Are Fred Olsen, CMV and Saga ships wheelchair friendly.

Since we needed an accessible cabin we have generally sailed on newer modern larger ships, because we assume their facilities are far better as they were planned in from the start of building.

This has tended to limit our choice and we are wondering if we are missing out by avoiding the smaller ships.

However we normally book a balcony cabin but I imagine there are far fewer on these older ships, and probably far more expensive.

Any advice from passengers who have sailed both old and new ships.

Since we needed an accessible cabin we have generally sailed on newer modern larger ships, because we assume their facilities are far better as they were planned in from the start of building.

This has tended to limit our choice and we are wondering if we are missing out by avoiding the smaller ships.

However we normally book a balcony cabin but I imagine there are far fewer on these older ships, and probably far more expensive.

Any advice from passengers who have sailed both old and new ships.

Have not cruised with any of these lines. With that said I would first check out all their websites as to what it states regarding "accessible cabins". For instance Fred Olsen's website clearly states that there's a number of limited cabins t on all it's ships hat have been "Adapted". "Adapted" is the key word here as it means it's not a full accessible cabin with extra interior space and a zero threshold fully accessible bathroom. Rather its a basic standard room that has had the entry doorway widened to accommodate a wheelchair but the bathroom still has a step up into. This is all clearly posted on its website in this link http://www.fredolsencruises.com/before-you-cruise/travel-information/disability-and-reduced-mobility/disability-and-reduced-mobility

Have not cruised with any of these lines. With that said I would first check out all their websites as to what it states regarding "accessible cabins". For instance Fred Olsen's website clearly states that there's a number of limited cabins t on all it's ships hat have been "Adapted". "Adapted" is the key word here as it means it's not a full accessible cabin with extra interior space and a zero threshold fully accessible bathroom. Rather its a basic standard room that has had the entry doorway widened to accommodate a wheelchair but the bathroom still has a step up into. This is all clearly posted on its website in this link http://www.fredolsencruises.com/before-you-cruise/travel-information/disability-and-reduced-mobility/disability-and-reduced-mobility

Sounds like that's a non starter then.

I have taken a wheelchair on Fred Olsen, although I can walk short distances. Yes, the ship's are accessible and the staff are extremely helpful, particularly getting on/off ship.

The bathrooms in the accessible rooms have a ramp to get into them, not a step as stated by somebody who has never cruised with Fred.

I haven't been on the huge, modern ships as too many people for us, so can't comment, but I would imagine they are better equipped to deal with disabled passengers. C & V use older ships and I have heard lots of detrimental reports about them, but never cruised with them.

Fred do have some good it ineraries and because they are small ships very rarely have to tender which is a great advantage for someone in a wheelchair.

I have taken a wheelchair on Fred Olsen, although I can walk short distances. Yes, the ship's are accessible and the staff are extremely helpful, particularly getting on/off ship.

 

The bathrooms in the accessible rooms have a ramp to get into them, not a step as stated by somebody who has never cruised with Fred.

 

I haven't been on the huge, modern ships as too many people for us, so can't comment, but I would imagine they are better equipped to deal with disabled passengers. C & V use older ships and I have heard lots of detrimental reports about them, but never cruised with them.

 

Fred do have some good it ineraries and because they are small ships very rarely have to tender which is a great advantage for someone in a wheelchair.

Can you give a bit more info LT, are the accessible cabins equipped with a roll in shower/wet room, are the doors wide enough to wheel through, and are the cabins 50% wider than standard ones, giving that extra room to manoeuvre the wheelchair round the cabin?

Can you give a bit more info LT, are the accessible cabins equipped with a roll in shower/wet room, are the doors wide enough to wheel through, and are the cabins 50% wider than standard ones, giving that extra room to manoeuvre the wheelchair round the cabin?

It appears that you did not read the link I previously posted as there's information specifically regarding the shower .Following quoted directly from Fred Olsen's website

We have done a couple of overnight events with CMV, with the express purpose of checking out their wheelchair friendliness.

There are some pros and cons.

First of all, their website and brochures may give you the impression that they discourage wheelchair users. However, on board they are very accommodating.

Keep in mind all their ships are very old and they are very much the 'budget' end of cruising. You need to get a cracking deal (70% off is not uncommon) to make it an option. Food and entertainment are not to P&O standard, for example.

With Marco Polo, there are only a couple of adapted cabins and they are inside ones, which wouldn't suit us.

Magellan is better and we stayed in a Royal Suite. The very front suite, Port Side, is adapted and very nice. Canape's were ten times better than P&O's (not difficult admittedly).

We were able to navigate both ships with a wheelchair and lifts were large and readily available (other than the very top deck of Magellan).

So, it's do-able if you can get one of the few accessible cabins, but I'm still not sure I'd take the plunge and do a full cruise, having grown accustomed to P&O.

Thanks Selbourne that was my thinking, maybe we will have to wait until a ship we know ends up in one of their fleets.

Thinking of that I imagine that Thomson's 2 new RCI ships, and the ex Celebrity ones coming from Mein Schiff will probably have accessible cabins up to the US ADA standards, however their prices always seem higher than P&O to me.

Thanks Selbourne that was my thinking, maybe we will have to wait until a ship we know ends up in one of their fleets.

Thinking of that I imagine that Thomson's 2 new RCI ships, and the ex Celebrity ones coming from Mein Schiff will probably have accessible cabins up to the US ADA standards, however their prices always seem higher than P&O to me.

FYI - Though there are cruise ships that have much better accessible cabins and RCCL ships certainly fall into that category, there is actually only one cruise ship that has to be fully compliant to USA ADA requirements and that ship is NCL's Pride of America. The Pride of American the only cruise ship that is registered to the US, sails under the USA , is permanently based in Hawaii and sails only the USA Hawaiian Islands.

FYI - Though there are cruise ships that have much better accessible cabins and RCCL ships certainly fall into that category, there is actually only one cruise ship that has to be fully compliant to USA ADA requirements and that ship is NCL's Pride of America. The Pride of American the only cruise ship that is registered to the US, sails under the USA , is permanently based in Hawaii and sails only the USA Hawaiian Islands.

If you read the attached it seems the jury is still out on whether the 1990 ADA act should apply to foreign flagged ships, even stranger one of the main court cases involved NCL who, as you state, have/had one of the only US flagged cruise ships.

However it certainly appears that most cruise lines have applied this legislation to their new builds since the mid 1990's and the accessibility seems to improve with each new class, which is why we ensure that we stick to modern ships and have learned to love the extra variety of on board venues and facilities these now provide.

https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/ada-applies-to-foreign-flag-cruise-ships-in-theory

If you read the attached it seems the jury is still out on whether the 1990 ADA act should apply to foreign flagged ships, even stranger one of the main court cases involved NCL who, as you state, have/had one of the only US flagged cruise ships.

However it certainly appears that most cruise lines have applied this legislation to their new builds since the mid 1990's and the accessibility seems to improve with each new class, which is why we ensure that we stick to modern ships and have learned to love the extra variety of on board venues and facilities these now provide.

 

https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/ada-applies-to-foreign-flag-cruise-ships-in-theory

With all due respect you're a little late to the party regarding Spector vs. NCL. If you do a search of the Disabled Forum you 'll find that I as well a Chengkp75 are very well versed in this matter and have posted much about this topic . For example:

Following posted by me ,xxoocruiser, on February 5, 2016

ADA compliance currently applies only to the public areas of a Foreign Flagged Ships embarking from a USA port. It does not apply to the entire build out of the ship as that's what the USA Congress still has not defined as a result of the USA Supreme Court decision regarding Spector v. NCL several years ago.

 

There is only one cruise ship among the hundreds of ships at this time that must fully comply with USA ADA Law. That cruise ship is NCL's Pride of America that is permanently based in USA, specifically Hawaii, and sails exclusively in the USA.

Following posted by chengkp75 on February 5, 2016

Further to XXOO's response, the limitations on public areas is that "reasonable" removal of barriers to accessibility need to be removed, but not all areas need to be ADA compliant. For instance, I believe Princess has a lounge that is accessible only by stairs, and this is not a violation of ADA, since it would require a major refitting of the ship to accommodate.

There has been no effort on the part of the USA Congress to move forward on defining and placing the wording into ADA that would apply to Foreign Flagged ships embarking from a USA regarding the build of new ships. Just as the USA Congress has not done anything regarding ADA to specify that the accessible cabins on Foreign Flagged Ships embarking from a USA are required to meet ADA minimum standards. Being that the USA Supreme Court's final decision regarding Spector vs. NCL was announced on June 6, 2005 and the USA Congress has not moved on this matter in the past 11.5 years so don't expect anything to change anytime soon.

With all due respect you're a little late to the party regarding Spector vs. NCL. If you do a search of the Disabled Forum you 'll find that I as well a Chengkp75 are very well versed in this matter and have posted much about this topic . For example:

 

Following posted by me ,xxoocruiser, on February 5, 2016

 

Following posted by chengkp75 on February 5, 2016

 

 

There has been no effort on the part of the USA Congress to move forward on defining and placing the wording into ADA that would apply to Foreign Flagged ships embarking from a USA regarding the build of new ships. Just as the USA Congress has not done anything regarding ADA to specify that the accessible cabins on Foreign Flagged Ships embarking from a USA are required to meet ADA minimum standards. Being that the USA Supreme Court's final decision regarding Spector vs. NCL was announced on June 6, 2005 and the USA Congress has not moved on this matter in the past 11.5 years so don't expect anything to change anytime soon.

I did not disagree with you, I merely pointed out that most mainstream new-builds seem to apply the spirit of the US ADA requirements, even if they are not at present legally obliged to do so.

Having said that I have no idea about the full technical wording of US ADA legislation regarding cruise ships, but as a layman I can see the extent to which cruise ships have improved accessible facilities and I applaud their efforts.