Bringing Portable Chair, Now What???

I am facing hip replacement next month and am pretty uncomfortable. We bought a portable wheelchair to help with arriving and departing the ship, as well as for the usual long walks from ship to port terminals. On board I’ll use a cane when necessary.

Question is, when we arrive at Ft. Lauderdale Port to board the Silhouette, with the wheelchair, what do we do, where do we go?

Have been on this site many years and have always found other cruisers to be so helpful with their advice. Looking forward to receiving any pointers, thanks!

Barbara

I am facing hip replacement next month and am pretty uncomfortable. We bought a portable wheelchair to help with arriving and departing the ship, as well as for the usual long walks from ship to port terminals. On board I’ll use a cane when necessary.

Question is, when we arrive at Ft. Lauderdale Port to board the Silhouette, with the wheelchair, what do we do, where do we go?

Have been on this site many years and have always found other cruisers to be so helpful with their advice. Looking forward to receiving any pointers, thanks!

Barbara

I would recommend that you contact the Special Needs department and tell them the situation. They will arrange for you to have assistance boarding the ship (i.e., a steward to push you and your chair on to the ship). They can be reached at special_needs@rccl.com. Be sure to include your reservation number and all booking information (sail date, ship, cabin, name(s), etc.).

Steve

My husband can only walk very short distances and we always travel with our own transport chair.

While it probably doesn't hurt to notify the cruise line in advance we never have and simply show up and request a pusher to get my husband on the ship. You will be escorted to an area to wait for someone to take you onboard.

I can push my husband just fine around the ship but can't get him up ramps or uo or down the gangway - you won't have any problems finding assistance.

Many thanks to both of you for your response. This is the first time I have ever needed any type of assistance and I guess I needed a little reassurance.

Since the decision and purchase of the transport chair was so recent our departure is way less (this Friday) than the 30 days needed to submit the form to RCCL.

I called RCCL Access Department, and gave the agent the information needed to be added to our reservation.

It seems simple enough....arrive, find a porter or agent and tell them I have a wheelchair reserved. My husband will have to push our chair but a Celebrity employee will push me in a Celebrity wheelchair, I’m thinking for insurance purposes. Hopefully it will go smoothly.

Thanks again,

Barbara

Many thanks to both of you for your response. This is the first time I have ever needed any type of assistance and I guess I needed a little reassurance.

Since the decision and purchase of the transport chair was so recent our departure is way less (this Friday) than the 30 days needed to submit the form to RCCL.

I called RCCL Access Department, and gave the agent the information needed to be added to our reservation.

It seems simple enough....arrive, find a porter or agent and tell them I have a wheelchair reserved. My husband will have to push our chair but a Celebrity employee will push me in a Celebrity wheelchair, I’m thinking for insurance purposes. Hopefully it will go smoothly.

Thanks again,

Barbara

You will also by-pass all lines regardless of your loyalty status or cabin type and get checked in very quickly.

You will also by-pass all lines regardless of your loyalty status or cabin type and get checked in very quickly.

That will be much appreciated.

Planning to head to our muster station (probably with cane) way ahead of time so we can use the elevators.

Will deal with any other situations as they arrive and I know the crew will be helpful.

Thank you again for your advice and suggestions!

Barbara

Sailing on Eclipse on April 1st. Hubby has used scooters in the past but wheelchair assistance at embarkation and debarkation. We now have an "electric" chair, not a huge one, a small one and contacted the Special Needs desk. When we arrive we just tell them he needs assistance and they will be more than happy to assist us. We have never had a problem. Now, disembarking might be another issue. Yes, they brought the wheelchair to a waiting area but we sat there way too long. The port in Ft. Lauderdale was horrible for "pushers". Not enough. The ship was emptied quickly and there we sat. This time around we can get off and he can use the elevators to just head down to customs.

Celebrity crew is great in helping you. They will do all in their power to assist so don't worry about that.

Have a great cruise!

Pat C

I nearly cancelled our cruises last year in April and September as I needed a wheelchair and crutches pre and post a June operation.....I am so glad I didn’t!

The pampering, no cooking, cleaning...etc was exactly what myself and my better half needed! It gave us a much needed boost pre op and while recovering I had something to look forward to....

Staff on Celebrity could not have been more helpful. In addition to the wheelchair I asked for a shower stool which was provided (just ask your room attendant) and I used the hoist (ducking stool as my husband described it) to get in and out of the Solarium pool. I cannot describe how good that warm water, no weight bearing felt! I had been apprehensive about using it but the staff were wonderful! In bars and restaurants if you cannot get comfortable the staff will find you a chair or cushions to make you so!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise and a quick recovery following your operation.

Thanks for the encouraging words. I have no doubt the crew will be helpful. We’ve sailed Celebrity many times.

I guess we will figure out disembarking when we are on the ship. Husband is the antsy sort so long waits aren’t his thing. However, I’m currently unable to do stairs and keep up with the crowd. So while enjoying a sea day we’ll investigate my best option.

Again, many thanks to all you fellow cruisers!

Barbara