tender port. I don't remember if Catalina is. if you can do stairs/steep ramps you will be allowed to board the tender and fold up the chair/carry it. if you cannot transfer or handle stairs( some times the only way to get on the tender is down a steep flight of stairs) then you will not be allowed on the tender.

 

SB is an easy port to get around. . so is Catalina. Cannery Row can be difficult on the cobblestones and areas where there is no sidewalk. . I suggest a walk to Archie's for garlic fries. your taste buds will thank me. then have some wine at Taste of Monterey.

According to the itinerary posted on Celebrity's website, Santa Barbara, Catalina and Monterey are all tendered ports. Calling Celebrity really isn't going to do anything as the reps will only state that the individual will have to be able to walk up/down steps to board the tender. Being that tenders can change without notice the OP really won't know for certain if they'll be able to board the tender at any of these ports until arrival at the actual port. If the OP is not able to walk up/down steps to board the tender that at this time he/she needs to plan on not being able to go ashore at these ports.

Additionally even if the OP is able to walk up/down steps to board the tender, the Captain , not the Special Needs Department ,makes the decision if any passenger with a disability will be allowed to board the tenders due to weather and or sea conditions. This also won't be known until the actual port day.

She said she was a single in cabin

Though OP is in a cabin by herself what OP didn't state is if she booked a single occupancy studio or a standard cabin at a single occupancy supplement. Harmony has both .

Yes, but only the packets you put in hot water.

Never saw Mexican Hot Chocolate in the Windjammer on any RCCL cruise. Hot Chocolate for me is what coffee is to others so I would have definitely have found it if it exsisted on board.

OP - The packets are Nestles Dark Chocolate. The dark chocolate is very good but if you want to make it better mix some cream in with the hot water

Hi I am traveling with a family of 10. What is the latest you have exited off the ship and arrived to the FLL Airport. Having issues getting good airline prices at afternoon time frames. Most flights sold out! ;p

 

Ready to be on the boat already:D

6 months ago I literally was the last passenger off the ship and that was between 9:15 am and 9:30 am. They were paging me. Would have been off earlier but was waiting for wheelchair assistance. Disembarkation went very fast that day.

Noted. Yet you apparently did not note my preparation above.

Yes I did read your preparation post. Regrettably I posted the wrong link. The link I meant to post was https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45840&page=2 which is your other post.

Regret you have had negative encounters. They must have soured you and that is a shame.

 

 

 

.

You've made an assumption that's totally incorrect.

My experience with incentive abled bodied people most definitely hasn't soured me. I'm actually one of the most up beat disabled individuals you'd ever meet. Have traveled to 5 of 7 continents and over 300 countries living with the affects of MS. Lived and worked in Asia 26 weeks a year for over 15 years never disclosing my disability to any employer. Continue to travel including cruising with no assistance. That hardly adds up to being soured.

Hope all goes well for you and Jim.

OK, thanks.

 

 

 

Noted.

 

Oddly discouraging post but I expect you mean well. We shall try not to discommode other passengers. Have you personally had a negative experience with a disabled traveler?

Yes it's discourging but you needed to know this. More often than not it's the care person that needs the vacation and not the person with dimentia. As is the case at times a cruise is selected being that the staff is very thoughtful and helpful. Because of this the care person may think that all they need to do is give the cabin attendent a big tip to check in on their loved one and order room service if needed while the care person takes a couple hours for themselves and goes ashore, The reality is that's not how it works. Most people are oblivious to the "Fit to Travel Clause". Better you know this all up front and plan accordingly. It's a hard lesson to learn as you're being kicked of the ship, It's happened more than has even been posted on CC.

If you choose to go than I wish you well ,

There's been much posted on CC about crusing with a loved one with dimentia. Regretably most of the treads don't recommend it. Perhaps you might consider doing a search for past threads.

Am the disabled traveler but do not have cognitive issues. Have been the recipiemt of rude, cruel and incentive comments from able bodied people on occasion but have never been kick off a ship. I'm able to handle all my own needs.

Refer to Post #26 in this thread https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=45840

Special Needs number or email (preferably) for Windstar?

Special Needs contact info contained in this link https://d2xks5907lvzsh.cloudfront.net/media/plan_your_voyage/cruise-documents/passage_contract_clean_072517.pdf

Have your read the information on Windstar's website pertaining to "PASSENGERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS" ? Here's the link https://www.windstarcruises.com/accessibility/

Hope you plan to be with your husband at all times. Reason being that there have been reports on CC over the years of passengers on various ships having left their loved one with Dimentia alone to fend for themself. Thus resulting in the individual becoming confused, disoriented and asking for assistance from passengers and cruise staff. The end result was that everyone in the party was off-loaded at the next port. No Refunds nor travel allowances provided by the cruise line.

All cruise contracts have a form of a "Fit to Travel Clause". In short the individual must travel with a companion or hire an aid to come along to tend to said passenger 24/7 as it is not the responsiblity of the cruiseline and or its staff to provided such services.

This is actually against the rules AND a fire hazard.

Not quite certain why you think the scooter in the hallway poses a fire hazard ? It's presents a Safety hazard in the event of an emergency such as a fire.

Copied directly from RCCL's website :

On Allure in May with family. Is there anywhere onboard I cannot go with scooter. I have grandchildren who will want me to watch them do things such as flow-rider, zip line etc... I can walk but not distances. I am compiling a cheat sheet of places I cannot get to or I need to get to differently with a scooter. I will be stuck using the elevators while know most of my party may use the stairs much of the time. I am fine with that. I am not the best at picking up on some of the finer points of maps. I figured an organized cheat sheet would come in handy. Do not want to wait till onboard to scribble out one. If organized and have info neatly typed out will be smaller and I can relax rather than spending so much time figuring things out. Don't laugh. Overpreparing works for me. :o

Thank you for this. My mom cannot walk long distances either and I was thinking of pushing the issue of renting a scooter. We are a family of 19 sailing on Allure in August. We have OV balcony cabins. Would the scooter fit inside the cabin if we dont have an accessable cabin but if we rent from Royal? Thanks.

 

 

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I have been on several Allure cruises where passengers have left their scooters outside of their rooms at night.

and during the day

Whether or not a mobility scooter will fit the a RCCL standard cabin door depends on the width of the scooter.

• The width of the cabin door is 23" door frame to door frame. 2" than must be deducted as the door does not open flush to the wall. Thus making the total threshold clearance only 21". The scooter has to be less that 21" to fit through a standard cabin door. As previouslt stated armrest width may have to also be adjusted to fit.
  
• All Oasis Class ships have an alternating bed configuration. Scooters can't get past the bed if it's postioned closet to the closets and or bathroom resulting in it having to be left blocking the entrance to bathroon that cabins main door which presents a safety issue.
  
• For Oasis Class standard Balcony cabins the bed has to be next to the balcony for the scooter to fit in the cabiin.
  
• Alternating configurations also apply to Oasis Class OV and Inside cabins.
  
  • For Standard OV the bed has to be closet to the window
    
  • For Standar Inside cabins the bed next to the back wall farthest from the washroom and entrance.
    

  [*]Per SOLAS ( Safety of Life at Sea) regulations nothing can be stored in the hallway including mobility scooters as it poses a safety issue for all passengers . Though the cabin attendant will tell you it's ok .... IT"S NOT and the cabin attendant knows that such action violate SOLAS as well as RCCL's safety regulations .

  [*]RCCL's Policy states

  • " Assistive devices including mobility scooters must be stored and recharged in your stateroom so fire doors, corridors and elevator lobbies are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When parked throughout the ship, they must be parked out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers"
    

FYI ...I will report any scooters, wheelchairs, strollers etc left in the hallways to Security and have it removed immediately.

I hope someone can help I just had last minute Achilles’ tendon surgery and have to wear an air cast and be non weight baring as I’m struggling with crutches I have hired a mobility scooter for the cruise this restricts the excursions I can take. We are on Symphony and looking for excursions Rome Naples Capri or any others people can recommend. Thank you.

The excrusions posted on RCCL's website do not accomodate mobility scooters. You can contact RCCL's Special Needs Dept to inquire if any accessible tours are offered. If there are they're not cheap as you will be charge one flat fee for the van regardless if you have 2 people in your party or have 6. Your options are:

• Try to find private tours that can accomodate the mobility scooter.
  
• As already suggested use a knee roller or a manuel foldig wheelchair ( not a transport chair) for tours.
  
• Arrange for a taxi that will load the scooter in the trunk and you design your own tour with the taxi driver. The basic scooter rented by either SpecialNeedsatSeas or Scootaround which is either the Pride GoGo Sport or the Pride GoGo Elite Traveler dependingon the port. All Pride GoGo's regardless of he model breaks down into 4 pieces (5 including the basket). If you fast forward to the 54 sec. mark in this video link
  it shows how the gogo breaks down. Not the GoGo scooter shown in the video is not the same gogo model thatyou rented but it breaks down the same.
  

?????

Refer to post # 23

I don't understand your post at all? What are you trying to say?

My MS symptoms were greatly impacting my ability to type today. People not living with the devastating effects of MS don't understand that.

Post # 17 was response to your Post #18 stated :

Translated :

I know this info doesn't help you now but might be helpful to anyone considering a Travelscoot. It's been reported on CC that if you contact Travelscoot they have been known to reach out to their customers in the local area to arrange for a perspective buyer to test ride it.

It really wasn't all that difficult to understand even with the bad typing. In fact Boozebabe understood it based on Post #20

Good idea to try a scooter before buying. I wish I could have done the same. I don't regret buying the Travelscoot but I would have liked to try a few and compare them before buying. I bought mine sight unseen and it was shipped to me. A bit of a struggle assembling it the first time from the printed directions. There was an error on the page and it stumped us for about 2 hours!!

I know thiss info doesn;t help you but might be helpful to anyone now considering aTravescoot. It's been report on CC that Travelscoot has to reached out customers in the area to arrange for a perspective buyer test ride it .

Hello, does anyone know if the Sky Lounge (deck 16) on the Anthem of the seas is wheelchair accessible? I can not find the information anywhere and as the outdoor spaces seem to be limited, we are looking for a place where we will be good to sunbathe on the bridge away from the big crowds.

 

Thank you!

The Sky Lounge is not wheelchair accessible. Though on deck 16 there are steps up to it. There is no elevator access to the Sky Lounge. Nor is there a chair lift which would have allowed the individual to be transfered and than someone could carry the chair up.