Virgin Voyages ban on lithium-ion batteries for mobility scooters/electric wheelchairs?

[laura1960]

Has anyone taken a mobility scooter with lithium ion batteries aboard the ship? I am getting mixed responses on this. People at sailor services have said yes, no problem, website says no. Filled out the special services request form, but have heard nothing back saying definitively yea or nay. I eventually got a form letter, basically stating what's on the website. My husband can walk short distances, but since breaking his neck in 2016, he doesn't have the stamina for long walks or standing in a queue for hours. Most battery-powered mobility devices ARE lithium-ion; it's difficult to find something for rent that doesn't have lithium-ion batteries.

There's nothing Virgin-specific on the disabled forum on Cruise Critic. We may just rent a small collapsible wheelchair for the cruise.

Also, many of the venues for the shows are primarily standing...are there areas for wheelchairs/seats?

[cantgetin]

Oh my.....we have had very little success in dealing with my daughter's mobility issues and VV.  I was hoping things would get better since they hired the new guy (after treating him like dirt on a cruise) as disability director.

Red room--on the upper level there is wheelchair seating, relatively limited numbers.  On the lower level the venue fills quickly and there is no reserved seating on the lower level for those who can't climb stairs,  I don't remember wheelchair seating on the lower level, but it has been a while....
Dance party thing is totally standing.  I took one look and decided to not try it.
All eating venues are accessible and even those with quirky seats have places where wheelchair transfers are easy, or obviously you can choose to stay in your device.
Manor--there is seating on the main floor, but get there early as things do fill up.

The stuff on the pool deck is generally stand up.  Obviously there are places to sit but depending on your physical abilities, it can be awfully hard to get up from some of those seats.  Again, plenty of chair/scooter space.
Elevators are big and we didn't have the issues of elevator hogs or racers that we've encountered on other lines, maybe because this is adult only.
The fully accessible cabins are great.  Despite anything you may have read on line, the beds do separate, but in the usual twin configuration that you'll see on other lines, not the L that standard VV cabins do,  There is no auto open button on either the cabin or bathroom door, which can be a problem for some.  Odd, since my favorite 25 year old cruise ship has an automatic door open device and VV in general is so high tech. 

 

Wheelchair assist with embarkation and disembarkation has been nothing short of a disaster on each of our cruises IF you need someone to push the chair.  If you are self propelled in your own chair or scooter, you are good to go.  I sent a lengthy snail mail about the issues we encountered.  4 months later, I got an email that had a photo of the web page.  Gee, thanks.  I do understand the difference between ship crew and terminal crew; please no comments about this.  I know where and why the problem is, but we've cruised at least 3 other lines with NO difficulties.  We have encountered difficulties at both Barcelona and Miami with Miami being the worst.  We have one cruise booked in 2024, and if the same issues persist, it will likely be our last VV for a long while.  That's sad, because there are a lot of good things about the line.

Depending on your wheelchair needs, you might look into purchasing one at thrift stores or even borrowing one from a local church (they often get donations when people no longer need them).  They fly free, and purchasing one can be cheaper than renting for the cruise.  Obviously, this works for transfer chairs only; someone who needs a chair all the time would want a custom fitted and designed one,

If you have any specific questions, please post and I'll share our experiences.

Sorry, no experience with scooters on board...stuck to wheelchair and rollator,  You will need a fully accessible cabin for a scooter as, unlike some other lines, there are no scooter charge areas outside of the cabins for people who only use rented devices for long walking issues.  The "ambulatory accessible" cabins will not meet your needs--they basically have shower and bathroom bars added and are for people who can get around on there own but just need grab bars.

Edited February 4 by cantgetin

[laura1960]

Thanks, cantgetin, this is just the kind of info we needed!

[cantgetin]

Seating in The Dock is also very less than optimal.  There are bar stools, weird chairs that are essentially on the floor, and a very few chairs that older people, people with mobility issues, etc. can even get out of.  Again, if he is in his own device, he will be fine, but you may not find seating that works for you. We left a couple times due to no appropriate seating.

[Keen2Cruise]

On 2/4/2024 at 6:08 PM, laura1960 said:

Has anyone taken a mobility scooter with lithium ion batteries aboard the ship? I am getting mixed responses on this. People at sailor services have said yes, no problem, website says no. Filled out the special services request form, but have heard nothing back saying definitively yea or nay. I eventually got a form letter, basically stating what's on the website. My husband can walk short distances, but since breaking his neck in 2016, he doesn't have the stamina for long walks or standing in a queue for hours. Most battery-powered mobility devices ARE lithium-ion; it's difficult to find something for rent that doesn't have lithium-ion batteries.

There's nothing Virgin-specific on the disabled forum on Cruise Critic. We may just rent a small collapsible wheelchair for the cruise.

Also, many of the venues for the shows are primarily standing...are there areas for wheelchairs/seats?

Did you find a resolution to this? I'm curious because I use a scooter with a lithium battery. 

 

My first voyage was last September, and despite requesting an accessible room, I wasn't sent a medical declaration form. Taking my scooter onboard wasn't an issue, and no one even asked. However, I have another trip due in May, but this time round, they have sent a medical declaration, and I'm a bit worried. 

[cantgetin]

The medical declaration is rather new--since they hired a disability director  (they kicked him off the ship when he tried to cruise solo, then realized their huge screw up and hired him).  I was not happy with the form at all as it did not address our needs.....it addressed what the cruise line thinks they need to know and not any of the pain points we have encountered.  I've seen plenty of people with scooters and a few with electric wheelchairs on VV..no problems from anything I could tell.

[laura1960]

9 hours ago, Keen2Cruise said:

Did you find a resolution to this? I'm curious because I use a scooter with a lithium battery. 

 

My first voyage was last September, and despite requesting an accessible room, I wasn't sent a medical declaration form. Taking my scooter onboard wasn't an issue, and no one even asked. However, I have another trip due in May, but this time round, they have sent a medical declaration, and I'm a bit worried. 

We didn't really find a resolution. We opted to leave the scooter at the hotel, and the hotel staff were fine with that. However, once aboard, we saw many people with scooters and electric wheelchairs (with lithium ion batteries...we asked!) and they said it was no problem.

So I would plan to bring your scooter, but just have a back-up plan just in case. 

[Keen2Cruise]

Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately, I will have to decide whether to take my current scooter or not. Once I'm there, there is no Plan B. For peace of mind, I might buy another scooter with a dry-cell battery and sell it after the three cruises we have coming up.

[CruisingWalter]

The wording I've been seeing from multiple cruise lines is a requirement for a gel battery for mobility scooters. 

 

On 3/25/2024 at 11:25 AM, Keen2Cruise said:

I will have to decide whether to take my current scooter or not. Once I'm there, there is no Plan B. For peace of mind, I might buy another scooter with a dry-cell battery and sell it after the three cruises we have coming up.

 

If you can, I would suggest you take a look at the Whill power chairs. We've introduced those to multiple cruise guests after we had a chance to the visit the Scootaround offices here in Orlando. They're smaller than a standard 3 or 4 wheel scooter, easy to drive with a right or left hand joystick and fit into most any stateroom door. The batteries pop out for super easy charging. The C1 can be rented for cruises and while it's smaller it does not fold up. They also have an F model that literally folds up against the wall when it's not in use. 

 

Both come with a phone app that allows you to drive the chair via the app. The primary use of this on a cruise ship would be to park the chair out of the way after you sit down and to drive it back to you when it's time to leave. 

 

Here's my visit to the offices and the two chairs. Whill is the parent company of Scootaround. 

https://youtu.be/HjS6qhJIRUY

 

[Keen2Cruise]

Thanks, I looked them up, and they use lithium batteries, not gel.

 

[CruisingWalter]

8 hours ago, Keen2Cruise said:

Thanks, I looked them up, and they use lithium batteries, not gel.

 

The ones they showed me were gel batteries. I wonder if they have gel batteries specifically for cruise ships. 

[Carol Loves to Cruise]

Gee….im not sure where I read it but I read a post somewhere recently that says Virgin can arrange rental of scooters and there’s room in the hallways to park/charge the scooter.  I was so happy about it, but now I think someone posted incorrect info.  

[rebeccac]

26 minutes ago, Carol Loves to Cruise said:

Gee….im not sure where I read it but I read a post somewhere recently that says Virgin can arrange rental of scooters and there’s room in the hallways to park/charge the scooter.  I was so happy about it, but now I think someone posted incorrect info.  

 

I would be shocked if VV rents the scooters themselves.  Usually, that is a third party thing.  Also, while people may park their scooters in the hallways, it is usually prohibited (although often not enforced).  The one big advantage with VV is that their accessible cabins quite often are still available much closer to a cruise departure than a lot of other lines.  

[Carol Loves to Cruise]

You’re probably right.  The post I read said that VV arranged for the scooter….not necessarily renting it….but arrange the rental for customer.  I think it was too good to be true, but I’ll call them and find out.

[rebeccac]

If you are sailing from Miami there are a bunch of third party companies that do scooter rentals and usually they will be delivered to your cabin.  If you used a TA, they should be able to help you with this.  If not, just google "cruise scooter rentals Miami" and you will get plenty of responses.  There is also a forum on here specifically for "disabled" cruising.  

[cantgetin]

6 hours ago, Carol Loves to Cruise said:

Gee….im not sure where I read it but I read a post somewhere recently that says Virgin can arrange rental of scooters and there’s room in the hallways to park/charge the scooter.  I was so happy about it, but now I think someone posted incorrect info.  

I'm not sure where you read it either, but you are wrong.  Virgin has several companies that will rent you a scooter and deliver it to the terminal to have it waiting for you...same at the end of the cruise.  This only works if your departure and arrival ports are the same--they specifically cannot do it on a transatlantic cruise.   They are happy to supply the names of the companies; you make your own arrangements.  You absolutely cannot park scooters in the halls on VV.  If you are using a scooter or motorized chair you must be in a fully accessible cabin and your device(s) must be kept in your cabin.

[CruisingWalter]

16 hours ago, Carol Loves to Cruise said:

Gee….im not sure where I read it but I read a post somewhere recently that says Virgin can arrange rental of scooters and there’s room in the hallways to park/charge the scooter.  I was so happy about it, but now I think someone posted incorrect info.  

 

No cruise line rents scooters and no cruise line allows you to park a scooter in the hallway to charge. VV probably refers people to Scootaround or Special Needs Group, both of whom can provide scooter rentals. But they must fit inside your room when not in use, they cannot be left in the hallways, nor can they be left in the elevator lobbies for charging. 

[cantgetin]

The Disney Magic and Wonder had special charge areas.  It was a great set up because it allowed people who didn't need an assist device in their cabin to book a standard cabin rather than taking one of the few HA cabins. They could leave the scooter and walk the short distance to a cabin or have a family member take it to charge and retrieve it for them. I don't know if they continued this feature on their newer ships as there were always those unsupervised brats who didn't seem to know that they should keep their hands off things that didn't belong to them....