New Cunard Line Mobility Fact Sheet

Cunard has eliminated the asistance to weelchairs in ports in which, due to tides, ships uses a stepped gangway. The person in the weelchair shall embark on foot or pushed by the persons who takes care of him. No one from the crew will help.

Cunard ads that to the obligation to step in and out in tender ports.

I think that Cunard it is the only division of Carnival doing so. Last year a did a cruise with Princess withot problems, being Princess which manages Cunard an P&O.

uses a stepped gangway. The person in the weelchair shall embark on foot or pushed by the persons who takes care of him.

Sounds like a bumpy ride!

Well, that means I will not sail Cunard.

Just hope Carnival Corporation does NOT follow this direction for its other cruise lines.

Joanie

this is disgusting, we are on QM2 on 19th October for the New England and Canada voyage which has 2 tender ports. My friend weighs under 8 stones but assistance has always been given on other cruise lines. Does this mean they wont put the empty wheelchair into the tender?

this is disgusting, we are on QM2 on 19th October for the New England and Canada voyage which has 2 tender ports. My friend weighs under 8 stones but assistance has always been given on other cruise lines. Does this mean they wont put the empty wheelchair into the tender?

They put the weelchair into tender but empty. The handicaped has to step in, even with help.

Sounds like a bumpy ride!

Sorry my mistake, is in "steep gangway" and not in "stepped gangway"-

Sorry my mistake, is in "steep gangway" and not in "stepped gangway"-

That's even worse, because that is where you need the help the most. If that is the case on NCL in two weeks, guess I will be staying aboard, because my daughter cannot do up and down steep gangways all by herself.

Cunard has eliminated the asistance to weelchairs in ports in which, due to tides, ships uses a stepped gangway. The person in the weelchair shall embark on foot or pushed by the persons who takes care of him. No one from the crew will help.

 

Cunard ads that to the obligation to step in and out in tender ports.

 

I think that Cunard it is the only division of Carnival doing so. Last year a did a cruise with Princess withot problems, being Princess which manages Cunard an P&O.

Having just come back from a Baltic Tour on the Queen Victoria and also a wheelchair users sometimes I can confirm it certainly is not the case .On all the ports we left the ship,( and some gangways were steep ) there were still staff waiting to push wheelchair users on/off the gangway and up to excursion coaches. On tenders, you do have to walk on and you wheelchair follows but with two guys to help you it has never felt like walking to me !!!. Also on disembarkation , a member of staff will wheel you to where you disembark and from there the shore staff take you off.

Cunard have a good reputation regarding wheelchair assitance and I woul recommend them:)

Having just come back from a Baltic Tour on the Queen Victoria and also a wheelchair users sometimes I can confirm it certainly is not the case .On all the ports we left the ship,( and some gangways were steep ) there were still staff waiting to push wheelchair users on/off the gangway and up to excursion coaches. On tenders, you do have to walk on and you wheelchair follows but with two guys to help you it has never felt like walking to me !!!. Also on disembarkation , a member of staff will wheel you to where you disembark and from there the shore staff take you off.

 

Cunard have a good reputation regarding wheelchair assitance and I woul recommend them:)

This is the experience I have on QM2 last August. I made on QM2 a reservation for August 2011 and I received a New Mobility Fact Sheet that states that they will not assist me then on steep gangways. This is the problem: most of the ports have steep gangways on QM" withouth flat alternative gangways only for wheelchairs as in Celebrity or Silversea.

This is the experience I have on QM2 last August. I made on QM2 a reservation for August 2011 and I received a New Mobility Fact Sheet that states that they will not assist me then on steep gangways. This is the problem: most of the ports have steep gangways on QM" withouth flat alternative gangways only for wheelchairs as in Celebrity or Silversea.

I too have booked for next year and the sheet is no different from last years . On reading it carefully , it does say if they have to use a stepped gangway that pivots to take account of the tide , you must have some independent mobility. As they say for the majority of their ports the gangways are fine for wheelchair users. I have been all around the Med on Cunard, Channel ports, Baltic and Norway and every port was accessable. They often had 2 gangways ,one stepped , and one for wheelchairs so it was fine. Please do not worry regarding Cunard , it is no different from any ship re access to and from the ship and it does have great support for people:)

To avoid problems with steep gangways and with steep streets while ashore, I am thinking to buy a removable electric device for collapsibles weelchairs (a fifth wheel powered electrically) which helps to reduce the effort in pushing a wheelchair. The problem is the price as they are not cheap. But as every year I am older...

I think it may be a liability issue, and a change in the industry. There have been a number of accidents on steep gangways in the past few years, involving crew members pushing or assisting passengers. More training will be implemented, but I think the cruise lines want to protect themsleves from liability -- there have been a few sizable out-of-court settlkements. I'm not saying this is how they all will go, or even agreeing with the move; just ofring some rationale from some behind-the-scenes info that (because of my profession) I'm privy to.

Candy