Fort Lauderdale Accessibility

[CaptFantastic]

Hi everyone,

 

I posted this in the Florida departures forum but didn't get any infirmation, then I noticed this forum. I'll be on a family cruise in Feb and my mother in law uses a wheelchair. I was wondering if anyone has a hotel recommendation for an accessible  room, as well as an accessible van rental? We'll be in Fort Lauderdale for a couple of days before the cruise and thought a van would be easier to get around than waiting for an accessible taxi.

Any other comments and suggestions are appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Chris

[TheDMan62]

A van rental is a good idea but when I looked into that, it was very expensive. My wife and I just returned from FLL and had a nightmare cab ride from airport to hotel. Also the hotel shuttle was not accessible. We took it to/from cruise port as we are able to use crutches (we both use scooters) to get on the bus. The hotel however did not want us to take the shuttle to the airport so they called a cab for us. The manager told us that we were responsible for the fare. I had to get corporate involved. Because its illegal to provide complimentary service for able bodied people and charge disabled people for the same service. 

 

Anyway, my best advice is to contact hotel/taxi/shuttle/van rental directly so there is no question about the services provided. Actually that still might not be 100% correct as we've found a lot of the time the left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing. I hope your experience is better than ours was.

[kokopelli-az]

Does your mother in law have a collapsible wheelchair?   If so, can she transfer?   If yes to these two questions,  you will be able to use many taxis, or a mini van taxi.   

And yes, if the hotel has a free, say, airport to hotel shuttle, they have to provide disabled passengers the same service at no charge.  

If you post what area in Ft Lauderdale you are interested in staying and your price range it might help with some hotel recommendations. 

[raindropsalways]

In your reasonable priced paces, both Ramada and Red Carpet offer shuttle service from FLL and shuttle service to Port Everglades. However, I believe they may have a time limit on picking up at the airport. I would suggest contacting them about what they offer.

 

http://www.ramadafortlauderdaleairport.com/

https://www.redcarpethotel.com/

 

Ruth and I have taking the public buses all over Fort Lauderdale and Miami. We planned our trips out well and never had a problem. http://www.broward.org/bct/Pages/Default.aspx

 

Have a wonderful cruise,

Betty

[CaptFantastic]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions so far - so many things to keep in mind.

I'll reply to the questions. The wheelchair isn't collapsible and although she can transfer under certain circumstances, probably into a vehicle won't work. I haven't done too much research yet, but we think $200 or so per night would be  acceptable, obviously lower but still decent is better. I hadn't considered the bus since we very rarely even take the bus in our own city. However having to wait for the bus, or an accessible taxi, or even getting to the cruise port via shuttle or whatever is why we were looking at the van rental.