Personal ECV and the Cruise Line/Air Flight, etc.

[clkelley]

I think we're finally going cruising next September.

We're taking the 4-day on the Dream, then probably going over to All-Star Music afterwards for "hopefully" free dining.

Hubby has his own ECV that we always bring to WDW cause he needs it for the distances.

He probably won't need it on the ship, and probably won't need it at Nassau and on Castaway Cay. He will need it for the WDW portion of the trip.

However, our issue is if we fly, where do we put the ECV while on the cruise. We're probably booking a Deluxe Verandah room, but NOT accessible. Is there room in the stateroom for the ECV to sit in a corner and be out of way during the cruise?

OPTION 1: Our ideal situation would be to fly down early Sunday morning, board the ship, go on our cruise through Thursday morning, transfer to WDW through Sunday evening, then fly home. This is only possible if there is room in the stateroom, OR if the ship has a place where we can stash it.

OPTION 2: If there is not really room to store the ECV in the stateroom during the cruise, then if it is possible, we could fly down Saturday morning, stay at All-Star Music Saturday night and ask them to store the ECV for us while on the cruise. Not sure if that is an option.

OPTION 3: If not room to store the ECV and can't store it at the Disney resort, then our only other option is to drive down Saturday, stay in Port Canaveral overnight and leave the ECV in the truck while we are on the cruise, then transfer over to WDW, then start our drive home Sunday morning. (My least favorite option).

So folks is Option 1 or Option 2 doable???

 

[peemagg]

I would contact the cruise line and ask them about if there would be room. They also need to know that someone is bringing a scooter onboard. They might require you to get a accessible room in order to have enough room to store it in the cabin. I know with Carnival I had to book a accessible room due to my scooter. The doors aren't wide enough for the scooter to go through the door of a regular room. The room itself is a bit bigger to allow for the storage of the scooter. We also have to store it in our room. There is no place on ship to store it and it is not allowed to be left in the halls.

I think you need to contact the cruise line and ask them these questions to be sure though.

 

[clkelley]

OK, well that leaves option 1 out. I DO NOT want an accessible room, so we'll check with All-Stars to see if they can store it while we're on the cruise.

 

[peemagg]

Disney might have a different policy on scooters and rooms. They also might have wider doors since it is a newer ship than the one I am sailing. You really need to call and ask Disney what their policy is about the scooter.

 

[Bete]

Not on the Disney cruise line but another cruise company you were able to leave the scooter out of your cabin nearby in a safe, big enough area to store it out in the open. Obviously, you don't want to leave your key and I would take my battery, too into your cabin. I can't tell you how this worked with pre-arrangements, etc; since, I did not know the person doing this.

Another option is if the scooter breaks down into 4 or 5 pieces you could probably fit the scooter into your cabin. I would think you would be using a lot of your closet space to store it. Also, you will probably have to do this yourself to get it into your cabin especially without a handicap room. If you have a balcony cabin you might be able to store it that way. If the balcony is an option then I would secure the scooter with cords, locks, cover or whatever; so, it would NOT move around. I don't consider this a good option even if Disney allows it. It just depends on how bad you want it out of the way.

You absolutely need to talk with Disney to see how they will help you, here. I would strongly get as many names (including last names) as you can of Disney people you talk with about this for reference. If you could get an e-mail with specifics from Disney and what they will allow you to do on board ship I would take that Disney e mail with you. It might be impossible to get anything in writing from them, but you can try.

You may want to consider only doing the cruise; so, you wouldn't have to deal with the scooter.

I would like you to post what happens on this situation; so, we can help others.

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

Perhaps it would be better to rent a scooter for the Disney portion of the trip. You could use an outside company, who could have it at the hotel waiting for you when you get there. If DH needs help in getting to and from the gates at the airports, you can call the airline and they can have somone pick him up at the door and deliver him to where he needs to go. The same thing can be done at the cruise terminal.
Disney can give you names of rental companies in the area, the Passporter Guide Book for disabilities also has a list.

If you decide to fly, call and ask the airlines what their policy is. My DS is in a wheelchair. We always choose his manual chair for plane trips, because the batteries to his power chair have to be removed and stored seperately from the chair. Too much of a hassle for us. I don't know if they have the same requirement for an ECV.

We have to rent other medical equipement when we travel and we have had great experiences with the rented equipment.

Good Luck, hope you have a great time!

 

[clkelley]

Perhaps it would be better to rent a scooter for the Disney portion of the trip. You could use an outside company, who could have it at the hotel waiting for you when you get there. If DH needs help in getting to and from the gates at the airports, you can call the airline and they can have somone pick him up at the door and deliver him to where he needs to go. The same thing can be done at the cruise terminal.
Disney can give you names of rental companies in the area, the Passporter Guide Book for disabilities also has a list.

If you decide to fly, call and ask the airlines what their policy is. My DS is in a wheelchair. We always choose his manual chair for plane trips, because the batteries to his power chair have to be removed and stored seperately from the chair. Too much of a hassle for us. I don't know if they have the same requirement for an ECV.

We have to rent other medical equipement when we travel and we have had great experiences with the rented equipment.

Good Luck, hope you have a great time!

Not gonna rent when we have a perfectly good ECV of our own.

We fly with it all the time.

After crunching more numbers, even if we have a fabulous Ding! fare, by the time you add in the transfers, the extra hotel night at All-Stars the day before, (The cruise ship transfers are HIGH!!), and the small possibility that something we arranged in advance won't pan out upon arrival, just think we're gonna drive.

We can get a hotel at Cape Canaveral for $75 the night before the cruise that INCLUDES parking for the duration of the cruise. The ECV will be safe in the back of my truck (Have a locking camper shell on my truck bed) and it will not be in the way in the stateroom, or mismarked or banged in the All-Stars luggage room.

In reality we lose only about 4 hours on Sunday. We can leave as late as 1pm, get home by midnite. I can sleep in the truck. DH is retired, so he can sleep all day Monday

I think what we lose on Sunday, we'll gain on Thursday. While DH is waiting on the bags to be released, I can take a cab to retrieve the truck from the hotel, and we can be on our way to Disney a lot faster than the Cruise Line bus will get us there.

Plus we can pack a bit heavier if we drive. We can put our nice clothes on hangers and keep them unwrinkled, can pack some alcohol a bit easier. No dragging laptops, the scooter, and the C-Pap through security, no worrying about the 3oz liquids, etc., etc.