Mobility scooter hire - use onboard ship and in ports

[elisebev]

Hi there

 

i am after some advice to save our forthcoming cruise. 

 

my parents and myself are due to embark seabourn odyssey on 1st July from Vancouver to Alaska. We are close to cancelling!  My dad has got mobility issues and is having an op to try and help just after we come home from our trip. In the past few weeks, he has had a couple of falls - most recently this afternoon and as we speak is on the way to the local hospital to get checked out. 
 

Prior to this, we had looked into hiring a mobility scooter? Is it possible to hire a scooter that can be used both onboard ship and when we are in the ports of call. Mum is convince that we can only use it onboard ship but I was sure you would be able to use it both onboard and in port? Who is right. Mum is petrified that he has a fall whilst off the ship with all the potential issues that it could cause. 
 

is there a specific company that we should be renting from so we could use the buggy wherever we wanted or do I just need to accept that once again my Alaska trip is not going to happen (last attempt to go was cancelled for my own health issues)

[martincath]

Scootaround are the providers at Canada Place, and their cruise-specific page is here - that plus other potentially useful info is on the port website here. 

 

You can absolutely use the scooters off the ship as well as on - I can't imagine anyone who needs one onboard being able to magically do without after getting off!!! Their FAQs indirectly address this - they confirm you are allowed to use the scooters in foreign countries, so using American products in Alaska is just fine & dandy (though I assume the small print does cover some sort of 'you break it you pay to repair it' clause like with rental cars!)

 

AK ports do have a bit less in the way of sidewalks than many - you'll definitely be fine getting on and off the ship (although if tendering, be prepared for long delays as crew move your dad and his scooter separately) and through most of the port towns proper, but do check into any excursions you plan to book to see what sort of terrain is encountered and if there's a wheelchair/scooter-friendly ramp or alternate path etc. Boarding small whalewatching boats for example might mean leaving scooter at dock and crew helping dad aboard, then him staying seated...

 

I've seen folks on scooters in some truly unexpected places (I think that trundling about the desert in Jordan was the most double-take worthy!), so unless dad wants to try strapping his on a kayak to paddle out to a glacier, he shouldn't really have much hassle in Alaska ;-)

 

 

[rkacruiser]

I had a traveling companion who required a scooter during her last cruises.  She used it ashore as well as onboard.  The only issue was her "driving ability".  I ended up with scraped ankles; she accidentally ran over the toes of a woman when trying to back out of an elevator.  

 

I was amazed at how well the crew handled her disembarkation and embarkation at our ports.  One gangway was somewhat unusually steep.  One crew member served as a "front brake" holding onto the front of the scooter and another served as a " rear brake" holding onto its rear.