Renting a scooter for a cruise

Does anyone have any experience with renting a handicap scooter for a cruise? I am planning a cruise with my mother who has issues walking because of vascular issues with her legs. I want to rent a scooter for her to take on the ship. Has anyone done this before. We are considering sailing out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale. If that helps. Can a scooter fit through a regular stateroom door or do we have to try and book an accessible room?

We have rented power chairs for my mom in Miami. Contact Special Needs at Sea. They will deliver to either the terminal or your state room, and pick it up from the same place. You need to book an accessible room because you cannot leave the scooter in the hallway (its a hazard in the unlikely event of an emergency), and you need to charge it every night.

Carnival works with Scootaround and SpecialNeedsatSea. If you rent from them, they will deliver it to the room and you leave it there at the end of the cruise. Carnival offers wheelchair assistance for boarding and debarking.

From what I understand, the regular sized scooter will fit through the door of a regular cabin; however, you will want to validate this. Get the dimensions from the rental company. Doorways to regular cabins are 22" wide, but the door itself takes up 2" of that space, leaving 20" of navigable space available.

Your other option is to rent from a company locally and transport it to the cruise with you. This is sometimes a less expensive option. Again, you will want to check the dimensions of the scooter.

SOLAS regulations require that assistance devices not be stored in the hallways and must be stored in the rooms. This is not a Carnival "rule," but a regulation that they are required by law to follow.

I have first hand knowledge and can share. My mom needed a scooter for our last cruise. When I added her to my cabin there were no accessible cabins left. Scootaround rents scooters that will fit into a regular cabin, they're called transportable electric scooters. We had a balcony cabin but I do believe all the regular door widths are the same size.

It's a VERY tight fit getting it in and out, mom couldn't get it into or out of the cabin. It had to be perfectly aligned with the opening and had to go straight back when leaving the cabin. There wasn't enough room to turn around in the cabin. I tried.... haha... almost got stuck. But after a few bangs into the frame (no one saw us do it so it didn't happen) I got a focal point where I needed to be aiming. Needless to say I became an expert at the end of day 7 and wanted to buy one just for the fun of it :):cool::cool:. I had the cabin steward remove the coffee table so it had a parking space each night.

When we boarded I could not for the life of me get the thing started so I called their 800 number. Seems you can't leave the powering cable attached to the scooter when you want to drive it :)

The crowds around the shops weren't friendly enough for her to get into so she had to bring her cane and walk to the shops. The handicapped seats in the main theater were always taken so we skipped the shows. We had YTD so they seated us on the ground level but she had to walk to the table. I assume that others that are complete immobile would have their scooter parked for them after seating.

We did take the scooter into all the ports, even the tender one. The tender crew was very helpful getting her and the scooter on and off.

One thing that might save you some money... the credit card she paid for the scooter with had damage coverage included as a perk of the card. She only had to buy cancellation insurance.

If you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them. OH and one word of advise... be patient when it comes to the elevators. We had people jump in front of us many times making it impossible for us to get in. Find out where your muster station is and get there before they start the announcements. We had to wait over 20 minutes to get an elevator.

My experience was on the Dream out of NOLA in Nov 2017.

I have first hand knowledge and can share. My mom needed a scooter for our last cruise. When I added her to my cabin there were no accessible cabins left. Scootaround rents scooters that will fit into a regular cabin, they're called transportable electric scooters. We had a balcony cabin but I do believe all the regular door widths are the same size.

 

It's a VERY tight fit getting it in and out, mom couldn't get it into or out of the cabin. It had to be perfectly aligned with the opening and had to go straight back when leaving the cabin. There wasn't enough room to turn around in the cabin. I tried.... haha... almost got stuck. But after a few bangs into the frame (no one saw us do it so it didn't happen) I got a focal point where I needed to be aiming. Needless to say I became an expert at the end of day 7 and wanted to buy one just for the fun of it :):cool::cool:. I had the cabin steward remove the coffee table so it had a parking space each night.

 

When we boarded I could not for the life of me get the thing started so I called their 800 number. Seems you can't leave the powering cable attached to the scooter when you want to drive it :)

 

The crowds around the shops weren't friendly enough for her to get into so she had to bring her cane and walk to the shops. The handicapped seats in the main theater were always taken so we skipped the shows. We had YTD so they seated us on the ground level but she had to walk to the table. I assume that others that are complete immobile would have their scooter parked for them after seating.

 

We did take the scooter into all the ports, even the tender one. The tender crew was very helpful getting her and the scooter on and off.

 

One thing that might save you some money... the credit card she paid for the scooter with had damage coverage included as a perk of the card. She only had to buy cancellation insurance.

 

If you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them. OH and one word of advise... be patient when it comes to the elevators. We had people jump in front of us many times making it impossible for us to get in. Find out where your muster station is and get there before they start the announcements. We had to wait over 20 minutes to get an elevator.

 

 

My experience was on the Dream out of NOLA in Nov 2017.

Awesome thank you so very much for this very infomative post. My mom has gotten to be a pretty good scooter driver so hopefully she wont have any issues on the ship..

Can she leave the scooter outside the dining room? She is fine to walk to the table its just long distances she has trouble with. She uses her cane for shorter distances.

Awesome thank you so very much for this very infomative post. My mom has gotten to be a pretty good scooter driver so hopefully she wont have any issues on the ship..

 

Can she leave the scooter outside the dining room? She is fine to walk to the table its just long distances she has trouble with. She uses her cane for shorter distances.

You're welcome. I know when I was researching I had a hard time finding any info so I like to share.

I did not see any scooters outside the dining room. They had an area by where the waiters bring in the food from the galley. The person seating you will show you where to put it.

Enjoy your cruise!!

You're welcome. I know when I was researching I had a hard time finding any info so I like to share.

 

I did not see any scooters outside the dining room. They had an area by where the waiters bring in the food from the galley. The person seating you will show you where to put it.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

Did they deliver it to your cabin? Sorry lots of questions? And thanks again

Did they deliver it to your cabin? Sorry lots of questions? And thanks again

Yes they did. It was inside and waiting for us when we boarded. At the end of the cruise you just leave it in the cabin and they take care of it.

No worries on the questions, I know it can be confusing when info is hard to find. If you have any more let me know

Oh and the lido buffet waiters are fantastic.... they'll help her get her food, take it to a table and get her a beverage. My mom became very spoiled LOL

Why not just buy a scooter? You can get them often for around $600 to $700 if you shop around. The question always pop into my head that if you need it on the ship, than why wouldn't it be useful other places in life? We use our scooter all over the place that requires long walking. We actually own two. One heavy duty one we use local events, that does extremely well over uneven terrain etc,($649.00) and the other, which is more expensive at $1500.00 is designed for the traveler. Fold up, light weight, fits in trunks of cars, weight is 54lbs, can get through any cruise ship door, easy to travel with at airports etc.

I had the same experiences as the others when we sailed with Disney. :)

I rented ours from a FL based company who has an outlet in San Diego.

I'm happy to read that CCL puts them in the cabins.

DCL did not. I had to go to the passenger services deck to get the key, then go to another deck where they all were stored.

Good for CCL.

Patti

Look on the Disabled Cruisers board about motorized scooters. Not all scooters are narrow enough for regular Cabin doors and must be stored inside the cabin.

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Why not just buy a scooter? You can get them often for around $600 to $700 if you shop around. The question always pop into my head that if you need it on the ship, than why wouldn't it be useful other places in life? We use our scooter all over the place that requires long walking. We actually own two. One heavy duty one we use local events, that does extremely well over uneven terrain etc,($649.00) and the other, which is more expensive at $1500.00 is designed for the traveler. Fold up, light weight, fits in trunks of cars, weight is 54lbs, can get through any cruise ship door, easy to travel with at airports etc.

I will bring this up to her. She can't handle lifting it herself but as much as she has spent renting in various places it may be time to buy 1. I wonder how much extra it costs to fly with it?

You gals are lucky!! My hubby won't Gert me a scooter for a cruise. After all the Hassel from walking people he's afraid I'd run someone over!! Just be careful of people stopping for no reason. I use a regular wheelchair for cruises. I bought a scooter from a friend for $500. Just got lucky! I'm going in October on the horizon. Have a great cruise! Don't forget break horn!! I've used care vacation for years and haven't had any problems

I will bring this up to her. She can't handle lifting it herself but as much as she has spent renting in various places it may be time to buy 1. I wonder how much extra it costs to fly with it?

It costs nothing extra to fly with it. DH has taken his on three RT flights now. All medical equipment rides free. You right it right up to the jetbridge, then they will take it and stow it under the plane. When you land, they will bring it to you there. Just make sure that you alert the airline that you will be bringing it. There are different rules about different types of batteries, but all can fly.

Awesome thank you so very much for this very infomative post. My mom has gotten to be a pretty good scooter driver so hopefully she wont have any issues on the ship..

 

Can she leave the scooter outside the dining room? She is fine to walk to the table its just long distances she has trouble with. She uses her cane for shorter distances.

Yes the scooter can be parked outside the dining room. Suggest you read my Post in this thread for many helpful hints including the dining room. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2593511

I had the same experiences as the others when we sailed with Disney. :)

I rented ours from a FL based company who has an outlet in San Diego.

I'm happy to read that CCL puts them in the cabins.

DCL did not. I had to go to the passenger services deck to get the key, then go to another deck where they all were stored.

Good for CCL.

 

Patti

CCL does not put the scooters in the cabin . The approved CCL rental company actually does it. It should have been the same way if you rented from SpecialNeedsatSea or Scootaround which are Disney's approved vendors. Disney may not allow that or the scooters were boarded late and there was no time for the vendor to deliver all scooters to the cabins.

I will bring this up to her. She can't handle lifting it herself but as much as she has spent renting in various places it may be time to buy 1. I wonder how much extra it costs to fly with it?

They fly for free. My mil flys a lot for personal and Work and has never been charged

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I will bring this up to her. She can't handle lifting it herself but as much as she has spent renting in various places it may be time to buy 1. I wonder how much extra it costs to fly with it?

I will just chime in here. There is no extra charge to fly with a scooter or any mobility device. It is stored free of charge.

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First...THANKS to everyone on their great advice about scooters! We were on the Koningsdam for a Thanksgiving cruise and rented a scooter. When we originally made the reservation we thought that my husband would have no trouble with the cruise so we booked a regular veranda. However as life goes he was advised by his doc to stay off his foot as much as possible so I rented him a scooter. When we arrived at the room the scooter was in the hallway and it didn't take us long to figure out why....because of the placement of the bed it was very difficult to get the scooter around the bed. (There was no way to drive it around the bed even if it had fit through the door.) It did work out OK as I was able to move it around by putting it in "neutral" and removing both the seat and the battery. We stored it in pieces in the cabin since he didn't need it all the time. I have had much practice with getting the scooter in and out of our PT Cruiser (taking the scooter apart) so that was a help. My husband is experienced driving it and fortunately he could walk when needed. He didn't want to take the scooter we own on the cruise so we rented one. We didn't have trouble in the dining room as my husband could walk to the table. Sometimes he would take it to the Lido and just park it and I would get food for both of us. We did not take it off the ship as he didn't want to. We tried to pick excursions that didn't require much walking. Hope things work out. Barb

I have cruised 7 times and I always rent a heavy duty scooter from SpecialNeedsAtSea.. they have been wonderful.. they have it in my cabin waiting for me when I get there. And YES YES it is STRONGLY recommended that you get an accessible cabin.. you must store the scooter in your cabin. .and these cabins give you the space you need. Just saying..

We cruised on Grandeur of the Seas a year ago and rented a scooter for my husband. When we arrived at our cabin, it was waiting in the hallway and the steward informed us that we could leave it in the hall during the day and at night (he asked what times we thought we would be in the cabin and back out in the morning) he took it somewhere and charged it. It showed up, every morning, outside our stateroom, all charged up and waiting for us. Whenever there was an issue with the scooter at ports, the cruise staff helped us out with moving it. All in all, it was a great experience. Since we also had a manual wheel chair with us, I was glad we didn't have to pull it into the stateroom!

We cruised on Grandeur of the Seas a year ago and rented a scooter for my husband. When we arrived at our cabin, it was waiting in the hallway and the steward informed us that we could leave it in the hall during the day and at night (he asked what times we thought we would be in the cabin and back out in the morning) he took it somewhere and charged it. It showed up, every morning, outside our stateroom, all charged up and waiting for us. Whenever there was an issue with the scooter at ports, the cruise staff helped us out with moving it. All in all, it was a great experience. Since we also had a manual wheel chair with us, I was glad we didn't have to pull it into the stateroom!

Though the steward told you that the scooter could be left in the hall during the day and at night he was in direct violation of RCCL's Policy as well as SOLAS (Safety if Life at Sea) regulations that ALL cruises must comply with. The scooter MUST be stored in the xabin regardless of what a cabin steward tekks you. Storing it in the hallway impairs the safety of others trying to move about in the hallways and can prevent others using any type of mobility equipment to safely move past the scooter. In the event of an emergency your scooter in the hallway could means the difference between how many passengers live and die. T

RCCL's polciy copied directly from the website:

• Assistive devices including mobility scooters must be stored and recharged in your stateroom so fire doors, corridors and elevator lobbies are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When parked throughout the ship, they must be parked out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers.
  

Whenever I see a scooter left in the hallway, I contact Security and have it removed. I wait to make certain it has been removed. Luc

"RCCL's polciy copied directly from the website:

• Assistive devices including mobility scooters must be stored and recharged in your stateroom so fire doors, corridors and elevator lobbies are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When parked throughout the ship, they must be parked out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers.
  

Whenever I see a scooter left in the hallway, I contact Security and have it removed. I wait to make certain it has been removed."

Kudos to you xx00cruiser. It's sad that the cruise line staff leave it up to passengers to get the rules enforced. I surmise that the staff are so afraid receiving less than a "10" that they are reluctant to enforce anything anymore, and thus you see Chair Hog Bullies reserving loungers for the day, rude people knowingly butting in line, and feral children on the loose.

If I can't get an appropriate response on-board for the fire safety hazard of mobility devices parked in the corridors, I send a letter to the president of the cruise line at the conclusion of the cruise and list the names of whom I contacted regarding the hazard and who failed to take action. In my most recent letter to the head of Celebrity, I informed him that because of known on-board complaints and my post-cruise letter, he was assuming full, personal responsibility for allowing known fire and safety violations to exist.

What did you know and when did you know it, Mr. CEO?

I will bring this up to her. She can't handle lifting it herself but as much as she has spent renting in various places it may be time to buy 1. I wonder how much extra it costs to fly with it?

From what I unserstand, it doesn't cost anything to fly with a scooter, ADA rules. I don't know first hand, but this is what I have been told. We just got my Mom a Transformer scooter that folds manually or with a remote that comes with it.

From what I unserstand, it doesn't cost anything to fly with a scooter, ADA rules. I don't know first hand, but this is what I have been told. We just got my Mom a Transformer scooter that folds manually or with a remote that comes with it.

What you've been told is incorrect . It's the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 and not ADA that applies.