silversurf

Booked cruising excursions in Tenerife and Gran Canaria as they confirmed that they are happy to take folding wheelchairs, could not get a definitive answer from P and O.

Using Hercules tours in La Coruna, brilliant price and great reviews.

We will do our own thing and just wander in other ports.

You can put a boat on a ship but you can’t put a ship on a boat.

What is ‘amped’ and ‘pumped’?

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.

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.

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.

Thank you EB. That would be great if ,as you say, we are not too late.

Just discovered Ventura is in port on this evening.Is there anything special going on in Tenerife on this day?

I ask because when we originally booked we were due to leave in the afternoon.

Phone them on their free phone number, shown at the top of this forum.

Had chateaubriand on Ventura in March. Mouth-wateringly gorgeous. Shame they’ve scrapped it.

So sorry to hear this. My condolences to their families.

Early December did 4 night cruise to Zeebrugge (did the Brussels tour) and Amsterdam.

No specific tours available but they took my wheelchair on the coach, you need to be able to climb the coach steps and even on the Amsterdam canal trip. In Amsterdam the took us to a flower market (bulbs), unfortunately not a Christmas market. We were not impressed with the Brussels market and no chocolate shops in that area, you need the main square for these.

We enjoyed the cruise though.

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately my cruise line does not post menus outside buffet.

Did our first cruise using my wheelchair. It was great for getting around most of the ship but I found the buffet difficult. A staff member approached me immediately with a tray and cutlery, but he asked what I wanted. The buffet area was huge and I had no idea what I wanted without wandering round to see what was available. I didn’t want to waste the waiter’s time as buffet was very busy so just chose the first item I saw. Then he dished up a portion as I couldn’t reach from my chair.

We used the MDR as much as possible, but early starts did not always make this possible.

How do others cope in the buffet area?

We have saver fare next year on Ventura and have requested freedom dining. If we are allocated club which restaurant manager do we see to try and change, club or freedom?

Bess. I found it chilly at times on the same cruise, but nothing that a light wrap wouldn’t cure.

We are on a 4 night cruise on Oriana. Where can we have breakfast on disembarkation day?

Thanks in advance.

on an Arcadia trip with bad weather the captain had announced they were not going to dock for safety reasons and they might get stuck in the port, they had already missed the previous port for the same reasons

 

2hrs later he announces that his decision was overruled by head office and if we get stuck in port don't blame him.

I would have thought that the Captain, like the pilot of an aircraft, is God in his domain. He knows his ship and Head Office doesn’t know the conditions or their bow from their stern.

From a woman’s point of view. How about all the new clothes and shoes that you need for a fifty night cruise. That’s 14 formal nights.

I do not dispute that essential maintenance needs to be carried out, but the compensation offered is ridiculously small.

We are on Oriana for the four night Christmas markets cruise in December and I have already bought new trousers, tops, shoes etc all of which I shall only wear on this and any future cruises. I do no live the sort of lifestyle at home or normal holidays which require formal attire.

So sorry for those who are bitterly disappointed.

Just read 6 January cruise cancelled for 3 week technical maintenance.

Is this correct or just a rumour?

We are an Oriana for 4 nights on 3 December, Are we likely to have technical problems?

Hello Win,

I see no one has replied yet. We are on this cruise too, so at least there are 4 of us (no roll call).

I was wondering about decorations, special meals etc. as well.

I have read that the ships are decorated a couple of weeks before Christmas, hope this isn't the case; would like to see the ship in all it's festive glory.

I know there will be one formal evening so we will take our posh clothes for that.

I'm taking a warm coat and boots for excursions as I need a wheelchair for any distance and think it could be pretty cold. Not long now.

Thank you for you reply. An omelette or bacon roll would be lovely.

what type of food can we get in al fresco, especially breakfast. Do they do Full English?

We're British. We don't do that sort of thing.

Having said that I did go to a Cruise Critic meeting on Azura in the Ffiords a few years ago. This was organised by Dai and very informative for a P and O first timer.

what happens if we can't get the cabins we want? Can we cancel cruise and get our money back?

Never been on a cruise where we can't choose our cabin number whilst booking.