Wheelchairs available on the Disney Magic??

[SeaSpray]

I will email my travel agent, but I wanted to ask here if anyone has experience with needing a wheelchair in the middle of a Disney cruise? Do they have them to borrow if needed, or to rent?

My fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and plantar fasciitis have been fairly bad for the last several months. We cruise in 15 weeks. I'm hopeful and optimistic that I will at least be able to hobble around enough to get around the ship to do the things that I want to do (basically adult pool, dining, shows, etc, not much else really), but I think I'd feel better if I knew that a wheelchair would be available should I need one.

Thanks for any info!

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

By far your best bet, without even it being a "close call" is to make your own arrangements. Best you'ld not need it but have it there as the safety line you already view it.

While DCL does have some chairs onboard, you do NOT want to rely on them when already knowing you might need one. Not only are they ment to only be used in those situations where needing one is a big surprise (like slipping on a wet deck and injuring a foot), but they are...... well..... in very bad shape if I'm optimistic. Run down, uncomfortable, pain in the rear for both you and whomever will be pushing you (have had so much beating that selfpropelling isn't a real option for distances). Because of that "just in case it's needed" service, DCL will not let you "reserve" a chair for a cruise as that would defeat the purpose.

Another thing to consider; would you be OK with a chair? The ship causes long distances to travel before you know it. When not a regular wheelchair user, selfpropelling is hard work. Combine that with the carpet on the floor at the hallways to the staterooms and it becomes real work. (carpet makes it a lot more difficult to move around with a manual chair) If you can't navigate enough, you'ld need help from a travel companion. Again, can be pretty heavy work esp. with the carpet and all. Can somebody do that? Would you be OK with needing that part of assistance? Or would an ECV be a better option for that and in that case; would you be able to use one safely in the small -but fitting- and busy spaces that are a cruiseship?

Consider the "worst case scenario". Hopefully it'll be the best, but if it's the worst you'll still want to enjoy it to the fullest. What would you need in that case? Go from there, make sure that is in place. If you end up not needing it or less; GREAT! If not; you'll thank yourself big time for having taken the road of preparing for a full flare attack.

Same goes for your stateroom. Think about things NOW. It's easier to make arrangements a.s.a.p that it is once you are in the situation. For instance; would a raised toilet seat make things easier on you? Or being able to sit under the shower after a long painfull day while the ship moves and the tubfloor is wet? You can contact the special needs department of DCL through phone and/or email. Where possible they'll do their best to work with you. For instance the stuff I mentioned about toilet seat, sitting in the shower etc. can be arranged without needing an accessible stateroom. They can provide toilet seat raisers and showerseats that fit the configuration of a regular stateroom bathroom.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks so much for the reply, goofieslonglostsis! You bring out a lot of very good points.

I probably would not be able to propel myself along in a regular wheelchair for very long. The cruise that we're going on is leaving out of New York City, so I don't even know how I could go about renting an ECV even if I wanted to. When we go to WDW I always rent one from an offsite company and they have it waiting at the resort for me.

I'll email my travel agent and see what she recommends, and also maybe call DCL directly to speak to someone in special services department.

 

[Piper]

I am going on the Magic from Galveston a few weeks after you. How are you getting to NYC? If you are flying, you can rent an ECV from a provider at home and gate check it free. Airports are huge and walking in them can literally be a pain!

A Pride GoGo Elite is a very good ECV. It is small and easy to maneuver. I used to have that model. Now I have the Pride Victory....it is a little larger, but still good. I am going on the Magic from Galveston a few weeks after you. If you do get an ECV, you will probably want to change to a HC cabin if it is available. The doors on a regular cabin are too small (you would have to fold a WC to get through them) and they are difficult to move about with a chair or ECV.

BTW a GoGo and Victory both come apart into 4 pieces and will fit in the trunk of a car if you drive.

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

With an ECV the easiest thing would be an accessible room. Otherwise it will not fit through the door into your stateroom. Which would result in having to look for an appropriate storage space with the stateroom attendant where you could also load. There are some cut outs used for this, but it is non official and first come, first serve. Whatever happens; don't let the ECV out in the hallway. I know a very few CM's do advice this, sounds nice and peachy for yourself but can block off the halway from there for any and all needing to use a mobility aid or being large sized. Not an option, thus.

For rental; either rent at home if you need it at the airport and can't or don't want to manage with airport assistance. If renting at the port would be easier; contact DCL special needs directly. While it's a brand new departure port for them, they should be able to inform you about which company they're working with. That way you can have the ECV waiting for you at either the port building or onboard (whatever needed and what has been made possible between DCL and ECV company).

NY isn't a port new to cruising, there have been plenty others that have cruised from there and have let their customers use rental ECV's onboard. Thus there must be options out there. Easiest tends to be to work with the cruisecompany, in this case DCL, to find out who they endorce and/or work with to make sure things go as smooth as possible.

If an accessible stateroom would be the better option; check in on it ASAP! It's short moment to get one already, most will book up very quickly. You can find forms online with DCL that you can fill out and have your doc sign so DCL knows what your needs are, that an accessible stateroom is needed etc. It's not a one-size-fits-all form, but needed for the accessible rooms and a good way to get started when working with certain needs, I've found.

Definately talk to DCL SN. Not because the TA isn't good at their job, but because the less people in the communicationline, the less chance of there being miscommunication. I've found it to be a great department to work with and very patient. Any questions regarding disabilities etc. is something they deal with. I've fired off quite a few odd and or very specific ones that would result in them having to investigate and/or contact specific persons or even physically check some things in the assigned stateroom. Never once a sigh or anything other but doing anything they can to make sure things were set for me and/or I'ld get the right info so I could make my own arrangements where need be.

Not sure if we're allowed to post these things on here, doubt it might be the smartest thing, but if you can't find it; sent me a pm for the mailadress or phonenumber.

 

[sopandbass]

We just returned from a cruise on the Magic on Saturday. I have rheumatoid arthritis and it's flaired up pretty badly lately so I decided to take my ECV from home so that I could get through the airport and other places more easily. I'm so glad I did that. I would encourage you to rent an ECV from home and just have it with you throughout the trip if that's an option for you.

We did not have an accessible stateroom but I had selected a room close to the aft elevators on Deck 2. That way, I could ride my scooter to my room if the housekeeping carts were not out yet and my husband could take it back and park it in the elevator landing if it needed to be out of the way. There are electrical outlets for charging there as well. The aft and forward elevators are less crowded and you will have less wait time for an empty elevator if you utilize those most often.

It was so much easier for my family that I have the ECV for moving around the ship. I've cruised DCL without it before and it takes a long time to get places not to mention the extra energy it takes for balance when the ship is moving. I found the stateroom to be very negotiable for me but you can request raised toilets and shower seats as has been mentioned.

We went on the Western itinerary so I couldn't get into Grand Cayman because you need to tender boat in which required walking down about 10 steps and walking into the tender itself. Between the movement of the tender and the possibly large step out (depending on the swell of the waves), I choose not to try it, although you can borrow a wheelchair to have on land with you.

Not every doorway is accessible so you will need help going out onto Deck 4. It's posted everywhere that the aft doors are HA but that's a bit misleading, since there are double doors - one set slides with the push of a button but one set of doors is manual. If you'd like to sit in the front of the theatre for the shows, go 30 minutes early to the show and a cast member outside the theatre will take you down a deck, through Sessions, into a hallway that leads to the front row. You can leave your ECV in the hallway during the show and then they'll meet you at the end and take you back. There are also places to park and watch the show at the very back of the theatre as well.

I hope you do not need an ECV or wheelchair by the time you go but if you do, don't hesitate to use one. You'll have a great trip!!!

 

[dclfun]

I agree wholeheartedly to have your own "wheels" whether it be a manual w/c that someone else can push or an ECV which will give you more independence. As was mentioned, if you don't have an accessible stateroom there are alcoves by the elevators and the aft areas where an ECV can be stored and charged. Guest services can also keep it overnight and charge it for you. As Goofieslonglistsis mentioned, the chairs available on the ship are for emergencies only and aren't in good condition. I know someone who insisted on borrowing one for a 14 night transatlantic cruise and then was angry when it fell apart even though she was given the same advice. Not only did the brakes not work but one of the footrests fell off and the tire separated from the wheel. On her next cruise she borrowed a w/c from the American Legion for free and brought it with her. I would count on needing one if I were you as you don't want to be in pain or not able to access the experiences you want because you aren't able to get around the ship. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks everyone for the advice. When we go to WDW it's so easy; we stay on the monorail and I rent an ECV from an outside company. On our last cruise in 2007 my health was much, much better than it is now, so this is my first cruise dealing with these issues.

 

[mdvlprof]

Try care vacations or special needs at sea. They rent for other cruiselines. Good bet they rent for DCL, too.

 

[SeaSpray]

Try care vacations or special needs at sea. They rent for other cruiselines. Good bet they rent for DCL, too.

Thanks. I just checked out the Special Needs at Sea web site and the cost to rent a scooter for the week is $250. Yikes. At WDW I always know that I will definitely need the use of a scooter, so we budget that in. On this cruise, I don't know for sure if I will need it or not, or to what extent, and our budget is tighter for this cruise to begin with.

But thank you for that info, it is good to know that I can order a scooter to be at the port, and I will only need 7 days notice. I will wait and see how I am feeling once I'm a couple of weeks away from our trip.

 

[Piper]

Thanks. I just checked out the Special Needs at Sea web site and the cost to rent a scooter for the week is $250. Yikes. At WDW I always know that I will definitely need the use of a scooter, so we budget that in. On this cruise, I don't know for sure if I will need it or not, or to what extent, and our budget is tighter for this cruise to begin with.

But thank you for that info, it is good to know that I can order a scooter to be at the port, and I will only need 7 days notice. I will wait and see how I am feeling once I'm a couple of weeks away from our trip.

Have you checked into renting locally. A lot of times it is much cheaper!

 

[dclfun]

You might want to call DCL and ask what vendor they are using in NYC. I'm sure they have set up something as they did in Europe and California. $250 a week does seem like a very high amount for something being rented and returned in a large US city.