Special Needs at Sea?

[frugalwitch]

Does anyone have experience with this company? I would love to rent a scooter for my Momma so DH and I don't spend our entire cruise pushing her manual wheelchair. Thanks

 

[dclfun]

Are you sailing with DCL or another cruise line? If it's DCL, you can call and they will give you the names of companies that pick up and deliver at Port Canaveral. Special Needs at Sea, from what I've heard, is a reputable company and also work with vendors in Europe. DCL used them for the Med cruises.

 

[krisnme]

Try this discussion board http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190 They are friendly and can answer all your questions, I think there may even be a sticky with some info you can use!.

 

[frugalwitch]

Yes, the cruise will be on DCL and thanks for the replies.

 

[dclfun]

Yes, the cruise will be on DCL and thanks for the replies.

Will you be sailing from Port Canaveral or another port? No matter which one, DCL will provide you with vendor name(s) you can choose from. Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

[stalbertsteve]

Yes, the cruise will be on DCL and thanks for the replies.

did you have your cruise yet and if so did you deal with Special Needs, how were they?

 

[Evette]

I just came upon this thread and thought I would post that I used Special Needs at Sea last year on our DCL cruise to Alaska. I rented a wheelchair for our DD and the service was great. We sailed from Vancouver, B.C., the wheelchair was waiting at our hotel, as we were there the day before our cruise. When the cruise was over we just left the wheelchair in our stateroom and Special Needs At Sea would come get it.

 

[Piper]

Do you have an accessible room? The doorways on the "regular" rooms aren't big enough to get the scooter in your room. You will need to charge the ECV each night, so it is better to be able to take it into your room. There is plenty of room in the accessible rooms.

Please don't leave it in the hall. It is a right squeeze in the halls without scooters parked in them.

 

[jworkkul]

I did just this thing in March of this year. I called DCL and they gave me the name of the company that I could rent an ECV from. They even delivered it to the dock and it was waiting for me at check in. I drove it right onto the boat. As for charging it every night, right outside the main elevators midship there are two alcoves that go to the right and left towards the rooms that are ample enough to leave your ECV there to charge it. I was lucky enough to have my room right off that doorway and it was an easy walk to the room. There are also plenty of outlets outside the restaurants. I found it very easy to get around with the ECV. I would suggest, though, that you stay clear of the midship elevators and either take the elevators to the front or aft of the ship. They seem to have less people waiting for them.

 

[stalbertsteve]

I'm not sure if this is the proper thread to post this question or not. So we are going to get a scooter for Mom. I would expect she will be able to drive it ashore in Castaway Cay, Costa Maya and Cozumel, is that true? If so does anyone have any experience at either port with someone using scooters, is there anything to be aware of or avoid? What about Grand Cayman, can she take it on the tender? Thanks in advance for the responses.

 

[peemagg]

I'm not sure if this is the proper thread to post this question or not. So we are going to get a scooter for Mom. I would expect she will be able to drive it ashore in Castaway Cay, Costa Maya and Cozumel, is that true? If so does anyone have any experience at either port with someone using scooters, is there anything to be aware of or avoid? What about Grand Cayman, can she take it on the tender? Thanks in advance for the responses.

Another good option to look for the answers to your questions besides on this board would be CruiseCritic.com. They have a disability site on their forums too, that people post about accessibility at each port. I know I have found it useful.