New rules for wheelchair users

[daiB]

As a mobility scooter user for the last 15 years it is quite clear that they should not be left outside a cabin. There is no need for them to be outside as to be able to have one on a cruise you have to be in an adapted cabin. (Or Suite) therefore you should always be able to put the scooter into the cabin. If you are a full time wheelchair user you will also need an adapted cabin for the toilet facilities. If you do not need these facilities then you are not a full time user.

[molecrochip]

On 3/16/2024 at 1:36 PM, molecrochip said:

Additionally, I believe it’s now a requirement that mobility scooters are booked into a fully accessible cabin rather than just P&O policy.

If true, some of Carnival Corp’s US based ships have been caught not enforcing the clear evacuation route aka ‘no scooters/wheelchairs/buggies in the corridors’ rule and have been given til the end of this month to retrain their crews and enforce across all brands.

[Goosebear Mum]

8 hours ago, molecrochip said:

If true, some of Carnival Corp’s US based ships have been caught not enforcing the clear evacuation route aka ‘no scooters/wheelchairs/buggies in the corridors’ rule and have been given til the end of this month to retrain their crews and enforce across all brands.

Good, as I once had to politely comment on Aurora, that someone was always blocking the corridor, outside their mini suite. It was acted upon.  This was pre covid, and I’ve only seen it on a regular basis on that one cruise. 

[Megabear2]

As someone who has encountered baby buggies/strollers in corridors, particularly on Arvia last year, I was surprised that Carnival seem to have omitted mention of them from their circulation to travel agents and passengers. 

 

Certainly been a lot of discussion elsewhere on CC about the enforcement.

 

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-cracking-down-on-mobility-scooters/125481

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-notifies-guests-of-specific-policy/122283

[nosapphire]

I had a look to see what Saga say about wheelchairs/scooters.

If you need one to move around the ship, then you have to book an accessible cabin.

If you only need one when you go ashore, then the ship will store it for you.

Space is limited for both situations, so fail to mention a wheelchair/scooter and you will probably be denied boarding.

I did notice on our last cruise that there were some scooters being lined up by crew at the bottom of the gangway ready to be collected by their owners.

I recently phoned to cancel a walking tour on an upcoming Saga cruise (no problem) but the way the telephone operator ran through a lot of reminders gave me the impression that Saga may now be having problems with people arriving with undeclared wheelchairs, or who need assistance but have not requested it.

[solentsam]

When we went on board Iona in feb at the accessibility checkin they put a yellow/orange label on my wife's wheelchair stating that it had been checked or something by P&O to use onboard and said to us it should be kept attached to the wheelchair at all times. I suppose that was to be sure on one was sneaking them on.

[daiB]

35 minutes ago, solentsam said:

When we went on board Iona in feb at the accessibility checkin they put a yellow/orange label on my wife's wheelchair stating that it had been checked or something by P&O to use onboard and said to us it should be kept attached to the wheelchair at all times. I suppose that was to be sure on one was sneaking them on.

Yes, for scooters they have been doing this for 5 or 8 years or perhaps longer.

[Selbourne]

39 minutes ago, solentsam said:

When we went on board Iona in feb at the accessibility checkin they put a yellow/orange label on my wife's wheelchair stating that it had been checked or something by P&O to use onboard and said to us it should be kept attached to the wheelchair at all times. I suppose that was to be sure on one was sneaking them on.

Is it an electric wheelchair? My wife has a manual one and we’ve never had a label put on it. 

[solentsam]

16 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Is it an electric wheelchair? My wife has a manual one and we’ve never had a label put on it. 

No it was a manual fold-up and we were staying in a standard cabin. Never had to before on all our previous with P&O

Edited March 18 by solentsam

[WECRUISEUK]

On 3/15/2024 at 7:14 PM, david63 said:

Anything left in any corridor (possible exception being the cabin steward's trolleys!) should be removed and a several hundred pound fee be required to have it returned to the cabin.

A bit harsh especially if the owner is on a tight budget.My suggestion would be that when boarding with a wheelchair or buggy,you will be given a large label with your room no. and name on that MUST be displayed at all times.If it's left in the gangway or anywhere else unatended then reception can be notified and THEY will contact the owner.

[david63]

2 minutes ago, WECRUISEUK said:

A bit harsh especially if the owner is on a tight budget.My suggestion would be that when boarding with a wheelchair or buggy,you will be given a large label with your room no. and name on that MUST be displayed at all times.If it's left in the gangway or anywhere else unatended then reception can be notified and THEY will contact the owner.

The problem with that approach is that anyone who is inconsiderate enough to leave whatever in the corridor will either remove the label or give reception a load of earache.

[WECRUISEUK]

18 minutes ago, david63 said:

The problem with that approach is that anyone who is inconsiderate enough to leave whatever in the corridor will either remove the label or give reception a load of earache.

The next step would be,after a one time severe warning, to remove the "inconsiderate" people from the ship at the next port as they are endangering all of us by blocking gangways.Stay with your items and make sure they join you in your cabin,that way no stranger can remove the label.

[Sojourner02]

What to do with us elderly?  Cruise ships  should be aware that we are not giving up and we are going to continue to cruise until we can no longer do so.

 

Just came back from an Oceania Cruise. Majority of us were well into our 70's and beyond.

Motor scooters, walkers, wheelchairs were lined up along the entrance to the main dining room.

 

When we left the theatre after the show, elevators were packed.  The  elevators  only held the motor scooter and the spouse or companion.  They were so embarrassed no one else could enter, it broke our  hearts.   How about cruise ships put in a bank of elevators for just for mobility challenged?

 

My husband and I are almost 80.  Our generation has blessed us  with good health, and wealth,   allowing us to travel on these luxury ships.  If you want generations to come to have to continue to travel and have a wonderful experience,  the time has come to adapt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[terrierjohn]

On 3/18/2024 at 11:27 AM, Selbourne said:

Is it an electric wheelchair? My wife has a manual one and we’ve never had a label put on it. 

We had one put on my wifes manual wheelchair for our current Iona cruise,which was the first time for us.

[nosapphire]

Nothing is going to alter the fact that no ship will be able to carry more mobility-challenged passengers than they can safely evacuate in an emergency. And there has - I assume - to be a margin over the numbers already declared as needing assistance to allow evacuation capacity for people who have become infirm while on the cruise.

 

 

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, nosapphire said:

Nothing is going to alter the fact that no ship will be able to carry more mobility-challenged passengers than they can safely evacuate in an emergency. And there has - I assume - to be a margin over the numbers already declared as needing assistance to allow evacuation capacity for people who have become infirm while on the cruise.

 

 

There are certainly a lot of elderley passengers on our current cruise who, whilst not wheelchair users or even dependant on a walking stick, who look as though they would struggle to cope with stairs in an emergency 

[Lainey123]

We have just returned from a 5 day cruise on Britannia with my 92yr old father in law who is a mobility scooter user. ( our 5th cruise in 18 months all with P&O )

As required we always have an adapted cabin ( which appears to cost more) due to his Mobility needs. We also have also provided details of the scooter as requested on booking.

unfortunately on arrival for this cruise we were told that we could not board as ‘maritime law’ had changed and we had not completed all required documentation. The VERY RUDE AND AGGRESSIVE ground crew supervisor at Southampton insisted it was our fault as we had ignored an email request for this. We assured her we hadn’t received any email but she refused to believe us and told us we couldn’t board as we hadn’t applied for an evacuation chair and non were now available. She told us we should go home and take it up with P&O as it ‘wasn’t her problem!’.

This exchange went on for about 30 minutes in full view of everyone in departures with her threatening to have me removed by security if I didn’t ’back off’. I was at no time anything but  polite !!

I asked her why my accessible cabin was not automatically allocated a chair and she told me that’s not how it works! I also advised her that we had always booked direct with P&O whilst onboard and our requirements had always been the same.

she then said she would go and look at our details and come back to us. About 20 minutes later another staff member came back and said we could board!

There was also a young couple one of whom was on a large motorised wheelchair who were in the same position but unfortunately they were sent home. The horrible staff member seemed to enjoy the fact that she made this lady cry 😢 

We are currently trying hard to speak to someone to complain as my father in law was very upset by the whole experience. We are not however having much success.

 

[david63]

11 minutes ago, Lainey123 said:

We are currently trying hard to speak to someone to complain as my father in law was very upset by the whole experience. We are not however having much success.

Have you tried executive.correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com that should get a response

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, Lainey123 said:

We have just returned from a 5 day cruise on Britannia with my 92yr old father in law who is a mobility scooter user. ( our 5th cruise in 18 months all with P&O )

As required we always have an adapted cabin ( which appears to cost more) due to his Mobility needs. We also have also provided details of the scooter as requested on booking.

unfortunately on arrival for this cruise we were told that we could not board as ‘maritime law’ had changed and we had not completed all required documentation. The VERY RUDE AND AGGRESSIVE ground crew supervisor at Southampton insisted it was our fault as we had ignored an email request for this. We assured her we hadn’t received any email but she refused to believe us and told us we couldn’t board as we hadn’t applied for an evacuation chair and non were now available. She told us we should go home and take it up with P&O as it ‘wasn’t her problem!’.

This exchange went on for about 30 minutes in full view of everyone in departures with her threatening to have me removed by security if I didn’t ’back off’. I was at no time anything but  polite !!

I asked her why my accessible cabin was not automatically allocated a chair and she told me that’s not how it works! I also advised her that we had always booked direct with P&O whilst onboard and our requirements had always been the same.

she then said she would go and look at our details and come back to us. About 20 minutes later another staff member came back and said we could board!

There was also a young couple one of whom was on a large motorised wheelchair who were in the same position but unfortunately they were sent home. The horrible staff member seemed to enjoy the fact that she made this lady cry 😢 

We are currently trying hard to speak to someone to complain as my father in law was very upset by the whole experience. We are not however having much success.

 

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.  The form you have to complete is no longer, as far as I am aware, emailed to you and can be found in your cruise personaliser.  Since last year it has been a requirement that even walking stick users complete this form. My husband falls into this category and both P&O and Cunard require him to be marked for one to one assistance.   If you booked with P&O direct they should have directed you to this and told you it is now a requirement of booking.  

 

[StopTheWorld]

I’m sorry too - what a stressful experience. For those in a similar situation, as Megabear2 has said, there is a questionnaire on  the  website now. Log in to your booking, select Before you sail, then scroll across to Onboard needs. 
The website states:

This form should be completed by all guests who:

• May require assistance with embarkation, disembarkation, or in an unlikely case of emergency evacuation
• Have any medical needs that may require special accommodation
• Will be bringing medical equipment or mobility devices on board
• Have been advised by their travel insurance or doctor to declare their needs to us

[StopTheWorld]

I’ve just checked my booking again, as I knew I had seen somewhere that the questionnaire must have been received. It’s in itinerary- the evacuation chair request is noted. Worth checking if this is noted for any future cruises.

 

[Harryjacobs]

This was verbally asked to me by the sales assistant on the telephone on my last 3 bookings.  It was made very clear to me the requirements if I needed accessibility assistance.  

[Megabear2]

4 hours ago, StopTheWorld said:

I’ve just checked my booking again, as I knew I had seen somewhere that the questionnaire must have been received. It’s in itinerary- the evacuation chair request is noted. Worth checking if this is noted for any future cruises.

 

Yes I have this too and it's only for a walking stick!

[solentsam]

all disabled will have to wear hi-vis and hard hats etc soon elf an safety lol🙃

 

it will make you feel like someone important on the ship (like a politician)

Edited April 30 by solentsam

[Lainey123]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience.  The form you have to complete is no longer, as far as I am aware, emailed to you and can be found in your cruise personaliser.  Since last year it has been a requirement that even walking stick users complete this form. My husband falls into this category and both P&O and Cunard require him to be marked for one to one assistance.   If you booked with P&O direct they should have directed you to this and told you it is now a requirement of booking.  

 

We were very sure that we had provided all the required information in January including the need for evacuation chair. This has been confirmed by P&O  today when my husband finally managed to speak to someone! They said it looks like a clerical error and that he should email via complaints system if he wants to complain.

they also tried to say it was not their issue as the woman we encountered did not work for P&O!!!!!!!

🤯🤯🤯