2ptu/000

The Prime Rib pictures make me very hungry. I really do enjoy it. Actually, I enjoy anything someone else cooked for me. I eat almost everything but won't eat the escargot. Just won't eat anything I won't touch. I know it is good. My husband loves it.

I'm sure I will survive this change. You just wonder why they changed the night they serve prime rib. I will probably see if I can check out the menu's at the front desk. We will do the Pinnacle and hope for a better experience than last time. We were on time for our reservations but they made us wait maybe 10 mins while they set up a table. Then we were seated very close to a large noisy group. The conversation at that table was loud and obnoxious. Very distracting and not what you expect in the Pinnacle. My steak was very tough and nobody came back to check after it was served to see if everything was OK.

Prime rib has always been served on embarkation day. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Is it served on any particular night? My favorite meal. Trying to figure out when we are going to the Pinnacle. Don't want to schedule it on prime rib night. We are on a 14 day Caribbean cruise if that makes a difference.

The original poster indicated that the chair person can walk but not far distances. That is my situation exactly. We too take our chair with us. When arriving for departures, we load up the chair with all carry-on's, coats etc., and I push the chair like a walker to the check-in counter. A good cab driver will get you to the closest door to the airline desks. Once the luggage is taken, end of problem. On return we ask for personnel to push the chair to the luggage carrousels (carry-on's being placed on lap). And in reversing the arrivals situation we load up the chair and I push it to the taxi/land transportation which usually is nearby.

 

As indicated this works for those of us that can walk some distance but not for example through the entire airport.

Yes, Thank You! This is what we are planning on doing just need some reassurance that it would work

If you search Cruise Critic for tips in paid restaurants, you will see that it isn't considered something you need to do. You certainly may leave a tip. We don't as we only dine in the paid restaurants once a cruise. The last time we were in the Pinnacle we had terrible service. We do tip our servers in MDR the last night. If I used the paid restaurants frequently on a cruise, I would also see they got a tip the last night. Leaving the tip with the officer in charge is a good idea as you will have several people serve you during a meal.

I haven't done a transatlantic in several years. When I did, I always booked my cruise and air and then transferred to a TA. You can't do that now as you are already with a TA. I would search around on line and find flights that are acceptable to you and have your TA call HAL air and see if those are available under HAL's air plan. Then book or not according to what you want. I found the fare through HAL much cheaper for one way flights.

Thank You everyone for reassuring me.

This will be our first time traveling with my husband using a wheelchair. He can walk but not long distances. We have decided to take our own wheelchair so we will have it to use in Florida pre cruise. How do I manage in the airport after we get our luggage and need to get a cab? I can't push a wheelchair, pull two suitcases and manage two carryons. Are their porters to assist you? I've never noticed them. Previously, we have been very independent travelers. For short distances, we can put the two carry ons in the wheelchair and he can push that and I can pull the two suitcases. That will get us into the airport. Just concerned how to get to taxi area after we pick up our luggage on the way out.

Yes, my scooter is coming from Special Needs at Sea. They have been great about it.

 

Someone mentioned having someone to open the door to the cabin for me. This is my first time on Celebrity. On my Alaskan cruise I took last year (by myself) I had an automatic door that swung open after inserting my card. Hubby and I do not intend to be joined at the hip this cruise so I think I need to call celebrity and check.

 

I go back to the Pain Mgt Dr on the 14th, 2 days after I return. I called them yesterday and they told me to add Gabapentin to my daily meds of Relafen and Tramadol, 3x a day. Normally I take 2 Gabapentin just at night.

 

The muscle spasms in my legs are so awful, if this were not my husbands first cruise I would cancel. It took me forever to convince him to go. He was a Submariner in the Navy so he said his traveling days were over, but knock on wood, I hope he enjoys himself.

 

I am going to look into surgery after the holidays I have the Laser Center reviewing my MRI's now, their Dr is calling me on Dec 15th to chat about it.

 

Wish me luck, 2 more days and we are off.

Have a wonderful cruise.

I leave on a cruise this coming Saturday on the Summit and I am starting to have real concerns. I also have spinal stenosis in both the Lumbar and Cervical areas. I was diagnosed about 2.5 months ago when I got the MRI's due to increased pain for my herniated disks and nerve damage.

 

My GP is totally against all back surgery with the exception of severe cases but wanted me to see a surgeon. He did not think I was a candidate because I could still function normally , albeit the pain. So I went to the Pain Management Doctor that he recommended.

 

What a mistake. On November 9th he convinced me to get a epidural.

 

Now I can barely stand up, am in constant pain and using my heating pad constantly. My concern is that I wake up at all hours of the night in pain and I am afraid that I will ruin this cruise for my husband. This will be his first cruise.

 

I have looked over the deck plans repeatedly looking for a public area I can go to if I wake up at 2am and want coffee so not to disturb DH with the knocking of room service and can find none.

 

We are booked on the Summit next Oct for a 14 day NE/Canada cruise and the only cabin they had available was an Concierge that was not accessible and I took it.

 

Now I think I have made a huge mistake.

 

Oh, I did rent a standard scooter when we booked in the summer but that was when my only issue was standing for long periods or walking long distances. Thanks to the epidural that made me 10x worse I am going to upgrade today to a bariatric scooter if it is available. Their seats look more suitable for my needs.

I'm so sorry your pain treatment wasn't successful. Have you gone back to the pain center? They may be able to help you. This is an unusual result. If you feel you can't go back to the same doctor, go to someone else in the group.

As to your question, coffee is usually available in the buffet area of a ship all night. You could go to that area. Getting in and out of your cabin on a scooter might be a challenge without someone to hold the door. You should also have something to take at night for the pain.

Yes, this is the perfect transport chair. Just a tad pricy. It's also a little heavier than the one I bought which can't be put directly to the table but he really doesn't need that. As long as we can get to the dining room, we are OK. Their is a cheaper transport chair that can go to the table but it has smaller wheels.

Just ordered wheelchair. It was 139.00. That was cheaper than renting. I'll keep this board informed on how I like this chair. My husband won't be pushing himself.

We use a transport chair from Drive Medical - works well for our needs (my mother had a right-side stroke and can't use either her right arm or her right leg so there is no possibility of self propelling at all).

 

You're right about the bigger tires - the 12 inch tires at the back are the way to go. I also like a transport chair that has handbrakes for the pusher, makes me feel more secure that I can use them on ramps (especially helpful if you are taking someone down backwards on the ramp, it's great to apply the handbrakes to slow and control the speed).

 

I do recommend a small pillow for behind your husbands back (it makes the chair much more comfortable for my mother); we also put a pair of fuzzy socks on the foot pedals to avoid her foot slipping off (and it's nice when she's not wearing shoes because the plastic is ridged and so with the socks on the pedals, it doesn't dig into her feet).

 

We've also had a chair from Mediline that worked well (almost the same specs as the Drive Medical brand).

 

We also prefer the nylon upholstery over the fake leather-ette.

Yes, this is what I'm looking at. Thanks for recommending it

Thanks Theresa, A rollator walker is a good idea but to tell the truth I'm really tired of walking and then stopping for him to rest his legs and no sooner getting started again and we have to stop again. It just took us so long to get anywhere on our last cruise. Scooter is another good idea but I'm afraid he would run it into people. Yes, really! I'm looking at a transport chair with 12" rear wheels. It weighs only 19 lbs. Our cruise is in Feb. I'll post how I made out when we return.

My husband and I both like the Montepulciano from the Canaletto. We have fixed dining. Are we really causing the wine steward a lot of extra work if we tell him the first night we would like to have it available in the MDR? Do you think they are able to get a bottle from the Canaletto and keep in where they get wines for the MDR? We do tip them well at the end of the cruise.

We've done two transatlantic cruises in Oct. Try to figure out where the Sun will be. It will be warmer in the mornings on that side of the ship. Question is do you want morning sun or afternoon sun and sunsets. If it isn't a lot of money go for the veranda if just for the sunsets. It's also nice just to be able to open that door and feel the temperature to know how to dress in the mornings.

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate you taking your time to try to help me make this decision.

I don't think a scooter is a good option for my husband. I'm afraid he would be driving it into people.

No we don't have a handicapped cabin. Don't need it at this point. He can still climb into a tub.

He wouldn't qualify for a regular wheelchair through our insurance. He just gets so tired walking down those long hallways and through the airport.

I need something light that I can get in and out of my car easily as I anticipate using this go to the mall, etc.

Cruise is still several months away so still thinking about my options.

I just want to hop in and share my experiences with a transport chair. To start with I compared all the prices, sizes and varieties of lightweight wheelchairs on 1800wheelchair.com. Since I would be the only person hauling it around I wanted it as small and light as my daughter would fit in. The chair I bought weighed less than 20 pounds, and folds down very easily. To make it more comfortable I also bought a 2" thick gel cushion, made by Drive. The smaller size wheels on our chair do have disadvantages, so 12" might work better. Also, the breaks are at the bottom, back wheels. Hand breaks would make a huge difference. Almost forgot, it was just over $100.

 

Now for getting around with it. (My daughter weighs near 200 pounds.) We wheeled all over Boston; up Beacon Street in front of the Statehouse, yes up the hill, don't ask how we ended up starting from the bottom. Then along cobblestoned Freedom Trail, all around and through Boston Common and the Public Garden, not to mention the North End and the Harborwalk. We hopped on and off the trolley, well I hopped while my daughter carefully climbed up and down the trolley steps. In restaurants with limited space my daughter would transfer to a chair, and the wheelchair got folded up out of the way.

 

This chair has made getting through the airport so much easier. TSA always has an extra look over the gel cushion, but it always makes it through. My daughter can walk, so she goes through security and the chair gets pushed through by itself. The only difficulty we had was on threshholds, the smaller wheels are a bit of a challenge. Southwest Airlines stored it in the back of the cabin, so I didn't have to worry about it getting bashed up in the hold.

 

We made multiple trips to Boston for medical visits over four years. This chair and the cushion are still in good working order. Is this the most comfortable option? Not at all, but it allows us to do what we need or want to do when traveling.

 

You need to go with what works best for the two of you, so you can enjoy your cruise to the fullest possible extent.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

This was very helpful. Nice to hear a success story.

I can't answer your question but I can tell you that HAL mattress are very comfortable. A step above what you would expect. That will also provide you will an egg crate topper. As a former nurse, I can tell you the egg crate might be warm and cause you to sweat and stick to the sheets which can tear delicate skim. Just letting you know it is available.

I have a manual wheelchair that weighs only about 25lbs with the wheels on. It is a TiLite ZRA series 2. I have a rigid model, but there are ones that fold and allows the rear wheels to come off just like on mine. This chair according to my 72 year old mom, pushes easily with my 200+ lb butt in it.

This would be a great wheelchair to have but really expensive. I'm really just looking for something to use while cruising and when he has to walk long distances.

Still trying to figure this out.

Thank You for your responses. Still not sure what I need. I really need something lightweight. I don't see a regular wheelchair that comes close to being as lightweight as a transport chair. My husband wouldn't push himself. At least, he won't at this point. He uses nothing at this point. No cane, walker or rollator. He just can't walk the distances on the ship comfortably. I also have a small trunk due to my car being a hybrid. A regular wheelchair with big wheel would never fit in there. I appreciate all of your thoughts on this purchase.

About to buy a transport chair to take on our next cruise for my husband who just can't walk any distance. Any suggestions? I know larger wheels on back are preferable. How large? 8" OK or should I make sure I get 12"? Weight is very important as I will be lifting it. Is it important to have recessed armrests or will a regular transport pull up to a table comfortably. He is particularly weak in the evenings so I think I will just push him up to the dining room table. All suggestions appreciated.

Thank you morriscats.

I am just like your aunt. Back pain and bad knees but a wheel chair scared me and embarrassed me. I just stay home, order groceries, etc. We just got back from a cruise and hubby insisted we take a transport chair. That chair saved me. The walking to embark and debark alone would have been impossible. And I was not embarrassed. We came home and I realized I am too young (67) to just sit home and have ordered an electric wheel chair (Geo Cruiser) in bright red that folds up and can go in the car trunk. Next stop Disneyland with the grandkids.

Was the transport chair easily pushed while on the ship? Did the carpet make it difficult? What size wheels on your transport chair? Thinking about buying one for my husband but just not sure. Thanks for your help.

Interesting the Prime Rib was on the third night instead of the first. It's my favorite meal.