kokopelli-az

You will need to read the descriptions of the accessible excursions to see whether non-wheelchair/scooter users can book. Some of them say "Only guests using a wheelchair can book this tour, as it ensures accessible transportation." So you will need to check the requirements for the accessible excursions. If your husband can get in and out of the excursion vehicle (tour bus, van, open air trolly or whatever transportation they are using) he may be able to stow his rollator on the vehicle. The Princess Access Office should be able to give assistance with the type of vehicle that might be used. accessofficeprincess@princesscruises.com Note that accessible excursions that use a vehicle with a lift for wheelchairs or scooters are typically more expensive than tours that do not use vehicles with a lift. In case you haven't seen it already, here is some information from the Princess website regarding accessible cruising. Scroll down to the section about Mobility Equipment Guidance. https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/?accordion=accessible-cruising They also have a Mobility Questionnaire you need to complete. PS: I don't know where you are going on your cruise, but Plan B might be to consider hiring a taxi at the your port stops for a tour. There are typically many excursion vendors once you get off the ship who want to take passengers on tours.

You probably already saw this, but check out NCL's accessibility link. https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising NCL needs to know about the disability. The employees, as you weave your way toward security and check-in, will see your wheelchair and guide you to a special line for assistance. NCL (and possibly a Port employee, too) will provide wheelchair assistance by pushing the wheelchair through security, check-in and on to the ship to either your stateroom (if it's available) or a public area of your choosing. (If a Port employee assists with the wheelchair, they can only go so far and then a NCL employee will take over.) Start asking for a wheelchair pusher once you drop off your luggage with the porters (in case they think you are going to push your husband). Make sure that you get help with pushing the wheelchair (there can be some pretty steep ramps getting on the ship). Like @FOPMan said, the ship employees will assist at ports with him getting up and down the gangway. If there is not someone there to assist, do not attempt the gangway by yourself. Wait for assistance. They will be there pronto as they are always checking for passengers who need assistance. In the dining rooms (specialty or otherwise), you can either take the wheelchair to the table to use at the table, or NCL will stow the wheelchair once you're at the table and bring it back to you when you're ready to leave. The employees are very good at making sure you are situated at your table. For disembarking the ship on the final day, watch the daily newsletter for wheelchair assistance to disembark. Passengers needing wheelchair assistance will meet in a designated area and the NCL employees will push the passengers (either in NCL's wheelchairs or in personal wheelchairs) to get off the ship. You will see many passengers in wheelchairs, with canes/walkers or with mobility scooters on the ship. PS: Tips are appreciated by the wheelchair pushers.

Personally I would take the Sept 17 trip based on starting out in Rome. You may be more tired than you think after the cruise. BTW, if you depart from Rome, you may want to look at RomeCabs.com to see what they can offer in the way of transportation and/or tours. My husband also has a transport chair and rents a scooter to use on the ship. We used RomeCabs to take us from the airport to our hotel, from the hotel to the cruise ship port and then from the cruise ship port back to the Airport. We arrived in Rome a little early to check in so they took us on a mini-tour of Rome; I think it was about two hours. They can put together anything you want. Highly recommended on many boards. Plus, we had everything reserved before we left home and it worked like clockwork with them picking us up, etc. There is a certain amount of relief with everything already booked. When we went to Florence, we booked a tour to Lucca and Pisa with Papillon excursions. They have shore excursion tours all over Italy. We told them we wanted a mostly driving around tour since I knew my husband would not want to be getting in and out of the SUV but I got out a few places. They designed a half day tour that was wonderful (we didn't want a full day tour). Our tour guide was from Livorno and very knowledgeable. We were very impressed with them. https://www.papillonservice.com/

Check out John Morris' blog here: https://wheelchairtravel.org/air-travel/reduce-risk-wheelchair-damage/ He suggests attaching instructions for the handlers.

Contact AA's special assistance department at 800-237-7976. They can assist and may have a form to complete to attach to your scooter with handling instructions.

Make sure to bring anything that shows any OBC or other perks you may be getting. On more than one occasion, once on the ship our account showed less OBC than we were supposed to receive. You have to have documentation if something is missing or you likely will not be getting it.

First of all, cruises from Rome do not actually dock in Rome. They dock in Civitavecchia, which is about a 45 minute ride away from Rome. When we were there, we used RomeCabs.com to take us everywhere, including from the airport to our hotel, from the hotel to the cruise port and from the cruise port back to the airport. Since our flight arrived in Rome earlier in the day and we didn't think our room would be ready, RomeCabs took us on a sight seeing tour of Rome for a couple of hours before we went to our hotel. We had all our reservations made and confirmed with RomeCabs ahead of time. RomeCabs is highly recommended on many boards. For transportation to the port, airport, etc you might look at the Italy ports of call board and see what others are doing for transportation to/from Rome. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/ Verify that Baxter can deliver your supplies to the Civitavecchia cruise port. You might also ask the Princess Access Office what the process is when a vendor delivers medical supplies to be taken to a passenger stateroom on the ship. When you talked to Princess about delivering supplies to the ship, did you talk to a representative from their Access Office? Once you get to your room, confirm all your supplies have been delivered and all equipment is operational. If you are staying overnight in Rome, you could also have your supplies delivered to your hotel and take them to the ship yourself. Here is an interesting article from a cruiser about cruising with dialysis: https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/196-cruising-with-home-dialysis-tips-from-a-platinum-cruiser PS: Make sure Princess, via their Access Office, knows you are bringing medical supplies or having them delivered.

Just a thought, but how about taking your wheelchair when you check in and having one of Royal wheelchair pushers push you to a public area (or your room if it's ready). If you're worried about the crowds and your room isn't ready, you can always fold it up so it won't take up as much room, and push it on the elevator and to your room when it's ready. I would not want to lose sight of my mobility device and the possibility of it getting lost or damaged. But to answer your question, I have never seen anyone leave their wheelchair with the porters to be delivered to their room. And getting through check-in and inside the ship is sometimes a long walk..

I can speak personally about Livorno. We used Papillon and they were wonderful. From Livorno we were in a private SUV that took us to Lucca and Pisa on a half day tour. We thought a whole day was too much so they taylored a half day tour for us. The driver (he was from Livorno) and tour were excellent. I would book with them again. Highly rated and they cover most of the ports in Italy. My husband has a scooter and a collapsible transport chair. We took his chair on the tour but he didn't get out anywhere. I specifically asked for a "mostly driving" tour since I knew he would not want to get out; however, I got out a few places. They can customize any tour for you. https://www.papillonservice.com/ You probably saw it, but John Sage gives the Naples cruise port 5 stars. It's fairly easy to hang around the port area and look at the shops, etc. if you decide to not take a tour there.

Have you checked with your cruise line about accessible tours they may be offering? A collapsible wheelchair should fit in most taxis if you want to arrange a private tour of the island. If you decide to not go on a tour, Heritage Quay is right where most ships dock. Do a search on Heritage Quay Antigua and you will find lots of photos. Here's one wheelchair user's report on Antigua. https://spintheglobe.net/dir/2019/01/28/cruise-port-of-call-wheelchair-accessibility-review-st-johns-antigua/ I've seen a few recommendations for Lawrence of Antigua so he might be able to arrange something: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2945080-is-it-easy-to-rent-a-driver-for-the-day-from-the-pier-in-st-johns/

First of all, what cruise line will you be on? You need to contact that line's Access Department as there may be certain guidelines they follow / require. I'm not so sure Baxter delivers to Rome. You might consult with your medical provider and ask if they have any recommendations for Rome. Also, do a search on this Board for dialysis and you will find other conversations about dialysis on a ship. If you choose to bring your supplies with you, pursuant to the Air Carrier Access Act of 1990, your airline should allow your supplies to fly at no charge.

As others have said, you will need to rent from scootaround or special needs at sea (or bring a scooter from home). The scooter will be in your room (or at some ports at the terminal). Cost depends on many variables and also what type of scooter you rent. And whether you opt in to buying their insurance. If you happen to rent from scootaround, try using discount code USCRUISE (which is from United Spinal Members). I think the discount is 15%. You will probably have to call them to have the discount applied. Royal will need to know you are going to bring/rent a scooter. Scooters are lifesavers.

What are your Italy port stops?

No experience with the Magic Carpet yet, but take a look here: https://spintheglobe.net/dir/2018/12/07/wheelchair-accessible-cruise-ship-tendering-on-the-celebrity-edge-magic-carpet/

We just got off the Caribbean Princess on Saturday, our second cruise on her this year. We had zero issues with anything. We love this ship!

You might try contacting Royal to see if they happen to offer anything accessible for your cruise: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/accessible-shore-excursions

And here's an interesting article: https://wheelchairtravel.org/guest-post-my-wheelchair-accessible-adventure-on-bora-bora/

Check with Royal's Accessible Shore Excursion department. Having a foldable electric wheelchair is better than a nonfoldable device as it will fit into more vehicles. There is no special needs desk or anything similar once on the ship. My experience has been that the Shore Excursion folks know little to nothing about accessible cruises other than to read the same information that would be available to you. In other words, you need to have your excursions lined up before your cruise. And accessible shore excursions fill up quickly. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/accessible-shore-excursions

Our wheelchair pushers have always taken us where we asked. We tell them where we want to go when leaving the plane. ie, to the family restroom, then to luggage pickup and then to a taxi or Uber. The pushers have pretty much been great.

Is this an airport in the United States?

They are free in the buffet for breakfast. If I come across any bars that have smoothies during the day, I'll let you know.

I'm on the Caribbean Princess right now. There are a bunch of them in the buffet at breakfast. They are already made and you just grab the flavor you want.

Here us the Princess Cruises Access dept contact info. Give them your confirmation number and sailing date, too. accessofficeprincess@princesscruises.com

You might start a brand new topic with your inquiry since this thread is so old, but definitely ask the Princess Access Dept about bringing a medically necessary heating pad. Don't just take one and expect the best because it may get confiscated

Look here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/external-medical-devices