Captain Beefheart

Hi all, are the Caravan group from the Philippines? If so the best resident band seen on P&O saw them last year on the Aurora.But must say they were over worked due to lack of other entertainers on board.

Hi Stocktonmackem, thanks for your reply.You see evidence of accessible cabin misuse every time you cruise .Its only when people start contacting P&O on mass that changes are likely to made. Dont be put off with their first response and stick at it,make suggestions on how you think the misuse could be stopped etc;

Regards CB.

Hi, Stocktonmackem. Totally agree with you about the misuse of accessible cabins. I have been in contact with P&O over 4 years about that particular subject and other disability problems some I'm pleased to say have been remedied. They know there is a problem over the booking of accessible cabins and I have made lots of suggestions on how the situation could be sorted; all of which fell on deaf ears I'm afraid.

It is nice to see other people have the same concerns and could I suggest that you and any other disgruntled disabled cruisers contact P&O directly because the more people who do they will hopefully listen and make the necessary changes. I don't know if you are aware but P&O have a so called Disability Section but the direct line phone number is not shown on the website so you can't ring , you have to go through Customer Service who don't want to put you through(disabled section that you can'contact?). The person you need to talk to is the Disability Manager Paula Bown her contact e-mail is Paula.Bown@carnivalukgroup.com

It is good to discuss grievances and experiences with other members but you need to go direct with the companies if change is to be made

Best of luck CB.

Took a accessible tour to Fire Mountain Lanzorote last Sept 2016 with P and O. It was a mini bus that was ramped took us as near as possible to everywhere , would give a microphoned information/ guided tour or because we were the only 2 on this bus talked directly to us.Really good tour, down side was that the two of us had to pay double what able bodied passengers paid even though it was the same itinerary. Tours with P and O will be shown in the booklet that is sent out to passengers that have booked a accessible cabins or contact P and O for details of all accessible trips on your cruise, ask the to email you them.(there is a so called disabled section at P and O to be put through to)

Hi North & South, might be worth posting your question on the European Disabled Cruising section,as this is dedicated to European cruises.

Hope this is of help.

Hi ,went to Venice with P&O 3years ago,usually I take scooter but on this excursion took my manual w/chair thought it would be easier to get onto the Vaporetto(water buses) boats.From were the ship docked there was a free shuttle to the Tronchetto cruise dock equivelent to bus station/ stop but for local Vaporetto boats local transport. We paid for I think so many hours ticket ,w/chair user I think was free and carer/companion was at discount ,if memory serves me right. We were able to get on and off the Vaporetto as many times as we wanted and were we wanted.We were helped onto the Vaporetto which at some times can be busy ,ie when people are going to work, but usually companion was able to do this unaided but help was there , boat might be at different heights at quayside due to tides. Routes number 1 and 2 cover popular sites.You can get around St Marks Square it is flat ,ramped areas are in alot of places, Bridge of Sigh has a section ramped ,quite a push but doable.

Usually the cruise company have their own trips but these can be expensive ,in P&Os case didnt go right along Grand Cannal (for best veiw) and I understand that there was a question of getting up/down steps after leaving boat.

You can google Venice disabled access and i'm sure it will come up with more imformation.

Hope this is of help.

Hi, got taxi to old town of Dubrovnik from port, put scooter in back of taxi.(pride go go elite) Return taxis are freely available.

Dubrovnik has alot of cobbled streets but managed to get around most of town o.k on scooter or with wheel chair ,well worth seeing.

Hi, I would persume that the cruise you have booked would include transfer from airport to ship and vise versa.I would contact RC special needs department and explain your situation. If they lay on transport for able bodied passengers(included in cost of cruise) they must lay on a suitable means of transport for disabled passengers and not charge you any extra. Thomas cook recently lost a court case and appeal about charging extra for putting on suitable transport.

Hope this is of help .

Hi txwriter,if the rollater wont fit through the cabin door if as you have explained that your mom doesnt use it all the time would it not be possible to close it up slightly when going through the cabin door and then reopen at the other side.

There are very wheel chair accessable cabins available on all cruise lines and you are quite right that they should be kept for full time w/chair users.

Im quite sure that you and your mom will have a great cruise in the present cabin.

Hope this is of help.

Hi, if you are using a tender with P and O and Cunard the answer is no . Both brands have recently introduced a step test that you will need to do and if you meet the requirments they will let you use the tenders, this could however depend on the sea conditions.

I have been pushing both brands to have some sort of roll on tenders to be inplace for disabled cruisers before they introduced the new step test.. I hope this answers your question.

Hi ,London Towner, good on you , lets hope more people participate because alot of the European cruises use different Disability laws and procedures to the American ADA and do not apply to the Europeans and vice versa and cruises can differ immensely.

Hi London Towner, as I said it is relatively new section and i'm sure it would be helpful if the likes of yourself could contribute to this section because there are already a couple of posts that have not appeared on the main disabled site concerning P&O and Cunard.

Hi folks,, there is a section for European Disabled Cruising.It is at the moment in its infancy but the more people use the section the more info will come available.

Thank you, for help explaining some of the ADA rules

xxoocruiser, thanks for explaining the new ruling, not being familiar with the ADA legislation could you if possable explain what limited basis to the ADA law means?

Thanks.

Hi, Donna's Mom & Dad,i'm UK based and was interested in the link, is there a reason why the link dates July 2015, has it only now come into being law?

Could I also ask a question to everybody ,if I fly to New York and travel back to the UK on one of Cunard Queens will I be covered under the ADA ? but if I sail from the UK to New York and fly back to the UK I presume that it would not apply.

Hi Chunky, P&O and Cunard will usually supply a accessable shuttle bus if they are running a shuttle bus for able bodied passengers (or passengers that can climb a few steps) however if for some reason one is not available if you have paid the select fare and have registered your disability you are entitled to get a taxi to and from the port to were the shuttle would run, when back on board ship you take your taxi receipt to reception and they will credit it to your account. This may need the managers help because last time I used a taxi they didnt know about the policy.If you look in your pre cruise info it is explained in there .If there ares no taxis dock side you will have to get reception to order one.

On the subject of accessable excursions they do usally run a reduced amount but these are usually very expensive.

Why dont you contact the new CEO David Noyes (P&O ,Cunard)----

David.Noyes@carnivalukgroup.com

and point out the lack and high cost excursions and any other probs that you have encountered,dont be put off by the first response(you will probably get a reply from somebody else with the usual fob off reply) keep going back to him and ask for a personal reply. Eventually you should get a response from him on how improvements can be made ,but it might take time and they are hopeing that you will give up .

The more people that contact him direct and not just moan about problems the better chance of getting changes implemented.

Hope this helps.

In Vigo if u go into the shopping mall take the lift to 2nd floor turn left and there is a walk way across the road below this takes alot of the walking out of the trip ,keep going up a sloped area to a small church and u will find cafes ,small shops and a square ,carry on again and u find the main road turn left and follow road into main shopping area which has a slope but is reasonally accessable. Hope this helps.

Prey for sunshine

Hi Chunky, P&O and Cunard are the brands that follow the free accessable shuttle bus policy (but are not keen to let u know this service is available u might even have to ask to speak to the receptionists manager)

Chunky your welcome ,have you thought about posting a question in this section, seeing it is European based ?

Hi Chunky,

click on cruise critic message board

scroll down to find heading Special Interest Cruising

click on Disabled Cruise Travel u will see sub forum disabled cruise travel ,under this is European Disabled Cruising,click on this then scroll down past announcements and u will see 5 posts 3rd down is heading Amsterdam buses click on this to open.

Hope this helps

Hi chunky, go to the European disabled cruising section and youll see a link for Amsterdam buses, hope this is of help.

Hi Chunky, there is some info on this subject in the European disabled section that might be of help

Hi, my understanding with all of the river cruise companies is the lack of or no disabled accessable boats for full time w/chair users even when they have introduced brand new boats into their fleets ,which is unbeleivable in 2016.

Hi Kitty, most of the European cruises I have been on have always had some excursions that would be suitable for full time wheel chair users they include Princess,P&O, Cunard and most recently I made enquiries with Celebity and P&O about St Petersburg this was the same.The only thing I would say is that they are expensive and less are available than the able bodied excursions they organise .

On the point about St Petersburg being accessable alot of the most popular places are w/chair accessable as im sure Alla and TJ touirs will comfirm.