Traveling With A Knee Scooter On A Cruise Ship
- Kyle Coppola
August 2, 2019
- A lower body injury suffered before a big vacation can be a real hit on an individual's moral. This is especially true if your going to be going on a cruise. It would be easy to say I'm gonna let it ruin my vacation but that doesn't have to be the case. We see many people traveling with wheelchairs and crutches but one of the most comfortable mobility device is a knee walker. These great devices are fast becoming one of the leaders among alternative options to crutches.
So when an injury happens close to a big vacation especially a cruise, we receive many questions such as the following.
Can You Use a Knee Scooter on a Cruise Ship?
The countries you get to see and the variety of foods, clothing and activities makes traveling on one of these massive glorified cities so much fun. Be it spending time in the casino parlor, taking in some of the unique entertainment options or simply traversing the hallways to attend dinner lets show you how many great stories were made on cruise ships because of knee walkers!Just like using a knee walker at a theme park the answer is yes you are able to use a knee walker on a cruise ship! This is great news for anyone who will be going on a cruise with an injury.
We get countless photos of all the cool interesting destinations that some of our customers have been.
There is nothing quite like traveling on a cruise ship.
Related Story: Are Knee Scooters Allowed At Theme Parks?
Do I Need An Accessible Room/Cabin?It depends on a few factors if you are getting an accessible room on a cruise ship these rooms will generally have more space. You should talk to the cruise provider about access to these rooms.
As you can see in the picture the accessible room will be larger allowing more ease for people with an injury or disability.
Moving around these rooms are much more practical particularly for people in wheel chairs and knee scooters.
What If I Get A Regular Room/Cabin?
If you get a regular room just be aware that there will be things that are not as accessible for people on knee walkers. The room is much narrower than an accessible one.
Using a knee walker in the room can be a bit challenging and storage of the knee walker likewise can be difficult because of the limited space available inside the room.
Here are some challenges you will find with using a knee walker in a standard cabin.
Challenges Using Knee Walker On A Cruise Ship
Bathroom Use
Most bathrooms will have an elevated lip which you can see in the image. This will mainly prevent a knee walker from rolling inside of the lavatory. Due to the small space inside the bathroom we don't recommend lifting the knee scooter over the lip.
When you get to the edge of the bathroom it may involve doing a little maneuvering and standing on one leg. When you move into the restroom it will be important to keep the knee walker right outside the door for ease of access.
The bathrooms are usually small enough where you primarily stand and don't have to do much walking around.Balcony Use
Much like the bathroom the balcony will likewise be challenging to traverse on a knee walker. The main reason is because of the lip that goes out to the balcony. Most cruise ships have these lips to prevent any water which washes onto the deck during rough seas, entering into the room.
Because of this factor most knee walkers will not be able to roll out onto the sun deck. You can lift the knee scooter over the lip but this is another challenge which can be easily managed but you should be aware of it.
Narrow Space
Cruise ships use as much available space as possible and as a result the rooms are sometimes very narrow. As you can see in the photo using a knee walker in a standard room could prove a bit difficult. The narrow space limits the turning radius any model will have.
To turn the knee walker around may involve lifting the model so just be aware that using a knee walker in a standard room will come with limited mobility at times. Although limited in mobility cruising around the ship is so much easier than using crutches.
The Swivelmate Knee Walker excels in these tight spaces since it is only knee walker that can turn 90 degree, enabling you to navigate these spaces.
Beach Wheelchairs Are Available (Sometimes)Not all beaches at ports have these luxuries but many do include the ability of beach wheelchairs. As you can see these wheelchairs are designed for sandy beaches. Almost all knee walker models are not made for use in sand so these wheelchairs provide the ability for a disabled person to still fully enjoy their vacation.
Again these are available at some ports but not all ports are going to have devices like this so it's best to contact the customer service on the ship before reaching the port to find out if such equipment is available. As far as the beach goes these can make for a great day of fun in the sun!
Related Story: Traveling with a Knee Scooter
Traveling with a knee walker on a cruise ship has so many benefits. Just take a look at some of our favorite images from some of our great customers who fully enjoyed their experience on the high seas!Stan from Dania, Florida"Here we are at the Panama Canal, we were on a cruise and I was able to bring my Knee Walker and as a result of that we really enjoyed our cruise fully. I used my knee walker all the time and had a lot of fun using it."
Nothing like a good cruise to get the spirits up and what a beautiful show of the Panama Canal! Notice how Stan is on the boat deck, when that section of the ship is wet it can be a real problem for crutches. Traveling with a knee scooter is easy, they provide extra stability and are equipped with brakes so if the ship is rocking in heavier seas the brakes can be easily applied.
Arlene from Antioch, California"On the Royal Carribean: Harmony of the Seas, Sailing to Labadee, Haiti and the Bahamas... while working out!
Because of the scooter, I was able to remain non-weight bearing (had a broken ankle, post-op), get around faster and do my day to day tasks, especially being a busy mom and of course very helpful while on our cruise and being able to enjoy our vacation!"
"This was taken on my family vacation to Aruba! Having been in a cast for 3 weeks prior and only using crutches, I was able to use The Swivelmate knee walker to go to Aruba and enjoy the pool, beach and sightseeing!"Sheheeda from Pembroke, Massachusetts"I broke my right ankle on May 19th an my first thought was how am I going to be able to go on vacation/work? I had a cast on and was non-weight bearing, so I used the crutches to get around. The problem with crutches is that when they get wet, you slip and fall. I almost cancelled my trip until I found The Swivelmate!
I was able to scoot around to the pool and even go to the beach. I was the talk of the resort, everyone was in amazement of The Swivelmate. Kids thought it was cool and adults loved the idea. I even had people stop me on the street to find out about it. I am a nurse and also teach classes, I have been able to continue to teach while out of work. I am grateful that I found your website and ordered The Swivelmate!"
Kelley from Pleasantville, Iowa"ARGH! Pirate Night while on a 7 day cruise aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship. Mickey Mouse always helps with broken bone healing! I broke the 5th metatarsal in my right foot two weeks before our trip. I cringed at the thought of using crutches the entire trip. I searched locally and on various websites and found the Swivelmate.
It was a trip saver! I was able to have a great time, as great as it could be with a broken foot, and enjoyed some much needed R&R. The cabins are small on cruise ships but with the Swivelmate I was able to maneuver around. I highly recommend this model whether on vacation or not."Kelly was also able to take in this incredible view at St. Thomas Island! "Ahhh, the beautiful island of St. Thomas. One of our stops was this beautiful island. We hailed a taxi and made our way to mountain top overlook.
From there we could see beautiful Magens Bay, St. John, and The Tortola islands just to name a few amazing sites." Traveling with a knee walker on a Disney Cruise seems like it was an absolute blast!
Fun To Be HadIt just goes to show that even though an injury has occurred doesn't mean your cruise is going to be ruined. There are plenty of access points around cruise ships for people with knee walkers.
The elevators in cruise ships are getting faster and more efficient so traversing the ships is easy. Many of the newer ships will have wheelchair and scooter access ramps but some of the older ships may be slightly more tricky to navigate.
The best advice is to visit guest services aboard the cruise ship of your choice to notify them of any needs.
Knee walkers can be so much fun!
By standing straight the knee walker allows you a much better center of gravity than crutches. The Swivelmate model appeared to have no problem navigating the sometimes cramped interiors of the ship including the walkways. With The Swivelmates 90 degree steering radius getting around corners is easy and as seen in this picture can fit perfectly in smaller cruise line cabins.
We found that navigating a cruise ship on a knee walker is much easier than using a wheelchair. For one the increased stability you get with a knee walker is a massive benefit.
Although not too noticeable the ship is in the ocean and you can feel movement. Although the movement from side to side is minimal there is sometimes enough to throw a person off balance.
If you have any photos of you and your knee walker we want to see them! You could be entered to win up to $250 just click here and submit your photos!
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