Any help from HAL staff - ship to tour bus and back?

[pschweig]

My sister is accompanying my extended family on a Baltic cruise aboard the Zuiderdam in June 2018. To make a long story short, her bad knee has sudden,y become much worse since we made our reservations in July 2017. She plans to take panaramic shore excursions but does not feel she would be able to walk from the ship to the tour bus and back unassisted.

 

I thought she might be able to reserve a scooter for the cruise, but do not know yet if that is a possibility (more research!).

 

My question - do staff members assist passengers (on scooters) from the ship to the tour bus? Or, should she consider canceling her cruise reservation because there isn’t any way for her to walk to a tour bus?

 

Thank you in advance for any replies, suggestions or personal stories about your experiences. I have no knowledge or experience which would enable me to give her suggestions.

[freestyling]

You should be able to rent a scooter or even a wheelchair if needed. HAL will assist up and down the boarding ramp at docks but I do not know if they will bring all the way to a tour bus. Suggest you either review the board on this website about traveling with disabilities or call HAL ship services. I hope you all have a great cruise

[RuthC]

You have some options here.

 

You could rent both a scooter and a wheelchair. That way your sister would have the scooter around the ship, but you could wheel her to/from the tour bus. The wheelchair can be stored on the bus, but a scooter cannot.

Renting both would get expensive, though.

 

She could ride a rented scooter to the bus, you could ride it back and have it stored near the gangway (security there will assist in finding a place), then get the scooter for her upon return. You would just need to get a decent head start to make the additional round trip.

 

Or, you could rent a wheelchair only, and be responsible for pushing your sister around on the ship. This gets difficult, as the carpets are harder to push on, plus it cuts down on her independence.

 

No solution is perfect, but it can be done.

 

Would your sister be able to get around on her own with a rollator? That could also be stored on the bus, yet grant her the ability to go off by herself when she wanted to.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Ruth's suggestions sound like good options. You can rent a scooter or wheelchair, but I don't know how much lead time you need. Call Access and Compliance at HAL 800-547-8493.

 

Ask for wheelchair assistance for embarkation. It may not be a long walk, but there can be considerable time standing in line. Port staff will get your sister into a wheelchair (belonging to the port) at the door, take her through security and check-in. After that, she will sit in the waiting area until someone from HAL with a HAL wheelchair comes to take her onboard. They will wheel her to her room, but that's the limit of the service.

[hobo1937]

My husband recently started using a walker for back issues and he used it for the first times on cruises in December(Hawaii) and March. Our experience has been that the crew will help walkers and scooters down and up the gangway but not out to the tour buses.

 

The cruise in March was the Incan Empires so all the ports were in foreign countries. We did not have any problems walking out to the tour buses with the walker and the drivers were great in storing and retrieving it on the tour. The tour guides were also very helpful. There were folks in scooters on these tours and they were able to get to the buses on the scooter and the scooters were stored and retrieved as well. There was one person that had what I think is called a knee walker which you may want to check out for your sister.

 

I would recommend contacting HAL's excursion Department and they will work with your sister in determining which tours will work for her.

 

Also, when we boarded the Maasdam we went down to the excursion desk to make sure the transportation being used for our tours would accomodate the walker.

 

So if you can rent a scooter, wheelchair or get one of these knee walkers she should be able to enjoy her cruise and take tours.

[pschweig]

Thanks so much for the your responses. I tried to research my question on CC before posting but I guess I don’t do a good job of selecting search words. You all have given us the information which We needed.

Edited May 7, 2018 by pschweig

[Rowsby]

Just a word of caution.....alot of the tour buses have steep steps....would she have a problem getting in and out....??

 

I have had some knee problems.....and I always pack a velcro knee brace....just in case.....it really helps stabilize my knee getting in and out of cars....and tour buses......!!!

[sail7seas]

How about purchashing a transport chair?, hey are small ish, not very costly and store easily. Sailors on the gangway will help get her down the gang way in her chair. Tenderding might be a problem for her. Seeing you are a family group, is there someone who would push her chair during any stops the bus makes? You may find it is less costly to buy a transport chair than to rent a chair and you would own it. In my area, they are not pricey. On the ship, she would be more independent with the scooter. She would need someone to push the chair.

Edited May 7, 2018 by sail7seas

[pschweig]

Just a word of caution.....alot of the tour buses have steep steps....would she have a problem getting in and out....??

 

I have had some knee problems.....and I always pack a velcro knee brace....just in case.....it really helps stabilize my knee getting in and out of cars....and tour buses......!!!

 

Thank you again for another excellent suggestion.

[pschweig]

How about purchashing a transport chair?, hey are small ish, not very costly and store easily. Sailors on the gangway will help get her down the gang way in her chair. Tenderding might be a problem for her. Seeing you are a family group, is there someone who would push her chair during any stops the bus makes? You may find it is less costly to buy a transport chair than to rent a chair and you would own it. In my area, they are not pricey. On the ship, she would be more independent with the scooter. She would need someone to push the chair.

 

Thank goodness - no tendering. I think I know what a transport chair is - a small, narrow wheelchair?

 

We’ve got to sit down and get a good feeling of what she can and can’t do. We’ve got 1 1/2 months to get this figured out. I had no idea what to advise her to do! I knew I could ask this question on CC and get good suggestions from people with first-hand experiences. Thanks to You all.

[GrammaRama]

How about purchashing a transport chair?, hey are small ish, not very costly and store easily. Sailors on the gangway will help get her down the gang way in her chair. Tenderding might be a problem for her. Seeing you are a family group, is there someone who would push her chair during any stops the bus makes? You may find it is less costly to buy a transport chair than to rent a chair and you would own it. In my area, they are not pricey. On the ship, she would be more independent with the scooter. She would need someone to push the chair.

 

After my DH had a stroke 2 years ago, we purchased a rollator walker/wheelchair. It is the best of both worlds. When he wants to change it from a regular rollator walker, he flips the backrest over and is able to sit facing forwards. (I then have the pleasure of pushing him if walking is not an option.) There are foot rests that are hinged and can be moved out of the way when not needed. We will definitely be taking it on our Alaskan Cruise in August. The excursions that we have booked say they will not have a problem stowing it when not in use.

Good Luck and have a great Cruise