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Scooters on Westerdam


Dhodgson-6
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We will be cruising from Alaska to Vancouver with husbands elderly parents. We rented them scooters mainly for off the ship but was wondering if they will be able to use them to get around the ship as well. Thank you in advance for any help!

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We will be cruising from Alaska to Vancouver with husbands elderly parents. We rented them scooters mainly for off the ship but was wondering if they will be able to use them to get around the ship as well. Thank you in advance for any help!

 

 

Scooters can be used on board the ship.

 

Did you book an accessible cabin for your Parents? There is not enough space to store 2 mobility scooters in a standard cabin. Read info below .

 

It appears that perhaps this is the first time your parents will be using mobility scooter so have posted some information you need to know :

 

Embarkation Day: The rental scooter will be deliverto the cabin on embarkation day and must be left in the cabin on disembarkationday. If you use the ship's wheelchair assistance on embarkation day note thatyou will be dropped off in a public area . If not taken directly to your cabinand dropped off in a public area than once cabins are available to passengerssomeone from your party will have to go to the cabin to get the scooter ifyou're unable to make the walk. The scooter rental contract states that thescooter will not be delivered until 2:00 PM . It's also important to note thatrental equipment delivered to the ship is not given priority loading by thecruise line as ships supplies take precedent. Therefore the scooter might notappear in the cabin until closer to the sailing time though it was deliver tothe port by 2:00 PM.

 

Disembarkation Day: The rental scooter must be left in the cabin ondisembarkation day. The cruise line will not provide wheelchairassistance/pickup from the cabin. The night before a location for wheelchairassistance for disembarkation will be published in the daily cruise newsletter.You can ride the scooter to that location but than someone from your group mustthan take the scooter back to cabin for pickup from the rental company.

 

If you have not booked an accessible cabin than depending on the type ofscooter required due to weight capacity it may not fit through the stateroomdoor. All scooters and wheelchairs MUST be stored in the stateroom. Due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS (Safety of Lifeat Seas) regulations, it cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or anyother public area. Ignoring these regulations can and does impede thesafety of others whether disabled or abled bodied moving about the hallways notto mention impedes the safety of all on board the ship in the event of anactual emergency. Even if the cabin attendant tells you it's Ok it's NOT !I for one will contact the ships security to have the scooter removed if one isobserved left in the hallway.

 

Scooters or any personalitems for that matter CANNOT be stored on balcony.

After you obtained the scooter you should go to the dining room to check thelocation of your assigned table if traditional dining has been chosen. Reasonyou need to check that there is a good path to drive the scooter to the table.Once at the table you can transfer to a chair and the wait staff will than parkthe scooter in area that will not hinder others in the dining room. If there'san issue than go to the Matre'D and request a change in table location.

 

Scooter keys are not unique as car keys. Scooter keys are universal and ascooter can easily be mistaken. Therefore I suggest you bring an extra luggagetag for the scooter to identify your rental scooter.

 

The most common scooters rented by SpecialNeedsatSeas and Scootaround (formerly CareVacations) are the Pride Go Go Elite Traveler or the Pride Go GoSport which both have a very low under clearance of 1.5". Therefore it'snot unusual that the scooter will get hung up on the gangway joints. Under nocircumstance should you allow the ship's personnel to force push the scooterover the joints which is the crews first reactive response. The scooter needsto be placed in freewheel mode and then rolled over the joints. To place infreewheel mode there is a yellow lever on the rear wheels directly under theseat. When the lever is in the LockedIcon Mode the scooter is able to be driven. If in the Un-Locked Icon mode the scooter will be in Freewheel mode. Ifyou aren't able to walk down/up the gangway than a person from the ship's crewmust guide the scooter up/down the ramp while another pushes the scooterup/down the ramp while. If you're able to walk up/down the ramp it'srecommended that you do so while the scooter is than freewheeled pulled up/downthe ramp. If the scooter isn't placed in freewheel and the crew force pushesthe scooter over the gangway joints the scooter can be permanently damaged andsince it's a rental you will be responsible for the repair costs or possiblythe complete replacement cost.

Reset Button:The Pride GoGo Elite Traveler and Pride GoGO cannothandle steep inclines. When the incline is too much for the scooter to handlethe motor is designed to shut down the scooter automatically. Should this occur there is a reset button onthe battery casing below the seat. There’s a rubber bubble cover it. Turn the scooter off. Press the bubble thus pushing the reset buttonback in to place and then restart the scooter. If after doing this a couple oftimes and the scooter does not reset than that an indication that the motor hasbeen damaged by forcing it to exceed its limitations. Note : Some people willtell you the bubble lights up but it doesn’t as it does not contain a light.

 

If there are any tendered ports you will only be permitted onto the tender ifthe tender has roll-on capabilities. Also note regardless of whether it's adocked or tendered port Captain has the discretion to not allow wheelchairs andscooters from exiting the ship as safety of the passengers is always the utmost concern.

The scooter does notstop a dime. It has a rolling stop… the slower the speed prior to stopping theshorter the roll… the faster the speed the longer the roll. Therefore you needto always be aware of this so as not to run into other passengers and orobjects.

You may encounter thresholds going to and coming from anoutside deck that the scooter can get hung up on which makes it difficult toclear. You at times will have to scout out other routes that have a betterleveled doorway threshold.

 

Elevators will also be an issue with scooters as able-bodiedpassengers will jump in front of you toget into the elevator first no matter that you were there first. It's not justkids. I have found that adults are often worse than the lids on-board. At peaktimes you're best to take the elevator that's further from your destination asit will be less congested.

Get on the first elevator that has open space for thescooter regardless if it's going the opposite direction of what you want. Whatgoes up must come down and vice versa.

Arrive at the muster drill early to avoid all the crowdsgetting onto elevators.

It's recommended that you remain at the muster drilllocation for at least 15 minutes if not more after it's ended to avoid thecongestion at the elevator. It will be impossible to get onto an elevator untilthe crowds have cleared.

 

Expect that there will be obstacles such as room servicecarts as well as inconsiderate passengers that have intentionally left theirwheelchairs, scooters , other mobility equipment as well as baby strollers inthe hallway of where you cabin is located. For any mobility equipment left inthe hallway which blocks you passage don't think twice about calling the shipssecurity to have it removed immediately. As far as the room service cartthere's usually a cabin steward nearby so just yell out for assistance and itwill be repositioned so you can pass.

 

If you don't intend to go on excursions than suggest youwait to get off the ship until the masses have gone. Reason being that securityand gangway personnel generally have to shut down the process to make certainyou get off safely with scooter. Other passengers waiting in line get restlessparticularly if they're on a time restriction to meet up with an excursion.

Edited by xxoocruiser
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xxoocruiser - great summary. What was your source? May I save it and use it when necessary?

 

Source - I'm the author. First hand experience cruising with a mobility scooter and owning 2 Pride GoGo Elite Travelers.

 

OK to save ibut when using something you didn't author than it's polite to name the person who did.

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Source - I'm the author. First hand experience cruising with a mobility scooter and owning 2 Pride GoGo Elite Travelers.

 

OK to save ibut when using something you didn't author than it's polite to name the person who did.

 

Thanks, xxoocruiser. I'll save it in case comes in handy in the future. With my fire and safety background, mobility devices parked in paths of exit travel is a bugaboo of mine. I'll list your credit as xxoocruiser on cruisecritic.com.

 

(I understand about literary credits and sources. Since I've retired, I've edited and proofed 10 books for a published author and am waiting for the draft of his latest. I was an art history major with a minor in English and although I never worked in those fields, the English minor has served me well)

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xxoocruiser - I played around with your scooter guide a bit. Same info, just proofed it and rearranged some paragraphs for flow.

 

How can I get it to you for your thoughts? Don't want to step on any toes, but it's a really good guide for the novice scooter user.

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Do you have a preference with which scooter company to bookwith? I am booking one for my mother in law for July. I just don't want to goby price, I really want reliability. Thank you

 

FYI - NCL only allows http://www.SpecialNeedsatSea.com. All others allow both http://www.Scootaround.com and http://www.SpecialNeedsatSea.com.

 

Both companies a good and you'll rentals on board from board. It really comes down to cost .

Had been a long time client of Carevactions and than it was sold to Scootaround. Stay with Scooteraround as I able to get the same exact scooter that I personnally own. Scootaround also has a Loyolty Program that allows you to earn points for a free and or discounted rental.

 

It's always best to check pricing for both if not cruising NCL. Both will run specials from time to time that could influence your choice. Being that it appears you have never rented a scooter before FYI cost is based on the following :

  • embarkation port
  • disembarkation port
  • number of cruise days
  • weight of end user
  • weight capacity of scooter
  • type a scooter required ( rental makes the determination of what classification of scooter is require, The renter does not make that selection. A SpecialNeedatSeas Standard Rental and a Scooteraround Transportable Rental Scooter will fit into a standard cabin though it will be tight. All other classification of scooter requires an accessible cabin to be booked)
  • If having the scooter delivered to a pre-cruise hotel.
  • If rental company has to pick scooter up from pre-cruise hotel and transport it to the ship
  • If needing the scooter for post cruise
  • If rental company has to pick scooter up from ship and deliver it to a post cruise hotel
  • If purchasing insurance. ( SpecialNeedsatSeas includes insurance in it quote. However you shouod check the terms of you credit card and homeowners insurance to see if either covers damage and or replacment coverage for the rental. )

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