Star mobility question

[MyBad]

My wife has a mobility problem and I will be renting an electric scooter for our 4/10/16 cruise on the Star. I am staying in mini-suite 11096 and I am wondering if there is enough room in the room to store the scooter.

[shepherdqueen]

My wife has a mobility problem and I will be renting an electric scooter for our 4/10/16 cruise on the Star. I am staying in mini-suite 11096 and I am wondering if there is enough room in the room to store the scooter.

 

I don't think it will fit through a normal stateroom door.

[chengkp75]

With a scooter, you need to have an accessible cabin, as the scooter, or even a normal wheelchair will not fit through the door. You are not allowed to leave the scooter in the passageway. I would contact NCL right away about this.

 

Depending on the scooter model, you may get it through a normal cabin door if you take the arms off it, but not all models do this, or are still too wide.

[crash3x]

My wife has a mobility problem and I will be renting an electric scooter for our 4/10/16 cruise on the Star. I am staying in mini-suite 11096 and I am wondering if there is enough room in the room to store the scooter.

 

 

on cruises I have been on people leave scooters in hall way outside cabin just remember to remove key ..and battery can be removed and charged in cabin

[Sauer-kraut]

on cruises I have been on people leave scooters in hall way outside cabin just remember to remove key ..and battery can be removed and charged in cabin

 

https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising#guestmob

 

Motorized wheelchairs and scooters are allowed in our accessible staterooms provided that they are powered by gel-cell batteries and the chargers must be adaptable to 110 volts. Should you choose a stateroom that has not been designated as accessible, you will need to bring a collapsible wheelchair, or if you have a motorized wheelchair or scooter, the width must not exceed 26 inches to enter the stateroom door. All scooters and wheelchairs MUST be stored in the stateroom. Due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS regulations, they cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or any other public area. Beach wheelchairs can be rented for use on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island.

Edited January 30, 2016 by Sauer-kraut

[casofilia]

My wife has a mobility problem and I will be renting an electric scooter for our 4/10/16 cruise on the Star. I am staying in mini-suite 11096 and I am wondering if there is enough room in the room to store the scooter.

 

If you are renting from NCL check with them that it will fit through your mini-suite door. If not from them check the size with the provider.

 

Mike

[SewManyStitches]

Try specialneedsatsea.com. 1-800-513-4515. We are renting a scooter from them for the week for the Gem out of NYC. They said the scooter can either be picked up from their kiosk at the pier or can be waiting for us in our suite. I asked about fitting through the door and they said the scooter will absolutely fit. Not sure where you are leaving from, but maybe they have a location by you.

[GeezerCouple]

With a scooter, you need to have an accessible cabin, as the scooter, or even a normal wheelchair will not fit through the door. You are not allowed to leave the scooter in the passageway. I would contact NCL right away about this.

 

Depending on the scooter model, you may get it through a normal cabin door if you take the arms off it, but not all models do this, or are still too wide.

 

Could you please give a link for the actual legal regulation for this?

 

We were on a cruise and between our suite and the stairwell, there was a folded wheelchair left in the hallway, almost all of the time.

 

We complained, and were told that if it was folded, it was okay.

 

Next, a folded walker showed up next to it.

 

In choppy seas, etc., these could fall over.

Plus, if it's "not allowed", why did the crew insist it was okay? (More than once)

 

Thanks very much.

We'd like to have a copy of the written regs with us in the future, just in case, although hopefully, we won't encounter this again.

[chengkp75]

Could you please give a link for the actual legal regulation for this?

 

We were on a cruise and between our suite and the stairwell, there was a folded wheelchair left in the hallway, almost all of the time.

 

We complained, and were told that if it was folded, it was okay.

 

Next, a folded walker showed up next to it.

 

In choppy seas, etc., these could fall over.

Plus, if it's "not allowed", why did the crew insist it was okay? (More than once)

 

Thanks very much.

We'd like to have a copy of the written regs with us in the future, just in case, although hopefully, we won't encounter this again.

 

I can't lay my finger on the regulation number right off, because the SOLAS convention runs to 900+ pages, refers to various other conventions like the Fire Safety Systems Code, ISM, and even the recent MLC 2006, and is subject to further clarification/modification by the classification society's rules for vessel construction. The general rule is that nothing may be stored in a passageway that is used as an emergency escape route, defined as a route from any location on the ship to a lifeboat station.

[GeezerCouple]

I can't lay my finger on the regulation number right off, because the SOLAS convention runs to 900+ pages, refers to various other conventions like the Fire Safety Systems Code, ISM, and even the recent MLC 2006, and is subject to further clarification/modification by the classification society's rules for vessel construction. The general rule is that nothing may be stored in a passageway that is used as an emergency escape route, defined as a route from any location on the ship to a lifeboat station.

 

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

 

IF you happen to stumble across the exact reg in the future, could you post it here (or send info to us at email below)?

 

As you can imagine, once we complained and were repeatedly told "it's allowed"... what could we do without any further documentation?

(We didn't try saying "But we read it on CruiseCritic!" I doubt that would have proven persuasive.)

 

Obviously, if it's a "crew said/they said" on board, the crew will "win" (apparently even if they are incorrect).

 

It was rather unsettling when a second piece of handicap equipment started to be stored in the hallway.

(And even more surprising, this was in front of a suite with more than adequate space inside for these two pieces - even if they didn't fold!)

 

Thanks again.

[Demonyte]

As you can imagine, once we complained and were repeatedly told "it's allowed"... what could we do without any further documentation?

 

(We didn't try saying "But we read it on CruiseCritic!" I doubt that would have proven persuasive.)

 

 

 

Obviously, if it's a "crew said/they said" on board, the crew will "win" (apparently even if they are incorrect).

 

 

In that case you escalate the matter, surely there are officers onboard that are familiar with SOLAS regulations even if the lower level employees are so incompetent.

[MyBad]

Thank all of for your excellent replies. However, my question was if the mini-suite has enough room to store a scooter. I have never stayed in a mini. I have been assured by the vendor that it will fit through the door but I will still need a space in the mini-suite without having to climb over the scooter.

[chengkp75]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

 

Obviously, if it's a "crew said/they said" on board, the crew will "win" (apparently even if they are incorrect).

 

Thanks again.

 

I disagree with this statement. I have personally corrected crew when they give wrong information to passengers. It happens all the time, as most of the crew, and even supervisors, are not conversant with maritime regulations.

[chengkp75]

Thank all of for your excellent replies. However, my question was if the mini-suite has enough room to store a scooter. I have never stayed in a mini. I have been assured by the vendor that it will fit through the door but I will still need a space in the mini-suite without having to climb over the scooter.

 

While I cannot respond to your question as to space inside the cabin, I would be a little leery of the vendor's assurances, unless they are "Special needs at Sea" or "Care Vacations". If you go to the Disabled Cruising forum, there are a lot of threads regarding whether scooters will fit through the doors, most don't. You also cannot go by the width of the door frame, as the door does not open 180*, so the thickness of the door needs to be subtracted from the opening width.

[valleyvillage]

Thank all of for your excellent replies. However, my question was if the mini-suite has enough room to store a scooter. I have never stayed in a mini. I have been assured by the vendor that it will fit through the door but I will still need a space in the mini-suite without having to climb over the scooter.

Here is a floor plan for the suite, if that helps. I have sailed in one like this on the Star and it would seem that one could remove the coffee table and have plenty of room!

[GeezerCouple]

I disagree with this statement. I have personally corrected crew when they give wrong information to passengers. It happens all the time, as most of the crew, and even supervisors, are not conversant with maritime regulations.

 

Sorry... what I meant is that if we *keep* getting the "wrong" answer from the crew, and escalate it and still keep being told it's "okay"... then...???

 

We were actually quite stunned when we first mentioned it, and were brushed off with an "it's okay if the wheelchair is folded".

And then when we pointed out (also repeatedly) that now there was also a folded walker stuck out in the hallway, and still got the same answer?

And then to be told that repeatedly, and by different crew...? :mad:

 

Obviously, we didn't escalate it "far enough", but we already felt like we were "pushing it too far", from the tones of responses we were getting.

 

And please keep in mind that we are civilians, so for all we knew at that time, maybe it actually *was* okay (although we certainly thought otherwise).

 

How were we supposed to know just which crew member would give us the "correct" answer and thus take care of the situation? We had run through several different crew members.

 

In fact, without any documentation in hand, what would/should we do if this happened again?

At least *now* we know with more conviction that we were correct, but as they say, that plus a dollar will get us on a bus somewhere.

 

[And I guess we have to assume that IF we had documentation with us, the outcome would have been different, and that equipment would have disappeared from the hallway... but maybe not, given the attitudes - and knowledge - we were encountering.]

 

Thank you again.

[MyBad]

Thank you, I just needed to hear from someone who had actually stayed in a Star mini-suite. While I am not a newbie, having cruised 15 times on 6 different cruise lines I have never stayed in one of these cabins.

[casofilia]

If you have been to a M&G you will remember that you were given a card with the names & phone #s of the senior crew. Get in touch with one of them rather than the 'walkabout' crew.

 

Mike

[pizzalady1]

My wife has a mobility problem and I will be renting an electric scooter for our 4/10/16 cruise on the Star. I am staying in mini-suite 11096 and I am wondering if there is enough room in the room to store the scooter.

 

I have stayed in a mini-suite on the Dawn which is the sister ship to the Star. There is room in the mini to store the scooter, but you will have to walk around it a little. We parked it next to the desk, head in. We could have maneuvered it to be parallel to the wall which would have been more out of the way, but we did not bother. A 3-wheeled scooter from specialneedsatsea.com will fit in the doorway if you go straight in. The problem is maneuvering in the hall way and knowing when to turn to line up with the door. If you wife can get off and walk into the suite, then you can flip the lever to disengage the gears, then muscle it around to get it into the room.

[MyBad]

As long as there is room inside, i'll get it in. I will be using special needs at sea.

Thank you

[Sauer-kraut]

Thank you very much for the quick reply.

 

IF you happen to stumble across the exact reg in the future, could you post it here (or send info to us at email below)?

 

As you can imagine, once we complained and were repeatedly told "it's allowed"... what could we do without any further documentation?

(We didn't try saying "But we read it on CruiseCritic!" I doubt that would have proven persuasive.)

 

Obviously, if it's a "crew said/they said" on board, the crew will "win" (apparently even if they are incorrect).

 

It was rather unsettling when a second piece of handicap equipment started to be stored in the hallway.

(And even more surprising, this was in front of a suite with more than adequate space inside for these two pieces - even if they didn't fold!)

 

Thanks again.

 

Stated in the SOLAS guidelines

Rules for Ships, July 2004

Pt.4 Ch.10 Sec.2 – Page 10

 

C. Escape

C 100 Means of escape

101

Escape routes shall be maintained in a safe condition,

free of obstacles, and shall be easily accessible and clearly

marked.

[JustAllie]

Here is a floor plan for the suite, if that helps. I have sailed in one like this on the Star and it would seem that one could remove the coffee table and have plenty of room!

 

Depending on the actual width of the cabin and the furniture, you may not even be able to get the scooter past the bed. The scooter that my mother rented on our last cruise would not have fit into my regular mini-suite cabin. Luckily she and my father had reserved an accessible balcony cabin, which was twice the size of my cabin and had plenty of room for the scooter. It also had a roll-in shower, which was needed by my mother. She was very pleased with the accessible cabin.

 

Unless the rented scooter is quite small, I'd be worried about trying to squeeze it into a non-accessible cabin. Unfortunately, accessible cabins are rare and may not be available for the OP's cruise.