Topic: Scooters at sea: It's a question of ship-mobility...

My husband uses a scooter for long distance. On the ship and shore excursions whilst I am able I will push him as he uses a wheelchair for now. Maybe at some time when I am unable to push he will have to use his scooter. I think these people who complain about scooters etc should think themselves lucky. I guess they will complain about prams etc next. I may add too that people seem to ignore scooters and prams and just walk out in front of them, I have seen alsorts this past 6 months and I wish people would just think, on the last 2 cruises, both with Celebrity the crew and guest alike have been wonderful and very kind. Not everyone races round and not everyone are selfish, for that I am most grateful

Have been on a ship where the acccomodation decks were cluttered with buggies, walkers, mobility scooters and the occasional childs scooter and I would hate to know what would happen in the event of an emergency!

I thought if you needed a walking aid you had to book a disabled cabin so as to be able to store it correctly and safely overnight?

Or maybe ship builders just need to give a little extra cabin space as most prams and mobility scooters are usually able to fit in a space 1.2m long and .65m wide (a total of .78m²) surely this couldn't be that hard to find?( The base area of a walk in wardrobe with an extra wardrobe provided for full length items?)

Source info is from the Department for Transport website ~ the people who say how big spaces on buses and trains need to be. The full research paper is available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyo...chairs1181.pdf

It has the average sizes of both adult and child mobility aids

I am a 75+ pensioner and a self-propelled (with the help of TOH) wheelchair user, but only for longish distances, such as on the mega-cruisers, latterly P&O Ventura.

Normally fellow passengers are considerate of our disabilities such as when entering lifts (stairs being impossible) where you have to drive in and reverse out and desirably occupy the centre space, to the annoyance of those selfishly disposed.

Admittedly I have to question the use of the lifts, by those able-bodied, just to travel one floor.

Whilst the crew and dining room staff deserve praise for their care and assistance, there is a problem for the disabled in the case of shore excursions, where the coaches invariably are not equipped to store wheelchairs, let alone scooters, and we are left on board just looking at the buildings.

Unfortunately it is in this area, as well as lifts, that lack of consideration, shown by some, towards our attempts to store the folded chair alongside us on a 20 seat minicoach in order to take advantage of a shore excursion, is at its worst.

Cruising has now become the only option for many elderly, and particularly people with disabilities, to enjoy a holiday.

The difficulties associated with flying to holiday resorts is much more stressful than a cruise, beginning at the airport and the inability to assist one's companion with luggage handling & retrieval, plus constrictions of space within the aircraft and finally, on arrival, the trauma of retrieving luggage, carrying it to a distant coach park, whilst also trying to push a wheelchair with the occupant loaded with baggage on his knees, all in one go and bearing in mind that 'the pusher' may also be an OAP.

Despite my criticisms of P&O (and its MD) on another forum, I do have to acknowledge P&O's consideration for the disabled of us, in providing easily accessable public areas by means of ramps.

Also, to correct another contributor, the cabin doors ARE wider in respect of those staterooms with bathrooms specially equipped for the disabled, but you do have to select them from the deck plans - and by quoting the specific cabin required at the time of booking, they are usually distinguished with the disability logo and are usually sited near to the lifts.

The more modern vessels tend to have a greater number of this type of stateroom available and quite a number are balcony cabins.

Hi, we always book a balcony cabin and the wheelchair folds and is out of the way, when we are on deck, again the chair is folded and once again out of the way. After years of being able to do what we want, walk, climb, long walks and being very active and independant these last few months have been very hard and upsetting, I hope it is a long while before my husband has to use the scooter for a cruise, so I guess I will just have to hope and pray that I can keep fit. I would like to say that the staff who book shore excursions are kind and make sure that they are wheelchair friendly. That as I said before was with Celebrity, will find out what it is like on Brilliance of the Seas and on Azura. Will as usual write a review.

Cruising is the best way to get from one place to another, flying is a worrying experience for disabled people you can’t just go to the lavatory when you want
Imagine arriving at your destination and your suitcases go missing
At least you can buy clothes and claim on the insurance.
Imagine if you got there and could not walk
That is close to the feeling of finding they have lost or damaged your wheelchair
Disabled people are like any body else they like to travel. The days of hiding disabled people indoors are gone. So get used to more wheelchairs and scooters on ships the cruise companies need to start planning for an aging population who are less mobile

QUOTE:

Mobility scooters are a complete nuisance on cruise ships. I don't care if it is "politically incorrect" but someone has to call a halt to the "we are entitled to go anywhere" brigade. For this reason I will not go on any cruise that starts in the UK as they are all inundated with mobility scooters. I shall now retire to put my steel helmet on!

No need for the steel helmet, but you probably need an injection of tolerance. Stop to think how many of life's pleasures are denied to people with limited mobility and be grateful for all that you are able to do.
We have always cruised from the UK and, as yet have only encountered one wheelchair user and she was lovely.

Having tolerance of the less able only comes to some people when they have personal experience either of their own or through a loved ones need. I used to think I was tolerant but since my father has had need of the blue badge and a wheelchair, I know I was way off the tolerance scale.
I do think there are motorised scooter users who think they own the right to 'the road', but they are few and far between. Gordon is quite right when he questions the need for the able to use a lift for one floor, but, that's folk for you.

QUOTE:

Gordon is quite right when he questions the need for the able to use a lift for one floor, but, that's folk for you.

I hate lifts. I'm claustophobic and I also hate being in such close proximity to complete strangers, especially if there are two or three of them and only one of me. I used to walk up and down stairs all the time onboard, but recently a dodgy knee has compelled me to use the lift on some occasions - just one of the hazards of getting older I suppose.

QUOTE:

Having tolerance of the less able only comes to some people when they have personal experience either of their own or through a loved ones need. I used to think I was tolerant but since my father has had need of the blue badge and a wheelchair, I know I was way off the tolerance scale.
I do think there are motorised scooter users who think they own the right to 'the road', but they are few and far between. Gordon is quite right when he questions the need for the able to use a lift for one floor, but, that's folk for you.

Some people have disabilities that aren't obvious and they may need to use the lift to go up one floor. From personal experience I know some degenerative conditions flare and subside as they relentlessly progress meaning some days a person can be able bodied, sometimes they need a stick, sometimes they can't stand. People who don't understand this can be very unforgiving at times.

QUOTE:

Some people have disabilities that aren't obvious and they may need to use the lift to go up one floor. From personal experience I know some degenerative conditions flare and subside as they relentlessly progress meaning some days a person can be able bodied, sometimes they need a stick, sometimes they can't stand. People who don't understand this can be very unforgiving at times.

Quite right. When I dislocated my knee for the second time [I'll be proficient at it soon], at the end of the day, I could no more go down a flight of stairs than fly to the moon and yet I looked fine. The really able bodied were those whom I was thinking about,ie me. But then, I don't take the lift.