Cruising

How Cruises are Becoming More Accessible for Travelers

by Olivia Balsinger

Between the exotic destinations, the unlimited buffets, the waterslides, and the camaraderie with fellow cruisers, all travelers can enjoy the many aspects of cruising. And now, cruising is becoming even more accessible for all types of travelers. Scootaround, a Tokyo-based company with headquarters in the San Fransisco Bay area, has a wide range of cruise mobility rentals, including scooters, wheelchairs, and powerchairs.

With a fantastic turning radius, the ability to control via the app, and the customization options, Scootaround’s mobility assistance devices make travel (and everyday life) more accessible and enjoyable for so many people who want to experience cruising.

How Scootaround is Aiding the Cruising Industry

Scootaround already provides a wide range of cruise mobility rentals at nearly 50 major ports throughout the US, Canada, and Europe and can be seamlessly booked for cruisers, no matter what their disability is. In fact, for cruisers of all ages and abilities, the mobility devices serve as a more manageable way to navigate the many floors of a cruise boat, from stern to bow.
From the beginning, WHILL’s mission has been to transform the traditional wheelchair experience and improve people’s personal mobility through innovative technology,” said Kerry Renaud, Chief Executive Officer at WHILL and President, CEO & COO at Scootaround.

“Along with designing and selling mobility products, we are also integrating Mobility-as-a-Service (Maas) solutions in offering autonomous transportation services that help make venues like airports, hospitals, personal care facilities, and other public spaces more accessible.”

“The ultimate goal is to improve the worldwide landscape for mobility device users by providing them with greater freedom and independence, particularly as our population ages and the requirement becomes more profound. While the Mobility-as-a-Service (Maas) concept is not new, the WHILL/Scootaround MaaS Model fills that short distance gap in the market for people with reduced mobility, providing a unique transportation solution that is more inclusive of the entire population.”

How Scootaround Differs From Traditional Wheelchairs on Cruises

Traditionally, airline or cruise staff push passengers with mobility limitations in a manual wheelchair. This service is not only time-consuming and costly but also limits the user’s overall independence. “WHILL’s service allows passengers to hop on a power chair and use it to navigate the airport or cruise terminal independently,” explained Renaud. “The user can either drive the chair themselves or autonomously depending on the program application and the particular use case.”

“With the proliferation of immense size and scope facilities, it is becoming more critical than ever to provide passengers and customers with the means to traverse these venues freely. Our service offers greater freedom to passengers by allowing them to navigate the platform without the need for a push service. We’ve conducted successful trials at major airports across the globe, including Toronto Pearson, Dallas/Fort Worth, Abu Dhabi, and Haneda Airport in Tokyo. In the future, this service can be expanded to make other public spaces – such as hospitals, museums, and malls – more innovative and more accessible.”

Scootarounds’s Solution to Cleaner Cruising

Cruises have the reputation of not being the cleanest forms of transportation, often getting compared to a “floating Petri dish.” Of course, various companies are trying to find ways to mitigate the spread of germs in such condensed spaces, including using gloves at buffets, sanitization efforts, and soap and sanitizer dispensers around every corner. But the folks at Scootaround have found another way to maintain hygiene on vessels, especially larger ones carrying thousands of people.

The folks at Scootaround have decided to pair with PURE Portal Delivery Vehicle Introduction on certain cruise lines to roll out sanitization vans that clean the mobility assistant devices, thereby maintaining a safe and clean environment post-pandemic and beyond. This sanitization partnership alleviates worries and scares about everything from the flu to bacteria and is part of a 360-degree safety guarantee that makes travel (and scooting!) more worry-free. In fact, The World Health Organization confirms and supports the use of real-time active sanitization verse mechanical air cleaning.

The Future of Cruising

Cruising is one of the most popular and dynamic ways to travel and see a myriad of ports and places in a short amount of time. Scootaround and WHILL are attempting to make this popular form of travel more accessible for all humans, regardless of their age, size, or ability. And that’s something we are quite onboard with–figuratively and literally.

www.scootaround.com