Fourwheelsonmywagon

Saga insist I am accompanied, as do most cruise lines. Despite evidence that many disabled people live alone with no issues whatsoever there is a general assumption that all of them need a carer, a bit like the general assumption that despite living in a 2 storey unadapted house, because I sometimes use a wheelchair I can’t walk or climb stairs.

It’s about not wanting to accept a cabin with facilities I don’t need in exchange for being charged 50 % extra. I have no doubt that the adapted cabins are perfect for those that need them, I don’t. I already have to pay for a companion even though I have no care needs so the cruise I wanted to do, instead of costing £3500 plus a single supplement was quoted at £10,600. Do you think that’s reasonable?

If everyone took that attitude wheelchair users would still have no access to buses, trains, planes, shops, hospitals ...... I am fortunate to have the time and knowledge to be able to challenge discriminatory policies such as this one and whilst I don't always challenge (if I did, I'd do nothing else!) I feel strongly enough about this particular issue to push on a bit further. From comments on other groups/sites, it's actually affecting quite a number of people, e.g. a lady who'd twisted her knee shortly before her cruise had to cancel because they wouldn't let her use a wheelchair onboard unless she upgraded her standard cabin to an adapted suite!

This is the root of the problem. Why are only 20% of adapted cabins standard grade when 75% of unadapted cabins are standard? This is why I am nearly 4 times more likely to have to book a deluxe cabin than someone who is not a wheelchair user. Any policy which makes it four times more likely that someone with a protected characteristic will have to pay more than someone without that characteristic is fundamentally discriminatory. I already have to pay for two people to travel (I don't like it, but nearly all the cruise lines insist on that one so it's not worth fighting) so adding an extra 50% premium for a deluxe cabin is just a step too far - the per person price of the cruise I was trying to book was £4500, had I completed the booking I'd have been paying £13,500. According to the sales person I spoke to, in order to get one of the standard adapted cabins I would have to register on a priority list at a cost of £90 and wait however many years it takes before I get to first or second on that list since those 2 standard adapted cabins are always booked before the brochure is on general release. FYI It's not only wheelchair users who need adapted cabins. My Mum needs a wet room with plenty of handrails on land, at sea a fall would be pretty much inevitable in an unadapted bathroom but she doesn't use a wheelchair or any other walking aid so Saga wouldn't allow her to book an adapted cabin despite the obvious risk, which just proves how barmy the policy is.

I have just returned from a cruise with Fred Olsen and have also cruised with P & O, Cunard, Marella etc etc and none of them made me book an adapted cabin.

Did you read the rest of the thread? No space issue and quite frankly implying that Saga would assume I was lying is offensive.

Thanks for all the comments/opinions. It seems that there is in fact no safety related issue at play here so I can only assume that Saga are a) dinosaurs with a very outdated view of wheelchair users being some homogeneous group all of whom are unable to leave their chairs, or b) making every possible effort to discourage (dare I say younger?) more mobile wheelchair users from travelling with them. I am disappointed. I really wanted to try a Saga cruise even though I’m definitely at the lower end of their age demographic but I will not on principle pay a 50% surcharge when I’m already expected to pay for a companion. Oh well, back to Fred Olsen.

If this was the case surely all cruise lines would have the same policy. Saga is the only one I’ve ever come across who won’t let me book an unadapted cabin despite already insisting that I am accompanied by someone to provide any necessary assistance on board since the staff only provide assistance to board and disembark at the beginning and end of the cruise and in the event of an emergency, and if someone does need more assistance they can insist that they leave the ship altogether.

This does not address the issue of why they insist I must be in an adapted cabin. When I tried to book I was told there were 8 wheelchair spaces left but they still would not accept a booking unless Imhad an adapted cabin.

In an emergency some wheelchair users may need one to one assistance, some won’t. In fact 80% of wheelchair users can walk, and in the event of an emergency issues relating to pain and fatigue would definitely take second place to getting to the lifeboat as quickly as possible. I’m sure many of the non wheelchair users on board would need much more assistance than I would. I have no argument with Saga limiting the number of wheelchairs used on board, my issue is in insisting that I occupy an adapted cabin for no reason. They allow 10 wheelchairs on board, are they really not capable of counting 10 wheelchair bookings unless those bookings are in adapted cabins? And what happens to a non-wheelchair user who needs an adapted cabin? Are they allocated a wheelchair space anyway?

Saga also insist that I am accompanied so I have to pay for two people even though I have zero care needs, however most cruise lines have this policy so harder to argue that it's not a safety issue. I can at least imagine a few scenarios where I might need another person to help me, but probably no more likely than any other passenger given the average age on board.

According to their own website a standard adapted cabin is exactly the same size as a standard unadapted cabin. My chair folds to the size of a medium suitcase. I simply do not believe there is insufficient room in a Saga cabin to store it. As said above, I have safely stored my chair in any number of cabins including on a cross channel ferry, and if this was a genuine safety issue, why are Saga the only cruise line (that I have found so far) with this policy?

I am nearly 4 times more likely than someone who does not use a wheelchair on board to be required to pay 50% more as there are so few standard adapted cabins, which IS blatant discrimination. Why make 80% of the adapted cabins deluxe or suites? Are wheelchair users for some reason more likely to want an expensive cabin? Or maybe Saga would prefer they didn’t book at all. I’ve contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency who have confirmed there is no safety issue in carrying me in an unadapted cabin but, as always with discrimination issues, unless you’re prepared to take it to court yourself there’s very little that can be done other than complain, if you were prevented from travelling with Saga for no good reason, would you just say nothing? Blanket policies such as this are almost always discriminatory. Would you feel the same if the first sentence above read that women are 4 times more likely to be charged more? And, in the unlikely event that I actually managed to get an adapted cabin, how is that fair to someone who can’t travel at all without one?

I use a portable folding wheelchair part time, I have found it essential on cruises or I am too tired to participate in activities or excursions. I do not need an adapted bathroom (or any other adaptions) and I live in a 2 storey unadapted house. I have cruised with other companies who allow me to book an unadapted cabin, not least because I consider that taking an unneeded adapted cabin when there are so few available is morally wrong. Saga will allegedly not let me do this. They insist that if I want to use a wheelchair on board at all I must have an adapted cabin, which somewhat reluctantly I agreed to since the alternative was not being allowed to travel at all. Unfortunately however only 2 of the 10 adapted cabins on board are standard grade (compared with 75% of unadapted cabins), both standard adapted cabins were of course already booked and so Saga wanted an additional 50% for an upgraded cabin. Needless to say the booking wasn't completed. I'm amazed at this blatant discrimination, which I've never come across before. Is this truly their policy or was I being misled? Further research is that there are 50 'assistance' places, so 40 of those passengers must be accomodated in unadapted cabins. They allow 10 wheelchairs on board, but presumably can count to 10 regardless of where the passenger is to be accomodated. They say there is nowhere in a standard cabin to store a wheelchair which folds to the size of a medium suitcase and which has previously been accomodated in the much smaller cabins of their rivals and even in a cabin on a cross channel ferry! Apparently they are only allowed to refuse to accomodate me in an undapted cabin on safety grounds, can anyone think of a single safety risk that wouldn't be equally present if they put me in an adapted cabin?