Back-pack fold down wheelchairs?

[kdinkus1]

I will be cruising in Jan and am trying to find a small scooter/wheelchair allowed by Carnival? I have had back surgery and by then... Both hip ball joints will have been replaced. I do not want to rent a big, electric wheelchair because they are difficult to maneuver in crowds as well as in the cabins. Nor do I want a standard-size 'push' chair because my DH has bad knee/calf problems. Pushing me for an extended piece of time could prove difficult for him. I have found some smaller upright electric ones that can be folded down to a back-pack size but have no idea whether these would work... Does anyone have one and is it worth the money? Any advice or suggestions (please) would be welcomed!

[meatloafsfan]

Sorry, we don't use anything like that - for my mother we use a folding wheelchair. We bring our own transport chair and then usually rent a full sized chair on the ship from one of the recommended partners (care vacations, special needs at sea).

 

Have you thought about renting something to be waiting onboard for you instead of purchasing? You could get one that meets your needs and is appropriate for your height and weight; it would be a good way to try one out before making a purchase.

 

Also, do you have an accessible cabin? The door width of a regular cabin is quite small compared to the width of most scooters or electric wheelchairs. If you don't and need the accessible features (like the roll in shower with a shower chair, the wider doorways, the automatic door opener), I highly recommending contacting Carnival now. Even if all of the accessible cabins appear to be booked, they are sometimes booked by someone not needing them who can be moved.

 

If you use a PVP, they may be able to help with that - otherwise, I recommend talking with the special needs team directly. Just a regular phone person will probably tell you that all of the accessible cabins are booked and there's nothing they can do for you.

[jorezba]

We bought a Luggie of craigslist. I searched for over 2 moths for one since new they are like $1999. Got off CL for $300. It folds up and fits in the truck of a car, weighs about 40 lbs total. It is supposedly the only electric chair that is allowed to drive onto a plane. It will fit in a NON handicap room easily. It took my wife a little while to get used to it, but now she loves it. Its great not having to take a van everywhere (her large, heavy chair is in there) and just pop the little sucker into car and go. This will be our first cruise using it this September on the Dream. Should do just fine once onbaord, but wont be able to take it offroad to some of the excursions, but just getting away will be enough for us!:)

[SadieN]

The Disabled Cruisers board has lots of info.

[summersigh]

You can get assistance from CCL staff embarking and disembarking. They will provide a wheelchair and a "pusher" for you. You must provide your own wheelchair once aboard. There are rental companies that will have a chair ready and waiting in your cabin.

 

Copied from the CCL FAQ page:

 

Wheelchair Assistance at Embarkation/Debarkation

 

All guests requiring wheelchair assistance must enter the embarkation lobby where one of our team members can assist you. For assistance with debarkation, instructions on where to meet can be found in the FunTimes the last evening of the cruise.

 

Note: Wheelchair assistance is not available in visiting ports of call.

[kdinkus1]

Thanks for the replies... I appreciate everyone's input!

[mistshar]

I will be cruising in Jan and am trying to find a small scooter/wheelchair allowed by Carnival? I have had back surgery and by then... Both hip ball joints will have been replaced. I do not want to rent a big, electric wheelchair because they are difficult to maneuver in crowds as well as in the cabins. Nor do I want a standard-size 'push' chair because my DH has bad knee/calf problems. Pushing me for an extended piece of time could prove difficult for him. I have found some smaller upright electric ones that can be folded down to a back-pack size but have no idea whether these would work... Does anyone have one and is it worth the money? Any advice or suggestions (please) would be welcomed!

 

I am not sure which small electric wheelchair you are referring to but I just ordered the EZ Lite Cruiser and received it a few days ago. It is small and easy to operate. It weighs about 50 lbs with the battery. You don't need to take anything apart. It just unfolds and folds up. It was really hard to get it folded and unfolded at first but it is loosing up and getting much easier.

 

I plan to use it on our next cruise in April. By then I should be familiar with it. It was kind of expensive though but I decided to go for it since my husband is no longer able to lift anything too heavy. He can handle this though.

 

Hope you are able to find you something. Have a great cruise!

[Mary Ellen]

We have a Solax Mobie for DH. It is also one piece, folds to about the size of a suitcase. DH drives it up to the door of the plane. We do fold it up for gate checking. Weighs about 54 pounds with the batteries. The size is excellent for fitting in a standard cabin.

[mistshar]

We have a Solax Mobie for DH. It is also one piece, folds to about the size of a suitcase. DH drives it up to the door of the plane. We do fold it up for gate checking. Weighs about 54 pounds with the batteries. The size is excellent for fitting in a standard cabin.

 

That looks like a really nice scooter and easy to handle. I didn't want a scooter because I thought I might have trouble getting on and off of it. I am able to walk but not very far at a time and have trouble going up steps.

 

I'm glad you are happy with the scooter. It is nice to have a lighter weight on and when it folds not take up too much room.

 

I didn't notice if you were going on a cruise but if you are "Have a great one". Hope your DH enjoys his scooter.

[cruisin0218]

I have been in the process of researching this and am placing an order for the Travelscoot. It weighs 37 pounds. If I remove the battery it weighs 32 pounds and if I pull off the seat (which is very easy to do) then it weighs about 27 pounds. It will fold down to about the size of an umbrella stroller. I have talked with people who own it and read reviews of many travelers who use it and the reports are very positive for all kinds of travel including cruise ships. It is 23 inches wide so folks say it will roll into some standard cabins but sometimes you have to tilt it slightly to the side to access a regular cabin. No problem with a handicapped cabin. It seems to also be welcome by most standard cab drivers and aboard tenders if you are able to walk down the ramp to the tender. If you cannot walk down the tender ramp then the rules for other scooters apply and if the sea is rough you may not be able to tender. It can also be ridden to the plane at the airport and checked at the gate like they do for strollers. The web site is http://www.travelscoot.com I made this decision because I would like to be able to handle it on my own without having to rely on my husband and I can walk and stand on my own just have increased back pain if either is done for a long time. Best of luck in your search.

[kdinkus1]

Thanks for all the comments, advice, and names of brands. I have narrowed it down to a couple right now so we'll see.

[sippin-time]

We bought a Luggie of craigslist. I searched for over 2 moths for one since new they are like $1999....

 

$300 used on CL....that's a great price for a Luggie!! They are normally very expensive (as you mentioned). How do you like it? My DH was going to get one for me but I disuade him due to the cost. Hope you get many fun mileage on that special scooter:p

Edited July 29, 2015 by sippin-time

[jpcello]

My sister has a Luggie and loves it. She was lucky to get hers new last year. She can even get it into and out of her car by herself. She travels some by air and hasn't had too many issues (Delta did break a latch but they also fixed it for her). Its great on the cruise - we were on Allure last year and we had no issues. Wish it had a little more storage. We've rigged a small backpack to the back of the seat. Her old scooter had a basket, which the Luggie doesn't have.

[cjankowski]

Just wanted to mention that if you have a mobility / medical supply store near by, you can see if they have any that you could look at or try.

 

We did this and we are going to be renting one for my husband for a week, very cheap :). We usually do handicap room and he just takes his full size scooter, but this time around we do not have a handicap room, so we wanted to get a small travel scooter that would fold up nice and fit in our tight space, so we opted to rent a small fold up travel scooter and it will also give him a change to try it out for a few days to see if he likes a smaller one.

[tiadog]

We are taking our first cruise in 22 years. We will be on Celebrity in September in the Mediterranean. It is also the first since my husband had a stroke and is right side weak. We have just bought a Luggie to take but we also have a Pride Gogo sport travel scooter that can be taken apart. Trying to decide which to take. I thought the Luggie would be good for getting off the ship and excursions because it is lighter and folds in a second. The Gogo however is way more comfortable and I has more power and might be better for those rougher pavements. Would love to bring both ...and his chair but can't do all. Has anyone had experience with off the ship and how non accessible tours might work with the scooters??

[tiadog]

We will be taking the Luggie on our Mediterranean cruise in September. Not far off. I have been trying to decide what kind of tours to take. I would like to take private rather than cruise excursions. Any tips?

[jorezba]

$300 used on CL....that's a great price for a Luggie!! They are normally very expensive (as you mentioned). How do you like it? My DH was going to get one for me but I disuade him due to the cost. Hope you get many fun mileage on that special scooter:p

Love it! We went to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. The only port we did not go to was Belize (due to inablilty to get on tender, steep steps). Was able to move around the ship fantastically, no issues whatsoever. Only caveat since we were at front of ship, on the 11 deck, had to go down 3 steps to the room from the deck...thank god that chair is fairly light..i would have DIED if that was her at home chair!!!

Next cruise is Jamaica (meh), Grand Cayman and back to Coz. Hopefully we can get off at Grand Cayman and swim with the Rays!

[Id rather be diving]

My husband has a Luggie as well. We used it all over our European ports last fall. Cobblestone streets and all. The only place that he had a problem was at the Forum in Rome. The stones are quite large and are far apart so the spacing made it impossible to use. Other than that we used it everyday for three weeks on and off the ship. If you are going to use private excursions just make sure in advance that they have room in the car/van. We only had one issue in Livornio, Italy, but we got it worked out. We love our Luggie! One of the things we love most is that he can get down the hallway even if the steward's cart is out in the hallway. He can just scoot around it. Additionally, you don't need a handicap room for this scooter. Yes the handicap room is easier, but if you can't get one as they are limited, you can make it work in a regular room. We've even used it in an inside room without any issues.

[tiadog]

Thanks. We did buy a Luggie and love it too. Even got through Ephiseus with it! Now we have booked our next cruise on Oceana Sirena in September and that's the scooter we are taking again. I also use it at home to cart around in our SUV instead of a wheelchair. Much more freedom for both of us.

[GillCC]

My husband has a Luggie as well. We used it all over our European ports last fall. Cobblestone streets and all. The only place that he had a problem was at the Forum in Rome. The stones are quite large and are far apart so the spacing made it impossible to use. Other than that we used it everyday for three weeks on and off the ship. If you are going to use private excursions just make sure in advance that they have room in the car/van. We only had one issue in Livornio' date=' Italy, but we got it worked out. We love our Luggie! One of the things we love most is that he can get down the hallway even if the steward's cart is out in the hallway. He can just scoot around it. Additionally, you don't need a handicap room for this scooter. Yes the handicap room is easier, but if you can't get one as they are limited, you can make it work in a regular room. We've even used it in an inside room without any issues.[/quote']

 

Beware - some cruise lines require scooter users to book an accessible cabin EVEN IF it will foot through the door of a standard cabin. Check the small print as they can deny boarding

[twiggycat]

 

Can you say which cruise lines?

[easyboy]

We have a Solax Mobie for DH. It is also one piece, folds to about the size of a suitcase. DH drives it up to the door of the plane. We do fold it up for gate checking. Weighs about 54 pounds with the batteries. The size is excellent for fitting in a standard cabin.

Thanks for the info.

[xxoocruiser]

 

Can you say which cruise lines?

 

You would have to check directly with each cruise line but its my understanding that it's been posted on this forum that:

• P&O only allows mobiity scooters if the passenger is booked in an accessible cabin
  
• due to limited accomodations and accessibility mobility scooters are not suitable for river cruises
  
• Viking Ocean Cruises prohibits mobility scooters and allows only folding/colapseble wheelchairs.
  

[GillCC]

You would have to check directly with each cruise line but its my understanding that it's been posted on this forum that:

• P&O only allows mobiity scooters if the passenger is booked in an accessible cabin
  
• due to limited accomodations and accessibility mobility scooters are not suitable for river cruises
  
• Viking Ocean Cruises prohibits mobility scooters and allows only folding/colapseble wheelchairs.
  

Pretty sure Cunard and celebrity as well as P+O require scooter users to book accessible cabins. For the Brits - Thompson also requires this