Sheila at the pier in Naples, FL

From Sheila:

Here I am on my TravelScoot at the pier in Naples, FL...post cruise! The bag does look a little large...no wonder I landed in the post hole in Aruba!

You can probably tell that it wasn't all that warm when we were in "sunny FL"....All I had for warmth was one sweater and a windbreaker I brought for our cruise!

All I can say is that...with my back and hip issues....the TravelScoot was a godsend on our cruise..pre and post cruise, too!

Rhonda's Thanksgiving Cruise

Rhonda and her family took a Thanksgiving cruise, which was her first cruise with her TravelScoot. I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of the pictures she sent and her comments...

"When not in use, it doubles as storage."

"Boarding was smooth, I handled all of the ramps with no problem and so far no obstacles. Elevators are a little smaller than I am used to, so I guess no donuts in the elevator."

I had asked her to take a picture of her scoot in their cabin, which wasn't a handicap cabin.  Rhonda said she was able to get the scoot through the cabin door with about an inch to spare.

Bee answers Anne's cruise questions

This cute couple is Sarge and Bee. 
They've had their TravelScoots for over a year and are our experts on cruising!

Q. Any advantage (other than price) to having a lead battery as 2nd battery as opposed to a 2nd Li-ion? I'm thinking in particular on excursions, heat issues.

A. yes, i prefer the heavier battery on a ship as there are a lot of ramps and the lion will overheat and cut out often. i have both but only take the heavy one on cruises. it runs all day and charges at night.


Q. Speaking of excursions: How does it work w/ the TravelScoot (TS)? Other than Princess Cays, all our ports this trip are non-tendered, which will make a big difference. But how to find out which excursions will accommodate the TS? How do tour operators/bus drivers respond to it?

A. first of all some tenders will let you on and some will not. if you go on a ship's excursion they will not let you book ones that you can't take the scooter on, they are good about it. be careful about private excursions, they only want the money and will tell you anything. if you get a private taxi to tour most ports do have vans and will help you take the scooter. honestly we have been to the caribbean ports so many times we usually stay on the ship! or just go off and ride around the port and get back on. the ramp to get off and on is really steep and you might have to walk up and down that but i can do it.


Q. What do you do about securing your TS when you're not actually sitting on it, for example in the dining room, or at the pool, or while on some part of an excursion that doesn't accommodate it?

A. well other than one time i have never had a problem anywhere. once we had a cabin on the lido deck and left the scooters outside the door for an afternoon nap. (i say scooters because charlie and i both have them) well some kids took them and did their best to trash them. security got the scooters and carnival repaired them to new but it was scary for a bit! when we opened the door and they weren't there! yikes! but it all ended well. and in the dining room and theater and such, just park it out of the way and i don't think there will ever be a problem. i have taken mine on seven cruises now.


Q. My memory of Princess ships is that they are not very size-friendly. Are you able to use the TS as seating in the buffet area or the theater, for example?

A. never cruised princess.


Q. Do you "scoot" thru the buffet lines? What do you do with your tray?

A. the crew will carry your tray, just ask someone and they are very nice about it.


Q. How do you manage getting in/out of elevators w/ no reverse? Are other pax generally helpful or PITAs?

A. pita's for sure. i try to leave the theater late after the rush is gone because i don't like to walk out before the cast gets their applause to get there first. otherwise if i have to get in a crowd i just sit at ONE elevator door and sort of block it so i am first whenever that one comes. our problem is we have two of them! but we always manage, just relax and enjoy. if someone pushes in front of me i usually very nicely say something like "you must really be in a hurry, go on in front of me and i can wait for the next one" or something like that to embarrass them if i can.


Q. OK to scoot to muster drill?

A. yes and at least on carnival you don't have to go in the crowd, they have a special place to go and you don't have to take the life vest but i don't know about princess. i always go before time so i can get an elevator though to get there.


Q. Any recommendations for TS accessories -- for example, should I buy either of the baskets? What accessories do you have on yours?

A. i think the baskets are way too big. i went to walmart and got a small purse like velcro thingy and put that on the handlebars and a small schwinn cup holder. otherwise i just use the bottom canvas thing.


Q. Any tips, beyond Hardy's, for air travel with TS?

A. no, he's the pro!

Questions from Anne

Anne has some questions for us. I'm going to include my answers here, and hopefully others will comment as well.

1. Any advantage (other than price) to having a lead battery as 2nd battery as opposed to a 2nd Li-ion? I'm thinking in particular on excursions, heat issues.

I do own an SLA battery but it almost never leaves the trunk of my car. I keep it there because I don't have to protect it from the heat, and I store my scoot in my trunk. If I need to use my scoot and hadn't planned in advance for it and brought a lithium ion battery, I use the SLA. This means I always have the choice of using my scoot.

2. Speaking of excursions: How does it work w/ the TravelScoot (TS)? Other than Princess Cays, all our ports this trip are non-tendered, which will make a big difference. But how to find out which excursions will accommodate the TS? How do tour operators/bus drivers respond to it?

3. What do you do about securing your TS when you're not actually sitting on it, for example in the dining room, or at the pool, or while on some part of an excursion that doesn't accommodate it?

4. OK to scoot to muster drill?

I'll pass on all of these in favor of someone with cruise experience. You may also want to search the cruisecritic.com message boards. After my cruise in March I hope to have better answers!

5. My memory of Princess ships is that they are not very size-friendly. Are you able to use the TS as seating in the buffet area or the theater, for example?

I don't know about the Princess ships seating, but I do know that you're only going to want to sit on your scoot as a last resort. The TravelScoot (as Rhonda says) is NOT a recliner on wheels. It's intended for getting you from point A to point B, but it's not intended to sit on for hours. I have my seat on the highest setting, and it's too high to sit at a table or in a theater. I think I'd be talking to the crew about making sure there is comfortable armless seating available for you.

6. Do you "scoot" thru the buffet lines? What do you do with your tray?

I can open doors while seated on my scooter, and I can carry something in my left hand while I use the right for the throttle, but it would be difficult to carry a tray. What I did at the NAAFA Convention was to just make several trips if I used my scoot, so I could carry one item at a time.

7. How do you manage getting in/out of elevators w/ no reverse?

This is super easy. You just Fred Flintstone it! Put your feet down and scoot backwards. The TravelScoot is small and has a tight turning range so you'll find it much MUCH easier to get in and out of elevators than with other scooters.

8. Are other pax generally helpful or PITAs?

Just like in the world in general, you're going to find some of both. I regularly have people stop and ask if they can help me load it into my car. Folks are also great about opening doors. Just keep a big smile on your face. You'll probably also end up in situations where you want to scream. I was at an outdoor craft fair recently and I was near a table looking at some art. A woman backed into me and turned around and gave me a dirty look. I was sitting still, and she backed into me. This was NOT my fault. Most of the time other people are great but you really have to keep your eyes open all the time to avoid problems.

9. Any recommendations for TS accessories -- for example, should I buy either of the baskets? What accessories do you have on yours?

I highly recommend two things -- the Think-King soft buggy cup (cup holder) and the Think-King mighty buggy hook. They're both available at http://think-king.com/. If I don't have a drink in the cup holder it's great for my camera or any little things I'm carrying. It will hold a HUGE soft drink. I use the hook for my car keys or a shopping bag. I have both of the baskets and have never used them because I just don't like how they are mounted. Other people use them and love them. The cloth triangle that comes with the scoot will hold a LOT of stuff too. It's a great place for your purse or packages.

10. Any tips, beyond Hardy's, for air travel with TS?

None that I can think of. Hardy's instructions are really very good.

http://mytravelscoot.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-and-easier-way-of-airline-travel.html

From Denise: Cruising with My Travelscoot

We just returned from our transatlantic cruise on the Carnival Dream. This was the first time I used my Travelscoot on a trip and let me say that the Travelscoot far exceeded my expectations. We christened my Scoot “The Silver Chariot” when in Rome.

Though I have both the SLA and Li-lon battery we decided to travel with only the Li-lon battery. I am so happy I left the heavier battery home as I NEVER ran out of power. At first I charged the battery every night but eventually I only charged every other night and I never got low on power. Also, on many of my tours there were steep grades and hills. Though I am a queen sized gal at almost 250 pounds I never overheated the battery. But I always made sure I got a good running start whenever I could.

I never had to fold down the Scoot the whole trip, except for the trip home from the airport as my son-in-law’s vehicle was too small for it and our luggage. On the trip to the airport in my daughter’s van we were able to keep it set up.

I had booked this cruise long before I had the scooter so we had a non-handicapped cabin. Though the cabin door was too narrow to drive through it was VERY easy get it into the cabin. First off, the room steward said it would be OK to leave it in the hall in front of my door if I wanted. We did this during the day when we would come back to the room for anything or to take an afternoon nap or get ready for dinner. Then in the evening when we were “in for the night”, my hubby would get the back end and I would hold the front handle bars and he would just tip the back wheels a tad and it would make it through the door way. Eventually we would take the seat and battery off and he could get it in without my assistance. I didn’t try this myself but I think I could have done it on my own if need be. The Scoot didn’t take up any room in the cabin even thought we kept it completely set up.

As for leaving the Scoot when parked since it doesn’t have a key, this was never a problem. Sometimes I would park right inside the dining room, off to the side, other times out in the hallway leading to the dining room and no one ever bothered the Scoot. But, this cruise only had about 40 passengers under the age of 18 and very few teens or pre-teens who might be tempted to take a “joy ride”. Even in Spain when we went to lunch in two ports of call I left the Scoot just outside the front door with no problem as the staff and I could keep an eye on it. I had purchased a retractable bike cable to “chain” it if needed.

http://www.magellans.com/store/Safety___Security___Luggage_Locks___TagsSL104?Args=

The Scoot did wonderful over the cobblestones of Rome and all our Ports-of-Call in Spain (Barcelona; Malaga; Palma de Mallorca; Gran Canaries). In Rome we did an all day Highlight’s of Rome tour and the company had a mini van and the Scoot fit in the back without folding it down. The only sight I couldn’t participate in was the Catacombs but there were beautiful grounds to enjoy while the rest of the group went down into the caves. All our other tours were by motor coach and it went easily into the luggage compartment. King’s Wharf in Bermuda was easy to get around on the Scoot and we took the ferry over to St. Georges with no problem. St. Georges was a little more challenging getting around as it is a very quaint village and the sidewalks very narrow. We had been there before so I really didn’t feel like I missed anything as I was able to get around the waterfront area with ease and we had a nice waterfront lunch and shopping. I am sure if we had decided to go into Hamilton it would have been more user friendly. Oh, in Mallorca we took the antique train to Soller and though the Scoot couldn’t fit in the passenger car, they either put it in the caboose or the engine with no problem (I am actually not sure which of the two they took it too)….the beauty of the Scoot being so light.

I wish I had a batch of business cards for Travelscoot….it was a big hit with other passengers aboard the ship. Everyone wanted to know about it. I had a lot of envious looks from folks with mobility issues that were using canes or crutches.

I will attach a link to some of the pictures we took of me and my Scoot on tour. I was disappointed that I didn’t get more pictures in Rome…..my camera battery went dead and I had left the spare in the hotel room. Unfortunately since I am the chief photographer in the family there aren’t many of the Scoot anyway. But this might give you an idea on what to expect. I am so happy I purchased the Travelscoot as it gave me the freedom to get around that I wouldn’t have had without it.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/nieciez/TravelScoot#

Sarge and Bee

These nice folks are Sarge and Bee.

They've had their TravelScoots for a year, and they use them for cruises, shopping, socializing, and anytime they need a little help getting from point A to point B.