Walker, scooter or wheelchair for excursions?

[catmommy]

Hi Everyone!

 

Dh and I are talking his mom on her first cruise. We are going on the Voyager of the Seas Western Carib. on Oct. 21.

 

Right now I am trying to decide what to rent for for shore excursions.

 

The problem is my MIL is not exactly forthcoming on how well she can get around. We only see her every few months and I think that she sometimes tries to hide her mobility issues from us.

 

After months of asking her I was finally able to persuade her to let me buy a Hugo rolling walker for her. I think she may have needed it for months but refused it saying that it costed too much or that she really didn't need it. I think what persuaded her was a 3 week trip in a few weeks to visit her daughter.

 

So when I brought up the idea of renting a scooter for this trip she says no. She says that she will likely use the walker if she likes it.

 

But the Voyager is a huge ship and I would hate to have her be unable to do the things she wanted to do either on ship or on land because she can't get there.

 

I've told her that we can get the scooter just in case she needs it.

 

But looking at shore excusions it looks like the scooter might not be a good choice. So should I just get the scooter for on ship movement and have the rolling walker for shore stuff or should I also rent a wheelchair?

 

I will do whatever it takes to make this trip easy for her. I just don't want her to have regrets or to not do something because she thought that a scooter or a wheelchair was too much money.

 

DH and I have both told her not to worry about the money but she does anyway.

 

Thought? Suggestions?

 

Thanks!

 

Calm seas,

Caroline

[DesrtDrmr]

Hi Caroline,

I took my Mom on a cruise, and took my scooter. I tried to talk her into renting one, but she said she had her walker and loved it. We were on the Star Princess, not even as big as the Voyager. She had a terrible time getting around, and luckily, we had a cabin right near the elevator which went to the dining room and near the casino. That was ALL we did........dining room and casino. We were on a repositioning cruise, and had one port. She couldn't even get around the port. Someone helped her with a ship's wheelchair, and rolled her over to the excursion we had booked. We couldn't even go shopping in the town. My Mom said she'd never go again without a scooter. She gets around fine at home with her walker..........ships are just SOO HUGE! Whenever I'm on a cruise, people always ask about my scooter.........many wish they had one because they are so tired, or misjudged their stamina, or have a brother, sister, uncle, cousin, etc, that can't get around as well as they used to.

I would suggest that you rent a wheelchair for port, and a scooter for the ship. She can try with her walker for the first day, and then, I'll bet she'll be glad to have the scooter. She can alternate and use whichever she feels like using at that time. CareVacations.com and Scootaround.com both rent both items, and leave them in your cabin for you, and then you leave them in your cabin when you disembark. If your MIL finds standing in line too much..........of course, she can sit on her walker, you can get a ships wheelchair and someone to push her on to the ship, and the same for disembarkation.

If you have not booked a handicapped cabin, you will need to rent a small scooter, as a large one will not go through the cabin door. And, a folding wheelchair will go in just fine.

Hope you all have a wonderful cruise.

[Splinter]

I would just add that you should rent a standard or lightweight manual wheelchair. Don't get a "travel" or "companion" chair as these are VERY difficult to push on uneven ground, nearly impossible to get up or down a step or curb, and limit her ability to move the chair herself.

 

Keep in mind that not only is the ship big, but it can be rocking due to waves too...a perfect set up for loosing your balance if you are not quick on your feet. Better to use a scooter than risk a fall.

 

You didn't mention if you have an accessible cabin for her or not. The regular cabin doors are VERY narrow and will not accomodate any but the most narrow of scooters. These are safe only for people who are not obese or big...otherwise there is a tip danger.

[catmommy]

Thank you both for your replies.

 

We will see how she does with the walker on the visit to her DD. If she does ok we will probably just get the scooter and use the walker on shore.

 

We do have an accessbile cabin, 9957 on the VOS, so we should be fine with keeping the scooter in the room.

 

I have learned so much from these boards, thank you!

 

Calm seas,

Caroline

[pvmkmyer]

Please look into renting a scooter from No Boundaries called the Featherweight Deluxe. This scooter, which my wife owns, will fold up like a baby stroller. My wife has used it on cruises, land trips, all around Europe and Alaska, etc. It's gone everywhere with very few problems. The staff on both Princess and HAL always helped her up or down the gangways,and because it folds up you can take it on the tenders.