Wheelchair question

[artvlay]

My wife was just diagnosed to need a hip replacement. The surgeon told us that there is a three month backlog for the surgery. Our cruise on Summit is early June so it won't be done prior to the cruise.

We are concerned getting her on the ship on embarking on disembarking. We won't get off the ship in Bermuda.

What is the procedure of getting someone to push a wheelchair onto the ship in Bayonne? Do we contact Special needs in advance or just tell tell them at the pier? Do they have wheelchairs to use for embarking and disembarking? We aren't sure she will need it while onboard during the week.

Thanks for your assistance.

[gpension]

Call their accessibility department:  https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs/accessibility

 

I just cruised with a family member who needed a wheelchair for boarding and potentially on board. They had our name at the pier and provided a wheelchair with someone to assist until I got on, then as soon as we were on the ship they gave us a wheelchair to use for the week.

 

You need to be clear with them what you need, but they were very helpful once they fully u derstood.  You can also rent a wheelchair from a third party, but I just used theirs and it was fine. 

 

BTW I tried to arrange it through my travel agent and she told me celebrity doesn't loan wheelchairs. YMMV but it worked out fine for me.

[the penguins]

13 minutes ago, artvlay said:

My wife was just diagnosed to need a hip replacement. The surgeon told us that there is a three month backlog for the surgery. Our cruise on Summit is early June so it won't be done prior to the cruise.

We are concerned getting her on the ship on embarking on disembarking. We won't get off the ship in Bermuda.

What is the procedure of getting someone to push a wheelchair onto the ship in Bayonne? Do we contact Special needs in advance or just tell tell them at the pier? Do they have wheelchairs to use for embarking and disembarking? We aren't sure she will need it while onboard during the week.

Thanks for your assistance.

Contact them in advance. There are chairs for Boarding and disembarking but chairs are not guaranteed to be available on the ship. The only way to guarantee a chair on board is to bring it with you or order one from one on the specialist companies. We travel with a folding 4 wheel walker. If you bring your own X will need details of its dimensions and weight. It must be stored in your cabin.

[HS2BS]

We always travel with our own wheelchair, but Celebrity is the best as providing accessible needs. First thing you should do is see if there is an accessible cabin available by calling yourself or have your travel agent do it.

 

Hal

[TeeRick]

If she needs it, you can also order an electric scooter in advance from a number of companies.  It will be inside or outside your cabin when you arrive.  Depending on the size.

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, artvlay said:

My wife was just diagnosed to need a hip replacement. The surgeon told us that there is a three month backlog for the surgery. Our cruise on Summit is early June so it won't be done prior to the cruise.

We are concerned getting her on the ship on embarking on disembarking. We won't get off the ship in Bermuda.

What is the procedure of getting someone to push a wheelchair onto the ship in Bayonne? Do we contact Special needs in advance or just tell tell them at the pier? Do they have wheelchairs to use for embarking and disembarking? We aren't sure she will need it while onboard during the week.

Thanks for your assistance.

Getting on board is easy.  Celebrity will assist from the checkin counter to your cabin.  I agree in contacting special needs and they can coordinate. 

[kathynorth]

Are you cruising out of Bayonne? I cruised on Summit with my mother who required a wheelchair transport. I notified special needs about embarkation and also rented the scooter for onboard. As we got out of the car a porter noticed how difficult it was for my mom just to get out of the car. He pointed out that there were benches to sit on and that a Celebrity employee would be out shortly. About 5 mins later someone arrived with a wheelchair. We were whisked to a side check in line, then he brought her up the gang plank, then asked if we wanted to stop by the cabin or to the buffet. We chose to go to the cabin to pick up the scooter. As an fyi, she was able to use the scooter while in the Dockyard. We went to Guest Services and borrowed a wheelchair that we used when we took the ferry to St. George’s and Hamilton.

[artvlay]

Thank you for some great information. The Cruise Critic members are super.

[kokopelli-az]

1 minute ago, artvlay said:

Thank you for some great information. The Cruise Critic members are super.

You might hop over to the Disabled Cruise Travel forum.   There are numerous discussions about wheelchair boarding.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

[LeeW]

Travel wheelchairs that must be pushed by someone else are pretty cheap (try Walgreens).  Got one when DW broke ankle.  In our area you can get them for $10-15 at local thrift shops.  Not a bad thing to have in the basement.