Scooter and handicapped accessible balcony cabin

[PattiHere]

This is the first time we are reserving a handicapped accessible cabin. My husband will be using a scooter. Where do you keep a scooter in the cabin? Does it sit in the middle of the cabin or is there an area off to the side? Where do you plug it in? Is there a special outlet?

 

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[laurac22]

What ship will you be on?

[PattiHere]

We will be sailing on the Allure. Sorry I forgot to put that in my post.

 

Also, forgot to ask about the MDR, can the scooter be taken in there or does my husband have to walk to his table. He can walk short distances.

[laurac22]

We were just on the Oasis in a accessible balcony cabin. My son is in a wheelchair. There really in no special place to put the scooter. You just have to kind of get it a little to the side out of the way or in next to the bed. If you don't mind my asking, how is your room set up? Do you have a pull out sofa bed in your cabin? How many people will be in the cabin?

[PattiHere]

It will just be my husband and myself. I think there is a sofa, not sure if it is a sleeper though.

 

We are cruising with my daughter and her family, they will be on the same deck, but on the other side of the ship.

[laurac22]

It will just be my husband and myself. I think there is a sofa, not sure if it is a sleeper though.

 

We are cruising with my daughter and her family, they will be on the same deck, but on the other side of the ship.

We just had a serious problem with our accommodations on Oasis, and I just wanted to make sure you would not be in the same boat (no pun intended) as us. If it is just the two of you you will be just fine. You can also enter your cabin number into a search site and you will most likely find video or pictures of your cabin. That might give you an idea of where you might park the scooter. I hope you have an amazing vacation with your family!

[PattiHere]

Thank you Laura. It has been a difficult year for my husband, so this is going to be a special cruise.

[cb at sea]

An accessible cabin is larger than a standard cabin of the same catagory....you should have space to park the scooter out of the way.

[laurac22]

Thank you Laura. It has been a difficult year for my husband, so this is going to be a special cruise.

I'm sorry to here that your husband has had a bad year. I'm sure the Allure will be just what he needs after a tough year.

 

I think you will find the ship for the most part very accessible. You will most likely encounter problems in the cabin hallways with carts and food trays that may make it difficult to get through. We found that it was just easier to go through Central Park deck 8 or Promenade deck 5 to get to the opposite end of the ship. Also if you have heard on here about the secret public decks on 12 and 14 there is at least one step to get up on each. Just wanted to give you a little heads up on a few things we encountered.

[jebl]

DH and I had an accessible cabin on the allure 6636. He could ride the scooter over near the balcony, make a u-turn and park opposite the bathroom door. Plenty of room. At night if ou need to charge the battery just move it closer to the outlet on the vanity. Our scooter has an attachable battery so I just take it off the scooter and put it on the vanity then plug it in.

 

Don't worry, those rooms are plenty big enough for the scooter. My DH is also able to walk short distances. Sometimes, depending on the location of our table in the MDR, he would ride the scooter to the table and the waiters would then park the scooter. They are all so nice about it and very helpful.

 

Have a great cruise, you will love the Allure.

[PattiHere]

Thank you Jebi, your information helped so much. This is all new to us and we weren't sure about the cabin or MDR.

 

Thank you Laura for telling us how to get from the front to the back on the ship, and for the heads up on the cabin hallways.

 

I booked a cabin that is right by the front elevators, I hope it will be okay. I thought it would be easier for my husband. He has never needed a scooter before, so this will be new for him. At home he has been using a walker, but he doesn't walk long distances with it.

 

We will be renting the scooter, and requesting assistance at the pier. This will be a new way of traveling for us, this first time will be a learning experience.

 

Also thank you cb at sea. I have been trying to find pictures of the accessible cabins, just to have an idea what to expect.

 

Thank you everyone for your help, you have made it a lot easier for us.

[ryano]

. I have been trying to find pictures of the accessible cabins, just to have an idea what to expect.

 

.

 

Here are pics of a Boardwalk accessible balcony cabin pics that I found for you. I would think the accessible oceanview balcony cabins are very similar

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=38303642

[funfamilyof6]

Here is a youtube video of an Oasis handicapped accessible balcony cabin # 9162 posted by musicorn in a different thread.. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time and that everything works out well with the scooter!!! :)

 

[HarleyDad13]

Patti,

 

We are headed out on the Freedom of the Seas in 18 days. Mom's health has gone drastically downhill over the past year so we can empathize with you. She has moved in with my wife and I and my wife is now a fulltime caregiver. My wife spent 25 years as a police officer so it's nice to finally have her home. Long story short, I am blessed to have the two greatest women of my life living under one roof.

 

Now, whiping the tears from my eyes, the cruise was Mom's ideal. She has limited mobility around the house, but depends on a wheelchair when we leave. She is also on oxygen 24/7. Mom wanted to "see the ocean one more time" (we hope more than this one more time but....). The biggest challenge has been watching Mom lose her independence. It crushes her every day.

 

Knowing the limitations involved, we discussed an interior Accessible Room that was a few doors down from our Stateroom. But surprisingly Mom said she wanted the Junior Suite with balcony right next to us. The surprise was primarily because of the cost difference - nearly $1,500. I believe the exact words were, "why not? what the heck!"

 

So, planning this cruise has been rather hectic on me. I'm not complaining at all but I am wanting EVERYTHING to be just perfect for my Mom, my wife (first time cruisee), and our kids. Just today we opted to go ahead and rent a scooter ourselves. I must admit that this is most likely the smartest decision that we have made for this cruise. Mom can easily navigate the ship on her scooter anytime she wants. She won't feel like a burden to us, and we can still have a clear conscience knowing that she is taking care of herself.

 

I don't know why I'm compelled to tell you all of this. I don't know that I've really helped you any either. But know that your husband loves you dearly and the scooter is an excellent decision for you and him.

 

Happy cruising to you and yours!

 

Joey

[berylde]

RCL has a Special needs Department. Tel: 866-592-7225

 

Also, about a week before sailing, I e-mail http://www.rcldining@rccl.com and request a table by the entrance of the dining room. It can be tricky driving the scooter between tables to get to the rear of the room. My husband drives up to the table and the staff help him to the table and then take the scooter away.

[funfamilyof6]

Patti,

 

We are headed out on the Freedom of the Seas in 18 days. Mom's health has gone drastically downhill over the past year so we can empathize with you. She has moved in with my wife and I and my wife is now a fulltime caregiver. My wife spent 25 years as a police officer so it's nice to finally have her home. Long story short, I am blessed to have the two greatest women of my life living under one roof.

 

Now, whiping the tears from my eyes, the cruise was Mom's ideal. She has limited mobility around the house, but depends on a wheelchair when we leave. She is also on oxygen 24/7. Mom wanted to "see the ocean one more time" (we hope more than this one more time but....). The biggest challenge has been watching Mom lose her independence. It crushes her every day.

 

Knowing the limitations involved, we discussed an interior Accessible Room that was a few doors down from our Stateroom. But surprisingly Mom said she wanted the Junior Suite with balcony right next to us. The surprise was primarily because of the cost difference - nearly $1,500. I believe the exact words were, "why not? what the heck!"

 

So, planning this cruise has been rather hectic on me. I'm not complaining at all but I am wanting EVERYTHING to be just perfect for my Mom, my wife (first time cruisee), and our kids. Just today we opted to go ahead and rent a scooter ourselves. I must admit that this is most likely the smartest decision that we have made for this cruise. Mom can easily navigate the ship on her scooter anytime she wants. She won't feel like a burden to us, and we can still have a clear conscience knowing that she is taking care of herself.

 

I don't know why I'm compelled to tell you all of this. I don't know that I've really helped you any either. But know that your husband loves you dearly and the scooter is an excellent decision for you and him.

 

Happy cruising to you and yours!

 

Joey

 

Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. The Freedom of the Seas is an outstanding ship (our favorite) and your mother is going to have a great time along with the rest of your beautiful family! ;)

[cindytx3092]

We were on the Allure on deck 12 in an accessible room. It was myself, my sister and our Dad who uses a scooter. Our bathroom was by the cabin door. He would ride it in and like another person stated, make a u-turn and park it by the wall, by the balcony door. He would charge the battery using a plug on the vanity in the room. At night there was plenty of room with the small sofa opened.

 

In the dinning room, they knew he was going to be on a scooter and there was no problem with him riding it in and then walking to the table.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[Havin'fun]

Here is a youtube video of an Oasis handicapped accessible balcony cabin # 9162 posted by musicorn in a different thread.. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time and that everything works out well with the scooter!!! :)

 

 

We were on Oasis in January and the stayed in the cabin in the video #9162 It was at the front elevators, very easy access and a wonderful cabin! DH parked the scooter against the right wall, right by the balcony window. Very easy to recharge it there and with the size of the room, the scooter was never in the way. There was plenty of room to turn it around and get out of the room.

[PattiHere]

Wow, thank you everyone for all your wonderful replies, stories, links and support.

 

Thank you ryano for the link, it was great!

 

funfamilyof6, our cabin is going to be 9162 on the Allure!!!! :-) I just booked it today. Thank you for the video!

 

Joey, thank you for sharing your story with me. I just lost my mother last month, she was 88. She always wanted to go on one last cruise, but the end of last year we found out my husband was very sick and never had the chance do that last cruise with her. I feel the same as you when I see my husband, he is depending more and more on me, he is use to taking care of me, so I know it is hard for him. I can understand how your mother-in-law is feeling, and she is blessed to have you and your wife in her life. Have a wonderful cruise!

 

berylde, the cruise representative I spoke to today was extremely helpful, already set up assistance for my husband when we arrive at the port, Ft. Lauderdale. We are cruising with my daughter and her family, she is doing MTD, so not sure how that works. My DH can walk a short distance, so we could park his scooter outside the dining room if they let us do that and walk to a table if it is nearby.

 

Thank you Cindy for your reply and suggestion about parking the scooter in the cabin, and using the scooter to get to the table in the dining room.

 

This will be our first cruise where my husband will need assistance, it is so new to us and each of you have made our concerns not feel so overwhelming. Thank you to each and everyone of you for your replies, they have helped more than you could know.

[berylde]

It looks as if you haven't been to "Special Interest Cruising" on Cruise Critic yet. Lots of good tips there

[PattiHere]

It looks as if you haven't been to "Special Interest Cruising" on Cruise Critic yet. Lots of good tips there

Thank you beryide, I haven't been there, will check it out! :-)

[Welovetokruze]

Patti,

I have been using a scooter for the last 10 years on our cruises. RCI is very perceptive of the difficulties we face and is very helpful. The cabin attendant will get you a extension cord ,if you want one, so you can park it in a corner. I have done that for every cruise we have been on with my scooter. Have a good trip and enjoy it !

Glenn

[jebl]

Patti,

 

Knowing the limitations involved, we discussed an interior Accessible Room that was a few doors down from our Stateroom. But surprisingly Mom said she wanted the Junior Suite with balcony right next to us. The surprise was primarily because of the cost difference - nearly $1,500. I believe the exact words were, "why not? what the heck!"

 

Joey

 

Does your Mom have an accessible JS? The regular JS has a bathtub which has high sides like the European style. That is why we never booked a JS. Even before DH started to use a scooter he couldn't get in and out of the tub.

 

Just an FYI.

[HarleyDad13]

Does your Mom have an accessible JS? The regular JS has a bathtub which has high sides like the European style. That is why we never booked a JS. Even before DH started to use a scooter he couldn't get in and out of the tub.

 

Just an FYI.

 

That's a great point and a rather "sore spot" with us too. We were aware of the high sides of the bath tub and felt reasonably well prepared to address it. I am not one to complain too much, but you bring up a valid discussion point. The "Accessible Seas" brochure on page 9, provided by RCI, specifically offers equipment such as a "Shower Stool" and "Transfer Bench". However, when we requested the "Transfer Bench", we were told it was not offered out of this port (Canaveral). We could "rent one" from a local vendor, but that was going to cost ~ $80. Let's just say that I wasn't impressed with the response. Why list the equipment if you are going to tell me it isn't available?

 

Long story short, Mom is assisted by my DW and is still able to maneuver the bath, just a little more carefully than her younger days. We will put a chair or even the Shower Stool next to the bath to make the transition a little easier.

 

Lesson learned - just because it's in the pretty, shiny brochures doesn't make it fact either. We have simply learned to be prepared. If nothing else, I can always lift her into the bath! LOL. Trust me, I've done similar things when going up and down stairs. People simply don't understand or comprehend the challenges of those that have mobility challenges.

 

Thanks for your words of advice too. Our best to you and your DH!

[HarleyDad13]

And no, we don't have the Accessible JS. We quickly found out that the Accessible Staterooms go rather quickly, plus they limit our options too. Regardless, we strive to make Mom as comfortable as we can at all times. I must admit that we are extremely fortunate that Mom is not completely immobile. However, her primary disability is in the form of severe COPD which basically limits her on everything. She is short of breath by just standing up. We hope the sea air opens her up and she (and we) have a wonderful vacation.