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Is there any such thing as a reliable mobility scooter rental company?


Sheila2
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Hi,

I need to rent a mobility scooter for an upcoming cruise. The ones mentioned most often -special needs at sea and care vacations have less than stellar reviews. Care vacations has been bought by ScootAround whose Orlando reviews are terrible. It's one thing to be sidelined by a malfunctioning scooter at Disney World but quite another to have it happen on an 11-day cruise. I'd appreciate hearing from those who were happy with their rentals because I'm beginning to think only unhappy people post reviews.

Thank you,

Sheila

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Hi,

I need to rent a mobility scooter for an upcoming cruise. The ones mentioned most often -special needs at sea and care vacations have less than stellar reviews. Care vacations has been bought by ScootAround whose Orlando reviews are terrible. It's one thing to be sidelined by a malfunctioning scooter at Disney World but quite another to have it happen on an 11-day cruise. I'd appreciate hearing from those who were happy with their rentals because I'm beginning to think only unhappy people post reviews.

Thank you,

Sheila

 

We have rented scooters from both companies both on cruises and ashore. We were quite happy with the service and even the price wasn't too bad. The only issues we had were finding, and leaving the scooter in the cabin. But it was my "job" to go to the cabin, usually ahead of time, to get the scooter and then, at the end of the cruise, take it back.

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I have used Care Vacations, both before and after the acquisition. They have, for the most part, been quite good. I have gotten one or two rentals that were pretty beat up, but functioned quite well.

 

Try Scoot Anywhere, they rent all types of scooters including the TravelScoot and SmartScoot, you can rent to buy. They ship the scooter to your home, you use it @ the airport, and have it available before you board! You take it home, box it up and they will send someone to pick it up from your house. I bought my SmartScoot from them.

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I have a scooter at home. It's a Pride Go Go Elite 4-wheel,but not heavy-duty. I need to travel with my wheelchair and so can't bring the scooter as well. I guess I'll just try ScootAround and hope for the best. My biggest concern is that I'm travelling with a friend for the first time instead of DH. I don't want her stuck pushing a wheelchair if the scooter doesn't work. Has anyone ever heard of familyrentals.com?

Thank you for your replies.

Sheila

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Have used CareVacations( now Scootaround) for 10 years and have always been pleased .

 

What most cruisers renting scooters don't realize that if you have a problem with the rental scooter you can and should contact the ship's guest services department or housing keeping , tell them the issue you're experiencing with the scooter and request if they can send someone from the engineering/maintenance dep't to take a look at. Most every cruiseline will attempt to get that scooter back up and running as it wants you to have a good cruise experience.

 

On RCCL once you've phone either GS or Housekeeping a person with than come to your cabin or wherever you are on the ship with papers that have to be completed and signed. That individual will than come back when the papers are completed to free wheel the scooter down to maintenance. I personally had to do this very thing on my last cruise. If it's just a matter of blown fuse there's generally no charge or anything else minor. RCCL will return papers with a complete report of what they did and any charges . If no charge incurred you need only advise the rental company of the problem experienced and action taken to correct the matter. If the problem was due to improper maintenance of the scooter by the rental company and not caused by the user's mishandling of the scooter you should than contact the company by phone/email as soon as possible. Advise the rental company of the issue experienced and tell them that you will be mailing /facing/scanning a copy of the report upon your return for reimbursement of the charges incurred.

 

The most common issue experienced with the rental scooters is that a fuse blows. The Pride Rental scooters have 2-3 fuses. That was the issue that I experienced on my last cruise. The fuses are nothing special . There's the most common fuses that all cruise ships regarding of cruise lines in ample quantity on board as the same fuses are used all over the ship.

 

The same service is available for passengers that bring their own mobility scooter.

Edited by xxoocruiser
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> I need to travel with my wheelchair and so can't bring the scooter as well.

 

I just took both my manual wheelchair and my folding scooter on a cruise. DH loaded our luggage into my wc and I rode my scooter to the terminal, where we checked luggage and wheelchair and I rode my scooter to the gate. That worked quite well if you are more comfortable renting at home.

 

I also have seen very few negative comments about either of the rental companies that deliver to the ship. I rented from Care Vacations in 2013, before I bought my own, and everything was fine. Just be sure to get into your room as soon as you can and check out the scooter so IF there is a problem, you can call the company immediately and get things fixed before sailaway! Scooters by and large are quite reliable (as long as you keep them charged), I don't think I have EVER seen a report from anyone who had a rented scooter stop working during a cruise.

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As a note, some cruise lines only authorize certain scooter rental companies to deliver mobility devices to the ship. Check your cruise lines' accessibility policies on their website to see which rental companies they allow. For instance, we are going to be on NCL's Escape in September and only Special Needs at Sea rentals are allowed to be delivered to the ship: "Please note that Special Needs at Sea is the exclusive supplier for Norwegian Cruise Line and other vendors will not have access to Norwegian ships."

 

And by the way, on the Escape they do not deliver your scooter/wheelchair to your room. There is a special area in the terminal where you pick up and drop off your equipment - so you retrieve your equipment after you get into the terminal and you have it until you disembark the final day, leaving it in terminal.

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Slightly off topic but heres my 2 cents worth. If the budget will allow, I would look into purchasing your own. If its something you will need in the future it will be worth it. In January my friend rented from Special Needs At Sea. The scooter wasn't there when we got to the rooms. After at least a half dozen phone calls they finally delivered another one about 10 minutes before we sailed. They claim it WAS placed in the cabin. That was a tense few hours to say the least. Anyway that rental was almost $300. including insurance for a 7 day cruise. Two of those rentals would buy that scooter at home. So my advice again is if you can afford it buy your own. I have my own and have sailed and flown with it with absolutely NO PROBLEMS.

 

Not sure why you need the wheelchair if you plan on using a scooter. If you have the scooter from home why waste money renting one?

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I personally have used Special Needs At Sea for my last 6 cruises and have not been disappointed ever.. they are wonderful!

That is wonderful, but all of the $$$$ you have spent in 6 cruises, you could have purchased 2 scooters. I took the advice from someone here (Mama?) and purchased one instead of renting. Soooooo happy I did. Not only will I be able to use it for all of my future cruises, but can use it at home for particular outings. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY

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I think that renting scooters enough times I could have purchased both a TravelScoot and a SmartScoot . The problem is which scooter is best for me? What you rent is what they pretty much give you, depending on weight requirements. Why couldn't you take your wheelchair as baggage, to the ship and ride your scooter in the airport?

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> Not sure why you need the wheelchair if you plan on using a scooter.

 

I don't know about anyone else but here is why I took both scooter and wheelchair on my recent cruise.

 

- Some of the planned excursions didn't allow scooters

- DH was able to load our luggage onto the wheelchair while I rode the scooter - made the luggage easier to manage

- My scooter gives me independence but isn't comfortable for long periods. My wheelchair is much more comfortable to sit in, such as for shows

- As Professor says, I rode my scooter to the gate and checked my wheelchair as luggage

 

I used both scooter and wheelchair on the cruise, in different situations, and was very glad I had both with me.

 

And overall cost isn't the only consideration in the rent-vs-buy decision. As Professor says, you need to decide which scooter is right *for you* before buying. I started by knowing I wanted a scooter I could fold and unfold without help, and it had to be light enough to not need something to lift it in and out of the car, and even with those limitations I still had to decide between more than 10 possibilities! The $600 model wouldn't have worked for me, I wound up buying one that cost $2000. I completely agree that someone looking at frequent rentals should at least consider purchase, but the answer won't always be "buy." Although DH and I are both glad I did buy mine!

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That is wonderful, but all of the $$$$ you have spent in 6 cruises, you could have purchased 2 scooters. I took the advice from someone here (Mama?) and purchased one instead of renting. Soooooo happy I did. Not only will I be able to use it for all of my future cruises, but can use it at home for particular outings. HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY

 

I struggle with this on a personal level. While home, I do my best to walk when I can. (In the past six months I have not even used them in grocery stores unless my pain levels are really bad.) Therefore, the scooter would either be sitting in the garage or taking up space in the house unless I am traveling. I'm afraid that wouldn't be good for the scooter, or that I would slide backwards and end up using it when I don't really need it. That's why I continue to rent one for my travels.

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payitforward,

I can certainly empathize with you on relying on the scooter. That's why they sell Fords and Chevies. It seems as if you have found the right solution for you, and that's GREAT! Money isn't always the motivator, and I commend you on your steadfastness, never give up, never surrender.

 

 

As for me I'll be the fat guy driving around Publix on a scooter I have MG and I can't predict when it will flair up.

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I've used Special Needs at Sea on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and had no issues whatsoever. I plan on using them again on an upcoming 7 day Alaska cruise.

You are probably right about the majority of posts coming from dissatisfied customers.

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We have used ScootAround on three separate occasions- most recently last week- and have had zero problems.

The scooters were in fine shape, were where we wanted them when we wanted them, and found the company easy to work with.

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As a note, some cruise lines only authorize certain scooter rental companies to deliver mobility devices to the ship. Check your cruise lines' accessibility policies on their website to see which rental companies they allow. For instance, we are going to be on NCL's Escape in September and only Special Needs at Sea rentals are allowed to be delivered to the ship: "Please note that Special Needs at Sea is the exclusive supplier for Norwegian Cruise Line and other vendors will not have access to Norwegian ships."

 

And by the way, on the Escape they do not deliver your scooter/wheelchair to your room. There is a special area in the terminal where you pick up and drop off your equipment - so you retrieve your equipment after you get into the terminal and you have it until you disembark the final day, leaving it in terminal.

I have a scooter rented for the Escape for next month (August) and I was told You have a choice for pickup and drop off. I choose pickup in cabin and leave in cabin when cruise is over. It has these details on my invoice. They said no problem with this way.

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I have a scooter rented for the Escape for next month (August) and I was told You have a choice for pickup and drop off. I choose pickup in cabin and leave in cabin when cruise is over. It has these details on my invoice. They said no problem with this way.

 

We rented a companion/transport chair, not a scooter, from Special Needs at Sea. They (Special Needs) specifically said to pick it up at the kiosk in the terminal. And the invoice states "Equipment dropoff point: Miami Terminal B" and "Equipment Pickup Point: Miami Terminal B." Also it states "At the completion of your trip, you must leave your equipment in the designated location stated above for pickup at the end of the cruise."

 

 

That's interesting about they gave you a choice. Maybe the difference is you are renting a scooter and we are renting a companion/transport chair.

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