catwoman6226

My friend and I both require scooters and we've never had an issue on Princess, in an accessible cabin.  Plenty of room to park the scooters and still have room to navigate around the cabin.

Can't speak to what is on the Sun but I've been on half a dozen different Princess ships in accessible cabins and none had automatic door openers.  My roommate and I grew quite adept at using the small table in the cabin to prop the door open enough to get in and out (I use my cane to push the table back into the cabin so the door can close).  Sometimes you can get lucky and ask the steward for one of those hard rubber things to keep the door open but that doesn't help with opening the door in the first place. I've had great luck using my cane to push the door open after swiping my card to open the door (and yes, I use a mobility scooter). Woule to see an automatic door opener.

This thread will probably be moved to the disabled cruisers thread but in the meantime:

You do not go through Princess to rent a scooter.  I have rented directly from Special Needs at Sea probably 5-6 times, including last month and have always been extremely pleased with the service, and the equipment.  The scooter is always waiting in the cabin when we embark, and I leave the scooter in whichever location is designated as the disembarkation waiting area for passengers needing wheelchair assistance (on our last cruise that was the Crown Grill but the location will vary).  Note that we always cruise in a handicapped accessible cabin - so have never had an issue with storage or getting through the door.  You must store the scooter in the cabin - there's no place to leave it overnight, for example. 

You will also need to fill out a form giving Princess the details about the scooter - height, weight, etc.  The form is easy to find on the website, and the scooter rental company can provide the details.

Most passengers are very considerate of scooter users as long as the user is considerate!  Getting on/off elevators, for example, has never been a problem for us.  You can scoot right to your table in the dining room and one of the staff can move the scooter to an out of the way location while you dine.  I've never had an issue taking the scooter through the buffet, although you have to go very slowly and people will absolutely step in front of you.  Common sense applies and your MIL should be fine.

If she isn't already experienced at using a scooter, I suggest some field trips to the local grocery store first, so she's comfortable with maneuvering, especially backing up.  Note that any rental scooter will have a speed dial (think from turtle to rabbit speed) which will FAR exceed any grocery store scooter, sol I also recommend keeping the speed on very low until she's comfortable with it. 

Enjoy your cruise!

We were on the June 17th 2023 sailing, in one of the handicapped accessible balcony cabins on deck 11.  (we need that type cabin as we both use an electric scooter).  Cabin was in good shape - bathroom tiles a little dated but no cracks or bulging.  A/C worked very well. Our steward Suya was wonderful.  Despite booking a private table for each night (or so I thought), I realized that we were booked for sharing a table for nights 2-7 but a quick chat with the head waiter on night 1 fixed that and he reserved a lovely private table for us for the rest of the cruise, provided we were willing to eat at 5pm.  That's a bit early, but that gave us plenty of time to hit up the evening activities.  Production shows were ok - nothing spectacular.  The game shows/trivia etc. with Cruise Director Jody and her staff were highlights.  Guido was our favorite - Felipe is funny in small doses, and Conrad will make a good cruise director one day (but needs to lighten up a little).  The 80s party was a lot of fun.

Food in the MDR was usually good but some dishes (soups and meatloaf) were too salty to eat.  Pizza from Slice on deck 15 and the chicken tacos from Salty Dog were good.  Always a long line for ice cream - we never tried any, nor did we attempt room service or delivery of anything to our location.  Definitely some bulging of tiles/flooring around the pools but nothing horrible.  I thought the ship looked great for her age - there were always people cleaning and polishing.  We got new deck furniture on one of our port days. 

Ship was full but we never had a hard time finding a table at the buffet.  Tons of kids onboard but they were mostly well behaved.

Only really negative issue was that they decided to give everyone $100 OBC the last night to make up for the propulsion issues and for having to miss Amber Cove.  That was very poorly handled - by waiting so late to announce it, the shops were a total zoo.  The poor guy manning the 'gold by the inch' table told us at 10pm that he hadn't had a break since 11am.  A passenger brought him a plate with some sandwiches which I thought was a nice gesture.  This was a Princess issue, not about the ship itself but they could have handled it better. 

Overall we had a good time and look forward to the next cruise.

Just returned from a week on the Caribbean Princess and was thrilled to find all my favorites:

• twice baked goat cheese souffle
• pistachio dome
• watermelon, feta, pumpkin seed appetizer
• Fetuccine alfredo

Lots of Indian choices on the buffet - was happy to see papadums one day - I had to go back for seconds

Indonesian beef 'stew' on a different day was very tender, and flavorful

I've tried for two days and keep getting either the 'processing' wheel of death, or 'sorry there's a technical issue'.  I'm using Firefox.  Will try something else.

I've used Special Needs at Sea multiple times and have always been very pleased

There's a separate drop-off spot at Ft. Lauderdale for those needing wheelchair assistance - it's before you get to the regular luggage dropoff.  Just ask anyone directing traffic.  From there you'll get your name on a list, and they wheel people into the terminal, to get you checked in.  They typically wheel you right up to the ship, after which someone from the ship itself takes over, and will wheel you to your cabin.

I rent from Special Needs at Sea, and I've always taken my scooter to the wheelchair assistance meeting place when disembarking - I've never left the scooter in the cabin.  After 5-6 cruises, it's never been a problem - BUT it's been 2 years since I last cruised, so it's possible things have changed.  As chaotic as disembarkation is, I certainly wouldn't count on anyone coming to my cabin to get me. 

I've rented scooters from Special Needs at Sea for our last several cruises. They have always been in tip-top shape.  In fact, I've never seen a rental scooter on any cruise that was in bad shape.  I also disagree that the price is 'very high'.  If you need a scooter, you need a scooter, and you bake that into the price of the cruise.  I don't think that ~$275 for a 7 day cruise is exhorbitant.

If someone is not familiar with using one, I highly recommend spending some time at a local grocery store that has scooters, to get familiar with navigating.  Just keep in mind that the speed at grocery stores is much, much slower than what you'll find with a rental scooter on a cruise ship.  Anyone using a scooter on a ship should make sure the speed setting is turned down as low as it can go before moving, only turning it up after becoming comfortable with the higher speed. As an example, I keep mine towards the 'turtle' setting while navigating around the ship, but I crank it up to 'rabbit' speed while zooming down the sidewalks from the ship into downtown St. Thomas. 

I always use the scooter to get to the table in the dining room, and the staff are more than happy to move the scooter, and bring it back at the end of the meal. 

I travel with a friend who also uses a scooter and we never back into the elevator - we pull straight in, and it's usually no problem to back straight out.  Again - experience helps.  If one pulls in slightly to the left, and the other pulls in slightly to the right, there's still room for 3-4 other people to join us.  This is on most Princess ships -  your mileage may vary on other lines/ships.

Good luck and please don't let your need for a scooter impact your vacation - it's a relatively minor adjustment and will make your time much easier!

Unfortunately, our experience has been that we can book tours that say they are wheelchair accessible, etc. but then when we get on board, we're told that our scooters cannot be accomodated.  NOT saying anyone else's experience is wrong, but please do not expect that because some people have had luck with their scooters being accomodated that that is always the case - because it certainly is not.  Now that I think about it, not once have we been able to take our scooters on a Princess excursion - regardless of location - we've always had to book via a third party. 

We've been to St. Maarten twice with the scooters - no issues at all.

Grand Turk, however, was a no-go for me last year.  We were on the Regal, and the ramp had a big bump that meant I couldn't ride the scooter down, and I was having a bad day, so even though they offered to lift the scooter over the bad parts and let me walk down the steep ramp, I couldn't handle it.  Have fun and I hope you have better luck than I did.  Was glad to hear that Grand Turk has a  nice shopping area - maybe next time!

I never understand why people reply with "tap water is fine" when people ask about distilled water.  It's free, and easy to request, so why NOT use the distilled water?  I always do, and have never had a problem.  Easy question, easy solution.  Request it in the personalizer.  If it isn't in the cabin (only once did that happen), then ask the steward and she/he will bring it. 

Very interested in this thread as we are scheduled for the same cruise in February....but my cruising partner is pretty sure she will have to cancel (she has the Princess insurance).  I need to call Princess to find out what my options are but I'm dreading the answer!  I'd still like to go but not if they are gonna charge me a single supplement (wouldn't that be double dipping since insurance covers the cost of her portion?)  Anyway, yes,  I will call Princess directly to see what answers I get.

In the meantime, have a wonderful cruise and thank you for the pictures!

We have scooted from the ship into the downtown area in St. Thomas - over a mile, spent all day shopping and going in and out of stores, scooted back to the ship, and not lost one single 'bar' of power.  I have never come close to running out of battery power after ~5 cruises using a scooter.  Enjoy!

We prefer the Crown (and are booked on her next year) over the Regal.  We both use mobility scooters and were shocked at how poor the venues on the Regal are for accessibility.  Specifically, no dedicated area in Princess Live.  We had to sit on our scooters way off to the side and luckily it was never so full that anyone had to sit behind us.  In the Princess Theater, however, the handicapped seating area has another tier of seats behind it, so we always felt we were blocking people's views.  Made us very uncomfortable. 

The buffet on the Regal is bigger and better - the balconies on the Crown were bigger and better.  So much comes down to the amenities/features that are important to you.  Either way, have a wonderful trip.

So far the Regal is definitely our least favorite ship and most of that is due to the lack of accomodation for mobility challenged passengers.  We love the Explorers Lounge on other ships, but really dislike Princess Live. There is no place to park in Princess Live on a scooter without blocking the view of people behind you - luckily the theater was usually fairly empty on our last cruise so it wasn't too much of a problem for us to park way off to the side. 

Same issue in the main Princess Theater - we have become accustomed to sitting at the very top/rear of the theater where we can sit on our scooters but on the Regal there's an extra seating space at the top of deck 7 - so we always felt we were blocking the view of people behind us, but we had no alternative.

The buffet was great, but we've decided to avoid this class of ships - which will leave more room for those who prefer this class!

We did the 15 day cruise to Hawaii on the Star a few years ago and had no problem finding things to do on the sea days (lots of 'em on that cruise!).  We love to play cards on the pool deck, play trivia, and watching other games.  I enjoy tooling around the ship looking for a new place to read.  We also both enjoy a little down time in the cabin during the afternoon, reading/watching tv/snoozing.  It's a vacation!

I have, and it wasn't easy, but it worked.  I used wheelchair assistance through the airline.  They pushed me to the gate, but I had to hold my folded-up rollator across my lap - my cPAP case was strung across the handles of the wheelchair, and I also held my purse and cane.  I ended up with bruises on my thighs but it was well worth it to have the rollator on the trip.  Good luck, and I hope you have a wonderful trip!

We've cruised out of FLL for 4 out of the past 5 years and haven't paid for parking.  However, my friend's vehicle is equipped with a lift for her mobility scooter.  I see no reason why handicapped parking should be free for cruisers, but we're happy to save the money.

The Ft. Lauderdale port official website says the following: 

In compliance with Florida Statute 316.1964, parking fees are waived at all Port Everglades lots and garages to disabled persons operating vehicles with ONE of the following qualifications:

• Display a Florida Toll Exemption Permit as explained in Florida Statute 316.1964 (see example below)
• Vehicle is modified with specialized equipment such as ramps, lifts, or foot and hand controls for use by a disabled person (see example below)
• Display the Disabled Veteran (DV) license plate issued from any state government. The DV license plate must be on the car parked in a Port Everglades lot or garage at the time of your cruise. Florida DV license plates are issued under Florida Statute 320.084 (See example below).

Special Needs does have a kiosk in Ft. Lauderdale, but not available for Princess.  I rented a scooter for my cruise in February and confirmed that with them, so unless something has changed in the ~two months since then.....

I've rented from Special Needs 4-5 times and have been very happy with their service. 

So exciting - we are on the same cruise!  Just ordered our Medallions last week though, so they haven't yet arrived.  Thanks for sharing the pictures - we can't wait to get ours!

We are doing this itinerary on the Crown next year, so I'm following along with great interest! Thank you for the review.

Hi - I've cruised on Princess several times with a scooter.

Contacting Princess - even their disability office will get you very little in terms of answers.  They would not give me a 'yes' or 'no' about using a scooter on a tender in Hawaii, but I found out later that nobody ever uses a scooter on tenders on Maui. (I'm sure someone will interject that they've done it, but my experience over 4 cruises is that no scooters on tenders).

As for excursions in general, we found out the hard way that even booking the wheelchair accessible excursions doesn't apply to scooters - on our last cruise in the Caribbean we were requested to visit the excursions desk, and then were informed that they could accomodate wheelchairs, but not scooters, so three of our excursions had to be canceled.  I've made a point of every post-cruise survey to tell them that they need to update their excursion information, given the number of people who use scooters now. 

Our best bet so far has been to book third party excursions and confirm with them that they have transportation that has lifts that will accomodate scooters, not just wheelchairs.  Many scooters break down, but many do not, and even when they do, the weight can be prohibitive. 

Scooting off the ship has not been an issue except for Grand Turk, which had a very steep V-shaped ramp to get off the ship - and the staff were willing to lift the scooter over the 'bump' if I got off it - but most times scooting off the ship has been very easy, and staff are very willing to help. 

Good luck and have fun!

I always request it in the Personalizer, and the steward has always known about it when they introduce him/herself, but it's never been in the cabin.  However, the water has always appeared well before bedtime, along with a (very!) long extension cord.  The only time I needed more than one gallon of water was on a 15 night Hawaiian cruise. 

I suggest that anyone needing distilled water simply note it in the Personlizer, and confirm with the steward upon boarding.

Completely agree that requiring documentation from a physician that I require a HC accessible cabin is excessive and burdensome. It's hard enough to secure one of these cabins - and as has already been stated, we already have to fill out paperwork with the cruise line that we meet the requirements for these cabins.