Electric Wheel Chair

[mnkauf]

Will be on the Royal Princess and mother has an electric wheel chair.  Anyone have experience with this and what issues you might have had on ship and in ports.

[skynight]

Do you have an HCP cabin? The doors of regular cabins are 22 inches wide. Probably will not be able to go ashore at tender (water shuttle) ports if your sailing has any. Usually, not always, you have to be able to walk some to board a tender. 

[cr8tiv1]

Scooters need to be parked inside cabin. 

[hobo1937]

My husband used a folding electric wheelchair on our Discovery Cruise in April. He would fold the chair in the hall and carry it into the room. He only needs the chair when walking longer distances.  We were in a suite so there was no problem storing it as it stands up when folded. The biggest issue was getting down the corridors because of the carts, which were there a good part of the day. The room attendants were great about moving them but we felt bad having them stop what they were doing to take care of this. People on the elevators were very accommodating. 

[John99]

10 hours ago, mnkauf said:

Will be on the Royal Princess and mother has an electric wheel chair.  Anyone have experience with this and what issues you might have had on ship and in ports.

         Greetings

You indicated there may be some mobility issues. 

 

I found information on the Princess website for people using wheelchairs, scooters, etc.  that have mobility issues.  Please follow up with your Travel Agent.

 

Per Princess Cruise Line:  You must complete a Mobility Request Questionnaire.

 

Mobility Requests:

Guests using mobility devices or who need additional assistance should fill out the below Mobility Questionnaire and return it to the Access Office. Traveling with a service animal requires review and prior approval from the Access Office. The Access Office can be reached at accessoffice@princesscruises.com or by fax at 661-284-4408.

 

Mobility Requests:

Log in to you’er Account.

Go to -- Manage this booking.

Select -- Check-In

 

A “pdf file” for the request is found in the middle of your “Check-In” screen.

 

Also, you may want to check the sub forum – “Disability Cruise Travel”.  This forum provides general info regarding tips, accessibility, mobility, wheelchair assistance, tour operators that accommodate persons with mobility issues, etc.       John

[Thrak]

Take to heart what @skynight said above about the HC cabin. If you have a normal sized electric wheelchair you will never get it through the door of other cabins. There are a limited number of accessible cabins on the ship so, if you need one, do not wait. We cruised with our oldest son a couple of times and he has no option other than a wheelchair. If you can't get the wheelchair into the cabin it's pretty much a deal breaker. With the HC cabin one also gets a roll in shower with a fold down bench. Our son actually traveled with a separate shower chair so didn't use the bench but it's there if needed.

 

Crew assisted when we went ashore but, as stated above in this thread, you can't go ashore at a tender port unless you can get out of the wheelchair and manage a couple of steps into the tender. The tender doesn't sit still while you board and crew are right there helping people board but they absolutely must be able to stand and walk the few steps onto the tender.

[cr8tiv1]

Kudos to the crew that assist wheelchairs up and down gangways.  Often you will see one person in front and one in the back.  They have also assisted passengers when the gangway has stairs.  

[travelin.sisters]

haven't cruised specifically with a electric wheelchair or scooter, but some things from traveling with other mobility devices;

1. I would aim for as near an elevator as possible, as @hobo1937 said there are often cleaning carts in the hallways, if the room attendants are around, they will move them for you, but I spent most of a Panama Canal cruise moving carts when no one was around so my sister could get anywhere from our cabin
2. some cruises people are very good at letting people with devices into elevators...others they rush in front & it can be very hard to get on an elevator (our last few cruises have been full of considerate, happy people, but other not so much)
3. I never chose the main dining room that can only be accessed by stairs/elevators as this can be a real bottleneck with mobility equipment (on the Royal this would be Allegro)
4. When getting off the ship in port, they will often specify one of the gangplanks that should be used for wheelchairs etc.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Princess is wonderful with accessibility. Ask your TA to submit the mobility questionnaire in advance, and get a handicap accessible room. You drive it right into your room and then back out to leave. The carts do obstruct the halls, so I try to use the elevators closest to my stateroom. I have an electric mobility scooter and can get everywhere on the ship except for the sports deck. Shore excursion are where it gets frustrating because there are hardly any accessible excursions unless you just sit on a bus the whole time. Passengers are very kind for the most part and will hold the elevator door to ensure you make it in and out safely. 

[Cruz4Sun]

Absolutely agree that a handicap accessible room as close to an elevator as possible is helpful.  Getting past the room stewards carts in the hallways is challenging and the carts are out much of the day and evening.

 

Most people are very courteous on the elevators.  If a partly full elevator opened we would always wave them on and wait for the next one.  We're usually not in too much of a hurry.

[bwgreen]

I had an HC room and a rented electric mobility scooter on Celebrity.  An HC room is a must!  Those things can take up a lot of space!  Everyone - both passengers & crew/staff - were fantastic, helping when needed.  I'm going on the Regal Princess next Spring with a rental scooter again, and I should be able to disembark at tendered ports as I can walk a bit and won't take the scooter down to the tender  (I have a folding walker that I'll take). The only place that was inaccessible to me was the sports deck at the top of the ship - and that wasn't an issue, as I didn't miss out on something I wanted to take part in!

 

Get a crew member to help guide you in the dining room, as it can get quite crowded and busy.  And definitely get assistance both boarding and disembarking.