Assistance and limited mobility Portsmouth and Lisbon

[maesteggirl]

My husband has mobility problems and needs assistance to embark/disembark. We have sailed on the Discovery from Tilbury, Dover and Southampton and have had wonderful service. Our 4th Discovery cruise was from Portsmouth on Feb 2nd and I feel I must let others know the limitations of Assistance there.

Embarcation

Once inside the port your car joins a queue and the luggage is taken off including your scooter/wheelchair if you haven't booked a disabled cabin. You are then driven to the terminal where you need to walk to check-in at the assistance area  - here there are chairs. Once this is done you then join a queue with the rest of the passengers to go through security - we had to queue for about 10 minutes. You then walk a short distance to a bus which has a ramp for rollators and a disabled seat. You are driven to the gangway area where you sit and wait for a wheelchair to take you to the ships entrance. While the organisation worked well there was much more standing and walking than at the other Ports.

 

Disembarcation

You are allocated a disembarcation number and wait in the living room. There were only 3 wheelchair assistants available. We were number 8 and had to wait more than an hour to get off. I think the highest was 23. Passengers without assistance were numbers 18 and 19 when we disembarked. The gangway was very steep and it took 3 people to get my husband's wheelchair safely to the bottom. The wheelchair is then dispensed with and you catch the bus to the luggage tent. This was chaos when we arrive as our No 8 had long been replaced with other numbers .The tent is not big enough to take all luggage so luggage is constantly being offloaded as room becomes available. If you have a wheelchair/scooter  you pick it up when you exit this tent. Luckily I found our luggage had been put on a trolley so I found a porter and joined the queue for the taxis. This took about 5 minutes. Our driver then took our luggage to the carpark which was a considerable walk away but obviously the distance varies depending on where the driver manages to park - it is a big car park.Many people were struggling by this time.

I feel passengers should be told that Assistance in Portsmouth is nowhere near as comprehensive as in other ports although I am aware that they are building a new cruise terminal.

 

Lisbon

We were in Llsbon just over a year ago and to access the shuttle buses or coaches you just walked a short distance from the ship to the carpark. There is now an airbridge from deck 6 and the walking is considerable. It goes back on itself and then straight to the terminal building where you take an escalator or lift to ground floor. You then have to 'snake' through the terminal building before getting to the buses. We are very lucky as my husband has a scooter but quite a few passengers using walkers and walking sticks couldn't make it and had to cancel their trips. The ship berthed in front of us did not have an airbridge connected so it might be worth checking with Saga what the situation is.

 

We had wonderful cruise - our first without facemasks -  and it was lovely to see the smiling faces of all the crew.

[david05]

I have experienced leaving the ship at Portsmouth and found it difficult as an able bodied person so I have every sympathy for those with any form of disability. I found the gangway leaving the ship very difficult to negotiate, the tent was too small, and there were insufficient trolleys and porters. Problems were further exacerbated by a small number of people who left the ship before their number was called and were then getting in the way because their luggage had not arrived. Unfortunately I suspect that there will continue to be difficulties until the new cruise terminal opens, hopefully, later this year.

Edited February 20, 2023 by david05

[Kohima]

Some ports are undoubtedly more difficult to negotiate than others for those with mobility issues. Saga are clearly learning lessons in how best to manage Portsmouth. Hopefully things will be better once the new terminal is up and running. However there will continue to be a shuttle bus, the gangway slope will depend on the tide and the car park will be at a distance. 
For the able bodied still to use Portsmouth: just be prepared for a different experience, keep hand luggage to a minimum and don’t disembark until your number is called as your luggage and car won’t be there. On the plus side it’s a great historic and scenic sail out to enjoy.

 

[Denarius]

On 2/21/2023 at 8:42 AM, Kohima said:

Some ports are undoubtedly more difficult to negotiate than others for those with mobility issues. Saga are clearly learning lessons in how best to manage Portsmouth. Hopefully things will be better once the new terminal is up and running. However there will continue to be a shuttle bus, the gangway slope will depend on the tide and the car park will be at a distance. 
For the able bodied still to use Portsmouth: just be prepared for a different experience, keep hand luggage to a minimum and don’t disembark until your number is called as your luggage and car won’t be there. On the plus side it’s a great historic and scenic sail out to enjoy.

 

As someone who recently disembarked at Portsmouth, may I echo your final paragraph.

This is very important.

Unlike Southampton and Dover, the luggage reclaim hall at Portsmouth - in reality a tent - will not hold all the suitcases of disembarking passengers. It will only hold a fraction thereof. So it works on a "just in time" principle. The luggage for each disembarkation group is taken to the terminal just before that group is called, so that their luggage is waiting for them when they arrive there but not before. But if people try to jump the queue by disembarking early they will find that their luggage has not yet been delivered and will clog up the terminal waiting for it. This helps no one. Please do not do it!!!!

Edited February 22, 2023 by Denarius

[JoJo1947]

We were first back into Portsmouth beginning of January. I have port assistance and we were last off the ship at number 31 2.5hrs past our estimated disembarkation time. Only 2 assistants who had no clue handling wheelchairs. It was scary. They wheeled you to the bus but there was no room. I was asked can you walk? I could but struggled up a slippery ramp. It has improved slightly but won't be until the new terminal opens in May. As it stands it's not geared for cruise ships

[8611202]

Does anybody know the process at Portsmouth for full time wheelchair users, who are unable to get onto shuttle buses? Thank you in anticipation. 

[JoJo1947]

58 minutes ago, 8611202 said:

Does anybody know the process at Portsmouth for full time wheelchair users, who are unable to get onto shuttle buses? Thank you in anticipation. 

They have a ramp onto the bus. You are then pushed up the steep gangway onto the ship. Did you you book port assistance? I only use a wheelchair off shore and be it goes with my luggage and stored on the ship. It's then out out on shore on port days. If you're a full time user you would have booked an accessible cabin to use the chair on board 

Edited February 28, 2023 by JoJo1947
Updated