kokopelli-az

On 3/1/2024 at 11:21 AM, luvs2beachit said:

Anyone know how much one would cost for 8 days?

It all depends on supply and demand.   I would compare prices of the scooter with both Scootaround (use the code) and Special Needs at Sea.   Make sure you are comparing the same thing with both companies because as mentioned above, Scootaround will add the insurance to your price.  

(We never buy the insurance...)

I mentioned to the room steward that there should be a sign on the charging station to not charge scooters with it and to charge scooters using a wall outlet.    

There would be lots of people with scooters in this stateroom since it was an accessible stateroom....

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Can anyone share experiences with a walker with wheels and a little seat? Thanks..

 

 note: Boarding at PEV 25 is a series of fairly steep  inclines.. Hold on to your wheelie bags or they may roll away!

You will get better responses if you post your query on the Disabled Cruise Travel board:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

Your fellow passengers finding you invisible in front of elevators is entirely another issue…😡

There are lots of threads on this topic in the Disabled Cruise Travel board.

It worked in February.   I'm booking a scooter for April so when it gets closer to the departure date, I will call Scootaround and request to use the USCruise discount code. 

From Scootaround's website:   https://scootaround.com/en/united-spinal-members 

41 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

 Would like to hear from someone who had one delivered to their non-accessible cabin;  could they enter the door and use the scooter easily?  He's of athletic build and ably strong, so he thinks it wouldn't be a problem for him if the access to the room is not an issue.

You will need to know how wide the scooter is vs how wide the stateroom door is.  Most of the rented scooters can be broken down to fit through a door.     

First of all, most cruise lines will only let certain mobility rental companies bring their equipment aboard.   The two companies most frequently allowed are scootaround.com and SpecialNeedsatSea.com.   You will need to contact these companies for pricing.   (If you call Scootaround, ask them to apply discount code USCRUISE for a discount.   This code is from United Spinal and I think you have to actually call to have this code applied.)   And you may need an accessible stateroom to accommodate the scooter (inquire with Celebrity right away about what is available because they go fast).  The scooter will either be in your stateroom when you arrive or next to the terminal entrance; the rental company will tell you where to pick up your scooter.   When your cruise is over, you just leave your scooter where you picked it up (stateroom or pier).  

If the scooter is in your stateroom for pick-up, you might consider Celebrity's wheelchair assistance (their wheelchair) for embarking and disembarking.  

You might hop on over to the Disabled Cruise Travel board.   You will find hundreds of discussions  (and helpful hints) about scooters.  And wheelchair assistance.     https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

Here is Celebrity's link for Special Needs passengers.  You will need to advise them you are going to have a scooter.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs

For anyone interested in boarding a tender with a mobility device from the Magic Carpet, take a look here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1em3fTLhrJk

This thread might help:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2561220-connecting-accessible-rooms/

This just happened to us on the Apex and probably applies to other newer Celebrity ships as well – or at least any that have charging stations in the staterooms.

My husband rents a scooter, which he had for our cruise on the Apex this month. There is a charging station in the stateroom for your phones, Kindles, etc plus it has a couple of 110 plug-ins. We were using this to charge his scooter every night but by the middle of our cruise, the scooter barely had any charge left. I report the problem of the scooter not charging to Guest Services. They said Hotel Services would check to see if there were any spare scooters we could use. No, there were no spare scooters (which I thought was odd since I thought there typically was at least a couple of extras on the ship).  At least we had my husband's wheelchair so I assumed we were going to be using that the rest of the cruise, much to his dismay.

Then our room steward shows up and tells us to plug the scooter into the bathroom outlet (which I didn't even know existed; it was under the vanity) or any other outlet in the stateroom. The scooter recharged itself rather quickly using a wall outlet.

The 110 plug-ins in the charging stations do not charge like the wall plug-ins.  I believe they may be trickle chargers.

So, if you're on a ship and have a charging station in your stateroom, be aware you may not be getting enough of a charge for a scooter.  Plug it into a wall outlet instead.

We just rented from Scootaround earlier this month.    Nothing different about discount codes.   We'll be renting again for a cruise in April.   

If no discount code is accepted,  that will be a game changer.   Hmmm

Thanks for the update.   

What ship / cruise line?    

Most ships now just have you check in at your muster station.   And watch a short muster video via their app.   No muster drill like the olden days.   

Piece of cake.   

I would definitely check into private tours.    Many will customize a limited walking tour for you.    

Some folks on this board can probably recommend tour companies they've used.   Or ask for private tour recommendations on the boards for your specific port stops.   

If you join the Roll Call for your cruise, maybe you could find someone to share a tour with you.   

On 1/30/2024 at 2:20 PM, Jim_Iain said:

One thing of caution on re-pricing .    If you booked your cruise when they were offering OBC's and Gratuities when you re-price you will loose both the On-Line Credit and the free Gratuities and would be re-booked under the new price with current promotion.   

 

This is true.  Our cruise went down about $2000 and I called to have a price adjustment.   After they took away most of my OBC and prepaid gratuities (I originally booked a year ago), the price was basically the same as when I originally booked it so I did not re-price it.

Double-check what you are giving up and what extras you have to pay for if you re-price.   

We had a foldable wheelchair stowed in the wheelchair closet of a plane last November.   I first  requested this be done at the ticket counter (they told me to tell the personnel at the gate counter) and then again requested this at the gate counter.   The gate counter personnel said that it was ultimately up to the flight personnel whether or not it could be stowed in the wheelchair closet.   We took the wheelchair to the door of the plane and requested it be stowed inside the plane.   The flight attendants do not necessarily want to do this since they like to put their own stuff in the wheelchair closet.  We did get to stow the wheelchair in the closet.   We usually gate check the wheelchair but this past November we had a short layover and did not want to wait for the wheelchair to be brought up from below. 

We have never bagged anything that is gate checked.  And I actually don't recall ever seeing anyone ever bagging anything that was gate checked.   

I would take the rollator to the door of the plane and let them know you want to stow it in the wheelchair closet.   As long as someone else has not already stowed their wheelchair or rollator in the closet, you should be able to do this.  

Here's a good article on this subject from John Morris: 

 https://wheelchairtravel.org/air-travel/flying-with-manual-wheelchair/

I have seen several blind passengers on past cruises.   Some with service dogs.   

Have you seen this?   https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/visual-and-hearing-disabilities

You need to advise Celebrity's Access Dept that you are blind.   

I think video poker machines are one of the only gambling machines that show you the odds.  

We were on other Reflection in November with a scooter and a manual wheelchair.   Excellent accessibility.   

Wow!   Thanks everyone.   I may be in luck for Alaska flight 336 on February 2.  😊

35 minutes ago, hallux said:

You'll need to be careful here.  If you end up with the first option you may end up with a cancelled return flight as well if they were the same confirmation.

It's a one way flight.   PDX-FLL

The return flight (separate booking) is on Delta.  FLL-PDX

8 hours ago, Morphumax said:

You mentioned cruise vs Cabo tenders, what's the difference? Are some Cabo tenders potentially more wheelchair friendly?

Sometimes the cruise line will use their own tenders (lifeboats) and sometimes they contract with companies at the port stop to use privately-owned tenders.  You're probably not going to know what they will use until you're on the ship and possibly not know until you get to Cabo.  And yes some (but not all) private tenders can be more wheelchair friendly.  

OK, here's an update to what I actually did.  I still have Alaska flight 336 (PDX-FLL Feb 2).  This flight is still showing as being available to book on Alaska's website.  And they are still showing the 737-9 MAX as the plane being used.   I need an early flight, of which Alaska has several; however they all involve at least one leg that uses the 737-9 MAX.   

Not wanting to wait to hear from Alaska as to whether this flight will be canceled, I booked another flight on American.  So, I have American and Alaska booked for PDX-FLL on Feb 2.  

My plan is if Alaska cancels flight 336, I will request a refund and take the American flight.   If Alaska  does not cancel, I will take the Alaska flight, cancel the American flight and receive a credit to use on a future flight with American.  

I think I have all my bases covered at this point.   I did not want to wait until the last minute as I am traveling with a disabled person and need somewhat specific seating arrangements.  

I'm curious how far ahead of time Alaska will notify me if my flight is canceled.    

Alaska has not made any announcements that I have seen since a press release on Jan 20.

I just read a recent post that Princess was using their own ship tenders in Cabo.  And another one that said when they were in Cabo Princess used the ship's tenders plus tenders from Cabo.  You might not know exactly what they will be using until you get there.   However, no matter what they use passengers must be able to walk a few steps on their own to get in and out of the tender unless the tender has roll-on access.   Plan B is staying on the ship, which has its perks - most people are off the ship so it's much more relaxing.   

You might be able to check with Guest Services to see if they have any knowledge of what kind of tenders will be used in Cabo.   If you can't find out, you could go to the gangway (without the wheelchair people) and look to see what they are using or ask one of the crew if your wheelchair passengers can board the tender.   

If you're lucky, they will be using a tender with roll-on access.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC1byje0brE    

And have you seen this:    https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise    (scroll to Accessible Cruising and then to Accessibility Ashore.  

Not being able to walk is the main problem with the tender.   For anyone with mobility or medical issues, they should read the cruise line's access pages on the cruise website (or call that cruise line's Access Dept).   All cruise lines that we have ever been on make it clear about what is allowed, or not, regarding mobility devices, tendering and much more.  Passengers with limited mobility also need to complete a Mobility Questionnaire. 

Plan B is to stay on the ship at a tender port.   We do this all the time (as do many) and actually look forward to it as the ship is a lot less crowded.  

See this from Princess (scroll to Health & Accessibility then to Accessible Cruising:   

https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise

I wouldn't miss a cruise based on not being able to go to a tender port.

On 1/17/2024 at 12:19 AM, Auralee said:

I am booked on the sun for the Panama Canal. We have secured an accessible stateroom as both my husband and I have limited mobility. We are considering the best mobility aid options. We can walk but not too far without pain and standing is agonizing.

 

I’d love to just roll off the ship and drive the scooter to some straw markets.. check out local architecture.. hit a beach. I don’t know how to pre-book or find out if there is any accessible taxis

It would help to know what ports you will be stopping at.   People on this board who have been to any of those ports may be able to chime in as to a specific port.