Scooter vs. Wheelchair

We are taking a Mecican Riveria cruise over NYE this year. Perusing the shore excursions almost all of them state "No Wheelchairs". Does this includes scooters? Folding scooters? Folding wheelchairs?

An example of one excursion is a glass bottom bottom boat.

Right now I'm planning on renting but May have to buy my own before then.

Thanks

I would call the excursion dept of the cruiseline Every tour is different

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We are taking a Mecican Riveria cruise over NYE this year. Perusing the shore excursions almost all of them state "No Wheelchairs". Does this includes scooters? Folding scooters? Folding wheelchairs?

 

An example of one excursion is a glass bottom bottom boat.

 

Right now I'm planning on renting but May have to buy my own before then.

 

Thanks

Scooters , including folding scooters are allowed only if the excursion specially states such items are acceptable. The excursion bus generally has no place to store a mobility scooter whether it folds or not. The glass bottom boat is not accessible by a wheelchair or mobility scooter.

For a list of the wheelchair/scooter accessible tours you need to contact the Special Needs Dept. of the cruise line.

For some boat trips they will store your scooter where the boat departs if they can. It is impossible to generalize. You have to talk to the cruiseline about each excursion individually

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As a rule, if the description states "no wheelchairs," it probably includes steps (and possibly narrow or unpaved trails that a wheelchair or scooter could not manage). If you could walk up and down steps and have someone to push you and manage the wheelchair or folding scooter, you might possibly arrange for an exception. Since it is unlikely that any one person could get a standard scooter up and down steps, you probably wouldn't be able to use that. (Those things are HEAVY! If you travel a lot, definitely investigate the folding scooters before you buy anything. My Triaxe Sport is only 53 lb including battery.) The glass bottom boats I have been on had steps to get into the boat and then a few steps to get down into the viewing area, and most definitely did not have room for a wheelchair in the viewing area. Norwegian's excursion descriptions are a model of what information should be included; if they indicate it is accessible, they give a very specific description of what the cruiser needs to be able to do.

This is just general information to give you an idea of what to expect. For information on why any particular excursion prohibits wheelchairs, as others have said, you should call the cruise line or tour provider. I also recommend you really think about which would be best for any particular excursion. For instance, on our upcoming Alaska cruise, I plan to take my folding scooter to Mendenhall, as I've researched the trails and there are several I should be able to scoot on (which saves my poor husband's energy and back). But for our 8-hour Yukon excursion, I'm only going to take the wheelchair. It's more comfortable to sit in for long periods than the scooter and mostly we will be looking out coach or railcar windows. DH will only have to push me for short distances in Carcross.

We always found a manual wheelchair best met our needs when ashore in Mexico. Many areas are not ramped or have no curb cuts, many stores and restaurants have 1-3 steps to enter. We could bump up a curb or a couple steps (with 2 people helping) in the manual wheelchair (a Quickie 2) in places where we never could get to with a power wheelchair. In addition, taking a manual wheelchair with quick release wheels was much easier in cabs and to get and out of non-modified toilet spaces (modified toilet rooms are rare in Mexico). We saved the power wheelchair for use on the ship only.

There are a couple of companies in PV and Mazatlan that offer private hire of a wheelchair lift van for tours. There is also one in Cabo, but since that is a tender port, you would have to be able to walk on/off the tender yourself, and they will take only a manual wheelchair most often.

I know I will need a scooter for stamina. I have a pinched nerve in my back that has not gone away in 10 months. Not quite bluntly but between the lines, the neurosurgeon I saw at home said he would not recommend surgery unless it is done at Indiana University. I'm already hooked up with them for liver cancer and possible transplant. Last May I had a liver resection that became very complicated and ruined a planned trip to Alaska last summer and this summer. Its possible this all becomes moot anyway. I see the transplant doctor today for a 1st interview, next Friday a cancer treatment, and the neurosurgeon on Monday,

I cruise with my sister. She has MS and another physical disability -- she walks with a cane full time, and uses a Luggie when traveling. We have gone on a number of "non accessible" excursions over the years. She can walk up and down steps, and if needed I can fold and carry the scooter. There have been a few times where we were able to leave the scooter with the shore excursion people. If it gets to be too much, she'll simply stay on the bus or find a place to sit and relax. I'm very careful about excursions - I always book the "mild" or "easy" excursions. I would say 99% of the time we have been successful.

bdcbbq,

Generally No Wheel Chairs also means no scooters too. The issue is usually that the tour cannot accommodate the storage/movement of the wheel chair or scooter, OR the people using them will have difficulty with the tour OR both. You may have to arrange your own tours in those ports. Call the special needs department of the cruise line and ask about accessible tours.

Good Luck and let us know what you found out!

But do call the excursion provider. Often there are features that are required (legally?) before an excursion can be listed as accessible. We are off to Alaska next month and I have discovered that many providers have their ways- helping to make available their excursions to those with mobility problems. We have been able to book float plane trips, for example, although they are not listed as accessible. I would strongly suggest talking directly with the provider to see what they are able to do.