1st time scooter user -highs and lows(long )

[bluehenfan]

I've cruised numerous times but as the result of a heart problem I now have trouble standing in one spot for long and can't walk any distance without getting short of breath. I decided to rent a scooter for my Jan.9th cruise on CCL Pride. I contacted CCL Special Needs dept. and was give names and phone no. for a couple rental companies that deliver scooters to ships at port. There were 3 of us in a reg. balcony cabin. I contacted one of the companies Carnival had suggested and told the person I spoke to the scooter could be no wider than 21" and I was assured it was exactly 21" and would be waiting in our cabin, fully charged with instructions for driving and charging. I was really excited . Well, there was no scooter in the room when we boarded but I still didn't panic. I finally called the company when it was time for muster drill and it still wasn't there. I was told it had been delivered to the ship hours earlier. It never arrived to our cabin and we sailed out of Baltimore with no idea how I would get around. It was low #1. Guest Services was trying to find out where it had been delivered and they loaned us a wheelchair so I could at least get to dinner and shows,etc .Amanda from GS tried so hard to locate the scooter to no avail. She arranged for the same company to deliver a scooter when we docked in Port Canaveral so I would at least have one for part of our cruise. I heard her tell them it would have to be no more than 21" wide. Well, one was delivered but it was huge! No way it would fit through the door. Another low. I was told I could park it in the hallway as close to the wall as possible and I was to leave it at GS dept. when cruise ended. They would hold it until return to Pt.Canaveral next cruise. High #1 - I had never been on a scooter before but it sure made my cruise a lot of fun. I just drove right off the ship and into Nassau and Freeport. It was great. Other guests and staff were friendly and helpful.

When I returned home I contacted rental company and they agreed to return part of my payment for the 3 days I was without the scooter. They told me my original scooter turned up onboard the Pride after my cruise. It probably had been delivered to the wrong room and the guests kept it and used it all week !! I waited way too long to start looking for it in the beginning because I'd read somewhere on this board that scooters aren't always delivered to cabins before guest get into rooms. I found out the companies not only take them to the ports, they drive them on board and take them to the rooms. If you rent one and it's not there two or three hours before you sail, find out why. Sorry for length of this thread, but hope to help someone else avoid what happened to me.

[xxoocruiser]

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble regarding your scooter rental.

Often the scooters are the last to be loaded on the ship because the Port Authority and Homeland Security control the whole loading process at the dock. All trucks are staged in que for loading/unloading. The rental company has to wait in the same que. If the arriving cruise was cleared late this further complicates the process.

 

Tips when renting scooters from a pre-approved Cruiseline Vendor.

 

• Immediately upon boarding the ship proceed to your cabin to check if the scooter has arrived. If the scooter is not there than track down your cabin stewart. The scooters are delivered to each floor same as the luggage. It is than up to the cabin stewart to deliver the scooter to the room.
  
• If the ship's personal will not let you go to your cabin or if you were able to check the cabin and the scooter was not there than proceed to the Guest Services Desk. Explain that you need confirmation as to whether or not the scooter has been received by the ship. Push hard to have Guest Services send someone directly to your cabin and check and to contact the Dock's receiving agent . Don't just accept a standard reply of " it will be delivered to your cabin the moment it arrives".
  
• After having done all the above and the scooter has not been located than immediately begin calling the rental company Do not wait until the munster drill or 3/4 hours before calling as you stated in your posting. Those 3/4 hours that you waited before you calling was lost valuable time and in most situations is sufficient time for the rental company to have corrected the problem to make certain you had the scooter before the ship departed.
  

 

I have always followed my own tips. Though my cruise last fall was a little iffy because the Port authority hld up the delivery, the fact that I let the proper ships personnel updated on the information I received each time I called the rental company helped for me to get my scooter.

[IRL_Joanie]

I am so sorry to hear that you had such a problem!!

 

I have not had any problems with either of the companies used/recommended by the Cruise lines.

 

However, I do not have the scooter delivered to my stateroom!! I pick it up at the front of the terminal. That way I know right away if there is going to be a problem. So far, knock on wood, scooters have always been right at the front door to the terminal:)

 

I must say that I am totally ticked off that someone else apparently had your scooter and never reported it or tried to find the rightful user. I know that the Scooter rental places put stickers and other notifiers in and on each and every piece of equipment, so there is no excuse for their total lack of concern:mad:

 

Joanie

[kitty9]

Sorry for your scooter problems. That really can ruin a cruise. But as a fellow scooter user, I must tell you that for future cruises, if you use a scooter, you really should book an accessible cabin so that your scooter is not in the hallway. There's nothing more frustrating than to have no access to your cabin because a scooter left in a hallway blocks access. It's understandable why it had to be done for this cruise, but don't count on being able to do that for future cruises.

[bluehenfan]

Sorry for your scooter problems. That really can ruin a cruise. But as a fellow scooter user, I must tell you that for future cruises, if you use a scooter, you really should book an accessible cabin so that your scooter is not in the hallway. There's nothing more frustrating than to have no access to your cabin because a scooter left in a hallway blocks access. It's understandable why it had to be done for this cruise, but don't count on being able to do that for future cruises.

 

I appreciate your reply but have to say, at no time did the scooter block access to my neighbor's cabin. Mine was the 1st cabin in our hallway and to the left of us was a room used by cleaning staff. The wall between our cabin and this room was pretty long so that is where I parked it. No where near closest neighbor's cabin and no blocking staff's room. It was Guest Services idea to park here. I was told people do it all the time and our cabin steward told me there were 2 other scooters also being parked outside rooms even though they fit in the doorways. I wish I could book future cruises further ahead so I could get HC accessible cabins, but due to health I can't book more than 2 or 3 months ahead. I also had a limited time frame to pick from on this cruise because my 2 grandkids attend different colleges and they only had 2 dates I could pick from when they'd both be available. I realize you had no way of knowing this and again, thank you for taking the time to reply.

[bluehenfan]

that's a great idea to have scooter waiting in front of terminal. That way my adult grandson could have gotten it and driven it to me in parking lot. The walk from car to terminal in Baltimore is not much but I was so winded and tired I though I was going to collapse. I was very disappointed to learn another guest had kept the scooter all week. I could never do something like that. Guest Services told me that had all the cabin attendents with guests using scooters to ask if they owned /or ordered their scooters and nobody said the scooter wasn't suppose to be there. Sad.

[kitty9]

Believe me, I'm not slamming you, as we scooter users must stick together, but I will say that I've had more than my share of problems with scooters and wheelchairs being parked in the hallway, and access to cabins have been blocked by those devices. You're lucky that your cabin was located where it was, so you didn't have a problem. And I most certainly DO understand limitations for booking a cabin. There are precious few available, and then we have to fight those nasty persons who book accessible cabins without need. But those hallways are already very limited and are even more so if devices are left in the hallways overnight.

 

Happy cruising to you and I hope you have many more in your future !!!!!

[bluehenfan]

Believe me, I'm not slamming you, as we scooter users must stick together, but I will say that I've had more than my share of problems with scooters and wheelchairs being parked in the hallway, and access to cabins have been blocked by those devices. You're lucky that your cabin was located where it was, so you didn't have a problem. And I most certainly DO understand limitations for booking a cabin. There are precious few available, and then we have to fight those nasty persons who book accessible cabins without need. But those hallways are already very limited and are even more so if devices are left in the hallways overnight.

 

Happy cruising to you and I hope you have many more in your future !!!!!

 

Oh, I knew you weren't slamming me and I agree we scooter users need to stick together. I hope you can answer this question for me because all this HC acess rooms, scooter,wheelchair business is new to me, but I am determined none of it is going to affect my love of traveling. My question is, I see lots of posts about none handicap guests booking access cabins.

Don't you need to submit a note from your dr. stating your need for HC acess cabin? How are they getting these cabins?? Also, I know it can vary from ship to ship, but approx. how far out would you say you need to book to have a shot at getting HC access room ?

Thanks for the good wishes and I too wish you happy cruising !!

[gram2trips]

Oh, I knew you weren't slamming me and I agree we scooter users need to stick together. I hope you can answer this question for me because all this HC acess rooms, scooter,wheelchair business is new to me, but I am determined none of it is going to affect my love of traveling. My question is, I see lots of posts about none handicap guests booking access cabins.

Don't you need to submit a note from your dr. stating your need for HC acess cabin? How are they getting these cabins?? Also, I know it can vary from ship to ship, but approx. how far out would you say you need to book to have a shot at getting HC access room ?

Thanks for the good wishes and I too wish you happy cruising !!

 

Caught up with this post. No note from doctor but Special Needs of the cruise lines sends out a form u must complete. On it there is a place to mark w/c, scooter size battery, etc along with any other needs (diabetic, etc).

 

Why don't u see if ur insurance will buy u a scooter then udon't have to worry about renting one. My husband uses a scooter at home in the yard & has a power chair for vacations. I drop him & chair at entrance to terminals then go park the vehicle. Works well, this is the only way he can travel. We book 6 months or so out to get an accessible room.

 

I rented a manual w'c so he can goon the ferry in Nassau. Forwhat I paid to rent for 1 week is bout 1/2 of what one would cost to buy!! Might look into that before our next cruise in 2012.