*Might* be in a wheelchair on our upcoming cruise!

[TMJplus1]

Long story short...I have a (recent) tendon injury in my foot and, if the latest treatment plan doesn't work (and it doesn't feel like it is), I may be in a wheelchair on our upcoming December 10 Carnival cruise. I had thought of cancelling, but this is our first family cruise (DH, me, and our three kids) and I figure I've seen plenty of wheelchairs on previous cruises so I can make it work for me if needed.

 

I do have some questions, though - hoping some of you experts can help. Thanks!

 

1) Does the cruise ship provide a wheelchair or do I need to rent it at our departure port (San Diego)?

 

2) Would I need to re-book an accessible cabin (if there is even one available at this point)?

 

3) Do I need to inform the ship in advance that I'll be in a wheelchair?

 

4) How limited will I be in our ports of call? (Cabo, La Paz, PV, Mazatlan)

 

5) Should I consider a scooter instead of a wheelchair? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? (I'm a fairly physically fit female, early 40's, if that makes a difference.)

 

Like I said, I'm not 100% sure if I will be in a wheelchair or not, but wanted to be prepared in case I get bad news at the doctor this week. I am determined to have a great time even if my mobility is hindered - plus maybe DH take pity on me and let me spend extra $ in the spa. :o

[xxoocruiser]

Long story short...I have a (recent) tendon injury in my foot and, if the latest treatment plan doesn't work (and it doesn't feel like it is), I may be in a wheelchair on our upcoming December 10 Carnival cruise. I had thought of cancelling, but this is our first family cruise (DH, me, and our three kids) and I figure I've seen plenty of wheelchairs on previous cruises so I can make it work for me if needed.

 

I do have some questions, though - hoping some of you experts can help. Thanks!

 

1) Does the cruise ship provide a wheelchair or do I need to rent it at our departure port (San Diego)? No. You'll have to rent one. Suggest you rent a standard collapsable wheelchair and not a transport chair. A transport chair will require you to have someone available to push you at all times. Also a transport chair has smaller wheels and is difficult to push on carpet areas throughout the ship.

 

2) Would I need to re-book an accessible cabin (if there is even one available at this point)? Depends. Will you be bringing crutches as well that can be used to get around the cabin ? If so than a you probably can remain in the cabin you booked. However if you are required to be in wheelchair at all time than you might need a HC cabin. But that may be difficult at this point as HC cabins are often booked up to a year in advance.

 

3) Do I need to inform the ship in advance that I'll be in a wheelchair? Would suggest you contact the Special Needs Dept as they will provide you with the name of their approved rental vendor. Of course you can also rent a wheelchair locally and bring it with you. Also if you remain in the cabin you already have booked would suggest contacting the Special Needs Dept to request a shower chair be delivered to your cabin. This will make showing easier by allowing you to sit and not stand. Particularly if you are unable to switch to an HC cabin.

 

4) How limited will I be in our ports of call? (Cabo, La Paz, PV, Mazatlan) There will be little to no curb cut outs. Remember you're not in the USA at this point and ADA laws do not apply.

 

5) Should I consider a scooter instead of a wheelchair? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? (I'm a fairly physically fit female, early 40's, if that makes a difference.) A Scooter offers more independence on the ship. It will be more expensive to rent and you will definitenly need a HC cabin. Particularly if you have only one cabin booked for your family. The downside of the scooter is that you will definitely be limited as to what you can do off the ship. The tour buses will not have a lift. Unless you are able to prebook private tours ( if available) you will have difficulty getting an accessible taxi that can accomodate a scooter. A wheelchair can be folded to be placed on the tour bus or in the trunk of a taxi. Also the cruiseline will not allow any scooters on tenders should you have a port that is a tendered stop. As long as you can walk onto the tender and the wheelchair can fold up/collapse you'll be allowed to board the tender.

 

Like I said, I'm not 100% sure if I will be in a wheelchair or not, but wanted to be prepared in case I get bad news at the doctor this week. I am determined to have a great time even if my mobility is hindered - plus maybe DH take pity on me and let me spend extra $ in the spa. :o

 

Good luck

[uppitycats]

Long story short...I have a (recent) tendon injury in my foot and, if the latest treatment plan doesn't work (and it doesn't feel like it is), I may be in a wheelchair on our upcoming December 10 Carnival cruise. I had thought of cancelling, but this is our first family cruise (DH, me, and our three kids) and I figure I've seen plenty of wheelchairs on previous cruises so I can make it work for me if needed.

 

I do have some questions, though - hoping some of you experts can help. Thanks!

 

1) Does the cruise ship provide a wheelchair or do I need to rent it at our departure port (San Diego)?

If you NEED the wheelchair, you'd best rent one yourself. I don't know if you can find a source for a wheelchair at the port, though.

While some of the ships do have wheelchairs available, they're often on a first-come, first-served basis.

I'd probably call and find out if one can be reserved.

But really -- if you need it for your injury, wouldn't you need it at home, too, at least for awhile? And getting through the airport to get to the port (although they are available at the airport, standing around waiting for one isn't going to be comfortable!)

2) Would I need to re-book an accessible cabin (if there is even one available at this point)? You're right .. there may not be an accessible cabin at this point..but you could certainly try. Call the special needs department, explain your situation and see what they can offer.

If you remain in your regular cabin you'd need to roll up to the door, get out of the chair, fold it (manual chairs fold), and walk around in your cabin, so if you're also using crutches at that point, be sure to bring them!

 

3) Do I need to inform the ship in advance that I'll be in a wheelchair? You don't NEED to...but if you're going to try to book an accessible cabin, they'll want to know why! :) If you come in your own (or rented) manual chair, again you'll have a bit of a problem getting in/out of your cabin, but you don't need to tell the ship directly.

 

4) How limited will I be in our ports of call? (Cabo, La Paz, PV, Mazatlan) Sorry, I've not been there, don't know.

 

5) Should I consider a scooter instead of a wheelchair? What are the advantages/disadvantages of each? (I'm a fairly physically fit female, early 40's, if that makes a difference.) If you're able to get an accessible cabin, then a scooter will definitely give you more flexibility. You'd be able to move yourself around fairly easily. But the disadvantages are that scooters aren't usually allowed on tenders..so if any of the ports you're visiting are tender ports, you'd not be able to get off the ship. They'll even not always take manual wheelchairs, but if you're able to step up/down and all and get on the tender, they may take your manual chair too.

If you can't get an accessible cabin the scooter will not fit inside a regular cabin, and cruise lines have gotten strict about not letting you leave it in the hallway (a real risk for other passengers!)

 

Like I said, I'm not 100% sure if I will be in a wheelchair or not, but wanted to be prepared in case I get bad news at the doctor this week. I am determined to have a great time even if my mobility is hindered - plus maybe DH take pity on me and let me spend extra $ in the spa. :o

 

I hope your injury heals without complications, and you still enjoy your cruise!

[CannonFodder]

In Cabo, Mazatlan, and PV (don't know about La Paz), the main tourist areas have curb cut outs for wheelchairs. That said, not all corners of all intersections have curb cut outs, so there may be some turning around and trying another route involved. If you have a few people with you, you might want to have a "scout party" ahead of you. Also, the sidewalks and streets in many areas are not smoothly paved, so the ride may be a bit bumpy. The condition of the curb cut outs can vary dramatically as well.

 

However, I was able to push my mother's wheelchair from the Basilica in Mazatlan over to the Plaza Machado without too much trouble. And in Puerto Vallarta, the Malecon is quite accessible. She didn't get off in Cabo due to tender transfer issues, but the Marina area is rather accessible (although this obviously doesn't apply to the beach!).

 

We didn't use him (went off on our own), but Frank in Mazatlan comes highly recommended by several on CC and has an accessible van with a lift available.

 

http://www.mazatlan-frank.com/MazHandVan.html

 

Hopefully you won't need all of the info from all of us, but I hope you enjoy your cruise no matter what!

[TMJplus1]

You guys are amazing...THANK YOU! You have given me some great ideas, and some "duh" moments - things I hadn't thought of...like "duh" I will need a wheelchair at home/airport too! A friend told me about a local service club that rents wheelchairs for a very minimal cost so, if needed, I will likely just find one here before we leave.

 

I'm lucky that I have my hubby and two teen boys with me on the trip, to help push me around. Great advice, too, to bring my crutches along to the tender, etc. for when I need to hop around. We only have one shore excursion booked - ziplining! :D So I guess I will have to wait in the restaurant and drink margaritas while hubby and the kids zip through the jungle. Otherwise, we'll adjust our plans accordingly if needed - probably just do a "hotel day" in Mazatlan instead of Stone Island, etc. The really exciting news is that hubby told me I can upgrade our cabin if I need more space (we had booked 2 insides due to having the kids with us)!

[DisneyKidsDad]

You guys are amazing...THANK YOU! You have given me some great ideas, and some "duh" moments - things I hadn't thought of...like "duh" I will need a wheelchair at home/airport too! A friend told me about a local service club that rents wheelchairs for a very minimal cost so, if needed, I will likely just find one here before we leave.

 

I'm lucky that I have my hubby and two teen boys with me on the trip, to help push me around. Great advice, too, to bring my crutches along to the tender, etc. for when I need to hop around. We only have one shore excursion booked - ziplining! :D So I guess I will have to wait in the restaurant and drink margaritas while hubby and the kids zip through the jungle. Otherwise, we'll adjust our plans accordingly if needed - probably just do a "hotel day" in Mazatlan instead of Stone Island, etc. The really exciting news is that hubby told me I can upgrade our cabin if I need more space (we had booked 2 insides due to having the kids with us)!

 

Your gonna need at least a Junior Suite. :eek:

[TMJplus1]

Your gonna need at least a Junior Suite. :eek:

 

And at least with a wraparound balcony!

[Mindy97]

If you are young and have good balance, you might want to rent or buy (depending on how long you need it) a knee walker. They allow you much more freedom, you move faster and can get most places with no problem. You place your knee on a padded platform which has legs and wheels, and you walk along, step, wheel, step, wheel. I know of people who have even used them on the subways! Google "knee walker" and see if it is for you.

 

M.