casaloma

Quite an interesting story. Like others here, I am highly paranoid about return times and never push the limits. And I would never leave the ship without a debit card. Like one of the passengers, I also travel on a scooter and that makes me even more conservative. I'm not sure what else the cruise line could have done. That's a pretty sophisticated itinerary so it's hard to believe they were all cruise newbies.

I think you'll be fine. My scooter is about the same width and we've done fine in non-accessible cabins.

Agree with all this good advice. My scooter has a lithium battery and the only thing I can add, after flying with it all over the place, is that various airlines have no idea what to do with the battery. I've been told we absolutely should take it with us into the airplane, other have argued ADAMANTLY that we must leave it with the scooter. Yesterday as we were traveling back from New Zealand, I read the thingie they attach to the scooter for the first time and it appears they're MOSTLY worried that somehow the battery will start up on its own. I would say that we've left the battery in more times than not.

I travel with a scooter, but it folds up so I haven't had the entry-to-the-room problem some scooters have. I've cruised to Alaska, Europe, been to both Disneyland and Disney World with the scooter and it's been pretty great. I wouldn't worry too much about getting out and about. The cruise lines appear to be getting in the know about scooters and I had staff members always eager and friendly to help. On our Europe cruise with Princess, there was actually a designated staff member on the gangplank just there to help mobility challenged people off and on the ship. The only thing that really is difficulit sometimes is elevators, particularly if you're trying to negotiate them by yourself. People often are very helpful but sometimes they're just not. I often wished I had rear view mirrors so I can see when I was backing out! But overall the scooter has made it possible for me to travel and that's been just wonderful.

thanks!

Hi Everyone. We just got back from a 12 day Baltic cruise roundtrip Southampton. It was my first time overseas with a scooter and I thought I'd post details here, as I was searching for such information before we left and had a hard time finding much. I'm going to briefly details my scooter experiences from home to back again. Might be long! Flew out of SeaTac. We had previously gotten TSA pre check because of prior terrible experiences flying with the scooter to Vegas. We didn't get in the right line apparently and it was no different lol. I went through fine with the scooter, DH had the full meal TSA deal. Though we had previously informed the airline of all the particulars of our scooter (SOLAX Transformer) we had to inform them all over again. This was true of every airport. There was also great debate about taking out the battery or leaving it in. Outbound with British Airways they wanted it out. Flew into Heathrow. Weird business with landing on the tarmac and going to the terminal in a bus. Scooter was waiting for me. There are handicap lines for everything that I tried to take advantage of. Four days at the London hotel went fine. Elevators are very small, our party of three often had to take separate elevators. I found London to be very scooter friendly. We did a morning in Hyde Park that was great and also did Hampton Court which was also great. (The back gardens are no go, full of gravel, but we did get in the horse drawn cart for a turn around the grounds. ALSO you need to take the elevator up to the apartments of King Henry and they take you through areas of the palace not open to the public, so that was very cool. My scooter folds up, so the hop on hop off buses everywhere were easy to use. We took the train to Southampton which we've done several times before. No problem with the scooter then we took a quick taxi to the cruise terminal. I had notified Princess we were sailing with a scooter. Embarkation was fine and quick. Unlike Holland America, where we cruised last summer to Alaska, Princess has identified staff to assist with scooters and wheelchairs coming on and off the boat. As some of the gangplanks had quite steep bits, I found this very helpful. We did not get an accessible cabin. I have trouble walking distances which is the reason for the scooter, but I don't require a wheelchair so I feel bad taking an accessible cabin from someone who really needs it. Our standard balcony cabin worked out fine. Though I think the cruise was full, we really didn't have any trouble getting an elevator and everyone was very kind and accommodating. I even ventured out a couple of time on my own. Ports: Imjuiden. This was a port we hadn't planned on because Hamburg and Arfus were cancelled because of the weather. We'd made no plans and somewhat recklessly got what turned out to be a gypsy cab to Haarlem. Haarlem itself was great, very quaint and old with fascinating shops. However, there were many many cobblestones and bike riders who are fast and ruthless. So it was a strain riding the scooter there and I wouldn't do it again. On top of that, just for anyone who may visit there, taxis are not plentiful and we had some very suspenseful moments thinking we weren't going to make it back to the ship. All the taxis had apparently gone to Amsterdam to be at a big dance contest. Copenhagen. We did the hop on hop off bus and then tooled around on our own. There are some cobblestoned streets in Copenhagen but it seemed as though I could easily find my way around them. You do have to collapse the scooter to take it downstairs to restaurants, which was a bit of a pain. Goteburg. I didn't get out at this port but DH reported it would have been great to scoot around and there were a lot of pedestrian only areas. I'd been there before. Oslo. This was also a very easy city to scoot around in. The big problem here was how cold and windy it was. We went up and down one of the main shopping streets and in and out of stores with absolutely no problem. Rotterdam. Again, a very easy city to navigate on a scooter. Again we did the hop on hop off with no problem and then investigated the market hall which was awesome. Zeebrugge. We took the shuttle to Bruges. This is the main reason I wanted to do this post. I have an absolute love/hate relationship with this beautiful town. The shuttle drops you off at the edge of their old town. There are nothing but cobblestones between you and anything you want to see. There is no way around them. I got through to the church DH very much wanted to see (which was awesome, Madonna of Bruges) but then me and the scooter was done. We got on the very unreliable free tram and got to the market square which was incredible (a symphony was playing) and from there we got a taxi back to the shuttle. My advice is this: open up the pocketbook and take a taxi from the ship to the market square. Then you can wear out your tires a little exploring around there and perhaps take the tram to the Madonna, which is truly not to miss, then get a taxi back to the ship. I would have enjoyed the day so much more if we'd done it that way. Le Havre. I didn't do this port but DH took a ship excursion to Rouen. We had planned to both go but somehow two excursions were not ordered. He said that I would have had trouble at Monet's house, just muddy roads and lots of stairs. Otherwise find with the cathedral. Getting off the ship was fine except I guess they hadn't realized how much luggage people had because they needed another bus to get us all to London. Heathrow was the usual madhouse but the scooter had a relatively easy time, always need to get checked for bomb residue, etc. This time British Airways decided the battery could stay in the scooter but also decided we needed another long bus ride to get to the airplane out in the middle of nowhere. I thought it was really strange but my son says this had happened to him occasionally. Back home to Seattle and the only comment there is how ungodly long it took to get to the baggage area from the plane. Here I'd scooted all over Europe and the only time I was afraid I was running out of battery was at SeaTac! So there it is. I am so glad I had that scooter, it made all the difference and I learned a lot. We'd like to go back to Bruges armed with the knowledge we have to make it an even better experience. I guess the bottom line is that it's really worth getting out there and trying, even with a few bumps along the way! Sometimes literally.

It's 56 miles from Haifa to Tel Aviv. I live in Olympia, which is roughly 60 miles from Seattle. I do NOT want to hear that Settle has been invaded while I go about my sightseeing in Olympia!. I also am struggling with visitors to Haifa being totally unaware anything was wrong. Again, if Seattle is bombarded and invaded, the news will probably make its way to us here in Olympia. I would never have gotten on a tour bus if I'd known what was happening. No one had any reason to believe it was going to be localized. Thank God it was, but there was no guarantee.

In Dublin the HOHO buses were about a block and a half from where the cruise shuttle dropped us off. We tendered into Edinburgh then there was a bus to take us into town. Cobh you're parked right in town and a train right there will take you to Cork. In Belfast we just took a taxi to the Titanic Museum. In Greenock you can walk into town and take the train to Glasgow. We couldn't find the HOHO bus and just wandered around. I loved that cruise too

I was on the Westerdam in June and there was no smoking in the casino.

Everyone has given you great advice. I just wanted to say that managing daily life with little problem and coping with the stresses and the WALKING of a big vacation are two different things. I have trouble with walking more than a block or so but I was soldiering on (probably out of pride more than anything else) but about two years ago I thought WAIT A MINUTE. I wasn't enjoying our vacations because I was constantly looking for the next place to sit down, checking to be sure I had my inhaler, catching my breath etc. etc. etc. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head. THIS IS A VACATION. So we bought a mobility scooter and haven't looked back. Took it to Vegas. Took it to Disneyland. Took it on a cruise to Alaska. It worked like a charm. I'm taking it to Europe in the fall. I have to make accommodations, absolutely, but I feel comfortable, happy, and I'm enjoying myself. I've also rented scooters and that is amazingly simple as well. I'm about your mom's age and I know it's tough to admit that you need some assistance, but I've enjoyed my vacations so much more since the purchase.

Yes, we took the Westerdam to Alaska in June. It was our first Holland America cruise and I too had read the reviews and was worried. I did a little write up about our experiences, but they were all positive except for nitpicks about the portion size at time and a less than stellar vocalist in the Billboard lounge. But these are really nothing in the big scheme of things. The ship was clean, our cabin was kept in order, we had plenty to eat, and we were on the ocean amid beautiful scenery. Our next cruise is on another ship (Island Princess) which also has terrible reviews but based on my Westerdam experience I'm not going to worry about it at all.

I didn't go on the excursion, DH did and he was just saying I could have gone. The boat came right up to the Westerdam. I could have taken the scooter down to the deck it was on, then walked the few steps to the boat. Once onboard he said there was lots of seating and of course killer views of the glacier.

I just did an Alaska cruise with my scooter. I didn't do any excursions but DH went on the excursion to the glacier and he said I totally could have done it without the scooter. You could scoot right down to whatever deck they board, then just walk on the boat and sit down. I scootered all over Ketchikan, very scooter friendly. I just went to the port building in Sitka but DH said the shuttle was the big kind with the luggage compartment so that would have been ok too. I was very pleased with how it all worked out and we're thinking of doing it again next year. I mean, you've got to be aware that you'll have some limitations but once you get over that hurdle you'll have a great time. The thrill for me in Alaska is the scenery and you can enjoy that standing up or sitting down.

Ketchikan was great but Sitka was doable also. I didn't make it into town because I thought the shuttle wouldn't store my scooter but DH went and said it totally would, many people storing strollers, etc. so when I go back I'll totally do Sitka as well.

I haven't been overseas with my mobility scooter yet, but I've flown to Vegas and LA with it on Delta and American and it was pretty painless. Also went on a cruise with it out of Seattle. Ketchikan is made for people on mobiity scooters! Though I'd love to go to the Med on the scooter, the cobblestones scare me. We're going in October to the Baltic, which I think will be a little more scooter friendly. But the bottom line for me is how wonderful it's made traveling for me. Any small hassles just aren't important.