Scooter and Non -accessible cabin

[Neversay]

We are looking at going on RCC Adventure of the Seas but there are no HA cabins avaiable.  

Has anyone taken a reguar cabin... how cramped was it?  Specifically on this ship would be an inside promenade stateroom which looks tiny.

 

i will add thAt I have some mobility issues with walking hence the need for the scooter on the Ship, but I can walk unassisted as needed not long distances and can manage shower/tub etc.

 

Do you think this this could work or we should look for a different voyage?

 

All thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

best,

Never Say Never

[spookwife]

I honestly don’t think you could safely or comfortably get an ECV in a Promenade stateroom.  It’s kinda narrow until you get to the back.

[gadaboutgal]

I am doing a five week back to back on Adventure this Fall and will be taking a mobility scooter. There were no handicap cabins available so I booked and inside room (an ocean view room would be as good). In the inside and ocean v. rooms, the beds are at the farthest end of the room leaving more space in the middle. I will have the beds separated and that will provide sufficient room to at least get the scooter in the cabin where I can park it next to the sofa.  I may have them remove the coffee table, also.  I do not recommend the Promenade room.  Have sailed in them (pre-scooter days) and know that they are not laid out well for a scooter.  The bed takes up the precious center of the room space.

Edited March 23, 2019 by gadaboutgal
added info

[GUT2407]

Most scooters won’t get through the door of a standard cabin and if it does won’t be much room to get around it.

[mets123]

Regular balconies are a little bit larger than interiors, which may give you a little more room to navigate. My wife uses a scooter so I know what you are going through. Have you tried calling and asked about available accessible cabins? If you're a party of two, and they have an accessible cabin for three available, they might give it to you. It happened to us this coming fall on the Anthem. It doesn't hurt to ask.

[gadaboutgal]

A possible issue with balcony cabins is that if the bed is nearer the door, then your   space  to park the scooter would be over by the balcony door but  you cannot get the scooter past the end of the bed.   

According to Royal Caribbean's website, the standard door width is 23 inches wide.  Travel scooters are usually less than 22" wide.

(For future FYI, Princess' ships have a narrower doorway.)

[fair-winds39]

We just came off the Carnival Pride on Sunday. I have taken my scooter on our last couple of cruises. I have a PRIDE GoGo Elite Traveler Plus Model. It fits the dimensions required so I can drive right into a standard balcony cabin. I drive through the entryway into the cabin and park in front of the sofa. I also turn the scooter around to exit the cabin. I do not require a handicapped accessible cabin as I also have a cane to use inside the cabin. I've learned to maneuver the scooter through the doorway; I've got it down to a science now. the only thing is my DH needs to come with me to open the cabin door, otherwise, I would need to exit the scooter, use a doorstop to keep the door open and drive through the doorway and that could be tricky because my balance isn't too good. I also remove the armrests from the scooter. I haven't taken it on RCCL yet so I can't comment on how it would work on that ship.

[mets123]

But the question was about the Adventure of the Seas, not the Carnival Pride.

[jlp20]

On 3/22/2019 at 11:05 PM, GUT2407 said:

Most scooters won’t get through the door of a standard cabin and if it does won’t be much room to get around it.

There are scooters designed to be narrow to begin with, they give a couple of inches clearance for doors. The issue with regular cabins is the hallway width. To line up to get a straight shot at the door opening, your going to have to go back and forth 3-4 times to position the scooter to get through.

[raindropsalways]

First of all, contact Royal Caribbean and ask clearance width of the cabin doorway. Most of the small scooters will fit through. Depending on what furniture is in the cabin, you may be able to put a table or something under the sink. If not, ask the steward to something out of the cabin. We have had two small scooters in a couple standard inside cabins. It was “togetherness”, but we basically only bathed and slept in the cabin, thus it was not a problem.

 

Please remember that there will be a step up into the bathroom.

 

Have a wonderful cruise,

Betty

[kearney]

We have rented scooters and been able to get them into a regular cabin on some of the newer ships. But you need to try to get a cabin with the bed by the window to give you more room to maneuver. One of the best ships for this is Harmony of the Seas. Now DH gets a heavy duty scooter..which is 22" wide and the doorway is abut 23"... I read someplace on Adventure. So it should fit. One of the challenges is that the door to the bathroom generally opens towards the entry way... so you need to position the scooter in such a way to allow the door to open sufficiently. What was nice in Harmony is that the door opens towards the bed.  We usually try to avoid getting an accessible cabin since DH does not need the roll in shower.. and he can manage a step up.. not easy..but he can still do that...  Now I am told that if it does not fit..the cabin steward can take it away at night... or sometimes... if you are lucky..you may find a place out of the way where you can plug it in over night... But for this to work...you really need to know the ship. We started using scooters a few years ago and have found that on the Celebrity S class ships... there is a place near their 1A cabins that does not block the hall and has a plug spot.. and they have allowed us to plug in there..since it does not interfere with movement. 

[MedicKenK]

Please DO NOT park you scooter or wheelchair in the hallway. It creates a hazard and obstacle for those trying to traverse the same said hallway. I remember having to move scooters, Stewards carts, and even room service dishes left in the hall so that my wife could safely get past them. If there were an emergency and or if I wasn't with her there could be a big hassle. On top of the above rant, it is against the SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations to block a hallway in any manner. Thank you.

I wish Cruise lines would made more than 1% of cabins accessible. 

 

[GoHuskies!]

On 5/19/2021 at 6:12 AM, kearney said:

We have rented scooters and been able to get them into a regular cabin on some of the newer ships. But you need to try to get a cabin with the bed by the window to give you more room to maneuver. One of the best ships for this is Harmony of the Seas. Now DH gets a heavy duty scooter..which is 22" wide and the doorway is abut 23"... I read someplace on Adventure. So it should fit. One of the challenges is that the door to the bathroom generally opens towards the entry way... so you need to position the scooter in such a way to allow the door to open sufficiently. What was nice in Harmony is that the door opens towards the bed.  We usually try to avoid getting an accessible cabin since DH does not need the roll in shower.. and he can manage a step up.. not easy..but he can still do that...  Now I am told that if it does not fit..the cabin steward can take it away at night... or sometimes... if you are lucky..you may find a place out of the way where you can plug it in over night... But for this to work...you really need to know the ship. We started using scooters a few years ago and have found that on the Celebrity S class ships... there is a place near their 1A cabins that does not block the hall and has a plug spot.. and they have allowed us to plug in there..since it does not interfere with movement. 

Those doorways--you have to realize that when any door is opened, the measured width of the opening is reduced by the thickness of the door itself, since the door cannot fold flat against the wall.  Thus the 23" opening, for example, may only be 21.5" or so in actual space to get through. 

[kearney]

2 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

Those doorways--you have to realize that when any door is opened, the measured width of the opening is reduced by the thickness of the door itself, since the door cannot fold flat against the wall.  Thus the 23" opening, for example, may only be 21.5" or so in actual space to get through. 

We have been able to get the scooter in the Oasis cabins... but for our AOS I was able to get an accessible cabin... But you are correct... the door actual space is not the same as the door opening.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

We recently went with friends on an MSC cruise where the rooms were exceedingly small but it was last minute, sort of.  In order to navigate at night my hubby had to lift the scooter over the beds as there ” scooter by because of the desk.   We did that only at nigh and left it in the way during the day.   Our friends who weren’t dealing with a scooter thought there was so little room that they actually arranged their room so that the beds were in a T shape, basically along the bathroom wall and the adjoining wall.  It would have given us more room but was more of a hassle for us due to the CPAPs needing night tables.  And of course the extension cord going across the room, and it was only 7 days! 
 

when I just had the walker we chose an interior room on the Enchantment.  That was when we learned to separate beds as that gave us the most floor space.  If there are pull down beds it also keeps your head safe.  The particular room did not have space for a sofa, and we joked that the bathroom door hit the bottom of the bed!   When we packed to leave we couldn’t pack at the same times as there wasn’t enough space to stand between the beds and I doubt that there was more than 16 inches.  My point is only that I was surprised that such small rooms existed on commercial vessels!  And that, with some practice many problems can be solved enough to be doable.

 

I want to reiterate what someone else pointed out and that was some accessible cabins don’t have the hall space to easily turn into the room and even the automatic doors can close too fast.  Since I walk short distances we freewheel the scooter and hand guide it through the doorway.  

[kokoko]

On 4/1/2019 at 10:12 PM, jlp20 said:

There are scooters designed to be narrow to begin with, they give a couple of inches clearance for doors. The issue with regular cabins is the hallway width. To line up to get a straight shot at the door opening, your going to have to go back and forth 3-4 times to position the scooter to get through.

I try to get a room close to the elevators as the hall ways are narrow and some times you need to stop so people can safely get by.  I have used a gogo scooter that measured 21 in  it was hard getting into the room but not impossible  I just got off and lifted the back over to straighten it out.  they are not very heavy to just lift the back.  Yes the rooms are small and you may give up a little walking space but I would rather be crowded in the room and be able to take the scooter all day and be about the whole ship and ports .If it was a tender port I would stay on ship at least I was there not sitting at home cause I can't walk far.  Leave your armrests at home they make the scooter to wide.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

“Leave your armrests at home they make the scooter to wide.”

Excellent advice!   When I had a walker I could pass carts in one hall but not the other.  The room stewards confirmed the halls were different widths!  With the scooter I can get by most.  As for turning into a room, I saw that happen with a wheelchair in a handicapped room entrance, even with automatic doors!  And that was a newer ship, the older ones also have turning radius problems and my scooter has a tight turn.  I move the scooter in freewheel mode because those doors don’t have openers and usually I can hold the door, navigate the threshold and drive.  Very tempting to just leave the scooter in the hall in those conditions, for sure. 

[GUT2407]

If you are planning on leaving your armrests behind, try it first, I fins some seats too unstable to be comfortable without the armrests, I expend so much energy remaining stable I might as well leave me home (but my issue is to do with the spine and mini strokes which both impact balance)

[CruiseNYC]

We have rented Scooters from one of the companies that specializes in cruise rentals.  They have a 3-wheel model that works perfectly in non-HA cabins.  It has a narrower base and has never been an issue for us.

Happy cruising!

[LuAnn]

On 9/17/2021 at 9:57 AM, CruiseNYC said:

We have rented Scooters from one of the companies that specializes in cruise rentals.  They have a 3-wheel model that works perfectly in non-HA cabins.  It has a narrower base and has never been an issue for us.

Happy cruising!

I've been debating about a wheelchair versus a scooter for a cruise on the Kongingsdam. We have a non HA cabin and I've been concerned about where to "park" it in the cabin and the ability to get it in and out of the cabin door. Also he has only driven one as a "test drive" and concerned it might be too difficult for him as he does have dementia...your thoughts? Thanks!!

[GUT2407]

34 minutes ago, LuAnn said:

I've been debating about a wheelchair versus a scooter for a cruise on the Kongingsdam. We have a non HA cabin and I've been concerned about where to "park" it in the cabin and the ability to get it in and out of the cabin door. Also he has only driven one as a "test drive" and concerned it might be too difficult for him as he does have dementia...your thoughts? Thanks!!

I much prefer my power wheelchairs to any scooter I have ever used, scooters give a slightly smoother ride but in my opinion are more cumbersome, plus many power chairs are great if you need to use them on manual. The downside is that you use a joystick to control them, my mum, in her mid 80s has a bit of trouble using mine, her brother, early 80s but having worked with computers much of his career, is fine with it.

[FOPMan]

I have recently converted to using a power chair exclusively. I used to fascinate between the two, usually using a power chair on cruises. I’m a pretty advanced driver of both.

 

I think there’s an expectation that power wheelchair users have a greater ability for precise navigation than ecv/scooter users. In part, that’s probably because power chairs can be more finely navigated, but also because many chair users spend more time using their chair than scooter/ecv users.

 

Because power chairs have a shorter wheelbase, it’s easier for them to tip over if a curb isn’t navigated properly. If you’re using it off ship, many curbs, even with curb cuts, aren’t exactly smooth. I’ve had some issues, though never a flip, in a variety of ports.

 

A typical power chair is heavy. A scooter is much, much lighter. I don’t think I ever tied to take my chair into a non-HA room on the K, but from what I can remember about seeing some of the rooms, it could be really tight unless one was in a suite.

[GUT2407]

2 minutes ago, FOPMan said:

I have recently converted to using a power chair exclusively. I used to fascinate between the two, usually using a power chair on cruises. I’m a pretty advanced driver of both.

 

I think there’s an expectation that power wheelchair users have a greater ability for precise navigation than ecv/scooter users. In part, that’s probably because power chairs can be more finely navigated, but also because many chair users spend more time using their chair than scooter/ecv users.

 

Because power chairs have a shorter wheelbase, it’s easier for them to tip over if a curb isn’t navigated properly. If you’re using it off ship, many curbs, even with curb cuts, aren’t exactly smooth. I’ve had some issues, though never a flip, in a variety of ports.

 

A typical power chair is heavy. A scooter is much, much lighter. I don’t think I ever tied to take my chair into a non-HA room on the K, but from what I can remember about seeing some of the rooms, it could be really tight unless one was in a suite.

My power chairs are about 30kg, 60lb, one is way lighter about 20kg, one pulls down into three parts and the heaviest is about 12kg.

[2dogs2cats]

On 3/21/2019 at 8:23 PM, Neversay said:

We are looking at going on RCC Adventure of the Seas but there are no HA cabins avaiable.  

Has anyone taken a reguar cabin... how cramped was it?  Specifically on this ship would be an inside promenade stateroom which looks tiny.

 

i will add thAt I have some mobility issues with walking hence the need for the scooter on the Ship, but I can walk unassisted as needed not long distances and can manage shower/tub etc.

 

Do you think this this could work or we should look for a different voyage?

 

All thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

best,

Never Say Never

It will depend on the size of the scooter.  A gogo 3 wheel would work anything larger would be hard.  I have a 4 wheel revo 2.9 on the MSC Divina in a balcony room by myself and I barely make it into the room mostly it takes 4 or 5 tries never again.

[torpeedo]

We are renting a 3 wheel transportable go go 21" wheelbase and have a central park balcony on the Harmony.  The bed is by the balcony and I understand that would be doable.