Advice please

Topics relating to disabled cruising

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CaroleF
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Advice please

#1

Post by CaroleF »

I am not, at the moment, a wheelchair user and for a lot of the time I don't need one. However, I have problems standing for more than about 10 minutes and the length that I can comfortably walk is round the supermarket or Marks and Spencer, just to give you the idea. The problem comes when, for example, say we are out with friends and visiting a National Trust property. I can cope by walking fairly quickly through the rooms then going to find the cafe and wait for the others to finish their tour. My husband can take over 15 minutes just looking at one room! If we are abroad, not necessarily on a cruise, and we visit a new place and John wants to explore the whole town - well I can do a little but then have to find somewhere to sit and wait for him. I have been wondering if it makes sense to buy a small collapsible motorised scooter to take on holiday with me. I have been looking at all sorts - for example one called the Shoprider Whisper Mini Travel Scooter - that can be folded up and go in the boot of the car.

I don't want a wheelchair that John has to push. I don't know how easy it would be if I had something like the one I mention to take it on a cruise - I don't need it to board and get to my cabin - and I don't need it to disembark but it would be useful on shore. Likewise is it possible, or desirable to take such a thing on a fly cruise?

I know absolutely nothing about wheelchairs or scooters apart from what I've seen on various websites so I'm asking for advice from those who have experience. I suppose the most important thing is that whatever I get must be light and able to be folded to go in the car. Maybe the time will come when I need a chair all the time but I certainly don't at the moment - it's a combination of arthritis in ankle (after breaking it) and knee and a dodgy hip but I can still get around quite easily . I must admit I'm a bit nervous about having one on a cruise and people seeing me sometimes with the chair and sometimes without - although for the majority of the time I don't need one on board. Anyway, I'd be delighted to have people's thoughts and advice.

Carole

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GillD46
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Re: Advice please

#2

Post by GillD46 »

All too often people make comments about people that are sometimes in a wheelchair, or using a stick thereby getting what some see as "spevial treatment" and other times not. They have no idea how that person is affected. The first time we took my mum on a cruise, she only needed her chair for walking long distances or standing, but could walk perfectly well for very short distances - we heard the snide remarks, as did she, and she caused herself considerable pain - and distress - trying NOT to use the chair! Very soon she was in the chair full time.

I can't answer you query, Carole, but I hope you can rise above the thoughtless comments that may possibly be made. You must do what you need to do - and pity those that have no idea of your discomfort.
Gill

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david63
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Re: Advice please

#3

Post by david63 »

Go to your local "mobility" shop and ask their advice.

I have recently had to get a wheelchair for my mother and they were a mine of useful information.

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towny44
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Re: Advice please

#4

Post by towny44 »

Carol, my wiife uses a wheelchair outside, both at home and on holiday - mainly cruises, and we need to book an accessible cabin.
Currently she uses a folding transit type manual wheelchair and we cope over most surfaces, except for the worst style of cobbles and over rough or soft ground. We are at present considering when/if we need to change to a powered scooter, and like you we are checking ones which would fit into the boot of a mid size hatch.
On our last cruise we looked at a TGA Eclipse which another passenger was using and she was very happy that it did all she required of it; we also intend to check out a similar sized Invacare Colibri at our local mobilty company, both of there are in my view the smallest size that would be viable.
One thing you need to consider, especially with P&O, is whether the cruise line will permit you to use a scooter in a standard cabin; the TGA Eclipse did fit through the door of a standard cabin on Celebrity Eclipse, the scooter is approx. 20"wide, not sure of door size on P&O.
If you want any further info do feel free to PM me anytime.
John

Trainee Pensioner since 2000

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Dancing Queen
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Re: Advice please

#5

Post by Dancing Queen »

Carol, as far as I'm aware and this is only my recollection from previous threads if you want to take a mobility scooter on a P&O ship you have to book an accessible cabin or a suite, they moved the 'goal posts' about three years ago regarding what was/wasn't acceptable in a standard cabin and I think you can only take a fully collapsible wheelchair in standard cabins but I would check this with P&O.
Jo

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towny44
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Re: Advice please

#6

Post by towny44 »

Dancing Queen wrote:
Carol, as far as I'm aware and this is only my recollection from previous threads if you want to take a mobility scooter on a P&O ship you have to book an accessible cabin or a suite, they moved the 'goal posts' about three years ago regarding what was/wasn't acceptable in a standard cabin and I think you can only take a fully collapsible wheelchair in standard cabins but I would check this with P&O.
They do have a very limited list of acceptable scooters for standard cabins, but I believe they are the very small ones which are really only suitable for use on board.
PS Sorry this seems to have been replaced with a blanket ban on scooters in any cabin other than suites or accessible ones, I am sure they did prepare a very short list just after they changed the rules, but they now say it would be too difficult to administer because of the large variety of scooters. Personally I would have thought a weight and dimension limit could have been possible, but no its too difficult for them, poor souls.
John

Trainee Pensioner since 2000


Whynd1
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Re: Advice please

#7

Post by Whynd1 »

Hi Carol

Dq is quite right, we travel!with a friend who has a mobility scooter and you have to ring P and O and book an accessible cabin. We looked round the last cabin our friend had and it was huge. Also had an adapted bathroom. Another solution for you might be to buy what's ca!lled a luggie a smaller version of the scooter which collapses down into a suitcase just for you to use when you need it. I have seen one of these in action and they are very useful the one we saw the lady had purchased an extra battery just to be on the safe side.

Lindsey


mavismumakrill
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Re: Advice please

#8

Post by mavismumakrill »

hi carole. first, sorry you are having all these problems. afraid i have not been on p & q since the new rulings but have always had to book an accessible cabin in any case. never had a folding scooter either, but, if you get one that folds up and are prepared to fold it up for a 'normal' cabin then a phone call to p & o may catch them on a good day. before you do this though you must look carefully for what you need as they will need full details. make sure you try more than one, the more the better so that you get one that is comfortable for you. check if it will fit easily in your car. however, PLEASE remember to consider the fact that you will most probably need to use it more often as things deteriorate. sorry to sound pessimistic. just want you to think ahead when finding what is best for you. try using a couple outside where there are pedestrians to make sure you feel safe and confident using the scooter. ask how far it will go on a battery charge as well so that you don't get stuck a good distance from where you want to be. the staff on board ship are very helpful and will take care of you with your scooter. i do wish yoy luck in finding the right one for you. don't be fobbed off with something you are not completely safe and comfortable with.

mavis x

p.s. sorry for the bad typing. still using only one hand after breaking my wrist but it is improving. take care carole

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Kendhni
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Re: Advice please

#9

Post by Kendhni »

Hi Carole, sorry to hear that ... Julie is in a similar situation but not quite at the stage of needing a wheelchair (hopefully still a couple of years off). We have tentatively looked at a couple of folding motorised wheelchairs but at the minute have not seen one that has even come close to Julie liking.

I would be interested in hearing about anything you may find.


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CaroleF
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Re: Advice please

#10

Post by CaroleF »

Thank you all for the responses, and Towny thank you for the information. I will look at the couple you mention. I do know about P&O's regulations. I certainly don't need a specially adapted cabin - I doubt very much if I would use a scooter/chair on board and we are lucky and have cruised in mini suites and suites so keeping a scooter wouldn't be a problem. I will look up our local Mobility shop and see what they have to say. I'll let you know about my investigations.

Carole

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Dancing Queen
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Re: Advice please

#11

Post by Dancing Queen »

Carol, just as an aside ( if you are not aware ) there is a mobility shop in Southampton who will hire out and deliver/collect from the ship so would it be an idea to perhaps go down this route first especially if you can see elsewhere what you would be hiring, it might give you a better idea of how suitable something is to suit your needs without the expense of buying first, I have a friend who has used this service and I will be more than happy to obtain the phone number/email address if you wish.
Jo


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CaroleF
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Re: Advice please

#12

Post by CaroleF »

Thanks for that Jo. We live very near Southampton and I think I know the place you are referring to. As much as anything I was wondering if anyone had any advice re the type of scooter to get for non-cruising holidays. I know there are those who are full time scooter users and if this was me then I'd certainly be looking for something that was strong and reasonably large. As it is I'm really looking for something small and portable, just to enable me to get round accompanying my husband instead of having to sit waiting for him while he explores - whether it be a town we visit, or a NT property for example. I can certainly get round the ship on a cruise - managed with Azura, not sure about Britannia - without having to resort to a scooter it's on land I have the problem, just because of the amount of walking involved in some trips.


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CaroleF
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Re: Advice please

#13

Post by CaroleF »

After my previous posts I thought I'd post an update. After lots more research I booked an appointment with Luggie Scooters for a demonstration at home. The guy who came was great - in fact I found a video of him demonstrating Luggie Scooters on YouTube, a delightful Welshman. The Luggie folds up much the same size as the sort of wheel-on case I would take as hand luggage on a Southampton cruise. We took it out onto the small road that runs down the side of our house - incidentally a neighbour saw me trying the scooter out and how long do you think it took for the news to get round the village, next day had a call from a friend who said, "Hear you're getting a scooter" - I felt a bit like a learner driver but for a small scooter it certainly seemed to do a good job. So I decided to take the plunge and bought one. It arrived a couple of days later. I opted also to buy a separate charger unit so I can charge the battery without having to do it while it is in the scooter.
I haven't used it a great deal yet but then we haven't been on a cruise since buying it. One thing I've found you notice is whether pavements have sections with lowered kerbs, a lightweight scooter won't go up and down high kerbs. At the moment this type of scooter is all I need so hopefully on our next cruise - from Southampton - it will really come into its own. I've just been in touch with Bolsover to tell them I want to take the scooter on our next cruise - we are in a suite so it shouldn't be a problem. They said they would get in touch with P&O who would send me a Mobility form to fill in. I don't need any of the things found in a specially adapted cabin and I probably would only use the scooter when at a port. It will be interesting to see the difference it makes to my enjoyment of the various ports.

Carole


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Re: Advice please

#14

Post by Whynd1 »

Hi Carol

I hope you have better luck with P and O than a friend of ours. She also did lots of research into the Luggie, she already uses a mobility scooter. She thought that the luggie would be ideal for cruising and maybe she wound not need the large scooter and the adapted cabin.

It seems that's where she and P and O parted company. According to them even if you are taking a luggie in a suitcase you still need an adapted cabin. This was about eighteen months ago so she booked on MSc where you don't need an adapted cabin. Maybe things have changed so it will be interesting to see how things develop once you have completed and submitted your mobility form.

Best of luck

Lindsey

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Meg 50
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Re: Advice please

#15

Post by Meg 50 »

if it folds right down and you only need it in port, praps the answer is not to let on?
Meg
x

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david63
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Re: Advice please

#16

Post by david63 »

Meg 50 wrote:
if it folds right down and you only need it in port, praps the answer is not to let on?
The problem with that is that all suitcases are scanned and some "jobsworth" might want to make an issue about it.

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Meg 50
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Re: Advice please

#17

Post by Meg 50 »

david63 wrote:
Meg 50 wrote:
if it folds right down and you only need it in port, praps the answer is not to let on?
The problem with that is that all suitcases are scanned and some "jobsworth" might want to make an issue about it.
oops! forgot about the scanner - sorry :think: :( :cry:
Meg
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Topic author
CaroleF
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Re: Advice please

#18

Post by CaroleF »

I'm assuming that I won't have a problem in this instance as we will be in a suite but I have no doubt that if we weren't in a suite or a minisuite then P&O would insist we would need to be in a specially adapted cabin. I haven't received the Mobility Form from P&O yet.

Carole


solocruiser
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Re: Advice please

#19

Post by solocruiser »

Sorry to Hijack this thread but I cannot find anywhere that tells me to post a new topic. I booked my first solo cruise today and I'm heading to the caribbean on October 8th. I'm terrified of going it alone now my husband has passed away. What I really need to know is will Aurora have a halloween evening on October 31st and should I take a costume ?? Silly worries I know.

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Manoverboard
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Re: Advice please

#20

Post by Manoverboard »

solocruiser wrote:
Sorry to Hijack this thread but I cannot find anywhere that tells me to post a new topic. I booked my first solo cruise today and I'm heading to the caribbean on October 8th. I'm terrified of going it alone now my husband has passed away. What I really need to know is will Aurora have a halloween evening on October 31st and should I take a costume ?? Silly worries I know.
If you would like to take a costume then jolly well take one, do what you wish to do on any themed evening but tis best not to expect all the other passengers to do the same as you.

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