We are taking my mother-in-law on a cruise in Dec and looking for information on wheel chair rentals. Has anyone had any dealings with the cruise rental companies that rent wheelchairs? Are they strong enough to take off the ship? Any comments or suggestions will be a great help.
Casey- Unless you want a power wheel chair for them, you can "rent" one from the ship. At least on Carnival, we were able to call ahead to make sure they had one available for us. Then it was a $50 deposit which we got back at the end of the cruise when we brought it back.
Carnival Cruise Lines: Fantasy 1990, CCL Celebration 1995, Victory 2005, Conquest 2005, Spirit June 2006, Freedom June 2008, Holiday July 2008, Victory June 2009, Valor Sept 2009, Dream June 2010
Norwegian Cruise Lines NCL Dream October 2006
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
My wife has a mobility problem and due to her pride refuses to let me buy her a power chair. But atleast she lets me rent one for her. If you check your phone directory you will find them for short term rent. I pay for 2 weeks around $75. The reason I am suggesting to rent one before you board is because it is a long trip for them to the ship from parking and it is cheaper. Be sure to get the insurance just incase you lose it though. For me it is the best $75 that I will spend on the trip. A power chair just makes it so much more comfortable for the ones who need them and for those that are traveling with them. If you wait till you get on the ship to get one your loved ones have to do a lot of walking to get onboard and then you have to hope they still have (in your case) 2 available. Its not worth the risk. Also if you rent it yourself before you board they get to disembark riding it which will make it more comfortable for them.
We rented one from a local company so she had it at the airport as well as to the ship. It is not counted toward your baggage limit and was just nice knowing we had it before we left for the ship. It only cost us $2 a day to rent so it was well worth it.
Posts: 686 | Location: St. Charles, Minnesota | Registered: July 25, 2006
When we were on the Freedom last month and our friends mother had one of those 3 wheel electric scooters. She had no problem going everywhere on her own. I think it was about $15 a day for rental.
