dreamer320

11 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

Have you checked with any of the sellers of the Go-Go Elite and Folding?    I think you can get a basket as an add-on accessory.    But doesn't the Go-Go Elite Traveler come with a basket?

 The Elite Traveler does come with a basket. The folding one does not, and doesn't even have anything available as a separate accessory. The design of the tiller doesn't make it possible to attached a generic basket, and it looks as though even attaching a bag wouldn't work terribly well, as the curve of it looks like any bag couldn't be attached tightly. I was hoping someone might have the folding Go-Go and has successfully rigged up something for storage. I've spoken with a couple of sellers and they just said there's nothing can be added. Guess I'll have to take it out of consideration. Thanks.

I'm deciding between a standard travel scooter (disassembles in 5 parts) or a folding travel scooter. I keep coming back to the Go-Go Elite and the Go-Go folding, so it will likely between those two. I'd much rather get a folding scooter, but my main concern is that there isn't a basket, or seemingly any way to add a basket, and it doesn't seem like a seat backpack will work either. Having something for storage seems pretty important, since I'll mainly be using it just while traveling, cruise and land, and will need to keep a water bottle, small bags while shopping, etc. I don't want to burden my dh with carrying everything, since we generally split the load.

Does anyone who has a scooter similar to these two have any advice? I've been mulling so many scooters for a few months, and I really want to pull the trigger and order one now that vaccinations are near. TIA.

11 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Goodness.

 

I just Googled  "renting a mobility scooter in Europe" and got several hits without any tweaking.

(But obviously I don't know anything about them, so check, etc.)

 

Was there something wrong with all of these?

 

GC

Thanks. Mostly I've found rentals in large cities like London, Paris, etc., but not something I can use throughout two weeks of travel in smaller areas. And, though it's likely a long shot, I was hoping someone would have personal experience with a land vacation in lesser-traveled areas of Europe.

I hope it's okay to get some guidance from you regarding land vacations. I have a few different medical issues that make walking more than a few blocks difficult, and standing still more than a couple minutes also difficult. In regular, everyday life, I use a cane almost all the time, have and use a handicapped placard, and plan activities carefully around my abilities and energy. I recently took a business trip to Chicago, and used a wheelchair in the airport, and in a museum, because I knew both would be too much walking for me. We ubered a lot for short distances, and I unfortunately overdid it a couple of times.

We (dh and I) are planning a two-week trip to Belgium, with a couple of days trips elsewhere, and staying in probably four different cities/towns. I now know that it would be best to have a scooter or wheelchair available for longer bouts of sightseeing. I'm not at the point where I need this in my non-travel life, so I don't have this equipment. All of this is a long-winded way of asking if anyone is aware of mobility aid rentals similar to Special Needs at Sea for land vacations. I've spent quite a bit of time googling, to no avail. And of course I'll be contacting visitor information centers for their help, but thought perhaps someone might have some real-life experience. 

Thanks in advance for any input.

I'm not a germaphobe at all, but I won't use public pools or hot tubs if they allow little kids in them. Even swim diapers have been shown to leak. We vetoed several gyms at home because of this.

I'm not big into baths, so I generally don't use the tubs, though not for cleanliness reasons.

If you have a rental car in Halifax, Fredie's Fantastic Fish off Chain Lake Dr. for lobster rolls (though my husband loved the seafood chowder even more).

If my cruise isn't actually during Christmas, then wouldn't even think of it. We did one Christmas cruise, and I made and packed a three-sided felt tree, about 2 feet tall, that was packed flat at the bottom of my suitcase. I packed a small fabric star, and a short string of battery lights that we only turned on a few evenings when we were in the cabin. It was important to us to have some personal sign of Christmas. We didn't do anything else decorative, though I did make a holiday playlist.

We never eat in the MDR, only the buffet or room service for us. I usually avoid the desserts - they look fantastic, but aren't usually good. That's why we board with a small stash of chocolates of some kind. Also, the lemonade is horrid. Other than those, eh, I may or may not like it, but wouldn't avoid it. I

If you really "win" a cruise from some contest,, you will be liable for the income tax - based upon the stated value - which is likely to be "book" or "brochure" value - a lot more than what you would be likely to pay were you to buy it yourself. Then, in addition to the income tax, you would have to pay the cruise taxes and, of course, service charges.

I didn't. Our taxes were done by our CPA and we didn't pay additional. We were even audited that year because of an IRA rollover.

I won a Hawaiian cruise years ago from a Dole Pineapple sweepstakes. The only costs we had were excursions and alcohol. I briefly considered asking for cash equivalent, since I didn't have a strong desire to go to Hawaii. So glad I didn't - it was fabulous, and it was our first cruise.

We're doing an Alaskan cruise at the end of July rt Vancouver. We're strictly economy people, but have decided, after a rough year health-wise, that we're going to try to do business class for longer flights from now on. My husband isn't a big fan of flying to begin with, and hates being cramped.We've been doing premium economy, which is fine for shorter flights.

Having decided that, I now realize that coast-to-coast flights are often (usually?) not on the type of aircraft that provides much of difference between economy and business as overseas flights do. Is there a line that gives the upgrade more bang for the buck? We could also fly into Seattle, as we'll have pre- and post-cruise days. We'd be driving to either IAD (preferred) or DCA from Richmond, but would rather not go to BWI due to distance.

Thanks for any assistance.

I keep looking and hoping for a price drop for my Alaska cruise, but no luck so far. When I booked, I priced it for both with and without Explore4, and it was $4 cheaper without it! It's not a worthwhile package for us at all, other the the HSC, so I'm really hoping to see a price drop at some point.

Curious about the dry dock: did you hear when she'll be going in? I'm booked on the Volendam for Alaska in 2017, and the HAL rep I spoke with said she'd be in dry dock this December for suite refurbishments. But I've seen from a couple sources that it's a 2017 dry dock, with no definite time frame (like late Dec 2016-early Jan 2017).

Thanks for any clarification!

We're headed to Alaska on the Volendam in July! It's been three years since we did a western Caribbean on the Ryndam, and six since I did Alaska on the Rotterdam. To say I can't wait is an understatement.

I priced it with and without E4, and it was $10 more without! Since we only eat in the Lido or room service, and are light alcohol drinkers and don't drink coffee, it's not a value-add for us. I'll keep an eye on prices and hopefully can get a better price without it later on.

I'm surprised that pizza is the issue. To me 1400 vs 2200 would be my primary concern. If you wish a balcony cabin...NA is the way to go. The Volendam has far fewer.

David

As I said, it's not THE issue, but it's a minor issue that may make a difference when weighed with everything else. Ship size and day of the week in port are the biggies, so I'm glad to see some responses re: those things.

Thanks for the responses, appreciate the thoughts. Am leaning toward the Volendam, today anyway. Oh, and Krazy Kruiser, the Tamarind isn't a plus for me, as I don't like that cuisine at all! (Have I mentioned that I'm picky? lol)

We're looking at an Alaska cruise in 2017, roundtrip Vancouver. So the choices are either the NA or the Volendam. Other HAL ships we've cruised on were the Ryndam (Caribbean) and Rotterdam (Alaska). We liked the size of those ships, so at first glance the Volendam seems like a better choice.

But we prefer a verandah, and the prices on the V'dam are significantly more, since the same types of cabin aren't on both.

There are a couple other considerations which are minor, but when taking all things together, may make a difference. Food - we only eat in the Lido, and frankly, I have trouble finding things I like for dinner (very picky eater). Breakfast and lunch are okay. The NA has pizza, which is a positive for me. Also, the V'dam leaves on a Wednesday - how big of a factor is on mid-week start when it comes to other ships in port?

Appreciate any insight those with experience on both can give! Thanks.

We do, but we're low-maintenance people. We don't like or do specialty restaurants, we maybe have one drink each a day, we don't shop on board and relatively little on shore. We don't scrimp on excursions, but we also don't tend to want expensive ones, or only one per cruise. Balcony cabins only, no suites.

I usually pay off at least 70% of vacations, cruise or land, before the trip itself, and pay any remainder when the bill comes. I usually squirrel away money throughout the year in a separate bank account for vacations, but don't always need to dip into it.

My experience: when the Rotterdam headed out of the Hubbard Glacier area, we went back to our aft cabin to pick up something on our way to some event or other. We opened our cabin door, and literally gasped. Filling the windows of the balcony was a panoramic view of the glacier. It was as though we were alone in the middle of the water with all of the wonders of creation showing off just for us.

Needless to say, we didn't make it to wherever we were going. We stayed on our balcony until Hubbard finally disappeared from sight.

Everyone is different, so you'll just need to see what works for you. Dh needed both the patch and seabands - the patch alone didn't work. He's always been very susceptible to motion sickness, so he started with the patch, and put it on the day before we boarded. I used Bonine twice, and was otherwise fine.

Why not? Isn't the idea of taking a vacation to DO things differently than in our everyday lives? Why not just stay home and save yourselves the cruise cost if you don't do anything different? This makes absolutely no sense to me! :eek:

Nope, for us the idea of taking a vacation is to experience things different than our everyday lives. Experiencing new sights, sounds and cultures don't necessarily need to cost money. If you think doing things differently takes money, then that makes no sense to me.

If we feel like splurging, we can and do, on a land or sea vacation - but we don't often feel the need to splurge on things like booze or gambling. Not knocking those who do, but it's just not our lifestyle. Why is that so hard to understand?

We don't have many charges, but we don't do anything differently on a cruise than in everyday life. We seldom drink, so usually have no bar bills. We don't drink coffee, so no specialty coffee bills. We seldom gamble, and even if we wanted to onboard, don't want even a whiff of smoke, so wouldn't go to the casino. We're very casual diners and never eat in the MDR, much less any specialty restaurants.

We do spend money on excursions, but mostly all private, not through the ship.

We spend time in our cabin and on our balcony, so yes, it's important. Neither dh nor I use the pool or sunbathe, and we'll have an (as in one) evening drink in a lounge and go to an event or two, but that's it. We only eat in the Lido or room service, so our meals are fairly quick by choice. During the day, we'll spend time in the library reading, or in our cabin.

Thank you!

We're looking at the HAL Norse Legends from Rotterdam to various places in Norway. My dh gets quite motion sick, and had to use the patch plus seabands on our last cruise. How rough is the passage likely to be in the North Sea compared to the western Caribbean? I know there are variables, but I'd like to stay in an aft verandah on the upcoming cruise if it's likely to be comparable.

If you use Victor Bodden, try to get a specific guide that's been recommended. We had a pretty bad experience with our private tour - practically non-existent air-conditioning in the van, we had to argue with our driver to not be taken to multiple tourist shops, and we came very close to getting in a head-on collision when he tried to pass on a hill. Many others have had good experiences, but just don't expect all guides/tours to be great.