Wheelchairs in Ft. Lauderdale

We've had wheelchair service at the port to the ship itself but it wasn't our wheelchair. This time we're bringing our own. Do they still push the wheelchair for you if it's not theirs? I'd find it easier if they could. Thanks in advance.

Our experience in other Princess ports is that they supply both "pushers" with chairs and "pushers" who will push your own chair. Some of the ramps to board the ship are rather steep and not totally smooth. I honestly do not believe that I could push my family member who needs the assistance; the only problem we've had with Princess was a lengthy delay in disembarkation as the people assigned to push chairs did not show up on one cruise. We had a lounge full of people in chairs and people needing them, and no one to assist any one.

We've never had a boarding issue. However, they do not assist you thru security and check in; they only provided assistance with the actual boarding of the ship and took people all the way to their cabin.

As with all things, your experience may differ; I can only describe ours. We will be cruising out of Port Everglades soon; I can report back to you at that time.

 

We've never had a boarding issue. However' date=' they do not assist you thru security and check in; they only provided assistance with the actual boarding of the ship and took people all the way to their cabin.

 

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Our experience at Port Everglades has always been the wheelchair assist personnel took us thru security, check in and to our cabin with no problem. Guess we've been fortunate.

We see the FLL 'Pushers' pushing wheelchairs that are not Princess's. They are ones passengers have brought from home

Our experience at Port Everglades has always been the wheelchair assist personnel took us thru security, check in and to our cabin with no problem. Guess we've been fortunate.

Wow! I took my daughter thru security and check in and to the HA assist waiting area. The helpers took her from there. This was on 3 different Princess cruises, 2 different ports. We even commented that it was not as good as the service we'd received from other lines.

In fact, the worst situation was when I insisted on seeing a supervisor because we were told that she'd have to stand with her rollator in the long wait line for security. I told them that we weren't asking to "cut" the line, but she could not stand that long. She would need a place to sit until it was our turn to go thru security. And that is exactly what we got--a place to sit and an employee who said that she'd notify us when it was our turn. Again, no complaint about the wait, but the idea that she'd have to stand that long wasn't going to work at all.

I use the wheelchair service all the time. I typically travel solo & use a walker but could not manage the ramp or deal with luggage. I have never seen them pushing someone who had their own wheelchair. I would call Princess to verify that is even a possibility.

If you need wheelchair assistance you are suppose to call Princess & get on a list. I noticed last time it is actually printed on my boarding pass. There are actually 2 types of pushers. Upon embarkation the first pusher is a port employee. He is not allowed to board the ship so after taking you through security & checkin you are turned over to an employee of the ship who will take you onboard. This is the person who will roll you up the steep ramp & will take you all the way to your cabin.

At debarkation all the wheelchair people meet in a central location at their designated time. (No reservation is necessary) The last time I cruised on Royal we met in the wine bar. This can go more slowly as there is often a shortage of chairs & pushers on board. Once you are pushed off the ship & into the terminal a port employee takes over. I ask that person to get me a porter. After their porter gets my luggage all 3 of us go to customs. This only takes a few minutes. After that I am wheeled outside to the taxi area. The porter gets me a cab, loads my luggage & off I go!

I have seen some people not tip the pushers at all. (Also true at the airport). These people work very hard & that is just wrong! I normally tip the pushers $5 each & sometimes a bit more dependent upon effort involved. I don't know what other people do but I always tip the porter at least $10 even though I typically only have 1 bag.

Thank you for posting this--I did just call Princess and get on the embarkation/disembarkation assist list. We've never done this or known that we were supposed to do this before. We've always used the service, but never signed up for it in advance.

We have done the form that they sent us...but never heard of a list.

Thank you for posting this--I did just call Princess and get on the embarkation/disembarkation assist list. We've never done this or known that we were supposed to do this before. We've always used the service' date=' but never signed up for it in advance.

 

We have done the form that they sent us...but never heard of a list.[/quote']

 

It is always best to call about a week before sailing to verify they have you on the list. However, they never refuse anyone & all will eventually get taken onboard even if they did not call in advance. If you are sailing from Ft Lauderdale the wheelchair waiting area is outside on the side of the building to the right of the terminal door. You do not have to go inside the terminal so don't get in the line. Upon arriving at the wheelchair area Iet the person in charge know you are on the list & if "wheelchair assistance" is on your boarding pass show it to them. BTW - I do not know why security would insist your daughter had to stand. I can stand & they still do the pat down without me getting out of the chair. The pushers who work for the port are pretty aggressive old guys who know how to move things along. They seem to have a good relationship with the security staff & I do not think they would let what you describe happen. Good Luck!!

It is always best to call about a week before sailing to verify they have you on the list. However, they never refuse anyone & all will eventually get taken onboard even if they did not call in advance. If you are sailing from Ft Lauderdale the wheelchair waiting area is outside on the side of the building to the right of the terminal door. You do not have to go inside the terminal so don't get in the line. Upon arriving at the wheelchair area Iet the person in charge know you are on the list & if "wheelchair assistance" is on your boarding pass show it to them. BTW - I do not know why security would insist your daughter had to stand. I can stand & they still do the pat down without me getting out of the chair. The pushers who work for the port are pretty aggressive old guys who know how to move things along. They seem to have a good relationship with the security staff & I do not think they would let what you describe happen. Good Luck!!

It wasn't the security personnel who insisted that my daughter had to stand...and she has no problem standing for a minute or two for security. It was the Princess personnel at the terminal who stated that she had to stand in the line while it snaked its way to security. She had her rollator; a wheelchair wasn't provided until after we had checked in. Again, not a problem....without prolonged standing. Often we manage lines with me standing and waiting in the line while she sits somewhere nearby, but that wasn't possible at this spot as there was nowhere to sit. The supervisor at the terminal fixed the situation for us. This was at Houston, which isn't being used any more.

Thank you for the information about exactly where the waiting area is at FLL. That's our next departure port, so here's hoping.

It wasn't the security personnel who insisted that my daughter had to stand...and she has no problem standing for a minute or two for security. It was the Princess personnel at the terminal who stated that she had to stand in the line while it snaked its way to security. She had her rollator; a wheelchair wasn't provided until after we had checked in. Again' date=' not a problem....without prolonged standing. Often we manage lines with me standing and waiting in the line while she sits somewhere nearby, but that wasn't possible at this spot as there was nowhere to sit. The supervisor at the terminal fixed the situation for us. This was at Houston, which isn't being used any more.

 

Thank you for the information about exactly where the waiting area is at FLL. That's our next departure port, so here's hoping.[/quote']

 

That sounds like something that would happen with RCCI. They are very disorganized both in Miami & FTL. Princess is sometimes a bit disorganized insofar as the list sometimes does not make it to the port staff. However, they do get the job done eventually. Biggest problem is usually on longer cruises which tend to attract a lot of older people so demand for chairs is higher. Should not be bad if you are on a 7 day as more families.

I use the wheelchair service all the time. I typically travel solo & use a walker but could not manage the ramp or deal with luggage. I have never seen them pushing someone who had their own wheelchair. I would call Princess to verify that is even a possibility.

 

If you need wheelchair assistance you are suppose to call Princess & get on a list. I noticed last time it is actually printed on my boarding pass. There are actually 2 types of pushers. Upon embarkation the first pusher is a port employee. He is not allowed to board the ship so after taking you through security & checkin you are turned over to an employee of the ship who will take you onboard. This is the person who will roll you up the steep ramp & will take you all the way to your cabin.

 

At debarkation all the wheelchair people meet in a central location at their designated time. (No reservation is necessary) The last time I cruised on Royal we met in the wine bar. This can go more slowly as there is often a shortage of chairs & pushers on board. Once you are pushed off the ship & into the terminal a port employee takes over. I ask that person to get me a porter. After their porter gets my luggage all 3 of us go to customs. This only takes a few minutes. After that I am wheeled outside to the taxi area. The porter gets me a cab, loads my luggage & off I go!

 

I have seen some people not tip the pushers at all. (Also true at the airport). These people work very hard & that is just wrong! I normally tip the pushers $5 each & sometimes a bit more dependent upon effort involved. I don't know what other people do but I always tip the porter at least $10 even though I typically only have 1 bag.

Procedures may vary from port to port, but at Seattle, it will be an employee of the company who processes the passengers onto and off of the ship (not a port employee) who will push the wheelchair from the arrival point (bus, taxi or auto drop off point) up through security and to the check-in location. Normally, from there onto the ship the chair will be pushed by one of the ship's employees. Sometimes, the chair will be pushed onto the ship by one of the shore service people. If that is the case, the person will be either dropped off onboard the ship or will be taken to their room by a ship's employee. THey will not be taken to their room by one of the shore service people, however as they are not cleared to go further onto the ship. As far as tips go, the people who work for the shore service company are not supposed to accept tips, period. The ship's personnel, however, are able to accept them and such tips are greatly appreciated.

Tom