Disembarkation and Six Hours before airport

[catnanny]

Hi! My friend and I will be sailing on the Pride of Hawaii on November 13th. She will have a rented wheelchair which will be in our hotel room for our three day stay in Honolulu. We'll take the wheelchair onto the ship with us and the rented scooter will be waiting for her in our cabin.

Can anyone help me figure out the answers to some of my questions? *Since we'll be leaving the scooter and the wheelchair in the cabin when we leave the ship, is there a wheelchair on board that can be used to help get her off?

*We disembark in the morning, but don't have to be at the airport until about 3PM. We can find things to do for those hours, and my friend will have her walker with her. *But, what can we do with our luggage? *Does anyone know if US Airways has an "Easy Fly" plan that could make our luggage "disappear" for the day and already be checked in at the airport for us?Paying for this service would be no problem if it could make this problem go away.

If anyone has ever traveled alone with someone who needs much assistance, they know what I say when I say how hard it is to have to do all the rental car, luggage-carrying, etc., plus take care of the person who can't do everything for themselves. My friend really appreciates all that I have to do, and I don't mind doing it. But if there is any shortcut that can help smooth things a little for us, I'd appreciate hearing about it. We could just go directly to the airport, but sitting there for seven or eight hours before our flight sure is a waste of time when you have all those hours to see beautiful Hawaii.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Catnanny

[Splinter]

My advice would be first to take a rented manual wheelchair with you instead of renting in Hawaii. This way you have it to use at the airport both coming and going, and you can use it for the hours you have in Honolulu before your flight. There is no charge to gate check a wheelchair, and you will also have a chair that you know. You never know what you are getting with a rental. The ship will have chairs to get you off, but you may have to wait as they are shared.

 

It is rare now days that you can send your luggage ahead of you to the airport, as you generally must be with your luggage for security reasons. I would recommend taking a cab or shuttle to the airport as soon as you get off the ship, then check your luggage, and then take a cab from the airport to do a few things in Honolulu.

[catnanny]

Thank you for your response. I think I would like to take a wheelchair from home. Sometimes in the airport, they are really good to push her in an airport wheelchair, but often, they will say they need to take the wheelchair with them, so they just plop her in a seat near the gate. If she needs to use the restroom or would like to got get a drink, or whatever, it is extremely difficult. She can use her walker, but it's hard when the place is crowded and where she needs to go is farther away. If I go with her to help, then we have to take all of our things with us, lose our seats, etc.. I've also read on these threads that a lightweight, travel wheelchair is better. I also think we should try that. We just spent a week, kind of a trial trip, and that wheelchair was very heavy to lift up into the trunk. I am not elderly, but I do have two artificial knees, and lifting that wheelchair took alot of effort.

 

I've mentioned these things to my friend and she is thinking about them. I believe that she has already paid for the wheelchair and the scooter for ship. They should be there when we arrive. I wonder if she could cancel the wheelchair and get a refund?

 

Thanks again. Catnanny