Rental electric wheelchair

[Dancingnurse79]

I’m trying to talk my mom into going on a cruise because she really needs to get out of the house and enjoy life but has mobility issues. She has not given in to an electric wheelchair for regular use but is not opposed to it for the purpose of a cruise (she’s never been on one). We would be driving 2 hours to port but don’t have a vehicle capable of transporting a wheelchair. Does anyone have experience in this topic? Would a local Port Canaveral rental shop be able (and willing) to deliver to port or is it possible to rent through RCI?

[John&LaLa]

9 minutes ago, Dancingnurse79 said:

I’m trying to talk my mom into going on a cruise because she really needs to get out of the house and enjoy life but has mobility issues. She has not given in to an electric wheelchair for regular use but is not opposed to it for the purpose of a cruise (she’s never been on one). We would be driving 2 hours to port but don’t have a vehicle capable of transporting a wheelchair. Does anyone have experience in this topic? Would a local Port Canaveral rental shop be able (and willing) to deliver to port or is it possible to rent through RCI?

 

Several 3rd party companies rent in Pt Canaveral 

I rented one in Ft Lauderdale a couple years ago, very convenient 

Edited January 8, 2020 by John&LaLa

[Ourusualbeach]

https://www.specialneedsatsea.com/

 

they will deliver to and pick up from the cabin. 

Edited January 8, 2020 by Ourusualbeach

[maria1122]

She may like a scooter for on the ship.  Rental are available for different options.

[molsonschooner]

we used scoot around last year. Scooter was in the cabin, fully charge when we boarded. We the cruise was over we just left the scooter in the cabin. We will book them again this year.

[Clarea]

 

https://scootaround.com/en

[doug618]

Scooter is definitely the way to go. My father-in-law rents one.

 

Very easy. They meet him at the pier before boarding and he leaves it on the pier at the end and they come pick it up.

 

https://nicevacation4u.com/index.php

 

 

[flhokie]

We just got off Mariner and rented a scooter for my dad through ScootAround. This was an excellent option as they are the only vendor located in the terminal. He was wheeled upstairs to ScootAround where he got the scooter and had a short overview (do's/don'ts, etc.). When we got off, he was able to use the scooter up until the terminal exit (there was someone there to collect the scooter).

 

We chose ScootAround because of the terminal access. With the other company through RCCL, they put the scooter in your cabin and you leave it there at the end of the cruise. This means you have to get to the cabin (they'll wheel you onboard, but then your party is responsible for getting you anywhere else) and get from the cabin off the ship. 

 

We were very happy with the experience. 

[Dancingnurse79]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Several 3rd party companies rent in Pt Canaveral 

I rented one in Ft Lauderdale a couple years ago, very convenient 

And they will deliver to the port? My car will not fit us, our luggage, and a wheelchair.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, Dancingnurse79 said:

And they will deliver to the port? My car will not fit us, our luggage, and a wheelchair.

 

Yes, they actually deliver to the stateroom on the ship.

[flhokie]

21 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yes, they actually deliver to the stateroom on the ship.

At Port Canaveral, if you use ScootAround, you can get the scooter in the terminal before boarding the ship. 

[Dancingnurse79]

23 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Yes, they actually deliver to the stateroom on the ship.

That’s not very helpful if she needs help getting ON the ship. Lol

 

1 minute ago, flhokie said:

At Port Canaveral, if you use ScootAround, you can get the scooter in the terminal before boarding the ship. 

Thank you. I’ll look into that.

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, flhokie said:

At Port Canaveral, if you use ScootAround, you can get the scooter in the terminal before boarding the ship. 

 

Very nice, thanks for the info.

[flamingos]

I used Scootaround when recovering from a broken foot, because Harmony was so huge.

 

At Port Canaveral, we were met right inside the terminal; our entire party was expedited as they took me to the elevator and upstairs to get the scooter, and straight onto the ship.

 

Once on board, the room steward was awesome - showed us the best place to park in the hallway during the day for short stops back in the cabin, that would not be in the way.  Nights, we plugged it in, inside the cabin. 

 

The only issue was getting on and off ship at the ports - the gangways are sometimes unwieldy, but they have staff there to assist.  Someone was always willing to help in the Windjammer, there is plenty of handicapped seating in the theater and public spaces. 

 

When we got off the ship, they actually walked with me to the car, parked in the port garage, and drove the scooter back, so that we didn't have to leave me at the entrance to wait until I was picked up.  That was some nice service, but I don't know if they can do that for everyone.  

[molsonschooner]

1 hour ago, Dancingnurse79 said:

That’s not very helpful if she needs help getting ON the ship. Lol

 

Thank you. I’ll look into that.

if you need help at the pier, contact special needs a few weeks before your cruise. They will give you instructions on where to go to get assistance. When you get to the location at the pier someone will  meet you with a wheelchair, which they will take you through all the steps including getting you on the ship. When we cruise, we get on board as early as possible, my wife gets help and we stop at the pub. When the cabins open up, if my wife is not up to walking, one of us will go to the cabin and get her scooter and bring it to her

[Bloodgem]

Forgive  me if I'm speaking out of turn. But there is a difference between an electric wheelchair and a scooter.  If your mum is not use to using an electric wheelchair  then she would be better renting a scooter.  

[Tee & Chilli]

Do you have an accessible cabin booked?

[John&LaLa]

7 hours ago, Dancingnurse79 said:

That’s not very helpful if she needs help getting ON the ship. Lol

 

 

Ship staff will push you onto the ship in a wheelchair.

[spookwife]

12 hours ago, Dancingnurse79 said:

I’m trying to talk my mom into going on a cruise because she really needs to get out of the house and enjoy life but has mobility issues. She has not given in to an electric wheelchair for regular use but is not opposed to it for the purpose of a cruise (she’s never been on one). We would be driving 2 hours to port but don’t have a vehicle capable of transporting a wheelchair. Does anyone have experience in this topic? Would a local Port Canaveral rental shop be able (and willing) to deliver to port or is it possible to rent through RCI?

  do  you mean a true electric chair, or an ECV?  if the former, no company will rent one to her unless she owns one at home and uses daily.     the learning curve for these is very high and takes a great deal of skill.

 

 an ECV, OTOH, takes much less practice to get the basics down and she can do that at any grocery store.  

 

there are 2 company's that rent for ports/deliver it directly to the cabin. scootaround and special needs at sea.  

[royalnewbie]

Also used Scootaround for our last Disney cruise for my mother.  Her only complaint was they chair for the rental at the time you make the reservation.  No biggie really but just an FYI.

[brillohead]

6 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Do you have an accessible cabin booked?

You don't need an accessible cabin to use a scooter.  

[Tee & Chilli]

No you don’t however there is minimal floor space in a regular cabin and if someone has mobility issues accidents can occur. 
 

Also not all scooters will fit through the door and some require to be broken down in parts.

I’ve been traveling for years with my mother who has her personal scooter.

[brillohead]

3 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

No you don’t however there is minimal floor space in a regular cabin and if someone has mobility issues accidents can occur. 
 

Also not all scooters will fit through the door and some require to be broken down in parts.

I’ve been traveling for years with my mother who has her personal scooter.

All of the rental scooters will fit in the doorway of a regular room.  (If you have trouble driving it, taking the armrests off might help -- easy to do, doesn't require breaking the scooter down into parts.)

I've been traveling for years with someone who has to use an actual wheelchair due to paraplegia, and it can be difficult to find an accessible room available because people grab them up when they don't actually need them.  

[flhokie]

11 hours ago, flamingos said:

I used Scootaround when recovering from a broken foot, because Harmony was so huge.

 

At Port Canaveral, we were met right inside the terminal; our entire party was expedited as they took me to the elevator and upstairs to get the scooter, and straight onto the ship.

 

Once on board, the room steward was awesome - showed us the best place to park in the hallway during the day for short stops back in the cabin, that would not be in the way.  Nights, we plugged it in, inside the cabin. 

 

The only issue was getting on and off ship at the ports - the gangways are sometimes unwieldy, but they have staff there to assist.  Someone was always willing to help in the Windjammer, there is plenty of handicapped seating in the theater and public spaces. 

 

When we got off the ship, they actually walked with me to the car, parked in the port garage, and drove the scooter back, so that we didn't have to leave me at the entrance to wait until I was picked up.  That was some nice service, but I don't know if they can do that for everyone.  

We had pretty much the same experience with ScootAround. They offered to help my dad to the car, but we'd have to wait a while for the guy to return so he opted to go out the door the short distance to guest pickup and sit on his walker while we got the car. 

 

Being able to get the scooter in the terminal was huge! My dad is a big guy and none of us would have been able to push him in a wheelchair once onboard. 

 

 

[spookwife]

51 minutes ago, brillohead said:

All of the rental scooters will fit in the doorway of a regular room.  (If you have trouble driving it, taking the armrests off might help -- easy to do, doesn't require breaking the scooter down into parts.)

I've been traveling for years with someone who has to use an actual wheelchair due to paraplegia, and it can be difficult to find an accessible room available because people grab them up when they don't actually need them.  

Thing is, an accessible cabin won’t have that step up into the bathroom. And plenty of people need that feature even if they don’t use a mobility device .  I was on post hip replacement surgery protocols on a cruise once.. zero steps/stairs.  And yes, I had a regular cabin but I tell ya, it was probably a mistake as more than once that step gave me problems.