Traveling with a PALS

• By Glenda
• Posted September 30, 2007 at 3:59 pm

My husband and I have done quite a bit of traveling here recently. I will tell you what we have learned from our experiences. When booking the flight we had the best experience with Delta and Continental Airlines. If flying coach select the second row aisle seat, even though the bulkhead seat offers more leg room the second row has lifting arm rests for easier transfer. Get to the airport at least an hour and a half early (more would be better) and tell the gate attendant you need an aisle chair. You and your dad will be the first to board and they will load his chair from the door of the plane. I would recommend removing the headrest as it can easily be bent. Make sure your chair is a dry cell battery and you shouldn’t have any problems.
You mentioned the possibility of a cruise. We just returned from a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean on Carnival. The have accessible rooms and were very helpful to us. I would choose a newer ship because the accessible rooms were designed larger not just modified after the fact. The only cruise line I have had experience with is Carnival, however I have heard great things about Royal Caribbean. Some of their ships have a lift at the pool to enjoy the water. One thing to keep in mind is that not all ports are accessible, so if you don’t mind spending the day on the ship if you can not disembark then it is perfect. Some ports are extremely easy to navigate even in a wheelchair. When making your reservations you can ask how many ports are “tender” ports… these you will not be able to get off the boat. Most shore excursions are not wheelchair accessible either… talk to the purser when you arrive, they can advise you which ones are. The wait staff was extremely helpful and even cut my husbands food each night since that was hard for him. Of course if your father needs something special such as Ensure, I would recommend bringing that with you. You may need to request an adaptor for the wall outlet for charging the chair or using a bipap, but it is available.
We had a wonderful trip and I would recommend it. As long as you can remain flexible and expect to encounter some small hurdles your family should have a wonderful and memorable vacation. If you have any specific questions I will be glad to share anything I know with you. My email is glenda@kensjourney.com

Happy travels,
Glenda

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• By 4Marilyn
• Posted October 1, 2007 at 12:11 pm

Lyric2002,
Just found this website with lots of great information which may help you.
Candy Harrington's focus is accessible travel. I learned a lot just by reviewing her web site. She also has written magazines/books on accessible travel. candyharrington.com
I need to start traveling too!

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• By swhite-geo
• Posted October 2, 2007 at 9:55 am

Hello, I'd like to relay my cruising experience, hope it's helpful for you. I'm completely denent on my caregivers for the most part, though I can walk short distances, assisted by my wife/caregiver, like to the bathroom. We use the vacationstogo.com site for finding good cruise deals, then work out the details with the cruise line. After you book the cruise, getting them an accessible room, they'll send you a “special needs” form for you to fill out well in advance to ensure his needs are met. This is where you need to be as specific as possible about his needs, and whether he has to be in his own power chair, or a rental is used, will determine a few details. My experience is that you're better off driving to the port from home if possible, as traveling by air with a power chair can be pretty tricky, possible damage to the chair etc. If you must fly, you can arrange for a power chair to be waiting for him at the destination airport, hotel, or even in the cruise stateroom. You'll just have to take a lightweight, portable chair to get him on the ship, or the cruise line may provide that, I'm not sure. Our stateroom was fully accessible, with a roll-in shower with built-in bench, knee-under sink, raised commode, grab bars, and a mini-ramp that closes over the sliding door track for balcony access. As for meals, the chefs were more than accomodating, pureeing all the meals, as requested, or you can opt for them to provide him Ensure in place of his meals. I hope this helps. You can contact me at swhite.geo@yahoo.com if further questions, or if you'd like pictures. Also, I was able to roll off the ship at three of the four ports, even on the one tendered. The ship even sent a mechanic when my chair lost air from a tire. You should also join the "Sailing on Wheels" Yahoo group for access to lots of good information, pictures etc. Good luck and Bon Voyage!.
http://access-able.com/dbase/shdetail.cfm?id=122
http://www.cruising.org/planyourcruise/guides/wheelchair.cfm
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sailingonwheels/

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