Lightweight "transport" wheelchair for use on cruise

I am interested in buying a light weight wheel chair to take on our next cruise. In researching it, I found a Invacare Lightweight "Transport" Wheelchair that weighs only 19 pounds for onlly $180.

My concern is that its wheels are 8" mag solid rubber coasters. Although the description says that these prevent individuals from propelling out of the chair I wonder whether it will be safte enough for getting on and off the ship's gangplank. I don't want to compromise weight for my wifes saftey.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of wheelchair

No chair experience but I use a scooter.

Going on and off the ship there is always ships personal to assist you. They want you to be safe and will take care of you. In Alaska there was a steep long gangway and five people from the ship assisted one chair up.

I do not know about safety, but I do know that the lightweight transport wheelchairs are more difficult to push, especially in carpeted areas than standard wheelchairs. They are also more difficult to get up curbs and do not absorb the bumps from rough surfaces the way chairs with the larger rear wheels do.

However, as Jukeboxy said, there should always be crew members ready to assist on the gangway. If not request help.

We're going to England in July & I'm trying to decide if I should Take my powerchair w/ me or rent one in England for 12 days. I'll be taking my wheelchair for sure & flying New Orleans to London.

Any horror stories about destroyed/lost checked chairs?

Any good vendors that deal w/ cruiselines out of Harwich?

jim

Get a real wheelchair. If a person needs one, insurance will nearly always pay at least part of it. If you get a standard lightweight chair like a Breezy, it will fold into a small space, not be too heavy (look for something less than 35 lb.) and will be much more comfortable, durable, and practical. Those transport chairs are really only practical for indoors uncarpeted areas. In addition the person in one has to stay where someone else parks them and cannot even turn the chair around to look the other way without having help. Check out this site for some ideas:

http://www.spinlife.com/critpath/match.cfm?categoryID=7

Jim:

We have flown transatlantic 4 time with my husband's power chair going from JFK to London (twice), Stockholm and Barcelona. Only once was the chair damaged and then it was just a cracked battery case on our return flight. All except the Barcelona flight were non-stops which may lower the possibility of damage.

In spite of our experience, I have heard horror stories so the best I can suggest is consider your own situation. If you are like my husband who does not fit many standard chairs (he's 6"2"), you are probably best taking your own chair. Otherwide renting a chair may be best if you find a reasonably priced vendor.

As for vendors, Did you try CareVacations? We had a good experiences with them, but I do not know if they service Harwich.

If you do take your chair, consider taking the most fragile pieces on baord the plane with you. I always take my husband's elevating leg rests and gel seat. Also, remember that some airports (eg. Heathrow and Barcelona) may not bring a power chair to the plane even if it had been gate checked. We had the latter issue a couple of summers ago when going to/from Bacelona via Heathrow which was a major problem because my husband's legs are too long for the airport chairs with fixed legs. .

StuNYC,

If your wife can move her arms at all, please do not get her a transport wheelchair. My Dad had one, and could not move himself at ALL.

I, too, use a chair for any kind of distance outside of my home. We went to the mall in my DAD's chair, and DH parked me in the men's dept while he was looking at stuff. Unknown to him, I was suffocating down among the wool pants, and could not move myself. Not only were my arms loaded with handbag, and packages, but I had no wheels to move myself with......and I couldn't get up......those transport chairs are truly awful to be in if you can move yourself at all....................and hard to travel over carpet, or curbs with. The big wheels make all the difference.

Hope you have a great cruise!

To answer your question about safety, as others have mentioned, there are crew to help with boarding. It sort of depends on your wife’s disability as to whether the lightweight chair is advisable. My husband has emphysema and could never have the lung power to turn big wheels himself anyway, and since he does have the use of his legs for short distances, around the cabin, etc., we have found it useful to have a transporter chair, though ours is sturdier than what you mentioned and we paid about $300. It’s good for the long passageways on a ship, the cavernous embarkation buildings, and for shore excursions on flat surfaces (museums, malls, smooth pavement). It is not practical for uneven surfaces like cobblestones or Mayan ruins. It’s compact enough when collapsed to be carried on the smallish, van-like tour buses and can be put in the trunk of a taxi.

Hope this helps.

Carol Louise

Our light weight regular wheelchair also fits in a bus luggage bay and even fits in the small compact car trunks. It has quick-release wheels which are easy to pop on and off when you have to put it into a small space. Have never regreted getting it, even when my mother was still ambulatory, and it was mandatory when she could not longer walk. Even though she has a power chair and only the use of one arm, she can still turn herself around when needed when she is sitting in this chair...and could not in a transport chair.