Wheelchair use on the ship and off ??

[Boozebabe]

Anyone know if Carnival has wheelchairs to use on and off the ship? Its needed more for off the ship as I can't walk long distances due to a back problem. Around the ship is no problem as there are lots of places to stop and sit. But those long pier walks aren't doable.

 

I would prefer to not take one with me from home if possible.

[okgirl]

They do have them but they are on a 1st come 1st serve basis.

[taszmom]

They do not supply wheelchairs on the ship. They do have wheelchair assistance at the cruise terminal. There are rental companies that will bing one and have it ready for you on the ship. Here is one http://www.specialneedsatsea.com

[Cruizinman]

There generally for on board use only, you will need to bring your on if your needing it while off the ship.

[TerReuv]

They do have them but they cannot guarantee you that one will be available. On our last cruise my mother has MS and uses a wheelchair for long walks and she forgot hers at home! She called a company that Carnival referred her to and they said they would have one waiting in their room when she got on. It was there, but the first time we went to use it (for our day in Nassau) the wheel broke! Carnival was great as they did have one available.

 

Now, one word of caution! This wheelchair was the heaviest wheelchair I have ever seen! When we went up the Queen's staircase my mother and I walked with her holding onto me and it took both my father and my husband to carry that wheelchair up the stairs. They even had to stop at each flat area to rest. Mind you all are in good shape! It was a major ordeal to push that heavy thing around.

 

Moral of story, if you have one, bring it!

[PSkinner]

we are looking into buy a fold-able, lightweight one for Mom. I saw one online for around $95-115. It's called a companion wheel chair.

[TerReuv]

They do not supply wheelchairs on the ship. They do have wheelchair assistance at the cruise terminal. There are rental companies that will bing one and have it ready for you on the ship. Here is one http://www.specialneedsatsea.com

 

Sorry you are wrong. They do have them on board and you can use them if they are available.

 

There generally for on board use only, you will need to bring your on if your needing it while off the ship.

 

Again, wrong. They had no problem with us taking the Carnival wheelchair off the ship in Nassau.

[Cruizinman]

Sorry you are wrong. They do have them on board and you can use them if they are available.

 

 

 

Again, wrong. They had no problem with us taking the Carnival wheelchair off the ship in Nassau.

 

Trust me ,yours was a special exception ;)

 

Carnival quote ,We can set one up for Embarkation and Debarkation. We do not rent them however our Guest Access Dept. will be happy to give you info regarding a company that rents and delivers.

800-438-6744 ext.70426

[jakesnana]

Sorry you are wrong. They do have them on board and you can use them if they are available.

 

 

 

Again, wrong. They had no problem with us taking the Carnival wheelchair off the ship in Nassau.

 

To TerReuv - you DEFINITELY were the exception to the rule. My mother

was Platinum and on the last 2 Carnival cruises we took her, we were REQUIRED to pay for a wheelchair rental, if we needed it beyond embarkation and disembarkation. It was $85.00 for a 5 day cruise.

 

 

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Trust me ,yours was a special exception ;)

 

Carnival quote ,We can set one up for Embarkation and Debarkation. We do not rent them however our Guest Access Dept. will be happy to give you info regarding a company that rents and delivers.

800-438-6744 ext.70426

 

You are correct. It used to be you could leave a deposit and take one of their wheelchairs off the ship, but those days are gone :(

[DebJ14]

we are looking into buy a fold-able, lightweight one for Mom. I saw one online for around $95-115. It's called a companion wheel chair.

 

Go ahead and get one of these - they are wonderful for not only cruising, but shopping, church etc. They only weigh about 14 pounds. I could not handle my Mom's big 44 pound wheelchair myself, but could easily handle this aluminum chair. It folds up to about the size of a suitcase making it easy to stow in the backseat or trunk.

 

They are also narrower and fit through a regular Carnival doorway, so I did not have to get an accessible cabin for Mom. Carnival did provide someone to push her onboard at embarkation since I had the carry-ons.

 

In the past you could easily get a wheelchair onboard for a $50.00 refundable deposit, but not so much anymore as they are reserved for people who get hurt during the cruise. My Father in Law was a big guy and did not fit in the small portable chair so we rented one from Special Needs at Sea for him. It was at the cabin when we arrived.

[nodogkisses]

On the Pride last month I went to Guest Services to see if I could rent a wheelchair for a couple of hours each evening, as I had an overuse injury from exercising and by evening it was really hard to walk around the ship. They told me that wheelchair rental is for the entire cruise only and would be $125 even if I needed it for a couple of hours for the last few days. They did, however, offer to "pick me up and drive me" from one venue to another if I called Guest Services and asked during the evening. And, they did indicate there may be a "wait" for the ride. I didn't rent and I didn't call for a ride--just dealt with it.

 

Anyway, you could purchase a "lightweight" wheelchair for less than it costs for the weekly rental and have it. Sounds like the best option to me.

[Boozebabe]

I'm thinking of just buying one I saw that folds up into a carry bag. I travel a lot and it has become more difficult every trip. I do not need it on the ship. Just in ports. Thanks all for your advice.

[Cruizinman]

I'm thinking of just buying one I saw that folds up into a carry bag. I travel a lot and it has become more difficult every trip. I do not need it on the ship. Just in ports. Thanks all for your advice.

Your Welcome , buying one will be the better choice.

Enjoy your cruise !!!

[Elaine5715]

I'm thinking of just buying one I saw that folds up into a carry bag. I travel a lot and it has become more difficult every trip. I do not need it on the ship. Just in ports. Thanks all for your advice.

What ports are you looking at? Some port calls are extremely difficult to manage wheeling around like San Juan.

[DEL67]

Go ahead and get one of these - they are wonderful for not only cruising, but shopping, church etc. They only weigh about 14 pounds. I could not handle my Mom's big 44 pound wheelchair myself, but could easily handle this aluminum chair. It folds up to about the size of a suitcase making it easy to stow in the backseat or trunk.

 

They are also narrower and fit through a regular Carnival doorway, so I did not have to get an accessible cabin for Mom. Carnival did provide someone to push her onboard at embarkation since I had the carry-ons.

 

In the past you could easily get a wheelchair onboard for a $50.00 refundable deposit, but not so much anymore as they are reserved for people who get hurt during the cruise. My Father in Law was a big guy and did not fit in the small portable chair so we rented one from Special Needs at Sea for him. It was at the cabin when we arrived.

 

Yes, the lightweight wheelchairs are very convenient; however they are hard to push over rough surfaces and do not absorb bumps as well as the traditional ones which may ne an issue for someone with a bad back.

[blondietink]

FYI - If you do get a companion wheelchair/travel chair, you really need to spend a little more money and get one with the larger back wheels (12 inch) and stroller type front wheels. The ones with hard small rubber wheels are very hard to push and are not a very comfortable ride. The larger wheels help immensely when pushing on bumpy surfaces.

[Boozebabe]

What ports are you looking at? Some port calls are extremely difficult to manage wheeling around like San Juan.

 

We stop at Key West, Grand Turk and Nassau. Been to them all before. I am most concerned about Key west which will be easy to use it. And Nassau which wont be quite as easy. We will only shop at both places. Probably wont even get off the ship in GT.

 

I just cant walk the length of the piers without a place to occasionally sit. AND I cant stand for a long time in lines to get back on the ship.

 

After 16 cruises I have finally learned my limitations and wlking long distances is it. Its a bitch getting old !!!!

[Cruizinman]

We stop at Key West, Grand Turk and Nassau. Been to them all before. I am most concerned about Key west which will be easy to use it. And Nassau which wont be quite as easy. We will only shop at both places. Probably wont even get off the ship in GT.

 

I just cant walk the length of the piers without a place to occasionally sit. AND I cant stand for a long time in lines to get back on the ship.

 

After 16 cruises I have finally learned my limitations and wlking long distances is it. Its a bitch getting old !!!!

 

You should be fine in those ports ;) Nassau has a bus / shuttle that will pick you up at the ship . Check with guest services.

[kathy884]

Just call Carnival and they will give you the names and numbers of some compainies that rent them, bring them to the ship for you, and pick them back up from the ship for you. You have your own personal chair this way that you can use both on and off the ship. // DS had recent knee surgery, so we got one for him on our cruise last August. // Not sure how it works for getting on the ship, so if you need a wheel chair for that I'd mention that too. I believe the company asked us about that and we said we could manage that on our own, so having it at the room for us would work great. We brought crutches along that he used to start and after we checked in, someone brought us a Carnival wheel chair for getting on the boat and a staff member even brought DS all the way to our cabin (which we weren't expecting but was nice and made it easier), and then at our cabin, we got our rental one which was a nice high quality one (the company told us it would be there in our cabin and our room steward had it right outside our room.) One slightly annoying customer service item was that when we boarded we were given a message that said to report to guest services. I asked why, etc. and they didn't know but said we needed to report there. I couldn't get through on the phone either at that time. Of course, the line is really long intially after boarding, we already had our wheel chair at our cabin, etc. Anyway, I waited in the 35 minute line and when I got up there the message was that the wheel chair was in our cabin. Next time, if I don't need anything from guest services, but have a message to see them, I'll hold off till early morning when most people aren't up so I won't have to wait for more than five minutes (lesson learned).

 

We booked non-ship excursions and called each to make sure they could accomodate us if we brought the wheel chair too and they could. They made a special note, seated us in the front of the buses, and gave DS special assistance. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and we tipped extra given the extra work and assistance we were given.

 

I believe in our case DS just used his crutches for getting off the boat after the cruise was over. It was just last August buy my memory is foggy on that. /// Anyway all in all this worked out great for us. We used the wheel chair primarily when we were in port and there would have been alot of walking or should I say crutching (really glad we got it for that -- much better for DS).