Handicapped Equipment Questions

[Three Rings]

We are currently planning to rent a hospital bed and hoyer lift for our cruise on Explorer of the Seas, and have a few questions:

 

Can a hoyer be used on the regular beds on EOS? (ie, will the legs go under the bed?)

 

Pros and cons of renting vs. bringing our own hoyer? We will drive to the port, so that is not an issue.

 

We will also be bringing a shower wheelchair that folds. Will we have an issue with room having the shower wheelchair AND the hoyer in the room, and still being able to maneuver a larger power chair?

 

Good/bad experiences with any of the rental companies would be greatly appreciated.

 

Any other hints or tips for us in this regard? THANKS!

[OracleBones]

You should have no problem on the EOS with the equipment you're using. The accessible cabins are a nice size and using a lift is easy, as the beds are on a frame. I used a power chair and also took my own travel shower chair. We had the cabin steward remove the coffee table and a chair to make more room as there was three of us in the inside cabin.

If you can take your own equipment and are driving to the port, I don't know why you'd even entertain the idea of spending $150.00+ USD to rent. I've rented equipment in FL, but I take my own lift etc. when we drive to the port in NYC. With your own equipment you know what kind of condition it's in, how to use it etc. The lift which I rented worked out fine. However, the battery was weak and needed charging after five transfers instead of twenty and the casters didn't roll quite as smoothly as my own.

[Bonnie J.]

I would post this question on the handicapped thread at this site - under Disabled Traveling. People on this site should be able to answer your questions.

[Three Rings]

If you can take your own equipment and are driving to the port, I don't know why you'd even entertain the idea of spending $150.00+ USD to rent.

 

RCCL told me that if we bring our own and it damages the ship (ie, dinging the furniture, etc) that we would be held responsible for repairs to the ship, which could be very expensive. They suggested I rent one, so that any possible damage would be the responsibility of the rental company. I sure would LOVE to not spend the extra money for nothing.

 

Anyone ever been charged for damage to the cabin made by mobility equipment?

[Three Rings]

I would post this question on the handicapped thread at this site - under Disabled Traveling. People on this site should be able to answer your questions.

 

Isn't that where I posted? :confused: Is there a super-secret members-only handicapped thread nobody told me about? :D

[Splinter]

We take our own travel lift (not a Hoyer) and our own travel shower/commode chair. The flip down seat in the showers is not enough support for my mother. Our lift is very compact. I think that is BS about the lift damaging the ship. How would that happen?

 

We find that virtually all cruise ship beds work fine with a lift, but you do need to explain to your cabin steward why they cannot put luggage or (at night) bedspreads under the bed in question so that there is nothing blocking this space. We usually can get all of our luggage under the other bed or other side of the bed without problems.

[Three Rings]

Splinter,

It sounded like BS to me too, but since this is our first cruise, I believed what I was being told. This was while I was booking, and before I found CruiseCritic! :D

 

The more I think about it, the more I realize how silly it is, since the chair itself is more likely to do damage than the lift is! Why don't they make wallboard that will withstand being "bumped" by a several-hundred-pound motorized chair? :D

 

You said "virtually all" the beds work with the lift. What if we board and it doesn't work?

 

Thanks again for your valuable comments.

 

Three Rings

[Bonnie J.]

You post is under 'Ask a Cruise Question' not 'Disabled Cruise Travel".

[OracleBones]

The logic of have disabled passengers rent their equipment in order to shift liability to the rental company escapes me. I realize the liability laws in the US may be different, but it seems to me that if you cause damage by crashing into the walls and furniture then you're responsible. On the other hand, if the rental lift breaks and damages the furniture as it crashes to the floor then the rental company may be liable. I would think that if such an event were to occur you're problems and concerns would be much bigger than a dint in a piece of furniture. As this is all most unlikely, if not very remote, I'd take my own equipment. When you're in a position to take and use your own equipment there is simply no compelling reason to rent. We last cruised with Royal Caribbean in 2005 on the Voyager from Cape Liberty, NJ. They were fully aware of what equipment I was brining and no questions were asked. I was more concerned with them damaging my $4,000 CND lift.

[Splinter]

I have seen only one accessible cabin with a platform bed (Disney). All the other cruise lines have open frame beds. If you are concerned, for all cruise lines except Princess you can contact someone in their Special or Disabled Services dept. and they can verify this for you.

 

It sounds to me like the rule they used to have at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park (which was recently resended as a result of a class action suit) where they were trying to make people using power chairs and scooters (which they called "personal convenience vehicles") sign a waiver about injuring others inside the park with their chairs. It would have said you accepted responsiblity for any injuries you caused to others with your chair, and making the Zoo not responsible. Glad it was thrown out.

 

A cruise line would hold you responsible for damage done in your cabin or elsewhere regardless of if it was your own or rental equipment, just as I would assume they would hold an AB responsible for damage they did. If you are a skilled wheelchair (and lift) user, I don't think you (or they) have anything to worry about.