Renting a recliner for a Holland America cruise in one week

[Imamom]

Hi. I am unable to last long in the bed at night due to the rotator cuff surgery I had 8 weeks ago. I have a Holland America cruise sailing to Alaska from Seattle next week. I spend a lot of time in my recliner. Yesterday someone suggested renting a recliner to use during the cruise. I had no idea this was possible. Does anyone have experience with doing this? Any tips that you can pass along?  Holland America told me yesterday to call their Accessibility office on Tuesday to find out if this is possible. That’s cutting it close. I sure hope this works out. Thanks for any suggestions you can give me.  

[Essiesmom]

Call the companies that rent scooters, etc. for cruises.  Scootaround and Special Needs at Sea.  I believe they are the ones who would provide the recliner.  The ship would have to remove one of the beds in order to have the space for it unless you are in a suite.  EM

Edited May 27, 2019 by Essiesmom

[kokopelli-az]

Scootaround rents recliners (it may depend on which port you are departing from; contact them to confirm availability at your port asap).  Definitely let Holland know that you will be renting one.  

 

https://www.scootaround.com/mobility-rentals/equipment/medical-equipment-rentals?highlight=WyJyZWNsaW5lciJd

 

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/accessibility.html

 

 

[Imamom]

Hi all. I wanted to let you know how my cruise went on the Holland America Amsterdam. It went pretty well. I decided to not bring a zero gravity chair. Our room was large enough and I would have appreciated having it. The wedge really did help, although I did miss my recliner during the day as well as the night. Surprisingly, it was put under the mattress and I found that I liked it that way. They’ll put two wedges there if you want but I stuck with one. I had lots of pillows and because the bed was so wide (I swear it was wider than a king!), I could make a recliner with pillows under both arms and under my knees when I felt the need to and still leave room for my husband in the bed. I brought an ice bag, a nice gel bag that never got too hard, and ziplock bags. I never used the ziplock bags. The steward was excellent in bringing a second (larger than the regular one) bucket of ice 2-3 times a day for icing my shoulder. I found that the most comfortable place to sit was in the Crows Nest  at the front of the ship. They have a few chairs there that are padded, are slightly reclined, have a footstool, and best of all...arm rests. I also sat out on our veranda more than my husband because of the reclining chairs that have arm rests. The support of my arm/shoulder was very helpful with pain control. I wore my sling when outside the cabin and wasn’t bumped into once, even in the elevator. People were so considerate. I certainly heard a lot of “shoulder stories “. By the 10th day or so, if there was an empty chair at our table, I would place the sling there and eat with my right hand. Yay! Since we already had the cruise scheduled and paid for, it worked out okay. BUT I would wait until further along in recovery to schedule a cruise if I could. I’m currently at 3 months and wouldn’t go yet. Maybe at 6 months. Thank you all for your tips and stories