We went on a Western Caribbean cruise with the Celebrity Edge. It was a week long and took us to Key West, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman. On the cruise the scooter was really amazing. It made it easy to navigate the ship and was handy when we went on excursions on the port days.

On the ship the scooter fit well down the halls toward the staterooms and it even fit well inside the stateroom. Typically stateroom attendants would stage carts with cleaning supplies and linens in the hallway while they cleaned rooms during the day and the scooter made it past them well. It made it past luggage in the hallways before exiting the ship as well on the last day. Our stateroom on the Edge was an “Infinite Veranda Stateroom” and was not an advertised accessible room however it worked well for 3 of us. My other son stayed in a stateroom of the same type with my parents who traveled with us and who are experienced travelers with Celebrity Cruises and others around the world.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

I talked to the excursion desk a few times to be sure that I’d be able to use the scooter well on a few port days as well. Each excursion that I chose was one that had a large bus to take passengers there and the scooter folded into the hold under the bus or folded up and was able to be taken up with the passengers.I did however have to choose excursions that were in relatively flat areas and without many obstacles of course. I had booked one excursion as an “accessible” excursion which was meant for those in wheelchairs and with less mobility than I have. I traded that one in for one of the regular ones to the Mayan Ruins at Costa Maya after talking to a knowledgeable woman at the excursion desk on the ship.

When we were in Key West we booked a glass bottom boat which was a fair distance around the way from the ship but the scooter was great to get me there over the rough roads, docks, and pathways. Once at the tour boat dock, we left the scooter at the dock with the operators. I used my cane on board the boat to help stabilize myself and for an extra point while holding onto the railings.

 I had one excursion booked in Costa Maya where the excursion desk and I thought the scooter would do OK, but Costa Maya was totally cancelled due to horrible wind and current while docking. So at that point we had another at Sea Day and went straight to Cozumel and arrived at about 6pm. We had a chance there to go ashore for a few minutes and take a few night time pictures by the ship and at the Cozumel sign at the port.

The next day when we went ashore we went to Playa Mia via a tour bus and the excursion desk reserved me the front seat on the bus and the driver helped me fold the scooter and place it in the hold below the bus. When we got to Playa Mia which is a huge beach complex with small water park, there was an attendant waiting for me and he brought a beach wheelchair for me which he pushed all day. It was an amazing time with awesome personal service. My attendant David brought me to the beach and then to the buffet and to the pool area. It was strange being so attended to but I made sure to tip him well because I know how hard pushing must have been on that terrain.  I was really impressed with the service that the ship and the staff of Playa Mia gave my family and me.

• 

• 

• 

At Grand Cayman we went on the Deluxe Turtle Encounter and Island Tour. On this excursion we had a nice gentleman named Simon who was our guide for the island tour and driver for our bus. He was very nice and helped me find a place to keep the scooter while we drove around the island. He helped me keep it out of the way in the unused stairwell of the doors that we didn’t use normally. He took great care with it and asked me all about it because he had never seen one like it before. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

While at the turtle hatchery and education center itself the scooter helped me follow our guide around the different tank areas where the different aged turtles are raised. Then my kids were able to snorkel with the turtles and fish and I was able to ride the scooter right up to the sand on the little beach by the turtle lagoon. It did well over the small rocks and pebble paths up to the beach area.

While disembarking from the ship and while embarking after each time at port, the security personnel were amazing. They took personal care to help me up and down the gangways as needed. They also helped me when we came back and personally took my belongings to the x-ray machines. Then since they didn’t put me through the metal detector they gently gave me a quick pat-down and sent me on my way. They got to know me and were extremely friendly, respectful, and helpful.

The at sea days and port days were amazing on the Celebrity Edge ship as it had plentiful entertainment for the adults and our teenagers. The teenagers met some new friends and wanted to hang out in “The Basement” the whole time. The Basement had a huge X-Box setup as well as ping pong, card games, scavenger hunts around the ship and other activities. Then when the basement closed each night about 10pm, the kids and their friends would go to the cafe upstairs and have some food as teenagers like to do. We also had the internet package, so the kids could actually keep up with friends back home on Google Hangouts via text and voice. My youngest liked to hang near the aft of the ship in a few chairs that looked out over the waves and listen to music and chat with friends in the section called “Eden”. The Eden area had a spiralling ramp right around the aft from the 5th deck section up to the sixth deck section. The Glion did well up that ramp around the chairs and seating areas. When the adults went to shows it was always easy to find an easy place to park the scooter right next to our preferred seats on the top floor of the theater. In “The Club” where there were other musical acts we scooted right in and found some nice couches to sit on to enjoy the music.

• 

• 

• 

While on-board the ship many other people asked me about the scooter and how it worked. It was great to let others know that if they need a scooter and were putting it off, it’s a great way to see more and continue doing the things you love when walking becomes difficult. There were many people who I talked to that wondered about it on a ship for both themselves and for their loved ones. I tried to take a bunch of pictures to show how the scooter works on at least this ship that we used, the Celebrity Edge. The ship was launched in January 2018 so it is very modern and accessible. While talking to a gentleman about possibly booking another cruise he said that most of the current fleet of ships should now be similar in terms of accessibility and stateroom door size.

I’ll leave you with some other pictures of cool views and interesting parts of the Celebrity Edge.