Power Wheelchair won't fit in stateroom

[Cnd_Cruiser]

My power wheelchair is too large to fit in a standard stateroom on Celebrity Infinity and there are no accessible staterooms available. I am able to get myself into the room but what can I do with the wheelchair? How do I charge it? I know I can't just leave it in the hallway.

[xxoocruiser]

My power wheelchair is too large to fit in a standard stateroom on Celebrity Infinity and there are no accessible staterooms available. I am able to get myself into the room but what can I do with the wheelchair? How do I charge it? I know I can't just leave it in the hallway.

 

Once on board either contact Guess Services and or your cabin attendant. The necessary arrangements will than be made to secure the power chair in a specified location each night and have it recharged. You will have to than contact housekeeping every evening for it to be picked up and than each morning to have someone retreive it. So allow for sufficient time as it can't be done on the spur of the moment. Make certain you have charing instructions taped to it and proper identification with your cabin number.

 

Also suggest that you request to be wait listed for a HC cabin should one become available.

[kitty9]

Some have left them in the elevator halls, but I will not recommend that because all it takes is one obnoxious child or out of control teen to totally trash your wheelchair.

 

You could have a very difficult time doing this as you really can't expect someone to take and store your wheelchair every time you return to your cabin. Just be prepared or some hassles.

[Splinter]

How do you plan to access the room if you cannot walk and are in a non-adapted room? You know there is little space, and a 4-6 step up into a tiny bathroom with only a step in shower, right? If you can walk, then take a manual folding chair instead, but even that will be difficult to store in a regular room. This is why people who depend upon wheelchairs have to book many months (or even years) ahead to secure the proper type of accessible cabin.

[DisneyKidsDad]

My power wheelchair is too large to fit in a standard stateroom on Celebrity Infinity and there are no accessible staterooms available. I am able to get myself into the room but what can I do with the wheelchair? How do I charge it? I know I can't just leave it in the hallway.

 

Why would you book a cruise in a standard room with a power chair? If there were no H/C cabins available, why didn't you look for another cruise?

[GRBlizz]

Why would you book a cruise in a standard room with a power chair? If there were no H/C cabins available, why didn't you look for another cruise?

 

I'm wondering the same thing. And I'm also wondering if this isn't why some cruise lines are requiring that people with scooters book accessible cabins?

[kitty9]

Why would you book a cruise in a standard room with a power chair? If there were no H/C cabins available, why didn't you look for another cruise?

 

Thanks for saying what I was thinking. You just can't book a regular cabin with a power chair.

[jackretired]

I book my HC cabins 8 to 18 months in the future.

And I make sure the cabin includes a wide door.

[Essiesmom]

Website shows (at least) three accessible Sky Suites available. OP should either pony up, or cancel. EM

[Cnd_Cruiser]

First of all, when I booked the cruise I did not have a power wheelchair (managed with a scooter) and secondly I am capable of walking across a room as long as I have something to hold on to. My condition has progressed to the point where I am not able to walk any distance and I am not able to use a manual chair. I cannot book a cruise 8 - 18 months out because I do not know if I will be able to travel when the time comes.

 

I was just hoping for a couple of ideas on how to handle the situation, thanks xxoocruiser for your kind reply.

[BeagleOne]

I suggest contacting the cruise line in advance to make arrangements for your chair, to be sure there are no difficulties when you get on board. Maybe a larger stateroom or accessible cabin will open up; I would definitely get on the wait list for an accessible cabin.

 

Is there any possibility of renting a smaller power chair for the cruise?

 

Good luck!

[mdvlprof]

Why would you book a cruise in a standard room with a power chair? If there were no H/C cabins available, why didn't you look for another cruise?

Exactly...

[Knolmom]

Boy, it seems to me like their are some pretty nasty posters on this thread, especially those who seem to be AB, having a lot to say on the Disabled Cruising Board. The OP should not have to explain themselves or their disability to you or anyone else, except perhaps the cruise line, and I am shocked that whomever monitors this board has not come on and said this. IMHO, these folks who are demanding to know how you can get into the cabin without your chair are totally out of order! Like me, I bet you get there with a struggle, and you certainly appreciate it when you do!

[xxoocruiser]

 

thanks xxoocruiser for your kind reply.

 

Your most welcome !:)

 

I also found my conditioning worsening after having booked a cruise and have been in your very situation.

 

Not knowing your mobility limits I did not suggest this in my original reply but than thought it might be something to consider.

 

I never travel with my mobility. Rather I rent one to be delivered directly to the cruise ship to avoid the airlines damaging it. Given that I can get wheelchair assistance at the airport and the cruiseline will provide wheelchair assistance for embarkation and debarkation, I bring my walker on the plane. I usually rent through Carevacations and get their midsize scooter which is a Pride Go Go Elite Traveler Plus. It's small enough to fit through the a standard cruise cabin door . THough you might have to adjust the armrests or removed them completely. With a little adjustments to the cabin I'm able to make it work. Not certain if this would work for you or that your even want the added expense of renting a scooter but it is an option. The nice thing with this option is that you have the scooter at your ready all the time rather than housekeeping having to store it elsewhere every evening.

 

Enjoy your cruise !!

[kitty9]

Boy, it seems to me like their are some pretty nasty posters on this thread, especially those who seem to be AB, having a lot to say on the Disabled Cruising Board. The OP should not have to explain themselves or their disability to you or anyone else, except perhaps the cruise line, and I am shocked that whomever monitors this board has not come on and said this. IMHO, these folks who are demanding to know how you can get into the cabin without your chair are totally out of order! Like me, I bet you get there with a struggle, and you certainly appreciate it when you do!

 

FYI, I've been disabled since age 2 and I'm now 59---polio and post polio syndrome. I've traveled extensively, as a solo, and on 68 cruises with my mobility scooter, and I know what I'm talking about. And also for your information, probably 99% of those who post here are either disabled themselves or have a spouse or child who are disabled, so they also know the ropes of travel. If you read every thread here, you'd notice that asking about a person's disability or mobility issues is part and parcel of disseminating the best information. There are times that we cannot help unless we know the issues at hand. And if anyone has issues with divulging their disability, well, then we can't help if they need detailed assistance. And may I ask, how did you come up with the notion that we posters are able bodied? Making similar assumptions, just like we've been accused of making.

[canuk05]

My husband is confined to wheelchair. always have to book at least 1 year in advance to get an accessible room. We have had to cancel due to medical issues as the cruise got closer...that is just how it goes

[Dbedros]

Long Post

 

Cnd_Cruiser,

First this thread is like all threads on Cruise Critic, you take what is helpful and ignore the rest. Sometimes posters lose the point of the original post.

 

Xxoocruiser made an excellent suggestion. We bought this scooter because it was a more viable option than renting for us. It breaks down into four (4) pieces that will be moveable by an AB person traveling with you. Even when the door of the cabin is suppose to be wider than your scooter the configuration of the cabin will sometimes not allow you to enter on the scooter. The width of the scooter is listed as 21.125 inches. This happened to us on a recent HAL cruise. On the first day our cabin steward advised us that all we had to do was notifiy them when we were in for the night and someone would pick up the scooter, store and charge it for return the next day. We arranged a daily return time and a key location that was not obvious. We did leave it in the hall way for the short periods when we were in and out of the cabin prior to retiring.

 

For those that state you should book a year or more in advance. This is not always possible. As an example: We booked Oceania's Riviera more than a year out for a 2-12-13 sailing in an inside accessible cabin. Recently I saw a promotion for a sailing on 12-10-12 on this ship that was much better than what we already had booked and we would have a deluxe outside. We contacted the TA and sent in our documentation. Oceania replied that because the Dr. did not say that my DH was confined to a chair that they would not be able to accomodate us with a accessible cabin. They also stated that the scooter could not be more than 22 inches. I contacted Oceania and found that the cabin door is 26 inches and after more research that the ship (1200 passengers) only has four (4) accessible cabins. I can understand this because Oceania is insuring that those with the greatest need are given the accessible cabins. We will go on this cruise and take Oceania's letter about the 22 inches if there is a problem getting into the cabin, although I am prepared to break the scooter down at night. The ship is actually our destination this time.

 

You can also post on the Celebrity site asking others that have traveled in regualr cabins how their scooters were handled. Get on the waiting list for the accessible cabin because as everyone here knows sometimes we do have to cancel. Always carry good insurance because from experience this has paid off for us several times as my DH's health has changed.

 

IMHO I would not spend the money to upgrade to a suite unless you have those kind of discretionary funds because you can do two or more cruises for the cost that cruise lines charge for suites.

 

I apologize for the long post but hope it has been helpful.

[Chunky2219]

Boy, it seems to me like their are some pretty nasty posters on this thread, especially those who seem to be AB, having a lot to say on the Disabled Cruising Board. The OP should not have to explain themselves or their disability to you or anyone else, except perhaps the cruise line, and I am shocked that whomever monitors this board has not come on and said this. IMHO, these folks who are demanding to know how you can get into the cabin without your chair are totally out of order! Like me, I bet you get there with a struggle, and you certainly appreciate it when you do!

Regrettably, this seems to be a common occurance on this part of the forum. Someone asks for advice but gets a stream of judgements from people who cannot possibly be in a position to make any vialid assessment. There are some persistent offenders. Some can even make a remote diagnosis with only sketchy data. The slightly less talented have been able to stand beside someone in a chair or on a scooter and come to a clinically sound decision, which of course, is valid for the entire cohort. I wish my doctor was half so smart.

 

"My life just changed and I need help". The reply? "Tough, you should have planned for it a year ago, I have to struggle through life, get used to it". It's neither helpful nor clever, but it gives someone a buzz.

 

In my own experience, people with disabilities, their carers, parents and families tend to be tolerant, helpful, quietly appreciative people with remarkable humilty. Perhaps I've just been lucky. The exceptions are best ignored.

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[celle]

Regrettably, this seems to be a common occurance on this part of the forum. Someone asks for advice but gets a stream of judgements from people who cannot possibly be in a position to make any vialid assessment. There are some persistent offenders. Some can even make a remote diagnosis with only sketchy data. The slightly less talented have been able to stand beside someone in a chair or on a scooter and come to a clinically sound decision, which of course, is valid for the entire cohort. I wish my doctor was half so smart.

 

"My life just changed and I need help". The reply? "Tough, you should have planned for it a year ago, I have to struggle through life, get used to it". It's neither helpful nor clever, but it gives someone a buzz.

 

In my own experience, people with disabilities, their carers, parents and families tend to be tolerant, helpful, quietly appreciative people with remarkable humilty. Perhaps I've just been lucky. The exceptions are best ignored.

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Strange! How long have you been following this part of the forum?

 

From my experience, the threads on the Disabled Cruise Travel board are generally very supportive and helpful.

[Chunky2219]

Strange! How long have you been following this part of the forum?

 

From my experience, the threads on the Disabled Cruise Travel board are generally very supportive and helpful.

About five years, including my time as a lurker and since I returned to cruising. You are of course, right, the majority of replies are helpful and supportive and long may it remain the case.

 

The less than helpful threads run at about one a page, here is a recent one I remember. http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1633931 Maybe I should have said "regular" instead of "common".

 

There was also one that got quite agitated when P&O and Cunard changed the policy on scooters. Rather a lot of the posts were deleted by them upstairs, with the result that the thread didn't read logically in the end. Over on the Cunard forum it got quite vitriolic with even more deletions. All of the bar room medics came out of the woodwork, including plenty of ABs.

 

My main thought is this.... If someone asks for advice, just either offer a useful thought or else don't bother. By all means seek clarification of the circumstances if necessary. Fifty years experience isn't much use if there is nothing positive to share from it. And please remember, an unhelpful post isn't any more use if you put it in large, bold, italic type.

 

Having had my little rant I have to confess that I have nothing to offer Cnd-cruiser. I've not yet sailed with Celebrity so have no experience there. But kudos to those who have made helpful suggestions.

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[QuickieGlenn]

Some people have good advice some don't, some love to jump down peoples throats, some give great advice from years of dealing with a disability. When you have a disability you learn that you have to plan Everything. I do not think leaving your power chair in the hallway will work, they are too narrow to start out with. Good luck and have the best cruise you can.

[celle]

About five years, including my time as a lurker and since I returned to cruising. You are of course, right, the majority of replies are helpful and supportive and long may it remain the case.

 

The less than helpful threads run at about one a page, here is a recent one I remember. http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1633931 Maybe I should have said "regular" instead of "common".

. . .

My main thought is this.... If someone asks for advice, just either offer a useful thought or else don't bother. By all means seek clarification of the circumstances if necessary. Fifty years experience isn't much use if there is nothing positive to share from it. And please remember, an unhelpful post isn't any more use if you put it in large, bold, italic type.

 

The thread you referenced doesn't look too bad to me. When you have a disability, you (unfortunately) learn to develop a thick skin, so you can speak up to get what you need. That's a steep learning curve for people new to disability. Perhaps you're right - we should remember that people can still be tender from the bad health news they have been dealt.

 

People here tend to "tell it like it is", rather than pussy-foot around. That's the result of their hard-won experience.

 

My son has had to learn to speak out firmly for himself. He's 30-something, with an above-knee amputation of one leg. He looks able-bodied and he gets hassled by some AB people for using a HC parking space, which he genuinely needs. His answer is usually to pull up his trouser leg, rap on his "peg leg" and say something like: "You want my parking space? Would you like my leg, too?"

[klauer]

I see how he might be offended, but on the other hand at least people are trying to keep the handicapped spaces available for those who need them.

[Loggra]

Be sure to call the cruise line about whether you can leave the scooter in the hall or if they can store/charge it for you. We were booked on a ship when I became disabled and when we called they made it very clear that they could not help us if the scooter could not fit through the door. It did not and had to be taken apart each time which my husband was able to do without problems.