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On Board Electric Scooters?


rjac

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Next April, my brother in law and his wife are going on a cruise with us on the Allure and she has some mobility issues (can't walk very far or for a long period of time). So, I'm recommending he rent her an electric scooter. I saw some on the Serenade this past Feb. and I'm wondering if anyone here has any experiences with the Special Needs Group or Care Vacations? They seem to be the two biggest providers of these scooters. Thanks! 

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1 minute ago, SFLcruiser said:

no experience with those rental companies, but both my parents and my brother in law are bringing their own scooters on board Allure next month. They keep the scooter in the room with them and just rearrange the furniture.

I imagine two scooters in one room is going to be a tight fit.

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An accessible cabin wouldn't hold two scooters. The cabin is larger but only for one scooter.

I have used Special Needs at Sea several times and the scooter is in your cabin when you get on board and you leave it in the room when your cruise is over. The  ruise line will not be responsible for the scooter.

A word of advice, 99% of the time you can't get the scooter off of the ship in port. The crew is not allowed to assist you getting off and if the gangway is inclined up then down while getting off, the scooter will not go up the gangway.

If it is a tender port can't use a scooter.

Candie

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Hi.  My mom used a scooter on Anthem of the Seas from Special Needs at Sea.  Very easy process - scooter was in her cabin when she arrived and she left it there when she disembarked.  She did not have an accessible cabin, so it was a very tight fit for the scooter, but it worked.

My mom thankfully did not have any problem taking the scooter into ports (Labadee, San Juan, Bermuda).  But this was on Anthem not Allure.  There was a slight incline/decline on the gangway, but the scooter did not have a problem at all (though my mom is pretty small).  Be aware that on the return to the ship from port, though, you will likely want to walk through the metal detector separate from the scooter.  My mom is pretty mobile and only needed the scooter for long distances, so it wasn't a problem, but I've read on other posts it can be a hassle if you can't walk through the metal detectors to reboard the ship and sometimes have to wait a long time for someone to hand-scan you.  But it sounds like your brother-in-law's wife is in a similiar situation (trouble walking long distances), so it shouldn't be a problem.  As previously noted, no scooters for tender ports, but you don't have to worry about that because I'm pretty sure Allure has no tender ports (too many guests).

Also, on the Anthem, I "reserved" a space for the scooter on a port day that my mom did not want to use the scooter by telling guest services.   Specifically, in St. Maarten, we had a bus tour, so she was able to leave the scooter on level 2, walk off, hop on a cart to the parking lot ($5) and she was all set.  I think most major ports have carts/transportaion to get you from the ship to the main area where tours start.  But again, let guest services know before hand - they have only limited space for scooters to "park."  Not sure if it's the same deal on the Allure, though.

Overall, most of the ship was accessible and accomodating.  Scooters are certainly not unusual, and sometimes quite numerous, so RC is pretty good with handling guests with special needs, regardless of which ship.

I'm sure you all will have a great time!

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1 hour ago, SFLcruiser said:

they do it...they pretty much can't use the couch and stack the tables 

Just to clarify my question, my sister in law will be the only one using an electric scooter so there will only be one in the cabin. My question was "has anyone here has any experiences with the Special Needs Group or Care Vacations"? Thanks.

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As an added comment to my post, they can be quite expensive. I have rented three times and each time the price was different, leaving from the same port, Fort Lauderdale and same amount of days, all 7 day cruises. On the first rental is was around $150, the second was $170 and the third was about $150. But the peace of mind it gave me was worth every penny.

Another piece of advise, make sure to leave it in the room when you disembark the ship on the last day. My last cruise in March several passengers had Special Needs scooters and brought them to the wheelchair assisted disembarkation, they thought they could use the scooter to get off the ship. The officer with Royal told them they had to bring them back to their cabin because Royal wasn't responsible for the scooter and couldn't guarantee they could get it back to the cabin for the passenger. I wouldn't want to receive a letter from Special Needs telling me they never found their scooter.

Candie

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Haven't had to rent a scooter, but our son uses a wheelchair and can't walk at all. Never had a problem getting him off at a port, (even a tender port)  and Royal always insists on helping him off. Have seen MANY scooters get helped off in port,  even a couple weeks ago on Allure they were taking scooters onto the water taxis in St  Marteen. Enjoy your cruise. 

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