Manual or Power Chair

[hn7609]

First a little background.........I have been diagnosed with Lou Gerhigs disease & am in a steady state of physical decline. I have been on a few Carnival cruises in the last year and have enjoyed myself greatly, I have always taken the manual chair as I had enough arm strength to propel myself anywhere on the ship. I have booked a cruise for July and am comtemplating taking my power chair because of lack of strength in my arms. I will have family with me but I will not count on them to push me about the ship.........I like to get up early & party till late & my family likes to sleep & relax. They would not be available most of the time to help me out when I would need it.

 

My question is would my TDX-SP power chair be too much chair for most venues. I realize that the power chair is too big for the dining room but I am OK with eating on the Lido buffet. I am concerned that the chair may be too large to manuver in the bathroom. I also worry about the elevators as the power chair is a bit larger & weighs a ton. I would not want to crush anybody's feet in the elevator. I love the freedom that it would give me on the ship but worry that it is just too much. If I could just stand a scooter would be perfect but it is physically not an option for me.

 

So what do you think???........how did the full size power chair work out for you on a cruise???

[nieciez]

A friend of mine uses a power chair all the time on cruising....I know his wife checkes in here so I am sure she will give you some insight. I'll give her a heads up.

[Ms Ann]

Good Afternoon hn. Denise suggested I post about our experiences with big power chairs.

 

My husband had polio as a baby, and now uses a power chair. It is a quantum 6000 with lots of bells and whistles. Although we no longer cruise with Carnival, I'm sure there are ships on most lines that can accommodate the size and weight of your chair. That is the newer bigger ships. I's say 2005 and newer.

 

Oscar can not transfer from his chair, so we use it in the dinning room, buffet, etc. The dinning staff will know where the chair will and will not go. The choices will of course be less than a standard chair, but you will be able to use it in the dinning room.

 

Elevators - no problem ( old ships yes ). we try to wait for an empty or near empty one, but always say "watch your toes, it hurts when he rolls over them". This usually gets their attention quickly.

 

Bathrooms - we only use the one in our cabin. He uses a leg bag anyway, so have to go there to empty it. Some showers have presented challenges, but nothing different from using your standard chair. We use RCI ships, and the cabin bathrooms are very open, corner door, and very generous in size ( usually 7' X 8' ).

 

Lets see - can't remember if you had other questions, but will check back to see.

 

You have an excellent outlook. Keep on cruisin'.

 

Oh yes one more thing. With your reduced arm strength, you may want to find ships with the automatic door openers. I only know about RCI ships, but other lines may have them also. The Royal Carribean and Celebrity newer ships have them. Call and check with the various lines special needs departments to find which one have them. THEY ARE GREAT!!!!

[hn7609]

Thanks for your reply........I'm going to try the power chair.....sounds like it will work out OK for me.

 

The next cruise I've got booked is just a 5 day so even if it doesn't work out great I'll be OK. It's only 5 days.

 

I will be on Carnival's oldest ship but the room does meet my needs with the roll in shower & auto door opener. I have found the public handicapped bathrooms to be large & actually easier to use than those in the cabin.

 

The biggest proplem will most likely be the elevators, they are small & crowded.

[Ms Ann]

We usually find the less used ones by the 2nd day. For some reason one or two at any bank of elevators seems to be less used. Mystery to us, but nice to look for. And of course as you probably already know, if the elevtor opens and is empty or near so, GET IN. Take a ride even if it is going in the wrong direction!!!!

[Shebbieal]

I use a power chair 100%. If I do any excursions I take a manual. I don't push myself, I might break a nail! The only real problem is the elevator but I try and use the forward and not the centrum. I cruise almost exclusively Royal Caribbean. Even their oldest ship Majesty is OK, not perfect but doable. The Radiance class have auto openers in their doors of accessible cabins. The layout of the Freedom class are great for a power chair! I have a Permobile if that size is known.

 

Sherry

[xinap2]

@ Miss Ann

Hi there....glad to know another Polio Survivor has been cruising. We are going on our first and my husband too, had polio as a child and is in a Quantum 600XL chair. We have done lots of research on space provided and reading your message just now, gave me hope that it will be a great trip for us. Thank you

[gram2trips]

My husband also uses a Quantum 6000 power chair when we cruise. Have not had a problem on NCL Gem or RCI Grandeur or Enchantment. Are cruising April 28 on Carnival Pride, we will see how that works out. He did use his chair on Carnival Triumph several years ago with no difficulty. He usually transferred to a dining room chair with no arms but this cruise he will be staying in his chair. Has become more difficult for him to walk. Have had no complaints about any of the HC rooms we have had. All have been manageable. As someone else said, if u see an empty elevator we get one, it will eventually go the way we are headed! In general most people are nice about him in the chair. On occasions people will step in front of him & then wonder why he ran over their foot! When we go to the buffet, he scopes the buffet to see what he wants to eat, then we get a table & I get his food. We have found it easier this way. I do think they need designated tables for HC people & ones with mobility devices. The staff is more than willing to help. Take your chair & enjoy your cruise!