Using wheelchair occasionally

[BRDbabies]

I am travelling with my 80yr old mom. Although she has no real difficulty with mobility, she is quite slow moving these days and I am afraid on longer port exploration days she will tire easily and then miss out on seeing some of the sites. As this is her second time to Alaska, she mainly wants to wander the towns, shop for souvenirs etc. outside of a few easy bus tours type ship excursions. 
 

I am considering renting a travel wheelchair - easily foldable and lightweight for me to maneuver on/off ship etc. Would I need to let Cunard know ahead of time of my desire to bring this on board? We would not use it always and certainly not on things like bus tours, whale watching etc. and no need for an accessible cabin as it folds easily for storage in a regular cabin. 
 

Any advice would be welcomed!

[Victoria2]

Tell your agent/Cunard of your wishes and ask for an 'Access and Medical Questionnaire'.

 

Fill it in and job done.

 

If I may offer advice, if it's a transport  w/chair with small wheels,they are a beggar to push at times on thick carpets. The folding self propelled ones [which you will push rather than expect your mother to practice for the Paralympics] are far better, heavier, but easier to push.

Enjoy. 🙂

 

[Victoria2]

As an edit to #2, don't be concerned maneuvering the chair on/off the ship as crew will do that for you, with your mother in the chair if she wants and as far as coach tours are concerned, unless it's a niche tour on a small 12 seater etc, the chair will usually fit in the luggage compartment of the coach and again, the driver will usually help you there.

[MrsPeel55]

I use one of those transit wheelchairs, small wheels, that my daughter pushes, not full time, but for long distances walks. We booked directly with Cunard, on the phone, so by the info we got :

you do not need an accessible room, but they have some measurements for foldable wheelchairs, can't remember exactly what it was, but my daughter said ours is less than half the size, we are on a balcony cabin too so I reckon you will be fine with a foldable one, but just in case, I would call Cunard/ your travel agent to confirm the size they allow in non accessible rooms....

 

@Victoria2 they didn't mention anything to us about medical questionnaire...do you think I should call and ask for it?

We got insurance with the company they recommend, and filled the medical there.....

 

[Victoria2]

17 minutes ago, MrsPeel55 said:

I use one of those transit wheelchairs, small wheels, that my daughter pushes, not full time, but for long distances walks. We booked directly with Cunard, on the phone, so by the info we got :

you do not need an accessible room, but they have some measurements for foldable wheelchairs, can't remember exactly what it was, but my daughter said ours is less than half the size, we are on a balcony cabin too so I reckon you will be fine with a foldable one, but just in case, I would call Cunard/ your travel agent to confirm the size they allow in non accessible rooms....

 

@Victoria2 they didn't mention anything to us about medical questionnaire...do you think I should call and ask for it?

We got insurance with the company they recommend, and filled the medical there.....

 

An insurance company has nothing to do with how the crew can help those with reduced mobility in an emergency, and to do that, they need to know who will require help.

 

Would your daughter be able to assist you safely and quickly down flights of stairs [think of other passengers hurrying down here too and both hindering each other] if the lifts were put out of order in an emergency situation? If not,  the crew need to know in case of emergency who might need help  etc.

 

The company will also need it in black and white, not a conversation over the phone, any mobility aid will fit in the cabin . Foldable wheelchairs [and some folding power chairs] are acceptable in all cabins

 

So, question. Have you read the t&cs [18 -21] re reduced mobility? At least one member here was  disgusted when she couldn't take her foldable scooter as she  assumed it would be fine because it folded. It wasn't.  Her fault for not reading the reduced mobility t&cs s, not Cunard's but boy, did she sound off.

 The form is simple to fill in and will not preclude you from anything but if you turn up with a wheelchair and haven't filled in their form, then I have no idea what the reaction will be when checking in as we follow all the published guidelines in order to 'be correct'.

 

As an extra, if any aids are hired, the hire company will let Cunard know so they can be permitted to board the stuff. If no prior form has been filled in, Cunard will get in touch and ask the form to be filled in asap.

 

So my advice? Fill in the form. Dot the i's and cross the t's.  Saves any potential hassle.

 

Hope this helps.🙂

 

 

 

 

 

[MrsPeel55]

Thanks @Victoria2 

Where would I find that form?

or the Terms & Conditions?

When we booked, we explained exactly about the wheelchair, my mobility issues.

I'm not on it permanently, she gave us some measurements and my daughter got it whilst we were on the phone with them, it was less than half the size she said was the limit.

We chose our cabin when we booked. 

None of the customer service people we spoke to mentioned anything, only that we needed the insurance and the requirements.

I also am a bit... maybe frustrated can be the word, about some other lack of information of a couple of issues which, had I not come across these boards, I would have been in the dark.

Will get my daughter to find the form and T&C to read.

Thanks for the info.

[Victoria2]

MrsPeel55 https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/email-campaigns/accessibility-questionnaire

 

  https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/marketing-assets/pdf/accessibility-pdfs/Accessibility Medical Questionnaire_June23_TC.pdf

 

As I said, I have no idea what would happen if you didn't fill one out but why take the chance?

[MrsPeel55]

oh, of course I completely agree one needs to fill the form..... and I am extremely grateful to you and many of the people here for info that I can see is vital, my frustration is more with the Customer Services on Cunard's phone, every person we spoke to has been great, super friendly, patient, understanding and I thought I was getting first class information.... we have been discovering that a LOT off what we needed to know wasn't told to us. so, thank you once again, will fill it in 🙂

[Victoria2]

MrsPeel55 Yes we read all t&cs of any contract, and this one  basically advises you  further info is available on the website which I have read cover to cover. However, how many do that?  A great agent does this for you and knows all the pitfalls, and if unsure, can ask on your behalf.

 

There are agents who are perfunctionary at best, there are good agents and then there are superb agents. The trick is to find the superb and our wonderful agent is up there with the best in the UK. He helps us dot and cross and sorts out any issues which might crop up, which when you book loads of cruises nearly two years in advance can occur! 

 

He is not alone in his excellence, but rules of CC mean we can't share our wonderful agents' names so ask away on this forum and those who have particular experience, can help instead. 🙂

[MrsPeel55]

OH, I may not have explained myself properly .

We didn't book with an agency, when I said "agent" I meant the Customer Service people who picked up the phone on Cunard's phone number.....

We booked with them directly, called and spoke to Cunard's employees..... this was what I was referring, I should have said Cunard's employees.

 

We had a great TA for our trips to South America, but they had a terrible time with Covid so not operating at the moment, but most of our travels in Europe we book ourselves. 

We spotted Cunard in 2019, were looking into trips and were going to book for 2020, then none of our trips happened. I wasn't ready to travel until end of last year, as we had been looking at Cunard's emails all this time and it seemed to be the one line that ticked all our expectations, called directly to book.

That's why I have gotten a bit frustrated with some issues of information that, being the actual Cunard's employees we were talking on the phone, wasn't even mentioned to us.

But the universe always makes life flow one way or another....in this case it found me these boards and I'm grateful for all info I am getting 🙂

Thanks once again 🙂

@Victoria2

 

[Victoria2]

No explanation needed, I realised it was a direct booking. I'm just a flag bearer for booking through an agent rather than booking direct!🙂

[annieuk]

My experience is more with P&O than Cunard but their paperwork is the same I believe.  I have been on Cunard but not with a wheelchair.  I book with a very well known Agent in the Midlands and when I said I was going to take a motorised scooter on one occasion and most recently with a push wheelchair that my daughter was going to push.  I was immediately told about the form I needed to fill in.  I was sent a copy by my Agent where I had to put the make of the wheelchair, its measurements, open and shut.  Once I'd fill it in it was sent to the cruise company and I believe it's the same with Cunard.  So yes definitely fill in the form even if the Cunard person you booked with doesn't seem to think it's necessary.  When I got to the Terminal the Assistance people had me on their list and one of the Assistance people took over and pushed me to check in, through security, on the ship and to the muster drill, accompanied by my daughter.  I know this is P&O but as far as I understand it the same requirements are required for Cunard.  

[FritzG]

16 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

An insurance company has nothing to do with how the crew can help those with reduced mobility in an emergency, and to do that, they need to know who will require help.

 

Would your daughter be able to assist you safely and quickly down flights of stairs [think of other passengers hurrying down here too and both hindering each other] if the lifts were put out of order in an emergency situation? If not,  the crew need to know in case of emergency who might need help  etc.

 

The company will also need it in black and white, not a conversation over the phone, any mobility aid will fit in the cabin . Foldable wheelchairs [and some folding power chairs] are acceptable in all cabins

 

So, question. Have you read the t&cs [18 -21] re reduced mobility? At least one member here was  disgusted when she couldn't take her foldable scooter as she  assumed it would be fine because it folded. It wasn't.  Her fault for not reading the reduced mobility t&cs s, not Cunard's but boy, did she sound off.

 The form is simple to fill in and will not preclude you from anything but if you turn up with a wheelchair and haven't filled in their form, then I have no idea what the reaction will be when checking in as we follow all the published guidelines in order to 'be correct'.

 

As an extra, if any aids are hired, the hire company will let Cunard know so they can be permitted to board the stuff. If no prior form has been filled in, Cunard will get in touch and ask the form to be filled in asap.

 

So my advice? Fill in the form. Dot the i's and cross the t's.  Saves any potential hassle.

 

Hope this helps.🙂

 

 

 

 

 

What about a rollator or walker? Does that have to be reported in advance?  We took it on Princess with no advance notice. 

[MrsPeel55]

15 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

No explanation needed, I realised it was a direct booking. I'm just a flag bearer for booking through an agent rather than booking direct!🙂

 

I'm thinking we may have been better if we did it with an agency, such a shame they don't allow people to recommend, as choosing a travel agent in London is a bit of a lottery at the moment....  thanks once again 🙂

[MrsPeel55]

52 minutes ago, FritzG said:

What about a rollator or walker? Does that have to be reported in advance?  We took it on Princess with no advance notice. 

 

My mobility was a lot better than now in our previous cruises, but judging by what people are telling us, I reckon you better mention before the trip, because I reckon the issue would be with the size of your cabin and the fact that you are not allowed to leave stuff outside... and for what I have been reading, this happens in most, if not every ship you travel in....

[Victoria2]

5 hours ago, MrsPeel55 said:

 

I'm thinking we may have been better if we did it with an agency, such a shame they don't allow people to recommend, as choosing a travel agent in London is a bit of a lottery at the moment....  thanks once again 🙂

 Like so many others, my agent is internet based.

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, FritzG said:

What about a rollator or walker? Does that have to be reported in advance?  We took it on Princess with no advance notice. 

Interesting. I notice the Princess Cruises mobility questionnaire actually specifies a rollator.

 

After reading the comments and t&cs, if like me, you wanted all your ducks in a row, it does no harm to fill it in and you can get boarding and disembarkation assistance.

Entirely up to you to decide

 

 

 

[MrsPeel55]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

 Like so many others, my agent is internet based.

 

Yes, most are even when having actual branches...  we have been having a lot of issues with scammers, wont go long into it but we even had problems with Experia.... 

 

is there no way to communicate on private messages here? or give people an email address? is that in violation of rules of Cruise Critic?

I would most certainly trust an agent that is recommended for booking next cruises as I can see it would take a bit of my worries (and money of my phone bill by the waiting time with Cunard after one booked!)

We do perfectly fine in booking land travel, but as our last cruise was years and years ago and it was my husband who took care of everything, I'm feeling a bit frustrated with all the new info I am getting.

Well, I should not moan, we still have a couple of months to sort stuff, so I will shut up now 🙂

 

[alibabacruisers]

I am sorry about your frustrations but completely understand. So many things have changed and make life so challenging these days.  I hope things get better for you.

[MrsPeel55]

@alibabacruisers. Thanks Barbara 🙂

Things are ok, really, I know we are blessed with much better life than many, and always find our way... can't wait to get on that ship!!!!! 🙂