Disabled Passenger Cruising

[TillyBiewer3]

Hello everyone, we have cruised with RC about 8 years ago and loved it, however my husband had a stroke 3 years ago which has left him using a powered wheelchair. Since then we have cruised with Fred Olsen directly from Belfast (we live in Northern Ireland) which meant just driving to Belfast and taking the wheelchair onto the ship. but we have now booked with RC which involves flying from Dublin to Barcelona and we are a bit apprehensive about the flight etc and how we get from the airport to the liner..

The chair needs to be lifted on a hoist as it weighs 72kg so would not be suitable for a regular coach. Can anyone else give me any advice or has anyone had experience of this. Thank you

[Clarea]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would also post on the Spain Ports of Call forum, to get visibility by those who are very familiar with the local area:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=596

 

Good luck!

Edited March 30, 2016 by clarea

[cb at sea]

Also, post on the "Cruising with a Disability" forums here...those folks KNOW what they're talking about...and many travel all over the place!

[TillyBiewer3]

Also, post on the "Cruising with a Disability" forums here...those folks KNOW what they're talking about...and many travel all over the place!

 

Thank you

[xxoocruiser]

Hello everyone, we have cruised with RC about 8 years ago and loved it, however my husband had a stroke 3 years ago which has left him using a powered wheelchair. Since then we have cruised with Fred Olsen directly from Belfast (we live in Northern Ireland) which meant just driving to Belfast and taking the wheelchair onto the ship. but we have now booked with RC which involves flying from Dublin to Barcelona and we are a bit apprehensive about the flight etc and how we get from the airport to the liner..

The chair needs to be lifted on a hoist as it weighs 72kg so would not be suitable for a regular coach. Can anyone else give me any advice or has anyone had experience of this. Thank you

 

You should first begin by contacting RCCL's Special Needs Department to determine if its transport buses used to/from the airport /port have an accessible lift. If not than there is only one taxi company in Barcelona that has vehicles equipped to service non-folding wheelchairs and scooters.

 

You can reserve a taxi up to three months before needing the service if you like. This company transports foldable wheelchairs as well as scooters. They do not have a group service because they only work with cars, not vans. Please find the contact details of Taxi Amic below:

 

Taxi Amic S.L.

Carrer Taulat 24

08005 Barcelona

Spain

Tel: +34 93 420 8088

 

Note I have never used this company so cannot answer any other questions about its service.

Edited March 30, 2016 by xxoocruiser

[payitforward]

All of the above suggestions are great. I would also recommend a website called Gimponthego.com. It have a ton of great resources for special needs travel.

[Anywhere]

Hello everyone, we have cruised with RC about 8 years ago and loved it, however my husband had a stroke 3 years ago which has left him using a powered wheelchair. Since then we have cruised with Fred Olsen directly from Belfast (we live in Northern Ireland) which meant just driving to Belfast and taking the wheelchair onto the ship. but we have now booked with RC which involves flying from Dublin to Barcelona and we are a bit apprehensive about the flight etc and how we get from the airport to the liner..

The chair needs to be lifted on a hoist as it weighs 72kg so would not be suitable for a regular coach. Can anyone else give me any advice or has anyone had experience of this. Thank you

 

My husband also uses a power wheelchair at home. For cruises, we leave the power wheelchair at home and use a foldable push wheelchair. This transports easily for air travel, night before hotel and getting onto the ship. We reserve a power wheelchair from Special Needs, which is waiting for us in our stateroom. Works for us. Confession though, on our last cruise, I forgot the footrests for his push wheelchair. Not good, he had to lift his legs, but he obliged. Sigh...

 

Sandy

[oldguysandgalls]

Hello everyone, we have cruised with RC about 8 years ago and loved it, however my husband had a stroke 3 years ago which has left him using a powered wheelchair. Since then we have cruised with Fred Olsen directly from Belfast (we live in Northern Ireland) which meant just driving to Belfast and taking the wheelchair onto the ship. but we have now booked with RC which involves flying from Dublin to Barcelona and we are a bit apprehensive about the flight etc and how we get from the airport to the liner..

The chair needs to be lifted on a hoist as it weighs 72kg so would not be suitable for a regular coach. Can anyone else give me any advice or has anyone had experience of this. Thank you

 

One of us is also disabled and here's what we do:

We rent a manual (collapsible) wheelchair to take our friend from the house to the airport, to the ship, and back to the airport and home. We rent (pre-arranged) a power wheelchair waiting for our friend in his cabin on board ship which enables our friend to join us in exploring the various ports etc.

 

RCI can help you in connecting you with "Special Needs" to make your cruise and that of your husband, unforgettable and memorable for you both.

Edited March 30, 2016 by oldguysandgalls