Wheelchairs and Tenders in the Med

[kitty9]

We're planning on booking a cruise on Celebrity for May '07. Mom will be 80 by then and we're going to take a wheelchair for her to make getting around the ports easier. Does anyone know how they handle getting people in wheelchairs on and off tenders? Mom can walk, but she has severe rhumatoid arthritis and brittle bones, so tenders can be a problem if the crew has to grab her to get her on the tenders. Anyone with any suggestions on this?

[cusyl]

They will probably each grab an arm and get her aboard the tender, unless they will also pick up the chair with her in it. I use a walker and I usually fold it and let my husband carry it, then I let them assist me aboard.

[RevSmith]

I would not let any one I loved go on a wheel chair into a tender...too many risks. Help mom on to the tender...the crew will be happy to load and unload the chair for you.

[DEL67]

Wheelchair passengers who can not walk are lifted in their wheelchair by 4 crew members down the tender stairs (unless there is a lift) and into the tender. My husband is a large man (tall, not heavy) and they never have had a problem. Of course, he does not go ahore if the water is rough. Does he like it, no. But it is the only way if he wants to go a shore at tender ports.

[Splinter]

My mother cannot walk or stand at all. We go on tenders all the time using her wheelchair. I just have to be VERY directive and specific about how to lift the wheelchair in/out of the tender, and assure that it is tied down or held manually by a crew member during the entire trip. Her wheelchair has removable arm and leg rests, which they always seem to want to use to pick up the chair. I have to show them where to lift from the push handles and frame only, as lifting other places could result in the chair being dropped. We know there are some risks, but that is what life is about when you have a major disability, and never taking any risks means missing out on too much in life.