River cruises and scooters

A friend recently asked me about river cruising for those who need a scooter to use for walking tours /excursions. He would use a walker on the ship, so is not completely scooter-bound, but feels like longer distances would be a problem. Anyone have first-hand experience in this area?

On our Scenic South of France cruise last year one fellow passenger had a mobility scooter that he only used off the ship he was amazing the places he got to you would not believe. It was charged in reception when not in use. CA

Some river cruise lines do not allow mobility scooters so you will need to check with the cruise line. Also keep in mind that in Europe there tend to be a lot of steps and rough (cobblestone roads and sidewalks) so access will not be as one is used to in the US.

There have been a few threads about this:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2229485

http://="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2388572

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2264986

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2383843

Just be aware of some issues.

On my CroisiEurope cruise along the Seine one of my table companions used a sccoter off the ship. Onboard it was left close to reception to charge. The crew carried off for him and on return he just left it at the gangway and crew returned for him. I think he managed to cover more ground than I did during the week.

On a Viking Elbe River trip, one of the passengers had a scooter that the crew carried from the ship and placed in the luggage bin on the tour bus for excursions. That was great service that must have been prearranged. It was recharged in the lobby and took a lot of space in that tiny room. The scooter had wide tires that seemed to work well on cobblestones. She was from England so getting the scooter to Germany was a lot less complicated than from North America.

On a Viking Elbe River trip, one of the passengers had a scooter that the crew carried from the ship and placed in the luggage bin on the tour bus for excursions. That was great service that must have been prearranged. It was recharged in the lobby and took a lot of space in that tiny room. The scooter had wide tires that seemed to work well on cobblestones. She was from England so getting the scooter to Germany was a lot less complicated than from North America.

Interesting that the crew would carry the scooter to and from the ship.

The following is from their terms and conditions:

DISABLED/PREGNANT PASSENGERS

You must report any disability requiring special attention while on your Viking itinerary to Viking at the time the reservation is made. All vessels and motorcoaches are equipped to European standards. Most transportation services, including the vessels and motorcoaches, are not equipped with elevators or wheelchair ramps. The Carrier will make reasonable attempts to accommodate the special needs of disabled travelers, but neither we nor the Carrier are responsible in the event it is unable to do so nor are we or the Carrier responsible for any denial of services by vessel operators, air carriers, hotels, restaurants or other independent suppliers. We regret that the Carrier cannot provide individual assistance to a passenger for walking, dining, getting on and off vessels, motorcoaches and other vehicles, or other personal needs. A qualified and physically able companion must accompany passengers who need such assistance and must assume full responsibility for their well being. The passenger assumes the full risk of use and of any prohibitions imposed by vendors. Motorized scooters are not typically suitable on international cruises and cannot be accommodated. The Carrier reserves the right not to accept passengers who are in an advanced state of pregnancy either upon commencement of or at any time during the trip.

I was surprised when I saw this, being familiar with their terms and conditions of travel. I was also pleasantly surprised that accommodation was being made for someone whose only impairment was limited mobility. (The passenger was able to walk without the scooter on the ship.) Maybe this was the result of special negotiations/contract with Viking.

All the terms and conditions promise is that they do not provide that service so you have no recourse if they do not. It sets expectations. It does not say or mean that the crew is prohibited from helping especially where I am sure good tips are involved

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I was on the Danube, Avalon cruise from Budapest to Neurenberg/Prague and had a walker. My walker is a trionic veloped from Sweden and is wonderful for cobblestones, etc. When we had to dock next to a viking ship, we had to go upstairs to get to our ship, a crew member was waiting for me to carry my walker up and over for me. Many times they were waiting for me to return to assist me. I just had to keep the walker in my cabin which made it tight.

The only problem I had was with a tour guide in Prague. She was so nasty to me because I had a walker. Since we had headphones for the audio tours, I could hear everything she said and another fellow passenger said - that I was holding up everyone. Excuse me but there were at least 6-9 people always behind me yet I was to blame. She took every staircase there was to go someplace and never showed me a way around. At the end, not only I and my cousin complained to our cruise director (he asked us to write a letter) but 6 other passengers complained about this woman. Luckily I was changed to another tour guide the next day. I've never been treated that way and was in tears. Europe is not handicapped accessible, some won't or will refuse to help you and others just about fall over themselves to help you.

I'm sure you'll find out that the crew on the river ship will be most helpful. But make sure there is an elevator (only fits 1 person with a walker) that goes to your cabin level. A scooter shouldn't stop him from taking a river cruise!!

Linda