Power Travel Wheelchair or Manual for Excursions in the Med

[Boogyshoes]

Hi all - looking for some advice for those of you more well travelled for an upcoming Mediterranean cruise to help put some of my Mom's worries to ease. She is due for a new hip but the waiting list is long and her mobility has really become limited since we booked. She can get in and out of a chair but even trips within her apartment she needs her rollator now.

We are on a 10 day Oceania Vista trip (accessible cabin) out of Rome to Italy, France and Spain and we have a full day in Rome prior to leaving. She will have myself and my 2 teens to help, and we do have her booked into an accessible cabin. With us we will have her EZ Fold-N-Go Rollator, a collapsible travel wheelchair, and her brand new Travel Buggy Dash lite which folds up (with a spare battery).

Looking for advice on the best option to take on excursions with us - the push chair or the Travel Buggy power chair?

She will be joining us for 4 Excursions booked directly with Oceania:

• Discover Nice (category A )
• Barcelona - Seasonal Gastroculture (category B)
• Valencia Oceanographic Center (category A)
• Mahon and IT Cuisine (category B)

All of them are listed as available to guests who utilize a collapsible wheelchair, are able to make their own way on and off the coach and have an able-bodied companion to assist them

Category A - Moderate activity

Category B - Easy activity and ADA accessible

We also have an 8 hour private tour in Rome with driver and guide for the Colosseum, Trevi, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Sistene Chapel & Basilica. It is accesible and they know Mom will need to use a chair for it.

So may I ask for thoughts on which of these chairs will be best for excursions and Rome in your experience?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

[Essiesmom]

Well, you have enough people traveling in your group that you could take them all.  But between the two chairs, i would look for the place near where you live that had the roughest streets, cobblestones preferred, and try them all out, seeing which manouvers the best and is comfortable.  EM

[Slugsta]

As well as physical comfort, the answer will also depend on how your mother feels about being pushed around (literally!). I utterly hate the lack of independence associated with this and will always choose my powerchair over a manual chair. Think also about the respective weights of the chairs as someone will have to lift it in and out of taxis etc (although one would hope that the drivers would do this).

[smokelynx]

We just returned from this trip. The power wheelchair, definitely, but the streets there will eat it up. Also, ours had to be repaired when we arrived in Europe, then replaced totally when we returned home. Airlines are not kind, but will pay to replace.