Scooter accessibility on Canadian Cruise

[floretts]

We are planning a Canadian cruise from Boston this summer. We will be taking a mobility scooter with us , and want to know if others have done this successfully on Canadian Cruises.

We took the scooter on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in April on the Reflection, and it was able to negotiate Old San Juan, the town of Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas from the port, and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, relatively easily. Sure, there were a few stores with steps that we couldn't enter, but we never expected these places to be as handicap-friendly as they were. We especially appreciated the blue painting of the ramps on the street corners--made it ver easy to find places to cross the streets!

[hn7609]

We took the scooter on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in April on the Reflection, and it was able to negotiate Old San Juan, the town of Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas from the port, and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, relatively easily. Sure, there were a few stores with steps that we couldn't enter, but we never expected these places to be as handicap-friendly as they were.

 

If you were happy in the Caribbean then you'll be ecstatic with Canada.

[floretts]

If you were happy in the Caribbean then you'll be ecstatic with Canada.

 

Could you specify what you mean by 'ecstatic'? I'm hoping it means there are ramps in all the little towns and Quebec City!!

 

Thanks

[Chunky2219]

Don't know the exact ports you're doing but I went by chair and it was pretty much okay.

 

Halifax was a doddle.

 

Quebec is okay (despite the cobbled streets) but access to shops is difficult because most of them have one or more steps. You can get the funcular railway to the hotel at the top but check that the wheelchair/scooter access around the back is in operation - it was closed for maintenace when I was there.

 

Corner Brook was quite a climb from the dock to the top of town then even steeper down into the centre with very variable quality paths and drop kerbs. It wasn't worth the journey. I hope you don't get a stop there.

 

 

.

[kellanrevere]

Could you specify what you mean by 'ecstatic'? I'm hoping it means there are ramps in all the little towns and Quebec City!!

 

Thanks

 

Isn't everyone ecstatic in Canada , LOL? Gotta say, I LOVE that country and it's people .

[xxoocruiser]

Have taken several New England/Canadian cruises using a mobility scooter and had quite a nice time. However tendered ports will be an issue as most cruise do not allow mobility scooters onto the tenders unless it has roll-on capabilities. For Bar Harbour is a tendered port and both times I was not able to go ashore but I fully understood that from the get go.

 

For more specific information suggest you post the ports in your itinerary.

[floretts]

The ports we are stopping at are Bar Harbor,Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia;Sydney and Quebec City.

In addition to the scooter, we also travel with a wheelchair my husband can use in places where a scooter is impractical, but any stairs are pretty much out of the question.

I am hoping that the doorways to the staterooms on the Veendam are wide enough for the scooter--it is a small, three wheel one. It was no problem on the Celebrity Reflection, but that is a much newer ship.

[Chunky2219]

Bar Harbor will be okay if you can take an assisted step on to the tender with (broken down) scooter or chair to follow. I can't comment on whether HAL allow this, but every line I've been on does.

 

At the other end the tidal range is massive, I think they said 3rd largest on the east coast. Arriving at the jetty was okay but on return it was very steep and it took 4 crew members to hold my chair back against the slope. You really ought to go and do the tour there, it was the best stop on the cruise. The National Park is terrific and the lobster is good, but the streets of the town are a little steep.

 

I can't comment on Charlottetown or Prince Edward, other than saying we were supposed to be going to PE and got diverted to Corner Brook. I hope you enjoy the holiday, but more than that, I hope you don't end up in Corner Brook!

 

.

[xxoocruiser]

The ports we are stopping at are Bar Harbor,Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia;Sydney and Quebec City.

In addition to the scooter, we also travel with a wheelchair my husband can use in places where a scooter is impractical, but any stairs are pretty much out of the question.

I am hoping that the doorways to the staterooms on the Veendam are wide enough for the scooter--it is a small, three wheel one. It was no problem on the Celebrity Reflection, but that is a much newer ship.

 

Assuming based on the itinerary you're cruising on Holland America. If that's a correct assumption HAL has one roll-on tender on all but the Prinsendam . Generally speaking than that you may be able to drive the scooter directly onto the tender. However the last HAL cruise I took the the roll-on tender was not in service and no one with a mobility scooter was permitted to board.

 

Bottom line be prepared to stay on board the ship when tendering if you are unable to do steps on or off the tender. If you're able to go ashore than that's a bonus.

[sherilyn70]

The ports we are stopping at are Bar Harbor,Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia;Sydney and Quebec City.

In addition to the scooter, we also travel with a wheelchair my husband can use in places where a scooter is impractical, but any stairs are pretty much out of the question.

I am hoping that the doorways to the staterooms on the Veendam are wide enough for the scooter--it is a small, three wheel one. It was no problem on the Celebrity Reflection, but that is a much newer ship.

I'm on the Veendam in 2 weeks. I was told bar Harbor should be no issue with the scooter. I originally had an hc lanai but just upgraded to a Neptune suite that is handicap modified. The doors for the Neptune suite are 32" wide according to HAL and my short is only 19 so it won't be an issue. If you didn't get a handicap room you also need to consider space, a lot of the standard rooms won't work very well.

 

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[kellanrevere]

I am originally from the Bar Harbor area and I would not say Cottage St. (The steep street) should not be a problem with a scooter. It is Very steep, I cannot imagine my scooter making it. People have to lean into their steps to walk up. I would suggest going along Water St then coming down Main St to get onto Cottage. Turn right and do the upper end of Cottage street first. I don't know if you can find a private driver or tour but that is the course I would take. I would highly suggest Jordan's Pond House in Acadia Park, go to the top of Cadillac Mountain, and cross the Trenton Bridge to eat lobster at the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound . This is how local Mainiacs live.

[xxoocruiser]

I'm on the Veendam in 2 weeks. I was told bar Harbor should be no issue with the scooter. I originally had an hc lanai but just upgraded to a Neptune suite that is handicap modified. The doors for the Neptune suite are 32" wide according to HAL and my short is only 19 so it won't be an issue. If you didn't get a handicap room you also need to consider space, a lot of the standard rooms won't work very well.

 

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HAL is the only cruise line that has one tender per ship with roll-on capabilities except the Prinsendam. That's the reason that Bar Harbour may not pose an issue for you when. All other cruise line do not have tenders that a person can drive their scooter directly on to it.

 

FYI - the Modified Accessible Neptune . The bathroom door is not ADA accessible width and there is step to enter the bathroom as it's not a zero threshold entrance. . Also the shower does not have a zero threshold as it has a floor pan base with a 4"-5" lip. Many people who need a fully accessible cabin and book a modified accessible often are disappointed as it did not fully meet their needs. Hope it works for you.

Edited May 24, 2014 by xxoocruiser

[sherilyn70]

FYI - the Modified Accessible Neptune . The bathroom door is not ADA accessible width and there is step to enter the bathroom as it's not a zero threshold entrance. . Also the shower does not have a zero threshold as it has a floor pan base with a 4"-5" lip. Many people who need a fully accessible cabin and book a modified accessible often are disappointed as it did not fully meet their needs. Hope it works for you.

Thanks for the information. Thankfully I only need modified access and can handle small step ups (like a curb). I only need the scooter for longer distance walking. I'll be fine with it just parked to the side in the room.

 

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[floretts]

I'm on the Veendam in 2 weeks. I was told bar Harbor should be no issue with the scooter. I originally had an hc lanai but just upgraded to a Neptune suite that is handicap modified. The doors for the Neptune suite are 32" wide according to HAL and my short is only 19 so it won't be an issue. If you didn't get a handicap room you also need to consider space, a lot of the standard rooms won't work very well.

 

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We will also be traveling on the Veendam in August. Would love to hear about your experiences with the Scooter when you return.

 

Smooth sailing!

[Ians Grandma]

We were on the Veendam for the Voyage of the Vikings last summer and my son (uses a scooter full time and cannot take a step) was unable to get off of the ship at any tender port.

[sherilyn70]

We will also be traveling on the Veendam in August. Would love to hear about your experiences with the Scooter when you return.

 

Smooth sailing!

I'll let you know how it goes. :) I'm getting a blood transfusion on Wednesday before we leave to make sure my hemoglobin levels are as close to 10 as possible (normal person is 12 or 13) so I will be at full energy.

 

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[Ians Grandma]

Sherilyn, I don't think that you will have any problems as you can walk for short distances. I hope that you have a fun cruise. My son has problems as he cant get out of his chair. Other than the Westerdam, which is a newer ship, my son very rarely gets off at a tender port. We are usually told that the equipment is broken or the weather won't allow it. We were told while onboard the Veendam that they didn't have the capability to tender people in scooters. They could take you if you could walk onto the tender and they loaded your scooter.

[Linda&Vern]

The ports we are stopping at are Bar Harbor,Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia;Sydney and Quebec City.

In addition to the scooter, we also travel with a wheelchair my husband can use in places where a scooter is impractical, but any stairs are pretty much out of the question.

I am hoping that the doorways to the staterooms on the Veendam are wide enough for the scooter--it is a small, three wheel one. It was no problem on the Celebrity Reflection, but that is a much newer ship.

"If" the scooter does not fit thru the cabin door it will be because of the arm rests. I do not even take them on a cruise. They just take up width! They easily come off a GoGo.

 

Are you in a HDCP cabin? Room for storing the scooter and charging it can be a challenge in a "small" cabin.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[sherilyn70]

We will also be traveling on the Veendam in August. Would love to hear about your experiences with the Scooter when you return.

 

Smooth sailing!

I will update in detail later when we get home. I just wanted to bump this up to find it later this week and also day that we had absolutely no issues with the scooter and excursions, even on the tendered port.

 

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[sherilyn70]

We will also be traveling on the Veendam in August. Would love to hear about your experiences with the Scooter when you return.

 

Smooth sailing!

 

• Tendering only works if you can handle stairs (which thankfully I can). The staff had no knowledge of the roll on and roll off tendering lift I was emailed about from special services. The crew carried my scooter down the stairs and into the tender for me after I made it down the steps on my own.
  
• Staff and cruise tours were all extremely helpful and always willing to assist me with my mobility needs.
  
• All of the ports were very scooter friendly. The sidewalks had ramps to cross streets and the restaurants and shops almost always had a ramped entrance.
  
• In Halifax we went to Peggy's Cove as part of our stops and I could almost get all the way out to the lighthouse safely via paths. I just couldn't climb on the rocks of course. ;)
  

[mosiegirl]

We are planning a Canadian cruise from Boston this summer. We will be taking a mobility scooter with us , and want to know if others have done this successfully on Canadian Cruises.

We took the scooter on an Eastern Caribbean cruise in April on the Reflection, and it was able to negotiate Old San Juan, the town of Charlotte Amalie in St Thomas from the port, and Phillipsburg, St. Maarten, relatively easily. Sure, there were a few stores with steps that we couldn't enter, but we never expected these places to be as handicap-friendly as they were. We especially appreciated the blue painting of the ramps on the street corners--made it ver easy to find places to cross the streets!

 

I live in Eastern Canada, and I can tell you Canada has very strict accessability laws similar to the USA.. so you will be fine.. I'm also in a scooter, so I have no troubles getting around anywhere here :)

[mosiegirl]

The ports we are stopping at are Bar Harbor,Maine; Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; Halifax, Nova Scotia;Sydney and Quebec City.

In addition to the scooter, we also travel with a wheelchair my husband can use in places where a scooter is impractical, but any stairs are pretty much out of the question.

I am hoping that the doorways to the staterooms on the Veendam are wide enough for the scooter--it is a small, three wheel one. It was no problem on the Celebrity Reflection, but that is a much newer ship.

 

I live 1 hr drive from Charlottetown.. you will love this city.. very easy to get around. One thing to note about the canadian ports.. they are not like the Caribbean ports with lots of little shops etc .. you will have to walk/scooter a wee bit to get to the shops, or call a wheelchair taxi..