Handicapped experience on Viking Cruise Line?

[CzarEdward]

I'm excited about my upcoming Viking river tour in September, it's the tour from Amsterdam to Basel up the Rhine, however I was a bit shocked that I can't bring on my portable scooter which I fly with often and travel with internationally.

I have MS and walk with a cane but the scooter really comes in handy when I need to cover long distances, like museum.

I'm surprised that since cruises such as river boats that appeal to older people (50+) wouldn't allow for such. I've called directly, been told that it was no problem and then, boom, "scooters are not allowed" is the policy.

 

Anyone have any experience with this??? It would be really helpful. Especially the excursions.

[spookwife]

no scooters allowed and the entire experience is NOT handicapped friendly. the demographics it appeals to are still active seniors , not ones with physical limitations.

 

based on the research I did there is no way I could ever do a Viking River cruise. many steps and long walks from the pier to the actual city/port is just the least of the hurdles you will face

[tigercat]

I have friends who have done a couple of these cruises and have said that they are not in any way friendly to people with disabilities.

tigercat

[cruisead]

River cruises are not at all disabled friendly. In most of the ports, you have to walk from the boat, up stairs or dirt paths, to road level. Boats dock in places that are not anywhere near street level, and therefore you will have to make your way up some pretty steep paths or a lot of stairs, that not even a wheelchair can handle. You might find yourself staying on board the boat for most, if not all, your cruise.

[Putterdude]

I'm excited about my upcoming Viking river tour in September, it's the tour from Amsterdam to Basel up the Rhine, however I was a bit shocked that I can't bring on my portable scooter which I fly with often and travel with internationally.

I have MS and walk with a cane but the scooter really comes in handy when I need to cover long distances, like museum.

I'm surprised that since cruises such as river boats that appeal to older people (50+) wouldn't allow for such. I've called directly, been told that it was no problem and then, boom, "scooters are not allowed" is the policy.

 

Anyone have any experience with this??? It would be really helpful. Especially the excursions.

 

 

First of all a bit welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Sadly Dudette has MS and travels in a wheelchair and as much as we would love to do one of these Viking river cruises we don't feel we can do one for the reasons noted above. Having said that I played golf last week with a gentleman who had just returned from a Viking cruise and he tells me that there were 3 wheelchair bound people on his cruise. You may get better answers on the Disabled Cruising forum but from everything I have read they do not permit scooters.

[Keith1010]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I would also be sure to post on the River Cruising Section of Cruise Critic.

 

Keith

[CzarEdward]

Vikings rules are antiquated. My scooter is easier than a portable wheel chair and the litilhium battery is way under airline standards. I will be taking notes on this cruise so that no other handicapped person has to go through the indignity or uncomfort that the whole meaning of a cruise is about. Again this is not for onboard use, I am not that handicapped, it is for excursions only and would be in my cabin.

A FULL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED HERE AFTER THIS VIKING RIVER CRUISE UP THE RHINE FROM AMSTERDAM TO BASEL.

[chengkp75]

Vikings rules are antiquated. My scooter is easier than a portable wheel chair and the litilhium battery is way under airline standards. I will be taking notes on this cruise so that no other handicapped person has to go through the indignity or uncomfort that the whole meaning of a cruise is about. Again this is not for onboard use, I am not that handicapped, it is for excursions only and would be in my cabin.

A FULL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED HERE AFTER THIS VIKING RIVER CRUISE UP THE RHINE FROM AMSTERDAM TO BASEL.

 

While I sympathize with you wholeheartedly on this, it is a fact of life that not all countries are as forward thinking on accessibility issues as the US. This is a European company, and sailing in Europe, so their accessibility laws apply. You are welcome to submit a report here, of course, but I believe it is well known to most of the CC members that European river cruises are not accessible.

 

I will also mention that many times these river cruise boats will "raft" where they dock, and you must cross the gangway from your boat to another boat, and then from there to shore.

[CzarEdward]

I understand all this, but they allow collapsible wheelchairs which are more cumbersome. The scooter weighs less and is easier.

I can walk and am looking forward to this trip, however, it's more the attitude of resistance instead of accommodation in customer service that surprises me.

 

I'm sure it's going to be a wonderful experience and am looking forward to seeing their style. I'm not down grading it, I'm going with 7 friends, but as a person with a disability and a world traveler and MS activist it's my goal to alert others to situations and allow the company to be transparent and clear about it.

I find no such information on these gangways in their lit or online prescience.

Comments from this CC site have basically given me the most info. Now I will explore these comments when I travel.

 

And of course share it on CC. 😀

[Capt_BJ]

I'm just back from a Viking trip. It was on one of the new 'long ships' which might make a difference. I don't recall seeing a 'prohibition' of scooters, altho there might have been one I never noticed as it did not impact us ... but there WAS a person with a scooter and a wheelchair on our trip.

 

This is what was said in our cruise documents:

 

 

The 'long ship' had an elevator that only served two decks (of 4) ... the deck with the restaurant, and the one with the lounge. The lowest deck of rooms and the top/sun deck were not served.

 

I saw this scooter being manhandled on and off the ship several times and saw the party trying to navigate the streets of one of the towns, with steep inclines and cobblestone walkways, with much difficulty. (on one steep hill I offered help and got a glare back that suggested I move on . . .)

 

The scooter was a very small, lightweight, "portable" one. I work at a Florida "attraction" and have seen many many scooters and load them on our train's wheelchair spot. This one would have been too lightweight for me to allow the user to stay in it during our train ride ... for the same reasons the user was having difficulty navigating the streets of a typical touristy German town on the Danube. {technical point - small diameter wheels and cobblestones do not mate well . . .}

 

NOT stating an opinion here, just sharing some observations . . .

 

) something was said about 'legal' and access .... While in EU we took several "Hop on Hop Off" bus tours to get the lay of the land. I saw NO accommodation for a wheelchair / scooter . . .

 

) as I mentioned I work at an attraction ... I work on the train ride and we are 'wheel chair capable' ... but sometimes we get a chair or a scooter that just does not fit; or as I said, we deem the scooter so flimsy as to be unsafe for the user to be safe sitting on it during the ride. Sometime people "have a problem with that" and some even toss threats our direction . .

 

) we also have a kayak attraction ..... if you can not get in and out of the kayak on your own you can not participate. That IS the rule. How can we operate this attraction with NO handicap access?

 

The law says 'reasonable access' as I recall ..... and that's a US law . . .

Edited July 10, 2015 by Capt_BJ

[CzarEdward]

This was by far very helpful! Thank you.

I just got back from 2 weeks in Argentina and I'm sure the old town areas of cobblestone would be very similar. I'm not bringing it and think I'll be fine. We are on newer Ship. This all seems appropriate and as expected. Really looking forward to it. I appreciate your feed back thanks so much.

[jmf123]

CzarEdward, another CC thread (last month) concerned someone taking a Viking cruise, and asked about the use of a scooter. You may find this article on scooters & river cruising interesting:

http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/accessible-travel-river-cruises/

 

And the following info is from Viking's website (FAQs), regarding ship accommodation of a handicapped passenger:

 

Viking River Cruises welcomes disabled guests but wishes all guests to understand that challenges will exist on board and during shore excursions. Some ships have elevators and some do not; some ships have split-level decks and/or significant thresholds that could make movement difficult. Shore excursions may require movement over cobblestones or up and down stairs; accordingly, a physically challenged guest will require the services of a responsible adult since crew availability is severely limited in most circumstances. Motorized scooters are not typically suited on international cruises and cannot be accommodated. Viking does not accommodate animals except for seeing eye dogs on our international itineraries.

 

Guests who have any medical, physical or other special needs should check the fleet information on our website to gain an understanding of the layout of any particular ship, and should contact Viking River Cruises, Inc., at 1-877-668-4546 (1-877-66VIKING) directly with additional questions and to obtain a copy of our Policy Statement.

 

I wish you a wonderful and comfortable river cruise! My sister lives in Basel and I would love to do that Rhine itinerary. :)

Edited July 11, 2015 by jmf123

[Hlitner]

Just getting off a river boat can be a challenge. In some ports, if there are a few boats, they will often tie up against another boat. If you are in the outside boat it means walking through the other boat(s) to get to shore. This might be difficult for those with mobility issues. Personally we think it is terrific that those with various disabilities travel and do their best to deal with related issues. But keep in mind that Europe does not have anything close to our ADA regulations and one must be prepared for many challenges.

 

Hank

[cruisead]

Personally, I feel Viking cruises has a problem serving the disabled population, period, and has nothing to do with where they dock or being in Europe. Their new build, ocean cruise ship, which is a full size cruise ship, has NO accessible cabins. NONE. Seeing how their ship(s) will eventually sail in this part of the world, this is unconscionable. I wonder who in that company made the decision to not have even one accessible cabin.

[Talisker92]

In a recent situation, the crossover was on the top deck! We had to climb the stairs, cross over the gangplank, and then down the stairs to our ship.

I am all for physically challenged people to try to do as much as possible, but in Europe there are severe limitations.

As an example, we were scheduled to hear an organ concert in Vienne. The church was at the top of a steep hill, and the streets were paved with small rocks! Even non challenged people had a problem.

I concur with the above posters about rafting, the dock being many feet below the street, restrooms being up or down one floor, etc.

[Treven]

In a nut shell, you can be handicapped, just not too handicapped.

[Capt_BJ]

Personally, I feel Viking cruises has a problem serving the disabled population, period, and has nothing to do with where they dock or being in Europe. Their new build, ocean cruise ship, which is a full size cruise ship, has NO accessible cabins. NONE. Seeing how their ship(s) will eventually sail in this part of the world, this is unconscionable. I wonder who in that company made the decision to not have even one accessible cabin.

 

am I wrong or did they not BUY an existing ship and do a refurbishment .....

 

'full size'? Hmmmmmm ... on the very small side I'd say . . . small exclusive ...

 

let's make a comparison to a small sized high end ship ... WINDSTAR comes to mind. How does WINDSTAR compare in terms of access?

 

This comes back to 'reasonable accommodation'

 

if I operate a 25 foot fishing boat for fishing charters, do I have to be able to accommodate a wheel chair?

[Floridiana]

deleted

Edited July 12, 2015 by Floridiana

[Essiesmom]

am I wrong or did they not BUY an existing ship and do a refurbishment .....

 

'full size'? Hmmmmmm ... on the very small side I'd say . . . small exclusive ...

 

let's make a comparison to a small sized high end ship ... WINDSTAR comes to mind. How does WINDSTAR compare in terms of access?

 

This comes back to 'reasonable accommodation'

 

if I operate a 25 foot fishing boat for fishing charters, do I have to be able to accommodate a wheel chair?

 

Yes, you are wrong......Viking built a brand new ship of 47,800 tons, and they are building two more just like it. EM

Edited July 12, 2015 by Essiesmom

[Mary Ellen]

am I wrong or did they not BUY an existing ship and do a refurbishment .....

 

'full size'? Hmmmmmm ... on the very small side I'd say . . . small exclusive ...

I guess you are wrong. Viking Oceans indeed has one new build sailing and more new builds on the way. I don't consider a ship around 47,000 GRT (IIRC) that holds over 900 passengers to be on the "very small side". Sure, they aren't as large as some of the Behemoth of the Seas, but far from very small. I also consider them full size.

 

We had been looking at their 50-some days from Venice to the Baltic. They are off the table for their non-welcoming attitude towards the disabled.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Mary Ellen

[cruisead]

Well, Capt BJ, if you want comparisons, look at the old Seabourn ships that carried 204 passengers. They had accessible cabins. The new, somewhat larger Seabourn ships have accessible cabins. Crystal carries under 1000, they have accessible cabins. Silversea, Regent and the smaller Princess ships have accessible cabins. So, there's no excuse for a NEW BUILD ship not to accommodate the disabled with even ONE freaking accessible cabin. It's obvious that Viking doesn't want the disabled to travel on their ships or riverboats.

[chengkp75]

Well, Capt BJ, if you want comparisons, look at the old Seabourn ships that carried 204 passengers. They had accessible cabins. The new, somewhat larger Seabourn ships have accessible cabins. Crystal carries under 1000, they have accessible cabins. Silversea, Regent and the smaller Princess ships have accessible cabins. So, there's no excuse for a NEW BUILD ship not to accommodate the disabled with even ONE freaking accessible cabin. It's obvious that Viking doesn't want the disabled to travel on their ships or riverboats.

 

The bolded sentence may be a true statement of Viking's corporate policy, but it is a business decision, not a discriminatory one. They have decided that the cost of adding accessible features outweighs the benefit of the relatively few additional customers they would get. Remember, that even the US Supreme Court decision against NCL regarding accessibility and the ADA, only required "easily removed barriers" and such to be implemented, that not all areas were required to be accessible, if such required significant redesign, and that the "internal operations" of the ship (read this as Viking allowing wheelchairs but not scooters) were not the Court's business as the ships are foreign flag, unless Congress passed a bill specifically requiring all aspects of the ADA to apply to foreign ships. To date, Congress has not done so. So, your recourse is to vote your pocketbook, and not sail Viking.

[spookwife]

It's obvious that Viking doesn't want the disabled to travel on their ships or riverboats.

 

so? every corporation has the right to do what is best for them, and base don my research their style of cruising IS NOT HANDICAPPED FRIENDLY by its very NATURE. the ports t, the facilities at the ports, everything.

 

and since they are not a US based line they do not have to abide by ADA and provide equal access.

 

there are plenty of other options out there, many of whom visit similar if not exact same locations, that ARE HA.

 

besides, I know damn well that my condition means that I CANNOT do the same stuff 'normal' people do. I haven't been able to ride Tower of Terror at Disney in years. at some point you have to accept that your needs mean you have to give up or deny yourself certain things no matter how much you may miss them or want to do them

Edited July 13, 2015 by spookwife