Travel with special need

[Fatcat604]

Good morning. 

I'm planning to take my mom on the cruise from long beach in August. (Carnival splendor). My mom has some issues with her knees, it's very weak. She's still able to walk, but it's very slow, and we need to avoid the stairs. It will be her first time, and she really wants to go with my family and my sister's family. Where can I rent a light weight wheel chair, so my husband can push her if necessary. We don't want to bother other people going on the cruise. She's very easy. Do I need to contact the carnival special needs department and let them know we may need assistance on embarkation and debarkation? With the airline it's easy, I just booked a wheelchair and someone will pick her up at the gate and take her in, but I'm not sure about cruise. She travels every year by herself, but she's nnever done it on a cruise before. 

Thank you in advance for answering my question, all suggestions are appreciated.

[BoDidly]

Yes , contact special needs dept.   It makes things much easer .

Edited March 24, 2019 by BoDidly

[Fatcat604]

4 minutes ago, BoDidly said:Yes , contact special needs dept.   It makes things much easer .

Thank you, do you know where I can rent a lightweight wheelchair?

[BoDidly]

The ports of call should provide information as to where to rent wheel chairs. Carnival in the past would let you use theirs for free but now it's for a fee and onboard the ship only.  Special needs should be able to provide you with more information. Enjoy that cruise . 

[Fatcat604]

1 minute ago, BoDidly said:

The ports of call should provide information as to where to rent wheel chairs. Carnival in the past would let you use theirs for free but now it's for a fee and onboard the ship only.  Special needs should be able to provide you with more information. Enjoy that cruise . 

Thank you very much, we been very hesitate about taking her, but my last cruise we saw some elderly with walkers, and we want to give it a try. 

[AdGuyMG]

26 minutes ago, Fatcat604 said:

Thank you, do you know where I can rent a lightweight wheelchair?

Try this company

 

http://www.specialneedsatsea.com/reserve-equipment/wheelchair-rentals/

[BoDidly]

2 minutes ago, Fatcat604 said:

Thank you very much, we been very hesitate about taking her, but my last cruise we saw some elderly with walkers, and we want to give it a try. 

Everyone gets to enjoy life and cruise lines know this  .   You're so very welcome .

[ginabab]

Hi

Great she is going

The trip will make a nice memory for all

 

I’d consider a scooter 

Pushing the wheelchair can get very hard 

[Shaded Lady]

Fatcat604- make sure you consider her mobility for excursions... a lot of them will accept a wheelchair or walker (but not a scooter)… but some will require that the person is mobile enough to board the transportation (bus, boat, whatever) under their own steam. It sounds like as long as she takes her time, your mom is capable of this.

 

Just make sure you know in advance, and warn the tour operator about her mobility issues.  There's nothing more embarrassing or hurtful for your mom to need extra time to board only to have some impatient nelly behind her rushing her. 

 

Onboard the ship you should have no issues. And the lightweight wheelchairs are easy to deal with, and collapse out of your way when not in use.

[Nic6318]

Hi Fatcat

 

Yes you can rent one from the companies that deal with the cruise lines, specialneedsatsea.com or scootaround.com. They will delivery it to your cabin and pick it up from there after the cruise. Both are reliable companies.

 

I would suggest that you might consider buying one instead. You can look online and you will see that for not much more than the cost of a weekly rental you can purchase a good quality standard wheelchair (delivered). 

 

If you are travelling by air your mother can have it all the time. No more standing in lines. Just getting onto the ship for many is a challenge. On embarkation day she can relax in comfort. If your father can push her, great. If he has too many other things to manage, you just need to ask and they will have someone push her for you. You can also do this for debarkation.

 

have a great cruise

[Fatcat604]

Thank you very much for all your suggestion, my mom and I really appreciated your help. We plan to send all our luggage in with the porters, so my husband can help her while I'm taking care my kids. On port day, the one with tender boats, is it possible to order room service in advance for her lunch? 

[Nic6318]

Hi Fatcat

 

If she has a regular folding wheelchair, and she is able to navigate a few (4) steps, they would be able to help her onto a tender and bring the chair with her.

 

I can't say for sure about room service...I rarely order from them, but the very worst she could call when she is ready, if she stays behind.

[Bellasma2591]

I take my own wheelchair. But you can rent one from SpecialNeedsAtSea.com   but I'd check craigslist and thrift stores because you might be able to buy one cheaper than renting and she'll have one whenever and where ever she may need one.  The ship has courtesy wheelchairs, but they can not leave the ship at ports.....you need to rent one yourself.

 

[petro772]

Don’t think special needs st sea works with carnival anymore.  Try Scootaround.com.

[Athankfulheart]

In a similar situation we found it easier, cheaper and 100% reliable (no chance of not having a chair) to buy a transport chair second hand from the FB marketplace. You can google wheelchair rental ( or scooter rental) along with the name of the port you are sailing from to see who rents in that area. All things considered, it sometimes works out better to buy. Even brand new on Amazon they are very reasonable. Type in "transport chair" for lots of foldable choices. 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Athankfulheart
Adding info

[sunonfire]

I saw a lot of these on several cruises. It is a walker that can be used like a wheelchair. The wheelchair provided on the ships are heavy.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xszaVvduGp4

 

 

[sunonfire]

I saw a lot of these on several cruises. It is a walker that can be used like a wheelchair. The wheelchair provided on the ships are heavy.

 

 

 

[Fatcat604]

Thank you everyone for all your suggestion. I will talk to my mom to buy one, and we can keep it for future use.

[cskmartin]

Definitely contact special needs.  I had to link 2 reservations for dining on my next cruise; I told them my husband is cane dependent and asked about a waiting area at the port.  The agent arranged for a wheelchair for special needs boarding assistance an will take him to the ship. 

[Fatcat604]

8 minutes ago, cskmartin said:

Definitely contact special needs.  I had to link 2 reservations for dining on my next cruise; I told them my husband is cane dependent and asked about a waiting area at the port.  The agent arranged for a wheelchair for special needs boarding assistance an will take him to the ship. 

Are you allow to board with him too? Or you have to go to the regular line?

[mdsgu]

Let Carnival know about your situation in advance.  My parents are elderly and my mom uses a motorized chair.  We arranged to have someone come with the ship's wheelchair and push my dad up the embarkation ramp and deliver him to Lido while my mom followed in her power chair.  My dad is a very proud man and was not enthused about the thought of being wheeled up to Lido, but he was more than happy after he arrived -- that can be a trek for an 85 year old!

 

Even if you buy or rent a wheelchair for you mom, let Carnival know.  They can have someone meet you at embarkation and do the pushing so your husband doesn't have to.  I second the thought of looking into renting a lightweight scooter.  Pushing a WC on carpet can get tiring.  Then, if your mom decides to stay on the boat while you go exploring, she will still be able to go where she wants on her own.  Carnival can also help with this -- directing you to the appropriate "approved" vendor.

[jimbo5544]

10 hours ago, Fatcat604 said:

Are you allow to board with him too? Or you have to go to the regular line?

You can board together and also echo post 21, and contact Carnival special needs anyway.  They deal with subjects like this all the time.  Have a great cruise!

[jimbo5544]

This thread is a great example of just one example why cruisecritic is so good.

[jakz2fun]

I agree with those who are saying to contact the Special Needs department of the cruise line.  I travel with my Mother who has Parkinson's Disease.  I would suggest renting a mobility scooter - we rented one through Special Needs at Sea.  It gave my Mom so much freedom, it was great to see the great big smile on her face.  If you do this, you will probably need to get a cabin that can accommodate the scooter.  Your Mom will be able to get around so much better and she will love it.

 

We have bought a folding travel scooter, the Transformer folding scooter.  It's been a God send.  It's only about 55 lbs, the battery lasts all day, she can ride it right up to the door of an airplane, fold it up, and they put it in the hold (we carry the battery on with us).  Then it's there for her when we get off the plane. 

 

Have a great trip!