Scooters/tenders

[jamie1]

going on Westerdam Oct 2

Ports are Dubrovnil, Corfu, Valetta, Palermo, Monto Carlo, Marseille, Palma and 3 nites in Barcelonia at end

read some place that on HAL scooters are not allowd on tenders at several ports

Advice needed

also info on low salt food at these places while ashore

thanks

[kitty9]

Scooters are too dangerous to load onto tenders if the seas are rough. You probably already know that you can't drive a scooter onto a tender---you have to go on board in another way and the scooter is put on board by the crew. I think the only places you tender on your itinerary are Monte Carlo and Marseille. I know for sure that Corfu, Dubrovnik, Malta and Barcelona are docked ports. I don't think anyone can tell you about how to order low salt food in any of the ports, because these cities are huge and there are many restaurant choices. You just have to pick a restaurant and ask if they have low sodium choices. But knowing Europe as I do, you can easily bet you'll have a difficult time finding many places that will have low sodium items on their menus---your best bet is to eat salads and fruit salads if you want low sodium. Best to stick with the ship's meals and their low sodium menu items.

[Splinter]

Be prepared to not get off at all at tender ports if it is rough. This happened to us in Monte Carlo...in fact by mid-day they were no longer allowing ANYONE ashore, even the ABs. This was in early June. Wheelchair users are usually "cut off" at even milder conditions.

 

HAL will not allow power chairs or scooters on their tender lifts, and any manual wheelchair can be no wider than an 18" chair. Plan to bring a manual wheelchair with you for any tender ports. They are more practical ashore anyway, as you may not find a lot of ramps or curb cuts available in these ports.

 

If you don't want to risk eating ashore, you can nearly always return to the ship for meals (unless you are too far a way on a tour). I would agree that fresh fruit would be a good option....just watch out for salty cheeses like feta, olives, or preserved meats like salami in salads.

[juliab]

Have never heard of these. Do they actually lift dis. people in and out of the tender?

[kitty9]

Not sure what a tender lift is either, but the crew will do their best to get the disabled on and off the tender boats. My best advice is: if it looks like the tender is in bouncy water, don't attempt to get off the ship---stay on board. I just returned from a cruise in Europe and I discovered another thing you may not realize. Once you get onto the tender from the ship, you're going to have other barriers once you get to the tender dock. When we tendered in Waterford, England, getting onto the tender was fine, but once we got to the dock, there was a step from the tender boat to the dock of over 26", a huge step up for any disabled person. Then, once you got that, there was a metal staircase of 36 steps, to get you from the dock onto dry land. Impossible for anyone in a scooter or wheelchair because there were no ramps.

[Splinter]

The HAL tenderlifts are like platform stair lifts. You roll onto the lift at the top of the special tenderlift entrance (not available to other passengers) and they only let the person in the wheelchair board this way...the rest of your party will have to meet you at the general tender gangway. It is restricted to manual chairs of no wider than 18". Once you roll on, it glides down the stairs on a rail, and puts you onto a special platform on the tender. If it is rough at all, this will not work...we know...got trapped in the tender in Mexico on the Ryndam and had to stay in the tender while they hoisted it up to the Promenade deck and manually lift my mother out of the boat (very nerve wracking to say the least!!!). They will let you use the regular gangway if you can walk, but will not carry you in your chair, and again, will generally not carry power chairs or scooters down the steps.

 

Shoreside, depending on the port, they may be willing to lift you in your chair up short flights of steps. It is best to speak to the ship's safety officer for that tender port on the day of the port to find out about the conditions at the tender dock, as only they will really know the situation.

[DesrtDrmr]

Not to hijack this thread, but Splinter, how lucky you are to be doing the Island to Hawaii again...................hope you have a wonderful time! :)

[Queenie2]

Here is a link to the company that manufactured/designed the "tender lifts" for HAL. (Hal calls it the "Shore Tender Accessibility Project". There is a little video on the site that shows how the lift operates. (you have to click on the "wc lifts" button to see the video)

 

http://capsante.com/ada/

 

Candy

[peddledown1]

My wife takes both a scooter and a wheelchair, when she can't use the scooter we use the wheelchair. We will be going on a Med cruise on the Galaxy on Sept 26, and in Athens you can take a elevator to the Acropolis but they don't allow a scooter on it. They will let a person go in there wheelchair with an attendant.

[juliab]

Will the airlines allow you to check both a scooter and a wheelchair?

[Splinter]

Yes, at least in the USA, medical equipment (wheelchairs, commodes, shower chairs, lifts, etc.) are not counted as excess luggage. You may have to pay a fee on foreign flights, but in our experience they usually will waive this. It is best to gate check both if possible though.