adapted cabins

[chiusi]

had adapted balcony cabins for most of last 15 years. always contain drop down bars at toilet and shower. 2 weeks ago on queen marys 20 th year to hamburg, 2 adapted balcony cabins were refurbished  minus the drop down bars, ours being one. cunard never told us this i have multiple sclerosis. cunard know this from questionaires .  complained got upgraded to princess grill with said bars

 

loyalty admin showed us queen anne. no drop down bars anywhere. one year ago booked future cruises for 2025 and 26. no mention of this change and no pictures at that time. saw pictures now. very pretty. grab. grab rails above toilet. for what purpose?

 

cunard are looking into this they say. meanwhile we have option to cancel nov24 queen anne cruise. the rest?????????

 

otherwise best cruise ever. food, entertainment, staff, fjiord ports, anniversary sail into hamburg centre and out with accompanying boat flotilla and music and much cheering from quayside along the way.

 

cunard future? do they not want any type of disabled pasenger?  if its not broke why fix it? Money? concerned but hope cunard will decide to re install the drop down bars in adapted cabins, otherwise they really are only ACCESSIBLE cabins.

[david63]

It has been mentioned before on this forum about the inadequacies of the QA adapted cabins - whether anything will be done about the problems, and when, remains to be seen.

 

6 minutes ago, chiusi said:

do they not want any type of disabled pasenger?

The official answer will be that all passengers are welcome - the feeling amongst some is that disabled passengers are being deterred from cruising with the Carnival UK brands.

[chiusi]

Awaiting official confirmation from Cunard regarding reinstatement of drop down bars. If negative, our conjectures will be proven correct. Currently demanding this within the next month to cancel and rebook elsewhere together with full refund of 8 cruise deposits . Already refunded deposit for nov2024 cruise. Hopeful. big company over 182 years. Reputation etc. Disability is high on "most" international agendas these days. There are  other higher profile avenues to follow here. Hope this will not have to be the case. Qm2s Admin staff and Officers were already fully aware earlier this month. Could not fault their attitude. Will post outcome . Regards.

[BigMac1953]

Obviously the oversight needs to be urgently addressed.

 

Good luck getting it sorted!

Edited August 22 by BigMac1953
Stupidity

[Victoria2]

Trouble is, UK Doc M requirements are to my mind, more comprehensive than ADA Bathroom requirements so whilst the drop down bar is required to meet UK regs., it is not a requirement for US ADA bathroom layouts.

Whether Cunard adopt Doc M  or ADA remains to be seen,

[Victoria2]

32 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Trouble is, UK Doc M requirements are to my mind, more comprehensive than ADA Bathroom requirements so whilst the drop down bar is required to meet UK regs., it is not a requirement for US ADA bathroom layouts.

Whether Cunard adopt Doc M  or ADA remains to be seen,

Should have added

Going forward, whether Cunard adopt Doc M  or ADA remains to be seen,

[Slugsta]

Yes, the lack of drop-down bars was highlighted on this board earlier this year. Also the lack of automatic doors to cabins and balconies. This seems, to me, to be a real drawback for people needing accessible cabins 

[Megabear2]

36 minutes ago, Slugsta said:

Yes, the lack of drop-down bars was highlighted on this board earlier this year. Also the lack of automatic doors to cabins and balconies. This seems, to me, to be a real drawback for people needing accessible cabins 

Yes, Selbourne had considerable problems on the QA naming cruise (3rd voyage) and was told notes were taken.  He sails on her again November and did not receive any confirmation or comfort the situation would change by then unfortunately.

[chiusi]

Considered Uk/Usa regs. Maybe so. However, some Cunard cruises board UK passengers from UK ports. At the initial sale of Queen Anne cruises, adapted cabins were not available to view. Indeed, Queen Anne had not even set sail from the build in Italy or christened. If there was no intention to include the drop down bars, this fact should have been pointed out  at point of sale. It's dangerous otherwise to those who have balance problems for whatever reason at least.  I would refuse to sail if finding this out upon arrival at my cabin without prior warning.

By already refunding our Nov 24 cruise, Cunard admit some liability.  As to our remaining 8 cruises throughout 25 and 26??? Awaiting still. Meanwhile, the situation is morally if not criminally wrong and will be elevated  without a satisfactory response   within a reasonable timescale.

[Victoria2]

Cunard seem to be following US ADA regs as far as Queen Anne is concerned and who knows where refits will take the rest of the fleet's adapted cabin bathrooms but as guidelines are being followed and as the fleet isn't registered in the UK, there is no criminal issue here and to my mind, no moral comeback either as regs. are being followed. Just not, it seems UK regs..

 

I have no idea where the responsibility lies with informing passengers of the fitting out of various cabins  but the fact UK passengers board at UK ports would I have thought, not make the slightest difference.

 

Naively, I would have thought the simple addition of a drop down bar by the side of the loo would be an easy addition to all adapted bathrooms/loos so hopefully, if enough 'noise' is made, this will happen but when and indeed, if, who knows.

Edited August 24 by Victoria2

[Victoria2]

As an aside, when I had my TKR, I bought a couple of raised loo seats which had side arms.

 

I know these aren't anything like the drop down bars, but if cruising from S'ton and back, would hiring one be a good substitute?

 

[chiusi]

i have the frames at home for the loo. not suitable for sea because rough seas would immediately render them unstable. have permanent disability enclosed shower with seat at home. any drop downs need to be bolted to the wall.  not sure how hiring could work on a ship.

agree re boarding place. not many adapted cabins so is cost the factor?no idea. sue culture? maybe. somebody said problems have arisen in public loos where people in wheelchairs have got stuck. [ the drop down in southampton public loo was not there 2 weeks ago . always use that before taxi home] never use them on ships. noro virus possibility. checked qm2s. beautiful large, clean ,drop downs. well if somebody broke a hip whilst at sea because of this siyuation, then they will know about it!

queen anne was commissioned during the pandemic. ????? no good conjecturing.. have had cunard adapted cabins with drop downs for 15 years. surely not legally correct to change without notification. they have had my medical details for 15 years.

[Victoria2]

Out of interest, Queen Anne was commissioned well before the Covid pandemic.

 

I  cant see why a raised seat on a frame would be unstable as it’s such a tight fit around  loo and as you’re used to them at home, hire one.

 

As for sue culture or any other legal avenues, I would have thought those an expensive non starter.

 

Edit

Going forward, if this is a real issue for you, and Cunard have allowed you a refund on one cruise, would it be prudent to ask for further refunds and then rebook if adapted cabin bathrooms get their drop down?

 

 

Edited August 24 by Victoria2