Alaska cruise...mobility impaired

Thanks for your help so far. We are nearing our cruise date..(just 2
mos.) and a couple of more questions gave popped up.

My wife and I are 50 and 52 years old, but my parents are coming
along. They are in their early seventies and there are a couple of
medical issues.

We are traveling southbound from Seward to Vancouver and here are the
questions:

1) Medications: Will they need any special documentation traveling
across international borders? They both like to put their pills in
those plastic dispensers that set up your dosing for a week. Will we
need to bring along the original bottles as well to verify the Rx
info?

2) My mom has moderate difficulty getting around due to arthritis. At
home, she would use an electric scooter for any extended activities.
The cruise line, Celebrity, can provide us with a wheelchair, which
would work if no other option. But does anyone know of any companies
that night rent electric scooters that can be returned at a different
site? And could the scooters be used on the ship ....the room
hallways seem narrow on floor plan views.

3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

TIA





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Leo K wrote:

1) Medications: Will they need any special documentation traveling
across international borders? They both like to put their pills in
those plastic dispensers that set up your dosing for a week. Will we
need to bring along the original bottles as well to verify the Rx
info?

They really should have their prescription meds in the original
bottles that have the prescribing information. Once they get to the
ship, they could put them in the weekly dispenser. Also remind them to
bring more then they need, just to be safe.

2) My mom has moderate difficulty getting around due to arthritis. At
home, she would use an electric scooter for any extended activities.
The cruise line, Celebrity, can provide us with a wheelchair, which
would work if no other option. But does anyone know of any companies
that night rent electric scooters that can be returned at a different
site? And could the scooters be used on the ship ....the room
hallways seem narrow on floor plan views.

I know that people use scooters on cruise ships, so that isn't a
problem. I will leave the rest of this to others who have experience
with scooter rentals.

sue

Answered Inline:

"Leo K" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your help so far. We are nearing our cruise date..(just 2
mos.) and a couple of more questions gave popped up.

My wife and I are 50 and 52 years old, but my parents are coming
along. They are in their early seventies and there are a couple of
medical issues.

We are traveling southbound from Seward to Vancouver and here are the
questions:

1) Medications: Will they need any special documentation traveling
across international borders? They both like to put their pills in
those plastic dispensers that set up your dosing for a week. Will we
need to bring along the original bottles as well to verify the Rx
info?

Leo, my husband and I always bring our medications (the prescibed ones) in
their original containers..We do combine our vitamins, aspirin, calcium and
any other ones (non-prescription) in one container...On our 32 cruises, not
once, have they even looked at our medications...but that is not saying that
they won't one day, so we don't take that chance..We tape little colored
labels on top of the bottles as well..easier to find them in your carry-on
medical and cosmetic bag.


2) My mom has moderate difficulty getting around due to arthritis. At
home, she would use an electric scooter for any extended activities.
The cruise line, Celebrity, can provide us with a wheelchair, which
would work if no other option. But does anyone know of any companies
that night rent electric scooters that can be returned at a different
site? And could the scooters be used on the ship ....the room
hallways seem narrow on floor plan views.

Is there any reason your Mom cannot bring her own scooter? Is it one that
you can take apart in two pieces making it easier to bring along?...We have
very good friends with whom we cruise often and she has a scooter that she
takes on the plane
and onboard the ship.. I'm hoping Barb or Tobie will jump in here and help
me out with more information. Or Nonnymous and Mrs. Nonnymous?

Celebrity, as most lines has wheelchairs...as to whether you can keep one
after she boards is not always a definite..but I have seen it done. You can
request one before boarding to make that process easier. They have a
special line for wheelchair passengers and also when disembarking, they will
provide you with one if you make an early request for one at the purser's
desk.


3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

I believe that the answer there is yes and no...depends on the physical
abilities of the passenger and the weather that day.
Sometimes the seas are so rough, that the tender *bobs* about making it is
difficult for even a person in good physical condition to maintain good
balance.

Will you be staying at the fairly new Holiday Inn in Seward? We had a room
facing the marina and the next morning awakened to see our ship, the Ryndam,
docked and looking beautiful with the snow capped mountains in the
background!

Enjoy your cruise!
--Jean

Hello Leo, I am mobility limited and I take my scooter on cruises (37 so far
and 2 more booked). The passageways (hallway) are wide enough for almost all
scooters (4 wheel ones might be a problem on some ships) . The problem is
that the standard stateroom door openings are to narrow for most scooters.
Consider requesting a HC* stateroom as they have wider doors for that
purpose. Tenders are a problem but on my recent Alaska cruise we docked at
every port. Holland America cruise line does have a lift that will assist
persons in a standard WC in boarding tenders. Crew members generally are
willing to assist but are generally limited to "giving a hand".
* HC cabins also have other HC assistance features such as hand rails, walk
in showers with chair.

A possible source for scooter rental try:
http://www.scootaround.com/cruise/index.htm

In addition to cruising I also have traveled to many foreign countries and I
have never had my meds inspected.
Good luck,
Ron

"Leo K" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your help so far. We are nearing our cruise date..(just 2
mos.) and a couple of more questions gave popped up.

My wife and I are 50 and 52 years old, but my parents are coming
along. They are in their early seventies and there are a couple of
medical issues.

We are traveling southbound from Seward to Vancouver and here are the
questions:

1) Medications: Will they need any special documentation traveling
across international borders? They both like to put their pills in
those plastic dispensers that set up your dosing for a week. Will we
need to bring along the original bottles as well to verify the Rx
info?

2) My mom has moderate difficulty getting around due to arthritis. At
home, she would use an electric scooter for any extended activities.
The cruise line, Celebrity, can provide us with a wheelchair, which
would work if no other option. But does anyone know of any companies
that night rent electric scooters that can be returned at a different
site? And could the scooters be used on the ship ....the room
hallways seem narrow on floor plan views.

3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

TIA





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To email: Remove XX from email address

Hi Leo,

You didn't mention what size your mother's scooter is, or if you are doing
tours in Alaska before your cruise. If you are going directly to the
cruise, I would say "definitely bring the scooter". The airlines, and other
transportation facilities in the USA are governed by the ADA (Americans with
disabilities act) and are very accommodating about handling a scooter. The
tour companies might be another thing.

We have cruised on Celebrity, and most of the other mainline cruise
companies with Barb's scooter and have normally found them to be very good
at helping with the scooter. We have done 2 7 day cruises to Alaska
(Vancouver return), and three back-to-back (Vancouver-Seward-Vancouver).
The hallways have always been wide enough (just barely in some cases) for
the scooter, except on the last night when they are full of luggage for a
time, but even then the stewards will help move luggage if necessary.

Tendering in Alaska with a scooter is quite difficult at most times. The
tides are much higher, and the gangways (even when tied up to the pier) are
usually much steeper than you would find in the Caribbean. I would not
count on being able to get a scooter ashore in a tendering port. If your
Mom can do a steep gangway on foot, you might be able to use a manual
wheelchair to get ashore by tender. It would depend on the weather
conditions at the time and whether the cruise line will let you take their
wheelchair off the ship (some do, some don't).

Any other questions, please ask.

Tobieon an Island in the Pacific


"Jean O'Boyle" wrote in message
. net...
Is there any reason your Mom cannot bring her own scooter? Is it one that
you can take apart in two pieces making it easier to bring along?...We
have very good friends with whom we cruise often and she has a scooter
that she takes on the plane
and onboard the ship.. I'm hoping Barb or Tobie will jump in here and help
me out with more information. Or Nonnymous and Mrs. Nonnymous?

Celebrity, as most lines has wheelchairs...as to whether you can keep one
after she boards is not always a definite..but I have seen it done. You
can request one before boarding to make that process easier. They have a
special line for wheelchair passengers and also when disembarking, they
will provide you with one if you make an early request for one at the
purser's desk.


3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

I believe that the answer there is yes and no...depends on the physical
abilities of the passenger and the weather that day.
Sometimes the seas are so rough, that the tender *bobs* about making it
is difficult for even a person in good physical condition to maintain good
balance.

Will you be staying at the fairly new Holiday Inn in Seward? We had a
room facing the marina and the next morning awakened to see our ship, the
Ryndam, docked and looking beautiful with the snow capped mountains in the
background!

Enjoy your cruise!
--Jean

On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 17:48:23 GMT, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:

(snipped)
Is there any reason your Mom cannot bring her own scooter? Is it one that
you can take apart in two pieces making it easier to bring along?...We have
very good friends with whom we cruise often and she has a scooter that she
takes on the plane
and onboard the ship.. I'm hoping Barb or Tobie will jump in here and help
me out with more information. Or Nonnymous and Mrs. Nonnymous?

We are looking into that option as well, both in terms of transporting
it on the plane, or having it shipped. We live in PA and what we have
found up to this point are fairly expensive options. I'll have to
check with her as to whether or not it can easily be broken down.



Celebrity, as most lines has wheelchairs...as to whether you can keep one
after she boards is not always a definite..but I have seen it done. You can
request one before boarding to make that process easier. They have a
special line for wheelchair passengers and also when disembarking, they will
provide you with one if you make an early request for one at the purser's
desk.


3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

I believe that the answer there is yes and no...depends on the physical
abilities of the passenger and the weather that day.
Sometimes the seas are so rough, that the tender *bobs* about making it is
difficult for even a person in good physical condition to maintain good
balance.

Will you be staying at the fairly new Holiday Inn in Seward? We had a room
facing the marina and the next morning awakened to see our ship, the Ryndam,
docked and looking beautiful with the snow capped mountains in the
background!

Enjoy your cruise!
--Jean






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To email: Remove XX from email address

Your last

"We are looking into that option as well, both in terms of transporting
it on the plane, or having it shipped. We live in PA and what we have
found up to this point are fairly expensive options. I'll have to
check with her as to whether or not it can easily be broken down"

There is no cost involved in having the airline transport the scooter. I
ride mine right up to the plane door and airline personnel take it there.
They also deliver it to the plane on arrival. It also does not have to break
down in to parts either. The only cost would be for transport to and from
the airport and the ship. If you have cruise ship transfers they will also
provide transport for the scooter. (You have to notify them in advance)
Note, that this assumes that she has a physical handicap that requires the
use of a WC or scooter.


"Leo K" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 17:48:23 GMT, "Jean O'Boyle"
wrote:

(snipped)
Is there any reason your Mom cannot bring her own scooter? Is it one that
you can take apart in two pieces making it easier to bring along?...We
have
very good friends with whom we cruise often and she has a scooter that she
takes on the plane
and onboard the ship.. I'm hoping Barb or Tobie will jump in here and help
me out with more information. Or Nonnymous and Mrs. Nonnymous?

We are looking into that option as well, both in terms of transporting
it on the plane, or having it shipped. We live in PA and what we have
found up to this point are fairly expensive options. I'll have to
check with her as to whether or not it can easily be broken down.



Celebrity, as most lines has wheelchairs...as to whether you can keep one
after she boards is not always a definite..but I have seen it done. You
can
request one before boarding to make that process easier. They have a
special line for wheelchair passengers and also when disembarking, they
will
provide you with one if you make an early request for one at the purser's
desk.


3) Are tenders easy enough to board for mobility impaired persons?

I believe that the answer there is yes and no...depends on the physical
abilities of the passenger and the weather that day.
Sometimes the seas are so rough, that the tender *bobs* about making it
is
difficult for even a person in good physical condition to maintain good
balance.

Will you be staying at the fairly new Holiday Inn in Seward? We had a
room
facing the marina and the next morning awakened to see our ship, the
Ryndam,
docked and looking beautiful with the snow capped mountains in the
background!

Enjoy your cruise!
--Jean






___________________
To email: Remove XX from email address

Jean O'Boyle wrote:

Leo, my husband and I always bring our medications (the prescibed ones) in
their original containers..We do combine our vitamins, aspirin, calcium and
any other ones (non-prescription) in one container...On our 32 cruises, not
once, have they even looked at our medications...but that is not saying that
they won't one day,

We take prescription and non-prescription in original containers and
also have never been questioned. Although I can't be sure, I believe
we aren't questioned or searched because they see that everything is
labeled.

sue

"Sue and Kevin Mullen" wrote in message
...
We take prescription and non-prescription in original containers and also
have never been questioned. Although I can't be sure, I believe we aren't
questioned or searched because they see that everything is labeled.



Sue, they never have even opened my carry on bag, so they have not seen our
medications or our labels on them. They just once questioned me about my
white noise making machine..It is round and about five inches in diameter
and when I explained what it did, they just nodded and said *ok*. Coming
back from South America, they asked if I had any *horses* in my carry on
bag...I had gotten each of the grandchildren a little brass llama from Chile
and we all broke into laughter when I told them what they were! They didn't
even open the bag to see them! LOL! Maybe we just don't fit the profile for
which they are looking!

--Jean

Jean O'Boyle wrote:
"Sue and Kevin Mullen" wrote in message
We take prescription and non-prescription in original containers and also
have never been questioned. Although I can't be sure, I believe we aren't
questioned or searched because they see that everything is labeled.


Sue, they never have even opened my carry on bag, so they have not seen our
medications or our labels on them. They just once questioned me about my
white noise making machine..It is round and about five inches in diameter
and when I explained what it did, they just nodded and said *ok*. Coming
back from South America, they asked if I had any *horses* in my carry on
bag...I had gotten each of the grandchildren a little brass llama from Chile
and we all broke into laughter when I told them what they were! They didn't
even open the bag to see them! LOL! Maybe we just don't fit the profile for
which they are looking!

--Jean

That's funny, Jean. Along the same
lines, I collect miniclocks. While in
Vancouver last year, I purchased a few
and then completely forgot about them
when going through customs. They
probably looked like little bombs on the
x-ray machine. So they took us aside
and opened each one up so they could be
thoroughly scanned.

Marsha/Ohio