"Important notification regarding your booking"

[IB2]

I just received an email (actually the same one twice) from Cunard about the above, with an attachment setting out the details of my long-ago booked 2024 westbound, and I am looking at it and can't see anything that Cunard hasn't already confirmed previously

 

 

Am I missing something or is this merely a routine re-confirmation communicated in an over-dramatic way?

[Pushpit]

I have had two emails for all my booked cruises (I have a few....), all duplicated, with this message below, and all it seems to be is a reiteration relating to the emergency procedures.

 

Namely that those who will struggle to use stairs in an emergency (since the lifts will be out of service) must tell Cunard in advance that they are travelling or risk being denied passage without refund. Sounds like something has happened somewhere, and presumably relating to people with reduced mobility who are normally handled by the spouse (etc) of the traveller, and thus don't need help at boarding (etc) by Cunard, and can get around OK by lifts. So they slip through the controls that Cunard have until an emergency scenario, and then Cunard may not have staff in the right place to move passengers to muster stations:

 

"In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is important we have sufficient and specific support for guests who require additional assistance, and we have advance notice of this. Please read the following declaration of assistance needs for your voyage, even if you are travelling with someone who can support you. Guests who are unable to get to their assembly stations independently (which could involve several flights of stairs as lifts will not be available) due to a disability, health, or mental capacity must be pre-registered for assistance to ensure we have sufficient support. Failure to provide this information could result in being denied boarding at your own expense. If you do require assistance, please advise us by completing the On Board Needs Questionnaire."

Edited August 3, 2023 by Pushpit

[bitob]

I just got same thing 

 

[RJChatsworth]

This rings a bell from a previous theme a long time ago.  Does there come a point in the booking procedure that they say we can’t take anymore bookings for wheelchair passengers because in a real emergency we wouldn’t have the crew to cope with the lifts not working.  Presumably for Health & Safety reasons there must be an upper limit on each voyage.  Does anyone know what the H&S implications are?

[MrsPeel55]

it makes sense. 

I only knew about the questionnaire thanks to threads here and I am so very grateful I got to it, I don't think is anything you need to be alarmed, I honestly rather get tons of emails with info from them than not, my mobility is restricted and I understand how this is a positive move, probably, like it was said above, something happened to prompt them to alert people to it, they are making sure those who need help will have it....

 

[Winifred 22]

Had loads today too. My take is if you have accessibility needs and don’t inform them by following the agreed procedure beforehand  you could be denied boarding with no redress. Like others there have said there must be a limit to the number of people who may need assistance being onboard at any one time. If that limit has been reached and you just turn up without prior warning or an assistance request you just won’t be able to sail. 

[fabnfortysomething]

thank you for this post

I also got 2 duplicate emails about an important notification and couldnt see any different info from original booking

glad I'm not the only one wondering whats going on

[delgirl]

Ive also had 2 of these today. Both for same cruise. Although had my name on both I presume it was one each. Also had 2 for my daughter and son-in-law as I booked cruise and all on my e-mails. Must admit I thought it a bit odd especially having 2 exact same e-mails.

[ballroom-cruisers]

What seems to be new in these emails is the extra paragraph, that has the following text:

 

Important Notices
In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is important we have sufficient and specific support for guests who require additional assistance, and we have advance notice of this. Please read the following declaration of assistance needs for your voyage, even if you are travelling with someone who can support you.

 

Guests who are unable to get to their assembly stations independently (which could involve several flights of stairs as lifts will not be available) due to a disability, health, or mental capacity must be pre-registered for assistance to ensure we have sufficient support.

 

Failure to provide this information could result in being denied boarding at your own expense. If you do require assistance, please advise us by completing the On Board Needs Questionnaire.

Edited August 3, 2023 by ballroom-cruisers
reformat

[BklynBoy8]

5 hours ago, IB2 said:

I just received an email (actually the same one twice) from Cunard about the above, with an attachment setting out the details of my long-ago booked 2024 westbound, and I am looking at it and can't see anything that Cunard hasn't already confirmed previously

Am I missing something or is this merely a routine re-confirmation communicated in an over-dramatic way?

 

Got one too today and looking it over and seeing if there is any changes for our 2025 voyage.

 

Will post if different.

 

Was also surprised.

[techteach]

Our notification arrived a couple of hours ago.

[MrsPeel55]

we also got a duplicate email, I assume is because we are two passengers?

[Winifred 22]

5 hours ago, MrsPeel55 said:

we also got a duplicate email, I assume is because we are two passengers?

I am a solo traveller and I had two emails for everything I have on the books including P&O.

[MrsPeel55]

4 hours ago, Winifred 22 said:

I am a solo traveller and I had two emails for everything I have on the books including P&O.

 

mmm not sure why then?  maybe to make it weight more on people's attention? In our ones, the sender ID is on capitals - NO-REPLY@CUNARD.COM  which most definitely calls more attention than regular ones I get....

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I've had this for my 2025 QA cruise but not my 2024 QV cruise.

 

The only difference I can think of is there will be a 'milestone' birthday between the two.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Winifred 22]

I don’t think they are age related in anyway my daughters and partners are under 35 and 30 respectively with no assistance requirements and they received them yesterday. I am still missing some so I suppose they are still being sent. 

[PurpleMoonlight]

If you don't need assistance there appears nothing that you need do.

[Pushpit]

It has all the hallmarks of a mass mailing workflow process, where the software involved had some sort of glitch that led to 2 emails going out rather than one. I wouldn't overthink IT glitches.

[david,Mississauga]

Even though we have requested embarkation assistance at the terminal for my wife we have not received this e-mail for our two voyages next year. It's a long way off but if we don't receive this soon I will have to contact Cunard or have our agent do it.  The threat of being denied boarding is a concern.  If it wasn't for this posting I wouldn't know about it.

[Pushpit]

56 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

The threat of being denied boarding is a concern.  If it wasn't for this posting I wouldn't know about it.

The point of this mass mailing was to ensure everyone has done their "On Board Needs" questionnaire. If you have done this, then you don't need to worry, it has all the hallmarks of managerial "cover myself by seeming to take action".

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, Pushpit said:

The point of this mass mailing was to ensure everyone has done their "On Board Needs" questionnaire. If you have done this, then you don't need to worry, it has all the hallmarks of managerial "cover myself by seeming to take action".

It has all the hallmarks of Cunard wanting to know precisely who will need actual physical help in an emergency.

There are the disabled who can walk down stairs, and then there those who can’t and the staff need to know who they are which is why they are insisting the form is filled out. Properly.

[Victoria2]

2 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

Even though we have requested embarkation assistance at the terminal for my wife we have not received this e-mail for our two voyages next year. It's a long way off but if we don't receive this soon I will have to contact Cunard or have our agent do it.  The threat of being denied boarding is a concern.  If it wasn't for this posting I wouldn't know about it.

If your wife is disabled, I assume you fill out the medical form for each trip in which case, Cunard will already have 'you' on their assistance list and will know what the problems are that your wife would face in an emergency so don’t worry too much at the moment.

[david,Mississauga]

4 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

If your wife is disabled, I assume you fill out the medical form for each trip in which case, Cunard will already have 'you' on their assistance list and will know what the problems are that your wife would face in an emergency so don’t worry too much at the moment.

 

"Mrs. David" doesn't consider herself disabled. She would describe herself as a person of reduced mobility due to issues with her knees. She uses a walking stick a lot, but not all the time. She can do a limited number of stairs but it is painful, as is standing for a long time. For most airports and some ocean terminals (New York and Vancouver can be a horror) we request assistance. If we are on a cruise and there is going to be a tendered port, she is invited to attend a session with the safety officer.  

 

We have never completed a medical form. A request through the travel agent or on-board sales staff for terminal assistance has always been noted and provided.   If we receive the e-mail we will comply.  If we don't receive it I'm confident there is a way to find the appropriate form.

[Victoria2]

47 minutes ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

"Mrs. David" doesn't consider herself disabled. She would describe herself as a person of reduced mobility due to issues with her knees. She uses a walking stick a lot, but not all the time. She can do a limited number of stairs but it is painful, as is standing for a long time. For most airports and some ocean terminals (New York and Vancouver can be a horror) we request assistance. If we are on a cruise and there is going to be a tendered port, she is invited to attend a session with the safety officer.  

 

We have never completed a medical form. A request through the travel agent or on-board sales staff for terminal assistance has always been noted and provided.   If we receive the e-mail we will comply.  If we don't receive it I'm confident there is a way to find the appropriate form.

'We' filled out the medical form even when using sticks. I guess it’s folk such as your wife who doesn’t fill out a form, Cunard are trying to 'catch'.

[MrsPeel55]

1 hour ago, david,Mississauga said:

 

"Mrs. David" doesn't consider herself disabled. She would describe herself as a person of reduced mobility due to issues with her knees. She uses a walking stick a lot, but not all the time. She can do a limited number of stairs but it is painful, as is standing for a long time. For most airports and some ocean terminals (New York and Vancouver can be a horror) we request assistance. If we are on a cruise and there is going to be a tendered port, she is invited to attend a session with the safety officer.  

 

We have never completed a medical form. A request through the travel agent or on-board sales staff for terminal assistance has always been noted and provided.   If we receive the e-mail we will comply.  If we don't receive it I'm confident there is a way to find the appropriate form.

 

I'm more or less in the same boat, a lot more restricted as I use crutches at home, some days one, some days two, but need a wheelchair when we are out.I can walk to a table a reasonable distance if I don't want to get in a dining room with the wheelchair,I am able to do a few steps, this in a very generalised description.

 

I was truly grateful after @Victoria2 gave me the link to the questionnaire a few weeks ago when talking about this kind of impairment and Cunard's policy in some shore excursions which we had already paid and on the phone the Cunard's lady said they may not let us in unless the shore tour was specifically for access people (can't remember the title they have), I realized the need to fill it in.

I would urge you to fill it in, regardless of what your TA says.

 

In the questionnaire at the moment, it states clearly that for tender, one needs to be able to do (here they tell us the distance in numbers, can't remember right now) un-aided or you would be denied access, obviously resulting in impossibility to get to shore.

This among other things which I fill a LOT better after having filled it in.

I have to admit, we will only finish it tomorrow as I need help from my daughter who has been busy at work, but we are most definitely finishing it tomorrow, it says you NEED to have this complete up to 14 days before your trip.

It takes 5 minutes or so, it wont harm, I say you guys do fill it in, my grandma always taught us that prevention is better than cure 🙂

 

Just in case you don't get the emails, (but I reckon you may get it) here is the page.

in here you have a clickable link for both the questionnaire and the  accessibility guide, 

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

 

and this is the On Board Needs questionable specifically

https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/marketing-assets/pdf/accessibility-pdfs/Accessibility_Medical_Questionnaire_July23_TC.pdf

 

you will need to sign in with your trip ref number.