scooter on the Nowegian Spirit

[ldav]

I am going on an Alaska cruise on NCL spirit in August. I would like to bring my scooter, does anyone have any suggestions for me.

[katgar]

Instead of Lugging your own, call or check out the web for carevacations. It will be waiting in your cabin when you board, and you leave it there when the cruise is over. They were quite easy to work with, we are renting a scooter (first time) on our upcoming cruise. I can give you feedback after that.

[DEL67]

We were on the NCL Spirit in Nov and found it to be generally accessible, but there were a few exceptions.

 

The casino has two levels, one of which is only accessible by stairs. Ironically, the slot tournamants are held on the upper level and the late night snacks are set out up there. There also were no handicap tables in the casino. The art room where the art auctions were held was also up a set of stairs; however, towards the end of the cruise we were told that you could access it via a back elevator, but we never tried it. Finally, I am not sure

about the accessibility of the show lounge. It did not look as if there was an place for wheelchairs to me, but the Purser's desk told me that arrangements could be made. Since my husband didn't feel like going to shows I never checked it out.

 

 

Do you have one of the 4 accessible cabins? If not, you probably will need a long extension cord to recharge your scooter. If you have trouble getting up because the bed is too low, ask your cabin attendant to raise the bed by adding another mattrress. I

 

Also, if your itinerary includes Sitka or another tender port, you might want to check if NCL will put a scooter on a tender. If not, you may also need a manual chair.

[anchorman]

Please keep me posted on how you make out with a scooter on your upcoming cruise. My wife and I are looking into booking our first cruise, (probably HAL to Alaska), and I'm trying to decide 1) bring my small, collapsable scooter or rent one and 2) whether to ask for a HC room or book a small suite, which will give us the veranda that we want.

 

Ed

[Queenie2]

Anchorman:

 

HAL is really strict about scooters (most cruise lines have a similiar policy but HAL is probably the strictest). If you take (or rent) a scooter it has to fit inside of your room or you will not be allowed bring it aboard the ship. In other words if you do not book an accessible room, the scooter you bring (or rent) has to fit inside a 23.5-inch doorway. They do not let you park it outside of the room or charge it elsewhere. If your scooter is larger, then you need to book an accessible room. (most accessible room doorways are 32.5 inches wide.

 

They also have a conditional weight limit of 100 pounds. By that they mean if the scooter weighs over that limit, their employees are not required to carry it off the ship in ports that may have stairs.

 

For more information on this policy, or if you have any questions, I suggest you contact HAL's access and compliance dept. 800-547-8493.

 

I also suggest you bring a manual wheelchair for tender ports.

 

Candy

[anchorman]

Candy -

 

Thanks for the quick reply and the great detail. My Pride Sonic is only 22" wide if the armrests are brought as close to the seat as possible (and 21" if I remove them), so that should be ok. For the ports the chair sounds like a good idea. I'll call HAL, as you suggest, and see what they say for the particular cruise we're considering: Sept., 7 night inland Alaska, on the Statendam.

 

We want to book a cabin with a balcony and on the Statendam it appears balconys are only available by booking a suite on the Verandah deck. It appears that even the smallest (BB) suite would give me enough room for the scooter, (i.e. there's no need to try to get an accessable suite). Does that seem right to you?

 

Ed

[Splinter]

HAL has a tender lift on the Statendam, but they will ONLY take a manual wheelchair of no wider than 18" on this...no power chairs, no scooters. You must also make arrangements for this at least 24 hours before any tender ports, and they generally will NOT let you on it sooner than 2 hours after tendering starts for AB passengers. They will do it sooner if you make a stink, but you have to make a stink.

 

Be sure you are getting the right accessible room on the Statendam. Some of the "accessible" cabins have tubs or regular stall showers, not roll-in showers, and are much smaller than the fully-accessible cabins (706 & 711 for example). We need 3 people in our cabin and must have a roll-in shower, so only have two options on this ship...either 709 or 704

 

We love the Crow's Nest bar. It is by far the best place to sit for great view's forward and to the sides of the ship. Get there very early for days such as Glacier Bay. Although an older ship, we have found the Statendam a nice ship for traveling with a wheelchair...a well designed buffet, sufficient help, and a much more accomodating showroom seating arrangement that on many larger and newer ships. The free ice cream, fresh squeezed orange juice (for some reason only available in the buffet, not the dining room), bread pudding, free popcorn at movies, and free specialty coffees are another plus on HAL!