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Wheelchair in cabin


silversurf
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We had an outside cabin on our recent mini cruise on Oriana There was room for my small folding wheelchair.

P and O were happy to accept our booking.

I have been checking out the new Saga ship due in 2019 and was told that even with a small wheelchair I would need to book a deluxe cabin or suite, they only have a very few accessible cabins. This they said was due to Maritime Law.

I have looked this up on the internet and can find nothing pertaining to this, as long as the wheelchair can be stored safely in the cabin and does not impede access around the cabin it should be OK.

It does seem odd that a cruise line specifically for older people should impose this restriction.

I’ll be sticking with P and O.

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When making a booking and revealing the use of a wheelchair, we have been asked if a handicapped room was required and we have said no. We then proceeded to make the regular booking without obstacle. We have always found a nook for the chair, some better than others. Interestingly enough, the most difficult placement for easy of handling was this past cruise where we were in a suite.

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It’s a great shame that P&O offer accessible cabins so readily to customers who don’t actually need one. They also allow passengers with mild degrees of disability to book them and even insist that those with mobility scooters book one if they don’t have a larger cabin such as a suite. All of this makes accessible cabins very difficult to secure for those with major disabilities who, if they cannot secure one, are unable to cruise.

 

It would be great if more people were like ONT-CA and declined them if they don’t really need one.

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It’s a great shame that P&O offer accessible cabins so readily to customers who don’t actually need one. They also allow passengers with mild degrees of disability to book them and even insist that those with mobility scooters book one if they don’t have a larger cabin such as a suite. All of this makes accessible cabins very difficult to secure for those with major disabilities who, if they cannot secure one, are unable to cruise.

 

It would be great if more people were like ONT-CA and declined them if they don’t really need one.

We took my MIL and her wheelchair on 6 cruises,the last one on Ventura for her 90th birthday 5 years ago in a super deluxe balcony cabin with a sofa bed for MIL.

We got a sizeable discount for a third person in the cabin too.

There was no problem having the wheelchair in our cabin as it did fold up.

I can't see why there is a problem having a wheelchair in the cabin and if you think about it we all have a number of suitcases in our cabins which would cause more of an obstruction than a wheelchair.

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We took my MIL and her wheelchair on 6 cruises,the last one on Ventura for her 90th birthday 5 years ago in a super deluxe balcony cabin with a sofa bed for MIL.

We got a sizeable discount for a third person in the cabin too.

There was no problem having the wheelchair in our cabin as it did fold up.

I can't see why there is a problem having a wheelchair in the cabin and if you think about it we all have a number of suitcases in our cabins which would cause more of an obstruction than a wheelchair.

 

Suitcases can be stowed under the bed(s) for they are not needed again until departure. A folded wheelchair can possibly be stowed there but how inconvenient when the requirement can be daily. We have found that in cabins with a balcony, a folded chair can be placed between the stationary portion of the window and the adjacent furniture. You can still close the drape at night. The problem with the suite is the amount of furniture to navigate to get to the door. Navigating hallways full of service vehicles is another matter...

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Suitcases can be stowed under the bed(s) for they are not needed again until departure. A folded wheelchair can possibly be stowed there but how inconvenient when the requirement can be daily. We have found that in cabins with a balcony, a folded chair can be placed between the stationary portion of the window and the adjacent furniture. You can still close the drape at night. The problem with the suite is the amount of furniture to navigate to get to the door. Navigating hallways full of service vehicles is another matter...

We used to store our cases under the bed but have noticed now on all cruise lines there is a lot of dust etc under the beds which obviously haven't been regularly hovered.

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There is a problem with booking an accessible cabin. As there are so few of these you have to book really early, up to two years in advance. Most insurance companies will not insure more than a year ahead.

I always check how much our insurance will be before I book, taking into account our medical history and ages this can be as much as £2000 for a two week cruise in the Caribbean, which would make it unaffordable for us, even if insurers would accept us over a year in advance.

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There is a problem with booking an accessible cabin. As there are so few of these you have to book really early, up to two years in advance. Most insurance companies will not insure more than a year ahead.

I always check how much our insurance will be before I book, taking into account our medical history and ages this can be as much as £2000 for a two week cruise in the Caribbean, which would make it unaffordable for us, even if insurers would accept us over a year in advance.

 

If you book an accessible cabin two years in advance your liability in the first year is the amount of the initial deposit only. I think P&O could make a policy decision that accessible cabin bookings could be fully refunded against cancellation for any reason without quibble twelve months or more before the sailing date.

 

They could also insist on a medical declaration from a doctor, in a similar way ones doctor vouches for health in other ways relating to disability. Once you are declared as needing adapted cabins you would be sorted. Newcomers need assessment and people who do not need adaptations but thinking it might be handy to have a bigger cabin would be thwarted.

 

They could also develop "type approval" on things like mobility scooters, so people could declare the model they are bringing and nobody would appear in the main dining room with a Road Going scooter type with full weather equipment.

 

Larger cabins could also be fitted out in a more generally user friendlier way for people with moderate problems or no problems.

 

Regards John

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Great thought John, but I don’t think the cruise lines would go to the trouble or expense of doing this. They don’t make any extra money from an accessible cabin in the same grade as a standard. They seem to just pay lip-service in case they flaunot anti discrimination laws, which I believe, are even more stringent in the US.

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Cruise cabins have been made on land in factories for years and are of a modular design. They just put them onto the steel decks next to one another and join up all the wires, pipes etc. At the initial construction stage when they are designed in the style sense and decor, colourways etc. it is not any more expensive to have a more user friendlier design. At newbuild stage it is easy to incorporate things. I think they put an excessive amount of priority on what things look like aesthetically and overlook practical aspects like big switches on bedside lights. I am not thinking voice activated stuff that is just there for the wow factor.

 

Regards John

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