Accessible Transportation in Fort Lauderdale

[TheDMan]

My wife and I both use scooters and need accessible vans or shuttles in Fort Lauderdale. We are staying the night before our cruise and the night after. Does anyone know of a company in FLL that has accessible transportation?

 

I contacted a limo company and they said that their vans were not accessible. I asked this question in a thread in the Port of Call section but no answer.

[Arwenmark]

I am sure someone else will chime in here but my answer would be to take two accessible cabs. You would also have to have the hotel call you two in the morning to get to the ship etc. you could use one for transport of one scooter and luggage and the other to transport you and your wife and the remaining scooter. I have actually done this myself. Helps if it is the same cab company.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

I would let your t/a handle it. If the hotel your staying in provides free transportation for a/b peopole they have to proide it for w/c users. If youdon't have an agent call the hotel and asak them who they use and call them and arrange a ride and keep the reciept. When you check in ask for reimbursement. I find the best thing to do is to make arrangements with the same driver to take you to the ship the next day that should be on the hotel as well ask the driver for the price so you can get that from the hotel as well. Make arrangement with the same driver for transportation to the airport when you get back. Tip him well and he will be there. They have quite a few accessible vans but big demands on cruise days. Most of the vans are mini vans. Enjoy your cruise. I hope you picked a W/C friendly cruise line.

[Splinter]

I agree. Stick to a hotel that provides shuttles for their guest, if possible to the airport and the pier. If they do this, they are also required under the ADA to provide accessible transport to you (at no additional cost) and your wife if you request it, even if they have to contract this out to another company. You may need to speak to the manager or even sometimes to the corporate office of the hotel chain to get this set up, but it is your right. Get this arranged well ahead of time.

 

A TA might take some of the load off you if they know what they are doing, but you can do it yourself too (we do it all the time).

[TheDMan]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a TA, I like doing all the booking myself :). We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, so Ill be talking to them about transportation. I think that they do have a shuttle, so Ill make sure they are HC accessible.

[Arwenmark]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a TA, I like doing all the booking myself :). We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, so Ill be talking to them about transportation. I think that they do have a shuttle, so Ill make sure they are HC accessible.

 

Just be aware as stated in other posts that if they provide free shuttle service to any guests they HAVE to provide it to you, most hotels don't have accessible vans and so that is what they tell you, that they don't have them, period. AT THAT POINT you ask for the manager and explain that you fully understand the Dept of Transportation regulations related to ADA compliance and they you are sure they know they MUST provide this service.

 

Usually at that point they will back down and agree to call you and pay for an accessible cab. The trouble comes from the fact that you must prepay the cab yourself then get a receipt and give it to the hotel which if you are not returning is pain, so get the manager's name and address of hotel and send the receipt directly to him there, unless the hotel prearranges something for payment with the cab company.

In any event it will not be automatic and you will have to be the one to stay on top of the details, and do not assume anything, do all this in advance, verify when you arrive, for the trip to the pier, and remind them again close to time you need cab etc.

 

I hope your hotel will be one of the few that DO have accessible van and that it is working, and they know how to operate it, I have run into both those situations as well.

Good luck with it all.

[Arlened236]

We went on the Coral Princess last Feb. it left from Ft Lauderdale..I use a w/c. We stayed at the marriott Springhill suites the night before the cruise left. They provided an accessible van (no charge) with our room, to take us to the ship the next morning . If we wanted to come back to the hotel after the cruise there would have been a charge. The accessible room was very good with a roll in shower and we even had a free breakfast the morning of the cruise.

We found this hotel very good when leaving from FLL.

[COTINGEY]

KUDO'S to the Springhill Suites Ft. Lauderdale in Dania Beach. We made our reservations with Springhill Suites and subsequently faxed them a letter telling them our DD was confined to a wheelchair and we needed to take advantage of their free transportation to Port Everglades. The next morning we received a telephone call to get a few more specifics and within the hour we were told that they had arranged for wheelchair transportation and would pay for it since their van could not accommodate us! WAY TO GO!

 

In direct contrast was the Crowne Plaza, West Palm Beach. We called and asked them about transportation from the airport to their property on 2/19/10. The desk clerk said they had no way to accommodate us. When pressed, he gave the name of the front office manager whom I faxed due to the lateness of the day. The next day she called and said that her general manager advised her to tell us that they would sent the “bell staff” to lift DD into their van and stow the wheelchair in the back. When advised that this was unacceptable, she offered the numbers of wheelchair transportation companies that we could contact and pay for. When advised that if they provide free transportation to and from the airport, they must do so for all she had me call the general manager. He told me that he was not required to have a lift on his van and my reply was that he was only required to provide free transportation as stated in their ad, to and from the hotel. He replied that he didn’t think that he was required to do that. I subsequently left a message for the area manager, then I called customer relations at corporate. They agreed that the property did have to provide transportation to and from the airport at no cost. She called the property and he was given 48 hours to get back to us to tell us what arrangements he has made. If not we are to contact corporate again.

 

Thanks to all who posted on how to get this done. Without your information we would have never known about the requirement that free transportation be free for all. Or we would have just arranged it ourselves once the property told us that they didn’t have a wheelchair lift.

Robyn

[Winks]

Ft Lauderdale has to be one of the worst ports for the disabled - including the airport and its staff. For the hotels, do not even waste time going through the local front desk to arrange transportation- go direct to the corporate offices and start there. Accept no excuses or run arounds - ask for names and id numbers for everyone you talk to. Have them fax or email confirmation of your conversation. My DW has been in a wheelchair for 11 years and I have become a very squeaky wheel - but it gets results.

 

Best ports or other for the disabled - London Heathrow, Cancun, British Airways, Southwest Airways, Carnival Cruise Line, Phoenix Sky Harbor, San Diego, Dover, Chicago Midway, Dominica, Old St Thomas terminal

 

Some of the worst - Ft Lauderdale, US Airways, Princess Cruise Line, Miami, Vancouver, Boston, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara area, Chicago O'Hare, Orange County (John Wayne) Airport, New St Thomas terminal

 

The above just represents our experience. YMMV. I really appreciate Carnival requiring some level of proof that a HC is required. Also, the staff on Carnival is fantastic about assisting in any way they can. Princess just gives HC to anyone who asks and the staff on board makes little effort to assist.

[Charleyann]

We are being picked up for $15 per person at our hotel in Ft Lauderdale and they are scooter acessible. My 13 year old son uses a scooter!

 

Charleyann

[montgomeryfamily]

Winks, do you have any suggestions for hotels which provide accessible transportation to the port?

[Winks]

We stayed at Candlewood Suites for 1 night and they did provide an accessible transport, Unfortunately, they messed up the reservation and we ended up without an accessible room. It's easier to list the ones we have stayed at who haven't (Holiday Inn, Comfort Inn, Marriott). Ft Lauderdale is so frustrating that we are going out of Tampa next January - the big plus is Southwest goes to Tampa; I refuse to EVER fly US Airways again - they have to be the worst for handicap. It was satisfying though to force the US Airways compliance officer to come from home to SkyHarbor to resolve the issue of handicap seating on the plane (ME: "Aren't you supposed to have a compliance officer on site at all times?" THEM: "We know of no such requirement, sir." ME: "May I use your phone to call the FAA office." THEM: "We will contact our compliance office, sir.").

 

My best advice...contact the hotel property's corporate office BEFORE your stay. Go up the chain of command and take down names and get an email from them.