Handicapped boarding question

[nuekruizer]

Going on a Summit cruise from Cape Liberty with my scooter. I hear that after getting thru the terminal, you take a bus shuttle to the ship. How then are wheelchair folks transported to the ship? Do they put your chair into the bus? Do crew members help you board into the ship. Those ramps into the ship are often steep and difficult to negotiate. Thanks

[inforem]

We were on the summit July 24 and my mom needed assistance. They were great. They wheeled her from the terminal, put her on the shuttle bus, had another chair waiting at the ship, and then had a crew member bring her all the way up to the buffet. Each person who assisted her got a tip as they ALL did a job well done.

[Leo41]

I sailed on the Summit on 7 August, and I need wheelchair assistance to board and disembark. This is all handled superbly by Celebrity in Bayonne.

 

The shuttle bus has a ramp for wheelchairs that I'm sure can accommodate a scooter as well. I agree that the gangplank can be steep, and if you're not comfortable, I'm sure that you can board with a wheelchair and have a crew member take the scooter onboard for you---just ask.

[Leesie6351]

Celebrity actually has a requirement that the Crew MUST actually take wheelchairs and assist scooters up/down the gangway because it is steep and has wooden bars across it at intervals. I need wheelchair assistance just in the terminal and getting on/off the ship. My husband tried to do it himself and several ship's staff ran over, grabbed the wheelchair from him and explained it was a rule that no one other than an X employee could hold the wheelchair for safety and liability issues. The same applied in the MDR-waitstaff had to take me from entrance to our table when seas were very rough and I took the wheelchair out of fear of falling. I saw waitstaff assisting scooter passengers.

 

hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise.

[nuekruizer]

Thank you. Thats good to know. On my last two Carnival cruises my travel companion and I struggled to get the scooter up the gangway. I got out and pushed it up the ramp several times. No staff seemed anxious to assist.