Passenger Safety Criteria

I am awarehow lucky I am not to be disabled in any way and I recognise that many peopleneed assistance in one form or another, and are entitled to go on holiday, butI am also concerned about certain safety aspects on ships.

We havecompleted 70 cruises of which 40 have been on Cunard, the latest being 17nights aboard QE on a round trip from Southampton.

In all thissailing I have never seen so many wheel chairs of which about half weremotorised. Three years ago we were upgradedto a disabled cabin some three weeks before embarking. This made me quite uneasy in case anyonemight make a late booking for a disabled cabin. I telephoned Cunard and they told me that, generally speaking, peoplewith disabilities did not book disabled cabins. As long as the wheelchair/ motorised scooter could get through the doorthey could book any cabin. In this case,in terms of numbers, how is the safety of all passengers considered?

We were inthe Princess Grill and in the small foyer between the Princess Grill and theQueens Grill are two lifts and a stairwell. This foyer accommodated 8 to 10 wheelchairs/motorised scooters eachevening. There were other folding types by tables.

At peaktimes on other floors there could 2 or 3 chairs waiting for lifts. The lifts could take only one at a time andoften lifts arrived with chairs already in them. This made progress quite slow.

Also, I havenever seen so many with walking sticks. Some use them in the vertical position, but many others use them at 30degrees and are either not touching the ground or if they are they are out ofstep with their legs so can’t be much use. Some are highly decorated so I wondered whether they were becoming afashion statement. Others had two hikingsticks as if they were having a day out in the mountains. One other couple would put their walkingsticks on a table, like crossed swords, to reserve the table, but they werenowhere in sight.

I did notsee the large numbers with walking steps using the stairs.

One eveningat sea as people were going to bed an Alpha Alert was called from the bridgefor a working party to attend a suspected fire in the Incinerator Room. Soon afterwards the Captain came on to say itdidn’t affect passengers, but she would get back to us in 5 to 10 minutes. She did after 15 minutes to give the allclear.

Talking toothers the next day some concerns were raised. With other Alpha Alerts the Captain doesn’t always come on, but because’fire’ was mentioned it is only natural she should do so. But the Captain coming on certainly escalatedthe concerns in some minds. Is it worsethan we think?

The abovethen made people think about the number of wheelchairs/motorised scooters andwalking stick carriers on board in the event of the lifts being out of actiondue to something untoward. Is there alimit of numbers for the safety of not only those in wheel chairs/motorisedscooters/using walking sticks, but for the able bodied too?

The onlyreference to all the above I can find in the Cabin Directory is under, ‘Safetyand the Environment’ sub-section ‘General Emergency Signal and Procedures’which states, “Do not use the lifts as you could become trapped should a powerfailure occur. Guests using wheel chairsand guests unable to climb stairs for health reasons, will be escorted by ourGuest Assistance Party as assigned on embarkation.” Are they also assigned at embarkation tothose heavily dependent upon walking sticks?

But thepassengers concerned could be anywhere on the ship and not necessarily in theircabins! Also, how many of these‘Parties’ have they got and in the panic of the situation wouldn’t they beanxious to get off the ship themselves?

Even thoughpassengers are not aware, one must assume Cunard is across what could be anincreasing concern.

A passenger can be pushed aboard in a wheelchair and aside from being given priority boarding as a courtesy Cunard doesn't notice. There isn't any assignment of a guest assistance party, unless perhaps if a passenger declares the self to be in need of such assistance at some point in the process.

There is a new eighteen inch gap crossing test for tender boarding, although we haven't had a tender port since it was imposed so I can't comment on whether it's applied to everyone or in some discriminatory fashion.

I don't think Cunard is going to do more to discourage older, more infirm passengers from future bookings.

With regards to lifts (elevators), these will be placed in "fireman" mode (i.e. they only work with a key) for use by the emergency teams, and the special assistance teams to get mobility impaired pax to muster. The only exception are the elevators within a fire zone where a fire alarm has been signaled, those elevators will go midway up and shut down to act as fire blocks to the chimney effect of the lift shaft.

When a passenger muster is called in an emergency, there are teams that go through the entire ship, each team covering a specific area, "sweeping" for passengers or crew who may need assistance getting to muster. These teams will radio to the HD (as coordinator of the muster) for a special needs team to come to them when they find a mobility impaired passenger, wherever, in their cabin or not, and that team will assist the pax to muster. As the "sweeping" teams clear areas, they "collapse" down to central staging areas, providing the area leader with more manpower to assist passengers as needed.

Those pax in wheelchairs and scooters will be noted in the muster lists, and teams sent to their cabins to assist. Those with walkers and canes, if they have identified themselves at embarkation as requiring assistance, will also be looked for, but on a "triage" or priority basis (those unable to move on their own are first priority, then those who move slowly). Again, there will be crew assigned to special needs, who just stand by until called to a location for assistance.

Of the couple of thousand crew on the ship, only about 50-100 are assigned to emergency response teams (fire teams, security teams, medical teams, engineering teams, on-scene command team, etc.), and the remainder are either assigned to gather guests at the muster locations (guides at stairwells and exits, sweeping teams, special needs teams, etc.), or are assigned as "standby" crew to be sent wherever needed to do whatever is needed. Every crew member has an assigned emergency duty, and unlike a "code" emergency where only the response teams will respond (fire, medical, etc), when the passenger muster is called, all hands report to their emergency stations.

I thought Cunard was requiring advance notice if a passenger was going to be taking a scooter on board and requiring scooter users to book an accessible cabin. IIRC, this started 2 or 3 years ago. Do they not do that any more?

It's still shown on the website -

Passengers who require the use of a mobility scooter must occupy an accessible cabin, selected suite or mini-suite.* Mobility scooters must be declared at the time of booking, or as soon as the need is known, otherwise your scooter may be denied boarding. * A list of suitable cabins can be found under*Which cabins are suitable for wheelchair and mobility scooter users?* Within the How Can We Help? Section.

 

Others had two hikingsticks as if they were having a day out in the mountains.

 

Nordic poles have been invaluable to my husband who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer and osteoporosis. These enable him to walk further and enjoy the ports of call.

We have had so many sarcastic comments about mountains and snow and it is just not funny !!

If you happen to see us around the Grills please do not judge him as appearances can be deceptive.

With regards to lifts (elevators), these will be placed in "fireman" mode (i.e. they only work with a key) for use by the emergency teams, and the special assistance teams to get mobility impaired pax to muster. The only exception are the elevators within a fire zone where a fire alarm has been signaled, those elevators will go midway up and shut down to act as fire blocks to the chimney effect of the lift shaft.

 

When a passenger muster is called in an emergency, there are teams that go through the entire ship, each team covering a specific area, "sweeping" for passengers or crew who may need assistance getting to muster. These teams will radio to the HD (as coordinator of the muster) for a special needs team to come to them when they find a mobility impaired passenger, wherever, in their cabin or not, and that team will assist the pax to muster. As the "sweeping" teams clear areas, they "collapse" down to central staging areas, providing the area leader with more manpower to assist passengers as needed.

 

Those pax in wheelchairs and scooters will be noted in the muster lists, and teams sent to their cabins to assist. Those with walkers and canes, if they have identified themselves at embarkation as requiring assistance, will also be looked for, but on a "triage" or priority basis (those unable to move on their own are first priority, then those who move slowly). Again, there will be crew assigned to special needs, who just stand by until called to a location for assistance.

 

Of the couple of thousand crew on the ship, only about 50-100 are assigned to emergency response teams (fire teams, security teams, medical teams, engineering teams, on-scene command team, etc.), and the remainder are either assigned to gather guests at the muster locations (guides at stairwells and exits, sweeping teams, special needs teams, etc.), or are assigned as "standby" crew to be sent wherever needed to do whatever is needed. Every crew member has an assigned emergency duty, and unlike a "code" emergency where only the response teams will respond (fire, medical, etc), when the passenger muster is called, all hands report to their emergency stations.

Thank you for this information. As a wheelchair driver, I find it very reassuring!

Nordic poles have been invaluable to my husband who has been diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer and osteoporosis. These enable him to walk further and enjoy the ports of call.

 

We have had so many sarcastic comments about mountains and snow and it is just not funny !!

 

If you happen to see us around the Grills please do not judge him as appearances can be deceptive.

You wouldn't have heard them from me - I'm able-bodied and nearly fell on my ass a few times in normal weather conditions. Nordic poles would've been a great idea!

I know my 87 year old mother takes her walking stick with her where ever she goes though she doesn't always lean on it, I think they make her feel safer as she can steady herself when needed especially getting up or when turning around. Mind you sometimes she gets a little muddled so if you see such a lady on board with a hoover handle this is probably mother.