New York here we come!
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Mobilise member Spencer Flynn tells Mobilise about his enjoyable trip to New York.
In 2008 my wife and I decided that because we hadn’t had a holiday for at least five years, we should ‘spoil’ ourselves and repeat part of our 40th wedding anniversary trip by sailing to New York. Our journey was to cross the Atlantic on the new Queen Mary and then to stay at the Waldorf Astoria for three nights, before flying back to Heathrow. We booked in advance tickets for the Empire State Building including the ‘virtual flight’ over the New York, seats for Mamma Mia and dinner at the Marriott revolving view restaurant in Times Square.
Bon Voyage!
Our original idea was to take my mobility scooter with us on the QM, but decided this might be too much and so we decided to hire one in New York instead. We accomplished this without too much trouble and the hire firm even agreed to deliver and retrieve the scooter from our hotel.
We took my wheelchair to use on the ship, however this was a mistake as pushing a 6’4” man weighing 20 stone over carpeted floors using rubber tyres was not easy for my wife. Even when we borrowed one from the ship’s store which had smoother wheel rims, there were still some problems. We wished we had brought the mobility scooter.
At disembarkation we were guided off the ship and taken to a special coach where I was placed on board in my wheelchair together with another passenger. He was a Swedish gentleman and was using a wheelchair supplied by his employers which was state of the art, lightweight and cost approx £9000!
At the hotel we had a well equipped room with a wet room etc. The mobility scooter was delivered to our room and I started to use it through the hotel. The only difficulty we had was getting into crowded lifts, because sometimes people, including my wife were unable to reach the ‘open door’ button and they started to close before I was within the door area.
On the streets it was easy to ride the pavements and most crossings had ramped walkways. Occasionally we had to cross a street to find a ramp to return up onto the pavement, but this was not a problem.
Seeing the sights
Our expedition to the Empire State Building was a brilliant experience. There was a separate entrance for people with disabilities. We also had a quick passage ticket, which means we didn’t have to queue and we ascended to the viewing platform at great speed. The excellent service and the sight over Manhattan Island was breathtaking! The way back to the ground level was an even more impressive journey, and on the way down from the viewing gallery the attendants held visitors back, so that I could ride through on my scooter.
We went out for dinner at the revolving View Restaurant on the Marriott Hotel. It was a splendid meal and we used the passenger lifts on the way up but afterwards we were escorted down in a small service lift. It was a place to remember.
We visited Grand Central Station and ate at the restaurant, found the whispering gallery near the Oyster Bar, and whizzed up and down the ramps. We visited small cafes and delis they all made us welcome and even moved tables and chairs to accommodate the scooter.
Our visit to the theatre was also enjoyable, again both the staff and theatre goers were very helpful and courteous. In the interval I needed to visit the loo but there was a long queue of non-disabled ladies at the disabled toilet. After hopping around on my sticks for few minutes, the floor manager spotted me, stormed in and berated the ladies declaring the toilet out of bound to them, and ushered me in .Was my face red? I did mumble my thanks on the way out.
On our way home the cruise line provided wheelchair accessible transport to the airport. We were assured that at Newark Airport there would be lots of “Red Caps” to assist us. However, this was not the case and we struggled to reach the check-in desk. Also I made a mistake – I should have checked my wheelchair in and used one belonging to the airport. I had already asked for assistance but did not remind the check-in staff. This caused confusion but it was all sorted out by British Airways (BA) on reaching their lounge.
Our homeward flight was good in Club Class and my wheelchair was waiting for me beside the luggage rotunda. BA provided wheelchair assistance to the airport concourse. We were picked up by taxi, glad to be home, but having enjoyed a wonderful holiday.
This article first appeared in the November 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.
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Tags: accommodation, travel