kokopelli-az

What cruise line are you going to be on? Most cruise lines have wheelchair assistance (their wheelchair) for embarkation and disembarkation. There are personnel who push the wheelchairs for you. Such as, for embarkation you can get pushed, using the ship's wheelchair, from close to the entry to the terminal, through check-in and security, and to wherever you want to be dropped off on the ship (like your room if it's ready or the buffet, etc). These same wheelchair pushers will push someone who has their own wheelchair, too. Once they drop you off inside the ship, they will take the wheelchair (if it belongs to the ship) with them. If you rent a wheelchair from Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea, it will either be waiting for you outside the terminal or inside your stateroom (depending on where the ship departs from).

We book our accessible staterooms a year out. At least. There are not that many on most ships and they sell out early.

atexsix, please report back if you called your cruise line's Access Department and if they will provide bed rails for your cruise. PS If you are sailing from the right port, scootaround rents bed rails and will deliver them to your stateroom. If your departure port is not listed in this link, I'd contact them to double-check. https://scootaround.com/en/cruise-medical-equipment-rentals

For those who need special meals, contact Celebrity's Access Department. If you have special dietary needs, you will need to discuss these with the Celebrity Access Department. For special dietary needs, Celebrity Cruises asks that you give them 60 days of advance notice. For more information, contact the Celebrity Cruises Access Department at 1.866. 592.7225 or special_needs@rccl.com. They will probably also have you complete their Special Needs form. See last entry on form about food. CEL-Special-Needs-Form.pdf

You're talking about bed rails, right? Contact your cruise line's Access Department and ask if they can provide them. PS: Book your accessible room sooner rather than later. They sell out quickly.

I agree that a small mobility scooter would do better. The ones that are rented (at least from the on-line companies mentioned here al the time) are not that small.

Is this your relative's scooter or is he going to rent one for the cruise? If it is his own scooter and is small enough, taken apart it may fit into the trunk of a taxi. The rental scooters can be broken down, too, but you might want to practice breaking it down ahead of time. If you have a wheelchair there will be a lot more tour options. You might have all this already taken care of, but your relative will probably need an accessible stateroom (scooters have to be 23" or less to fit through standard stateroom doors). You will need to advise Celebrity's Access Dept that there will be a scooter; they will have a form for you to complete. San Juan: we do not even get off here any more. The big Walgreens (can't miss it) right off the ship seems to have the best sidewalks around it. You do have to cross a busy street to get there but there is usually someone directing traffic. You will have to pick and choose your exact route since not every street corner (or sidewalk for that matter) is scooter friendly. St Kitts: Very accessible right off the ship. If you want to go further, you should probably book an accessible tour. Here's someone describing this port of call: https://spintheglobe.net/dir/2019/01/28/cruise-port-of-call-wheelchair-accessibility-review-basseterre-st-kitts/ Sage is one company that offers tours here: https://www.accessiblecaribbeanvacations.com/st-kitts-accessible-shore-excursions (they also offer accessible excursions of Tortola) And a video taken right off the ship so you can see the accessibility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfDNj3KL_is Tortola: Very accessible right off the ship. Here's some information, including a video, to show you the accessibility: https://cruiseportadvisor.com/port/tortola-british-virgin-islands/ With St Kitts and Tortola, there's a lot to see right off the ship.

I would definitely vote for taking (or renting) a wheelchair. Along with the walker. Walkers make a great place to place carry-on items and then Dad can be in the wheelchair while someone else pushes the walker. It can be very tiring going from one end of the ship to the other, or just getting to the dining room for that matter. Even for the best of us! Docks at some of the port stops are very, very long and no need getting tired before even getting to the destination. Half Moon Cay is a tender port; take a look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrG9OhYQzek If using a wheelchair going up or down the ramps, let the crew help you. They are there waiting to assist anyone needing assistance. If you have a wheelchair the worst that can happen is that he doesn't need to use it. But if he does, you will be very glad you have it.

Book an accessible stateroom, which has plenty of room, and then there is no issue with where to park or charge the scooter.

This is from United, but it's pretty much the same for all airlines: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/accessibility-and-assistance/wheelchair-form.html

Special Needs at Sea and Scootaround deliver scooters (and other medical equipment) worldwide. And one way, too (ie, Hawaii ending in Vancouver, which we did). With some of the international ports these companies service you actually have to contact the company (chat or phone) and cannot make reservations on-line. PS: You will need an accessible stateroom to store the scooter. If you haven't already seen this, here is Holland America's Accessible link: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility.html

The crew is more than happy to move their cart to let you pass. Just some thoughts: do you have an accessible room? is the wheelchair collapsible? have you notified NCL you will be bringing the wheelchair? In case you haven't already seen it, take a look at this link: https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising