Cunard and P&O Change Mobility Scooter Policy

Cunard and P&O Change Mobility Scooter Policy

Usually these rule changes come about after problems and/or complaints. Somebody probably complained that their scooter took up too much space in their cabin and wanted it stowed elsewhere.

The only down side that I see is the limited cabin selection for those who can walk but can't do so for great distances.

It's already been added to Section 21 of the booking conditions:

...For the safety of the ship and all Guests on board, all wheelchairs and other aids to mobility must be stored in the Guest’s stateroom when they are not being used and in order to ensure that this is possible, and to so ensure the safety of the ship and all guests on board, Cunard reserves the right to require that Guests who use wheelchairs book a specified category of stateroom. Further information is contained in the Cunard brochure and website. Cunard reserves the right to refuse passage to any Guest who has failed to notify Cunard of their requirement for special treatment or assistance or of reduced mobility or Disabilities (including the requirement to use a wheelchair)

Wonder if this would include baby strollers for this. We commonly would leave a stroller in the hallway, although we usually book cabins on dead ends.

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whyohwhyoh

Wonder if this would include baby strollers for this. We commonly would leave a stroller in the hallway, although we usually book cabins on dead ends...

I would certainly hope so. Maybe your cabin is at a dead end but somebody else will complain, "You let them keep their stroller in the hall!"

Blockage of exits can be serious in an emergency. A few years ago US airlines required that only able bodied passengers can sit in "exit rows" for this reason.

We saw someone trip over the legs of a walker recently. Quite nasty. I would hope that strollers wouldn't be kept in hallways because that represents a significant danger for people, especially in rough seas. There needs to be a middle ground for the use of scooters and other mobility devices to enable people to enjoy mobility, versus the safety of other passengers. It was difficult sometimes trying to get past the service trolley, let alone a mobility device.

On the recent circumnavigation of Australia I was surprised to see unattended mobility scooters and wheelchairs left unattended for long periods by the lifts in the "C" stairway around decks 4 to 6. I can see why Cunard wants to stop this from happening again.

I don't know that this is a change in policy but perhaps it is a strong reminder to the users of such equipment that they can't leave them parked outside their accommodations. I am sure that this has been the rule for at least as long as I recall, the enforcement of the rule however has lessened. Perhaps the major part of the directive is that passengers with wheelchairs "must" book appropriate accommodations. I can see that a scooter, unless dismantled, can only fit through a suitable doorway but don't wheelchairs fold up and they can then be carried into any cabin and stored in a corner? Some passengers bring wheelchairs on board as an aid to them for the long distances involved when moving around the ship, they are not "wheelchair users" but rather people who use wheelchairs. It is obviously a very sensitive issue which I hope Cunard staff will be able to handle with a large degree of common sense. Surely if a passenger can manage in a regular cabin and can and does bring his/her wheelchair into that cabin, does it matter that they have a disability or some other reason to use a wheelchair? I don't think that it does and for them to lose 100% of their fare seems to me to be an enormously draconian measure. By all means ensure that the corridors and lift lobbies are kept clear but if I want to clutter my cabin with a wheelchair it is my choice, the same choice that I make if I want 3 others to occupy a 4 berth cabin.

I can see the sense of not blocking corridors with anything. In an emergency I would not want to be tripping or clambering over bulky items or even trays of crockery and coffee pots etc.

I By all means ensure that the corridors and lift lobbies are kept clear but if I want to clutter my cabin with a wheelchair it is my choice, the same choice that I make if I want 3 others to occupy a 4 berth cabin.

Because human nature being as it is they could tire of the cramped conditions and put the device out of the way, but in someone else's.

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This could be a reaction from the Costa Concordia disaster. I have noticed many more pax using scooters lately and many being parked outside cabins. I think this has been tolerated by the cruise lines, but we need only think of a panic rush along the corridors with people falling over parked scooters and followers falling over them!!

David.

This could be a reaction from the Costa Concordia disaster. I have noticed many more pax using scooters lately and many being parked outside cabins. I think this has been tolerated by the cruise lines, but we need only think of a panic rush along the corridors with people falling over parked scooters and followers falling over them!!

 

David.

I think your observation is spot on. Scotters lodged in out of the way corners were probably ignored until now, but their proliferation from the ease of renting these things combined with the Concordia sinking has forced cruise lines to clamp down on stowing them.

I can just imagine the poor cabin steward who has to tell somebody that their scotter can't be parked overnight in the elevator lobby. The response probably goes something like this: "We're Diamond Club members! This was never a problem! Why, on the QE2 they even stowed our scotter away for us!"

Last year's T's & C's already forebade wheelchairs and such like being parked in corridors.The policy wasn't rigidly enforced. On our last Cunard cruise, the numbers of scooters, some quite large, that were parked in the corners of corridors made it difficult at times to negotiate in a wheelchair. I found it quite frustrating.

Having said that, carelessly dumped room service trolleys are wide enough to cause just as much problem so I sincerely hope that these will get addressed at the same time.

I don't doubt that the Concordia affair has focussed minds on health and safety issues and a good tightening up is no bad thing. Nevertheless, this is a particularly short sighted step.

Many scooters are small enough to disassemble and store under the table in a cabin. Prohibiting even the baby ones means that the very limited number of accessible cabins will get booked up even more quickly (at full brochure prices) than they do now. Not everyone will be able or willing to fund the cost of a suite, so a significant proportion of the people who fill up lightly-booked voyages will be excluded.

Considering the upper end age profile of Cunard passengers in general, I reckon such a blanket approach is a massive shot in the foot.

As for the one comment criticising the folks who have to use a scooter for mobility reasons, I can only say that there are good and bad in every group of people. This includes the able bodied ignorant who jump in front of the queue for a lift or smack you in the face with a tray when they are busy gorging themselves at the buffet. I hope you never need to use a scooter or a chair, but if you do, please try to be humble and remember that karma is a wonderful thing.

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I find it passing strange that the only 2 Carnival cruiselines with this new policy is P&O UK and Cunard. Is there something about these two cruiselines and not the others that precipitates this?? Just curious.

I think it is a good policy and should apply to all cruiselines.

Barry

No scooters nor wheelchairs even for a short time but vaccuum cleaners and stewards' carts are OK? Aren't they just as much an obstacle?

No scooters nor wheelchairs even for a short time but vaccuum cleaners and stewards' carts are OK? Aren't they just as much an obstacle?

I am not sure that vacuum cleaners and stewards carts are left out in the hallways at night when the stewards have completed their work? They are there of course when they are working - but then they are an unfortunate "necessary" obstacle.

I am not yet disabled physically in any way , but as old age progresses , I am sure my time will come when I realise that I can no longer do the things that I have always done. For example, negotiate several flights of stairs on foot instead of using the lifts. I do wonder how some people think they will manage in the event of an emergency when they are unable to undertake the most basic necessities of walking the length of the long passageways and climbing the steps. When I am unable to do those things, I will no longer cruise.

Barry

I am not sure that vacuum cleaners and stewards carts are left out in the hallways at night when the stewards have completed their work? They are there of course when they are working - but then they are an unfortunate "necessary" obstacle.

I do wonder how some people think they will manage in the event of an emergency when they are unable to undertake the most basic necessities of walking the length of the long passageways and climbing the steps. When I am unable to do those things, I will no longer cruise.

 

Barry

You raise really important points and I agree totally with you. :eek: When I can no longer safely negotiate such things on my own then it is time to give up cruising. Because I do not wish to be a burden on anyone, or increase their risk, simply because of my advanced needs.

If the purpose of the new policy is to reduce obstacles in the event of an emergency, the stewards' carts and equipment (as well as luggage in the hall on the last night) are also obstacles and only differ in the degree. I think a vaccuum cleaner is less while a cart is more of an obstacle than a scooter. All are necessities to those who use them. A long hall with a hundred overturned suitcases would be wouldn't be much fun either if you weren't spry but in a hurry. The thought of depending on help in an emergency would make me consider not cruising if I was dependent on a scooter or wheelchair. But if the issue is safety all obstructions should be kept out of the halls.

If the purpose of the new policy is to reduce obstacles in the event of an emergency, the stewards' carts and equipment (as well as luggage in the hall on the last night) are also obstacles and only differ in the degree. I think a vaccuum cleaner is less while a cart is more of an obstacle than a scooter. All are necessities to those who use them. A long hall with a hundred overturned suitcases would be wouldn't be much fun either if you weren't spry but in a hurry. The thought of depending on help in an emergency would make me consider not cruising if I was dependent on a scooter or wheelchair. But if the issue is safety all obstructions should be kept out of the halls.

I'm not sure it's just to reduce obstacles. I saw a scooter parked in the B stairwell on QM2. The landing there is big, and the scooter was not an obstacle, although it might have been an issue in low-light ocnditions. I have no idea how close the owner's cabin was to that stairwell. In an emergency, who retrieves the scooter? How long will the person who uses it have to wait for it? Maybe the idea is if the scooter is in the cabin, the person who uses it can evacuate the cabin more easily/quickly.

As for the steward's equipment, the carts are not very large, and they "belong" to someone who is in the area. it would be interesting to know if there is an emergency procedure for getting those carts out of the way before the stewards go to their emergency stations.

I don't know whether cruise lines limit the number of scooters/wheelchairs on board, sometimes there are only a few and other trips have a much greater number. As you may be aware, in the event of an emergency the use of lifts/elevators is not allowed and in fact sometimes the power to them is cut. This brings me to my point which is how do disabled passengers make their way to the muster stations if the alarm is sounded. I imagine that they need to be carried up or down the stairs, so who does this task fall to? Some disabled passengers travel with a companion and others with an assistant but by no means is this the majority. There are stairway guides at each deck but these are often spa staff who are ill equipped to perform this function. Makes you think doesn't it!

... in the event of an emergency the use of lifts/elevators is not allowed and in fact sometimes the power to them is cut. This brings me to my point which is how do disabled passengers make their way to the muster stations if the alarm is sounded. I imagine that they need to be carried up or down the stairs ...

This is not a correct statement. There is always at least one set of lifts to which power is maintained. These lefts are used to move anyone who cannot manage stairs during an evacuation. Watch at you next muster drill and you'll see that the stairway guides are allowing those people who cannot climb stairs (not just scooter users) to use the designated lifts.

People who cannot manage the stairs are certainly not carried.

This is not a correct statement. There is always at least one set of lifts to which power is maintained. These lefts are used to move anyone who cannot manage stairs during an evacuation. Watch at you next muster drill and you'll see that the stairway guides are allowing those people who cannot climb stairs (not just scooter users) to use the designated lifts.

 

People who cannot manage the stairs are certainly not carried.

Hmm, the Costa Concordia springs to mind, tricky to have lifts running on their sides.

BTW here is an extract from the Cunard FAQs on the subject that you profess to be so very familiar with.

I have never claimed to be "familiar" with Cunard's regulations however the following quote disproves your earlier claim that

Some disabled passengers travel with a companion and others with an assistant but by no means is this the majority.

"For this reason, and in order to ensure the safety of the guest, the ship and all others on board, we require guests with disabilities who require personal assistance in the

activities of daily living, including pushing a wheelchair, or communication support, to be accompanied by a personal assistant/travelling companion to provide these services." My emphasis

I have never claimed to be "familiar" with Cunard's regulations however the following quote disproves your earlier claim that

I have no wish to argue with you but the FAQ state that they only require guests with disabilities who require personal assistance in the activities of daily living, to be accompanied by a personal assistant/travelling companion to provide these services.

I understand that statement to mean that a passenger who needs a wheelchair or a scooter doesn't need a companion unless they need personal assistance in the activities of daily living.

I understand that statement to mean that a passenger who needs a wheelchair or a scooter doesn't need a companion unless they need personal assistance in the activities of daily living.

We obviously have very different understandings of the phrase "daily living". I believe that "daily Living" includes basic things like being able to move about the ship. Assistance with daily living is quite different from Personal Care.

We obviously have very different understandings of the phrase "daily living". I believe that "daily Living" includes basic things like being able to move about the ship. Assistance with daily living is quite different from Personal Care.

Regardless of your beliefs, Cunard only require passengers who require personal assistance in the activities of daily living, to be accompanied by a personal assistant/travelling companion to provide these services. I am sorry if that differs from your view but they provide the ships and therefore make the rules! I think we have done this point to death now.