We also travel with a walker. Our strategy, wanting to make the flight, and wanting the walker to be in workable condition at destination:
I book a wheelchair for DH (walker user) from checkin to gate. And from Gate to luggage pickup and any transfers between flights. Even if he can walk to the gate, it is SLOWLY. If there is a snafu he can't run between gates! I have jogged behind the airport wheelchair person who got us from one terminal to the next after a late arrival! Without the wheelchair transport, there is no way we would have made that connection. And several others.
We do NOT turn in the walker at baggage checkin. That is asking to have it tossed into the mddle of a pile of heavy suitcases. OUCH!
DH uses the airport wheelchair. I use his walker to roll some carryon luggage to the gate. At gate we ASK politely whether the walker can be stored in the on-board closet (he uses a Drive Nitro which folds up like an umbrella stroller). 80% of the time the walker goes (safely) into the closet. If not, it gets gate checked (presumably on the top of that pile of suitcases - so less likely damaged). We bring a carry case to hold the walker if it needs to be gate checked. It's a big bag that holds the walker. Provides minimal protection from major trauma, but it does keep the walker wheels from getting entangled in baggage and bent into a "no rolling" twist.
For those that do not use walkers this may look crazy. Think about how you get your walker dependent spouse out of the airport and into town if the walker wheels are damaged and walker is useless? At least if a stroller is damaged (the other frequent gate check item), the occupant probably weighs under 50 lbs!
Note. Walkers/wheelchairs. Med devices/meds do not count towards your luggage limit. We don't check the $1000+ med supplies either. Several years ago, booking a multi-month adventure, I discovered a "cooler" that met carry-on bag dimension requirements, and could hold the med supplies.
How do you handle cruise tour days with a walker? We are cruise newbies (we took one Alaska cruise pre-walker days). We wonder whether the slower walker is a problem if we sign up for port tours.