Wheelchair accessibility on Queen Elizabeth and Victoria?

We have travelled many years (900 days) on Holland America and are going on our first Cunard cruise RT San Francisco/Sydney. What is your experience with the QE and QV such as stateroom size, doors to decks, ramps, theatre seating? Any suggestions or comments? thanks much, Cleta

We've travelled a lot on QE and QV. Both are fine for wheelchair use in public spaces. I can't comment on HAL, but compared with some lines you will find much more room aboard and it's much easier to find somewhere to sit, especially in the evenings when some other ships are a bit too cozy.

There are lifts front, middle and aft. Travel up and down on the closest lift to your location and move along the wide public spaces on deck 3 or 4. The corridors on other decks are usually clear but can get a little difficult with service carts in the morning and evening. If you are dining in the grills then only two of the four centre lifts go there and you need to swipe your ship's pass to get access.

The theatre doesn't have a lot of wheelchair spaces but they seem to be well policed and there are signs to reserve the adjacent seats for carers. Enter on deck 2. The MDR has plenty of room, I'd suggest asking in advance for a table by the door on the lower level to avoid problems on busy nights. Cabin doors (like most ships) are too narrow for a non-folding chair unless you have a HC cabin or are booked in a QG suite.

Unlike some HAL ships there are no wheelchair accessible tenders on Cunard ships but if you can stand and take an assisted step then usually a wheelchair can follow on to the tender. Getting on and off at ports is no problem, the crew are very good at helping wheelchair users up and down the ramp. The tours desk are pretty helpful although I've never been aboard a Cunard ship with a wheelchair accessible tour on offer. However, if you can climb a few steps of a coach and store the chair underneath, they will reserve a front seat for you.

Stateroom size, like everywhere else, depends on what you pay and I'd be unhappy with some of them in a wheelchair. But the HC cabins should be more than big enough for your needs and some of the suites are gigantic.

Enjoy Cunard, it's a wonderful line. The risk is that you might get addicted and your next 900 days will be with them, not HAL.

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Thanks so much for your response and the information. One of the questions I did not include is accessible bathrooms in public areas. Although, based on what you have said, I imagine that there are some available.

Thanks again, Cleta

Plenty of accesible bathrooms, all have push button auto opening and delayed closing. On QE, they lock at the push of a switch but IIRC QV still has a manual lock. They are very roomy with good fold down grab bars. Automatic tap and also soap dispenser, both non-contact.

My only complaint is that in some of them the sink, the WC and the hand towels are a bit spread out (which you find all over the world and it annoys me wherever it is).

You'll find them in all the obvious places such as outside the theatre as well as in some of the short corridors leading to the outside decks. One or two of them are inside a much larger standard gents or ladies toilet but most of them are disabled specific.

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