Mobility scooter or wheelchair ports question, would LOVE any suggestions/ideas

[Shynook11]

Hi!   In October I broke my heel/ankle on my left side and Tibia Plateau on the right.  I am currently just graduated to partial weight bearing with a walk boot and walker.    I rented a scooter for our cruise on the the NCL Joy for March as I wont be back 100% for quite a while.   I am looking for any suggestions for activities for the following ports that are mobility scooter accessible.  I can walk short distances now but don't want to over do anything and certainly most likely wont be walking with stamina in 2 months time ( was off legs 100% 9 weeks so lots of muscle to regain and rehab to do..

Cozumel, Roatan, Costa Maya and Harvest Caye are our stops.   We have been to all of these ports prior and certainly don't need to do any specific, but I would love to get of the ship and do a couple things as able.   I am 52, normally very active, sailing with my husband,  17 year old and her friend.  I am fine staying aboard for they can do something I cannot, such as tendered ports or an activity that is to vigorous for me.   

 

Any tips are greatly appreciated, including navigating on the ship.  Never used one of these before!  I have the option to bring a manual wheelchair as well, which is much lighter and takes less space, but thought the scooter was more practical.  Am I making the right choice?  We have a balcony cabin and currently no handicap cabins available.   We figured we could disassemble and store on the balcony perhaps?  New to all of this....very seasoned cruiser.  Advice very much appreciated.

 

Thanks to anyone with input.   

Edited January 21 by Shynook11

[Two Wheels Only]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

 

You'll probably get better answers in the above section.

[www3traveler]

May I suggest that you look into a lightweight travel wheelchair.  I have a friend who used one on several cruises for her husband and it worked very well.  It went through their cabin door.  When not in use, she folded it and put in a corner.

 

Most of the power scooters I have seen on cruises, have difficulty going down the passenger corridors and do not fit through the doorways.  The only place I have seen to store them is out in the elevator banks, a long way from your cabin.

[schmoopie17]

11 minutes ago, Shynook11 said:

Hi!   In October I broke my heel/ankle on my left side and Tibia Plateau on the right.  I am currently just graduated to partial weight bearing with a walk boot and walker.   

Small world. Mrs. Schmoopie fractured her tibia plateau at the end of July and is just now able to hobble around the house without a walker. She still uses a cane in public, but I can tell you from first-hand experience, her recovery has been slow. Supposedly a tibial plateau fracture is one of the worst there is, with extended recovery time.

 

We canceled an early December cruise because she wouldn't have enjoyed going around in a walker or wheelchair (which we were considering at the time). We rescheduled for next month, thinking that limited mobility would be better than hardly any, We shall see.

 

Naturally, excursions will be the toughest part. Luckily we only have one tender port, which could present a special challenge getting on and off. And since we're going to several Caribbean islands, traversing a beach may also be quite challenging. Not to mention walking long distances. I still think we should bring a folding wheelchair, but she won't do it. I've seen You Tube videos of people using scooters on cruise ships. You might want to check those out. Although storing the scooter and maneuvering in the cabin is tough, especially in non-handicap cabins.

 

As stated above, check out the Disabled Cruising board. We found a lot of valuable info there.

 

Good luck and hang in there. It can only get better going forward.

[Shynook11]

Thank you will post in the disability board.   I had to cancel a cruise to New Zealand this month for this reason.  We are local to the cruise port for our March cruise so it's not a "once in a lifetime must do everything" cruise.  My dr said it would be until June-ish before I felt comfortable walking and a year to get back to everything I like to do.  Thank you!  It's not been a fun experience!

Edited January 21 by Shynook11

[bluenose1]

HI, a fold up wheelchair would be much easier. You can rent one and have it in your stateroom when you get there. My son is in a specialty designed manual wheelchair. We rented a regular fold up wheelchair and it was waiting in the stateroom. He used his regular wheelchair around the ship. We used the fold up on excursions. The bus drivers would fold it up and place it in the luggage area.  

  

[surfcitygirl]

My husband uses a "Super Handy" scooter, which weighs 23 pounds but holds 250 lbs. It has fit through the door in every cabin on our last five cruises, different ships and lines and we push it past the bed and let it sit by the couch, which we never use anyway. If the ramp from the ship is too step, a crew member helps, but mostly can do it himself. For excursions, we book ones with a bus and it fits in the luggage compartment and we take it out at each stop, giving the driver a tip at the end for opening and closing the compartment.