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Scooter Rental Comparisons


ladylyn915
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I apologize for the duplicate thread - I somehow posted about scooters on the Florida departure board

This is the first time I plan to use a scooter on my upcoming cruise.

Does anyone know why Special Needs at Sea rents The Pride Go Go Sport for $208 including insurance and Scootaround charges $275 for what I think is the same product?

I'm a believer in 'you get what you pay for'. Is there any reason there is a $67 difference?

 

Thanks

Lin

For those who cruise frequently or go on long cruises, it may well be cheaper to buy rather than rent! My wife and I purchased 2 Shoprider Hero scooters on the internet for less than $600 each. They can be used on planes as well as ships, as well as, of course, at home.

 

Check out the specs on the internet, We love ours!!!

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What Princess Ship ?

 

Is it an Accessible Mini Suite ?

 

What brand/model scooter?

 

Emerald Princess

Spitfire scout drive

NO it is not a handicap room, it does fit in the doors as we just came back from a cruise to Alaska and we had a larger suite but with the mini-suite I just don't know where I can store it when I am in the cabin.

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As a rule of thumb, only accessible rooms can reasonably be counted on to have room for a scooter. Space is too valuable on cruise ships to squander on less expensive rooms unless there is a pretty strong reason, such as being able to label them "accessible." If you need the scooter, IMNSHO you should switch to an accessible mini-suite.

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Emerald Princess

Spitfire scout drive

NO it is not a handicap room, it does fit in the doors as we just came back from a cruise to Alaska and we had a larger suite but with the mini-suite I just don't know where I can store it when I am in the cabin.

 

Not certain what ship you were on for the Alaska cruise but the Emerald Mini-Suite has standard doors that are 23" wide door frame to door frame. Therefore you have to deduct 2" for the depth of the door as it does not open flush to the wall resulting in only a total door clearance of 20". Being that the Spit Fire is 20" at the rear wheelbase it might be a tight fit . Make certain the arm rests are not set further than 20" apart.

 

The bigger issue that you have not considered is that the scooter will not be able to be driven past the bed into the sitting area of the mini-suite. It's a tight space between the edge of the bed and the wall unit. It's iffy at best that a 3 wheel scooter will make the turn and a 4 wheel will definitely not make the turn. Refer to this link to see what I mean

Because of the room design and it not being an accessible cabin you have 1 of 3 choices for storage of the scooter:
  1. Check to see if you can switch to an accessible cabin
  2. Disassemble the scooter and that store in on the other side of the wall unit
  3. Contact Guest Services one on board to see if someone could take the scooter away each night and store it as well as charge it in a secured area that is not blocking and public area.

SOLAS ( Safety of Life at Seas) Regulations prohibit the storage of mobility devices from being stored in the hallway regardless of what you cabin attendant may tell you. I for one will notify ship's security to have any mobility devices that other passengers have stored in hallway being that it didn't fit into their cabin.

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Emerald Princess

Spitfire scout drive

NO it is not a handicap room, it does fit in the doors as we just came back from a cruise to Alaska and we had a larger suite but with the mini-suite I just don't know where I can store it when I am in the cabin.

 

In addition to my previous post # 29 of this thread the following is an aerial rendering of the Emerald Mini-Suite layout.. Keep in mine the it's not drawn to scale. If you can get the scooter past the bed and the TV wall unit the scooter could be stored on the wall by the TV in the sitting area.

 

ep_sm_minisuite_diagram_lrg.jpg

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As a rule of thumb, Space is too valuable on cruise ships to squander on less expensive rooms unless there is a pretty strong reason, such as being able to label them "accessible." If you need the scooter, IMNSHO you should switch to an accessible mini-suite.

 

Actually if the individual does not require the features of a fully accessible bathroom and or a ramped balcony threshold as well as does not require the use of the mobility scooter while in the cabin, standard cabins mobility scooters have been known to fit into and stored in the cabin when not in use. This includes a standard interiors, ocean views and balconies. Just do a search of this forum as this very issue has been discussed many times in past years.

 

Furthermore regardless of the cruise line Standard Suites are generally the same square footage as the Accessible cabin in the same category. For example the Standard Penthouse suite and the Accessible Penthouse suite on the Emerald Princess are both 533 Sq. Ft. The only difference being that the standard suite does not have an accessible bathroom or a ramped balcony threshold. Therefore as long as the individual doesn't require a fully accessible cabin and ramped balcony a standard suite will easily accommodate a scooter . Where it get's questionable is when it's a standard mini suite as in the case with the cabin booked by Giantmom in Post #27 . Emerald mini suite is smaller than the Emerald Accessible Mini-suite. Additionally the cabin configuration of the Emerald Mini-Suite can be problematic for a scooter as I stated in my previous post # 29.

 

Another good example when a standard suite will work vs. an accessible suite if the individual does not require a fully accessible cabin is RCCL's Voyage Class ships. The Standard Jr. Suite and the Accessible Jr. Suite are both 297 Sq. Ft. There are numerous other like examples across all cruise lines and ships with those cruise lines. Therefore Mamasylvia's "Rule of Thumb" that "only accessible rooms can reasonably be counted on to have room for a scooter" does not apply particularly if the individual does not require the use of a fully accessible bathroom. It all comes down to the individual doing proper due diligence in finding the room that best fits there needs .

 

Mamasylvia's "Rule of Thumb" basically only applies to individuals that require a fully accessible bathroom and or an accessible ramped balcony and or requires the need to use the scooter in cabin.

Edited by xxoocruiser
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I do not need the scooter while in the room. I only need it for walking long distances as my knees give out and I fall down alot and have a balancing problem. I would hate to have to dissassemble it every time we come and go in the room. I will have to talk to my travel agent and see about getting a bigger room. We are doing the family cruise and have 3 cabins adjoing and wanted to keep it that way but I guess not.

Thank you to everyone for your advice I really appreciate it.

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I do not need the scooter while in the room. I only need it for walking long distances as my knees give out and I fall down alot and have a balancing problem. I would hate to have to dissassemble it every time we come and go in the room. I will have to talk to my travel agent and see about getting a bigger room. We are doing the family cruise and have 3 cabins adjoing and wanted to keep it that way but I guess not.

Thank you to everyone for your advice I really appreciate it.

I would not change rooms. The mini-suite is 277 sq.ft. That's a very nice amount of space. Are there more than two of you in the room? We are traveling with family as well and I have two granddaughters in my room - which is a balcony - and only 185 sq. ft. I plan to make it work. Afterall, how much time are we actually in the room? Being next to each other is the best part of traveling together, don't you think?

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> Afterall, how much time are we actually in the room?

 

The answer to this varies a LOT between cruisers. Many are on the go from morning to night and do fine with an inside room because they are hardly ever there. I spend a lot of time in the room because I don't like crowds and need a comfortable place to sit, which can be hard to find in popular areas. So this is not necessarily an argument for keeping the current room.

 

The amount of space isn't really as important as how it is set up. My BIL and SIL came on the cruise with us but in an accessible inside cabin, which was set up so there was ample room for her to get around in her wheelchair. (She refuses to use a scooter.) My cruise last month was in a 2-bedroom suite which was NOT accessible, and even though it was much larger than the mini-suite we had originally booked, getting the scooter in and out of the room was a challenge. (I knew it was not accessible when I bid on the upgrade, and I was prepared to deal with the problems for the sake of the other benefits - and I'm glad I did. But geting scooter/wheelchair in and out wasn't fun.) The mini-suite is larger than your balcony but it also has more furniture, not all movable. In contrast, our accessible balcony room on Oasis was a little larger than a typical balcony but set up so I could get everywhere I needed to and there was room for both my wheelchair and my rental scooter.

 

And no, personally I think whether you and your fellow travellers sleep in rooms near each other is not even close to the best part of travelling together. For me, the best part is spending time together - but not ALL the time. BIL/SIL's room was on the same corridor but literally at the other end of the ship. But you know what? BIL could push SIL's wheelchair to our room, my scooter and everyone else's feet got us to their room, and the phone worked great for planning where we were going to meet. We had lots of together time and enjoyed it. We also all had on-my-own time so we were still speaking to each other when the cruise was over. My opinion is that having a room she can get her scooter in and out of without effort is going to make more of a difference to her enjoyment of the trip than staying in a room close to her family.

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Mamasylvia - as always thank you for your insightful prospective.

 

We all have opinions and priorities. I may spend some time in the cabin, but I enjoy being out and about. If I was traveling with friends, I don't think I would care very much how close we were to each other. But, this cruise is the first time my three children are vacationing together and we have five rooms very close to each other. My eight grandchildren that will be in and out of each others rooms and it is very important to me that they can do this.

 

Giantsmom will have to decide what her priorities are. Since she has made a point of mentioning already having three cabins next to each other, I was assuming this is important to her. And she did say she does not need the scooter inside the room. There really should be plenty of room inside the mini-suite - especially if it for only 2 people- to park the scooter until she takes it out of the cabin.

 

Again, I have no experience with using the scooter and I am getting it as a precautionary aide not a necessity. If I was more dependant on one, I am sure I would feel differently.

 

Although our opinions of Giantsmom situation differ, I truly appreciate all the great information you have shared with me! Thank you!

Lyn

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I'm renting a scooter on the HAI Oosterdam for a Mexican Riviera cruise.

 

When the scooter is delivered will operating nstructions or a manual be. Included? The will be my first time using one.

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I'm renting a scooter on the HAI Oosterdam for a Mexican Riviera cruise.

 

When the scooter is delivered will operating nstructions or a manual be. Included? The will be my first time using one.

 

 

 

Check with whoever you are renting from. But, I would recommend finding out the exact model you are getting and then go on line and familiarize yourself with the features and instructions. You can find the owners/ operational manual for any scooter. I would also print them out just in case.

 

 

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I'm renting a scooter on the HAI Oosterdam for a Mexican Riviera cruise.

 

When the scooter is delivered will operating nstructions or a manual be. Included? The will be my first time using one.

 

Using a scooter properly is a skill and requires practice, especially using one in a confined space like a cruise ship. I would recommend that you use one whenever you have the opportunity (shopping, museums, etc) before you cruise. Of course, you will need to be familiar with the particulars of the model you are renting, but the basic functions work pretty much the same on all of them.

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I'm renting a scooter on the HAI Oosterdam for a Mexican Riviera cruise.

 

When the scooter is delivered will operating nstructions or a manual be. Included? The will be my first time using one.

 

The rental scooters typically do not come with instructions. Both Scooteraround (formerly CareVacations) and SpecialNeedsatSeas rent Pride Mobility Scooters from its GoGo series. Here is the link to the owner manual that applies to any model scooter in the GoGo series http://www.pridemobility.com/pdf/owners_manuals/us_scooter/us_fc_sp_universal_travel_scooter_series_om.pdf

 

The following information is not included in the Owners Manuel but you'll find ihelpful :

 

 

Embarkation Day: The rental scooter will be deliver to the cabin onembarkation day and must be left in the cabin on disembarkation day. If you usethe ship's wheelchair assistance on embarkation day note that you will bedropped off in a public area . If not taken directly to your cabin and droppedoff in a public area than once cabins are available to passengers someone fromyour party will have to go to the cabin to get the scooter if you're unable tomake the walk. The scooter rental contract states that the scooter will not bedelivered until 2:00 PM . It's also important to note that rental equipmentdelivered to the ship is not given priority loading by the cruise line as shipssupplies take precedent. Therefore the scooter might not appear in the cabinuntil closer to the sailing time though it was deliver to the port by 2:00 PM.

 

Disembarkation Day: The rental scooter must be left in the cabin ondisembarkation day. The cruise line will not provide wheelchairassistance/pickup from the cabin. The night before a location for wheelchairassistance for disembarkation will be published in the daily cruise newsletter.You can ride the scooter to that location but than someone from your group mustthan take the scooter back to cabin for pickup from the rental company.

 

If you have not booked an accessible cabin than depending on the type ofscooter required due to weight capacity it may not fit through the stateroomdoor. All scooters and wheelchairs MUST be stored in the stateroom. Dueto the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS (Safety of Lifeat Seas) regulations, it cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or anyother public area. Ignoring these regulations can and does impede thesafety of others whether disabled or abled bodied moving about the hallways notto mention impedes the safety of all on board the ship in the event of anactual emergency. Even if the cabin attendant tells you it's Ok it's NOT !I for one will contact the ships security to have the scooter removed if one isobserved left in the hallway.

 

 

Scooters or any personal items for that matter CANNOT be stored on balcony.

After you obtained the scooter you should go to the dining room to check thelocation of your assigned table if traditional dining has been chosen. Reasonyou need to check that there is a good path to drive the scooter to the table.Once at the table you can transfer to a chair and the wait staff will than parkthe scooter in area that will not hinder others in the dining room. If there'san issue than go to the Matre'D and request a change in table location.

 

Scooter keys are not unique as car keys. Scooter keys are universal and ascooter can easily be mistaken. Therefore I suggest you bring an extra luggagetag for the scooter to identify your rental scooter.

 

The most common scooters rented by SpecialNeedsatSeas and Scootaround (formerly CareVacations) are the Pride Go Go Elite Traveler or the Pride Go GoSport which both have a very low under clearance of 1.5". Therefore it'snot unusual that the scooter will get hung up on the gangway joints. Under nocircumstance should you allow the ship's personnel to force push the scooterover the joints which is their first reactive response. The scooter needs to beplaced in freewheel mode and than rolled over the joints. If you aren't able towalk down/up the gangway than a person from the ship's crew must guide thescooter up/down the ramp while another pushes the scooter up/down the rampwhile. If you're able to walk up/down the ramp it's recommended that you do sowhile the scooter is than freewheeled pulled up/down the ramp. If the scooterisn't placed in freewheel and the crew force pushes the scooter over the ramp joints the scooter can be permanently damaged and since it's a rentalyou will be responsible for the repair costs or possibly the completereplacement cost.

 

If there are any tendered ports you will only be permitted onto the tender ifthe tender has roll-on capabilities. Also note regardless of whether it's adocked or tendered port Captain has the discretion to not allow wheelchairs andscooters from exiting the ship as safety of the passengers is always the utmostconcern.

Thescooter does not stop a dime. It has a rolling stop. The slower the speed priorto stopping the shorter the roll. The faster the speed the longer the roll.Therefore you need to always be aware of this so as not to run into otherpassengers and or objects.

 

You may encounter thresholds going to and coming from an outside deck that the scooter can get hung up on which makesit difficult to clear. You at times will have to scout out other routes thathave a better leveled doorway threshold.

Elevators will also be an issue withscooters as able-bodied passengers will just jump in front of you to get intothe elevator first no matter that you were there first. It's not just kids. Ihave found that adults are often worse than the lids on-board. At peak timesyou're best to take the elevator that's further from your destination as itwill be less congested.

Get on the first elevator that has openspace for the scooter regardless if it's going the opposite direction of whatyou want. What goes up must come down and vice versa.

The scooter does not come to an automatic stop. It's a rolling stop. So the slower the speed the shorter the roll and the fast the speed the longer the roll. The scooter should be driven at the lowest speed when on board the ship. The "turtle" icon demotes the lowest speed. The "rabbit" icon denotes the fastest speed. The battery should be charge nightly regardless if the battery indicator shows fully charged. The battery can go from being fully charged to no charge faster than you think sand you wouldn't want to be stuck in port with a dead scooter.

All models in the Pride GoGo series can be easily broken down to fit into the trunk of a car or taxi. Fast forward to the 54 sec. mark of this link

to see how it's done as you may find this feature handy when going ashore .
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As ladylyn suggested, check with whoever you are renting from. But all the scooters I have seen are similar enough that I doubt you will have a problem if you are used to scooters at all. I was used to the grocery store electric "shopping carts" when I rented a scooter for the first time and didn't have any difficulty using it. The only thing that might take some adjusting is how you set the rental scooter's speed, some models use a dial or have a high/low button like my Triaxe.

 

Ladylyn - absolutely our abilities and desires differ. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we all wanted the same things? But I am glad you responded with your outlook, so the OP can apply whichever parts of our differing responses apply to her situation and make the best decision for her. (And I will be curious to see if you still think any regular mini-suite would have plenty of room for a scooter after you have cruised!)

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As ladylyn suggested, check with whoever you are renting from. But all the scooters I have seen are similar enough that I doubt you will have a problem if you are used to scooters at all. I was used to the grocery store electric "shopping carts" when I rented a scooter for the first time and didn't have any difficulty using it. The only thing that might take some adjusting is how you set the rental scooter's speed, some models use a dial or have a high/low button like my Triaxe.

 

 

The Pride Mobility brand of scooters that both Scootaround (formerly CareVacations ) and SpeciaNeedsatSea rent all have a "Speed Adjustment Dial" and not a high/low button. The speed adjustment dial on the rental scooter has a Turtle Icon denoting the slowest speed and a Rabbit Icon denoting the highest speed.

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Also worth considering - I usually rent a scooter from a store near my home for less than half of what they charge to deliver to cruise ships. Then, I also have the benefit of using the scooter to get through the airport instead of having someone push me in a wheelchair. I ride it right down to the door of the plane, they take it from there and it's waiting for me when I get off. NOTE: to do this, you must know what kind of battery is in your scooter and it's approximate weight. They have mostly stopped using the kind of batteries that must be sealed and checked in, but you'll still need to know what you have. Is also nice to have for embarkation and disembarkation. Especially the latter! My back can't handle standing in those long lines. (Pulling my carry-on bag while driving a scooter is a finely tuned art.) The drawback is that it's a pain to disassemble and reassemble for taxi rides, etc. But, to me it's worth the savings.

 

As for fitting in non-accessible cabins, I have done it on Royal Caribbean in both sizes of balcony cabins. However, that's when I'm traveling alone and there's nobody else who has to try and get around my scooter. It would be a very tight and uncomfortable fit for two people.

 

Good luck in your travels. I have found the freedom a scooter provides to be WONDERFUL. The last cruise I tried to do without a scooter, I found wasn't going all of the places, or doing all of the things I wanted to because the walk was just too much. A woman in my group had a scooter she wasn't using, and gave it to me to use on about day 3. It completely transformed the cruise for me. Now I won't cruise without them.

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Also if buying, was confused which to buy, hopefully I'll get to see other scooters in ship.

 

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I was just reading another thread that had a ton of great information on shopping around for scooters.

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Also worth considering - I usually rent a scooter from a store near my home for less than half of what they charge to deliver to cruise ships. Then, I also have the benefit of using the scooter to get through the airport instead of having someone push me in a wheelchair. I ride it right down to the door of the plane, they take it from there and it's waiting for me when I get off. NOTE: to do this, you must know what kind of battery is in your scooter and it's approximate weight. They have mostly stopped using the kind of batteries that must be sealed and checked in, but you'll still need to know what you have. Is also nice to have for embarkation and disembarkation. Especially the latter! My back can't handle standing in those long lines. (Pulling my carry-on bag while driving a scooter is a finely tuned art.) The drawback is that it's a pain to disassemble and reassemble for taxi rides, etc. But, to me it's worth the savings.

 

 

Your statement "They have mostly stopped using the kind of batteries that must be sealed and checked in" is incorrect as well as misleading. Mobility Scooters being manufactured today fcontain non-spillable sealed batteries. Whether it's an AGM ( gel cell) Dry cell or lithium battery it must be a non-spillable sealed battery. FAA regulations as well s the Air Carrier Access Act require that mobility scooter contain non-spillable sealed batteries. Additionally the reason why your statement is also misleading it appears that you may not understand that even if the scooter is being driven directly to the plane and loaded onto the point it's still has to be check-in, and a luggage tag reattached by the gate agent before the ground crew can load it on to the plane.

 

As for fitting in non-accessible cabins, I have done it on Royal Caribbean in both sizes of balcony cabins. However, that's when I'm traveling alone and there's nobody else who has to try and get around my scooter. It would be a very tight and uncomfortable fit for two people.

 

For further clarification though there are models of scooters that will fit through a standard cabin doorway it needs note that most standard cabins that are not full suites regardless of the cruise line/ship have 23" wide doorway. The 23" measurement is from door frame to door frame and therefore 2" must be deducted for the depth the door as it does not close flush to wall. The end result is there is only actually a total clearance of 21". Which means that the scooter must not be more than 21" at it's widest point in order to fit through most standard cabin doorways.

Edited by xxoocruiser
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> I have found the freedom a scooter provides to be WONDERFUL

 

I have to share what happened yesterday. I bought a 53-lb folding scooter last November with the goal of being able to load and unload it without help. Unfortunately, even that was too heavy for me and DH has had to do loading duty, although I'm independent once it is on the ground.

 

I have been working out at the Y to build up my strength and yesterday, for the first time EVER, I was able to unload and then load my scooter myself! I can now go wherever I want (that a scooter can go) even if DH can't come along! I AM SO THRILLED! And I bet those of you with mobility limitations know exactly how thrilled I am!

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> I have found the freedom a scooter provides to be WONDERFUL

 

I have to share what happened yesterday. I bought a 53-lb folding scooter last November with the goal of being able to load and unload it without help. Unfortunately, even that was too heavy for me and DH has had to do loading duty, although I'm independent once it is on the ground.

 

I have been working out at the Y to build up my strength and yesterday, for the first time EVER, I was able to unload and then load my scooter myself! I can now go wherever I want (that a scooter can go) even if DH can't come along! I AM SO THRILLED! And I bet those of you with mobility limitations know exactly how thrilled I am!

 

 

 

Mamasylvia that is wonderful!!! I am so happy for you!

 

 

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