Mobility and disabilities
Travelling on board
This section relates to all matters involving mobility, disabilities and wheelchair and mobility scooter use; sensory and auditory disabilities including blind and partially sighted people, and/or those who are deaf or hard of hearing; and any other disability which may affect your enjoyment of a holiday with us. Before making a booking, please familiarise yourself with clauses 18–24 of our Booking Conditions which can be found on our website athttps://www.pocruises.com/legal-and-privacy. All guests requiring specific assistance, such as requiring extra assistance in the event of an emergency or help with the use of facilities or equipment on board or wishing to bring their own such equipment, must advise P&O Cruises at the time of booking, or as soon as the need is known. You will be required to complete a questionnaire after booking, to ensure we have all the information we need to cater adequately for your requirements. If you need to bring a wheelchair or mobility scooter on board with you, it is essential that you let us know at the time of booking or as soon as the need is known. Any guests requiring the use of a wheelchair, mobility scooter, or other aids to mobility must provide their own. We do not accept Segways, trikes or any similar non standard aids to mobility on board. For the safety of the ship and everyone on board, all wheelchairs, scooters and other aids to mobility must be stored inside your cabin when not in use. Failure to comply with this important safety rule may mean you are disembarked and refused future travel. If you are bringing a collapsible wheelchair and are booked into a standard cabin, please ensure the wheelchair does not exceed 51cm when collapsed.
Mobility scooters will only be permitted on board if guests have booked into a wheelchair accessible cabin, or selected Suites or Mini-suites, as these are the only types of accommodation where mobility scooters can safely be stored. On selected ships, the maximum door width of Suites and Mini-suites is 53cm. At the time of booking, please let us know if you intend bringing a mobility scooter with you, and we will in turn ensure that the appropriate accommodation can be booked. We are unable to accommodate mobility scooters in any other cabin due to the safety risks posed by storing these items in a small space, which may hinder easy access in to and out of the cabin. In the event of an emergency, additional assistance will be provided to guests if required to get to their muster station / place of safety and to evacuate the vessel.
P&O Cruises reserves the right to refuse passage to any guest who has failed to notify P&O Cruises of their requirement for special treatment or assistance or of reduced mobility or disabilities (including the requirement to use a wheelchair or mobility scooter). For further information about travelling with disabilities, please call our Customer Contact Centre on 03453 555 111 (local call charges apply) or email us at accessibility@carnivalukgroup.com.
Accessibility in theatres
We want all of our guests to enjoy theatre performances in comfort. Each theatre has bays or dedicated areas for users of wheelchairs and mobility scooters. There are seats nearby for travelling companions and guests with limited mobility who would prefer a seat that’s easier to access. Each ship has different arrangements for the safe storage of folding wheelchairs, walking frames and mobility scooters during performances. Please talk to the Entertainment team on board for guidance.
Mobility ashore
We always do our very best to make sure that all of our guests can comfortably get ashore at as many ports as possible. However, there may be times when accessibility for wheelchair users simply isn’t possible. At the majority of our port stops, we deploy a short ramped low-level gangway, better known as the ship’s brow, to allow wheelchair users easy access getting ashore. You should bear in mind that where ports have a large tidal range, it will be unsafe for us to deploy our ship’s brow if there are tidal movements during the course of the day. As disappointing as this is, this is purely in the interest of your safety. Some examples of ports with a large tidal range include Bilbao, La Coruna, Le Havre, La Rochelle, Lisbon, Zeebrugge, Canary Island ports, Hamburg, Boston, Halifax, Portland and Quebec.
You can book accessible shore experiences at my.pocruises.com. Experiences that offer wheelchair-friendly activities will begin with the word ‘accessible’. If you have reduced mobility or use a walking aid but are not a wheelchair user, please note that a range of suitable shore experiences are also available. To find them, simply use the ‘low activity’ search filter when browsing shore experiences at my.pocruises.com. You can find out more about the various activity levels for every individual experience in the ‘important information’ section. In the event that your pre-booked accessible shore experience has to be cancelled due to a port’s tidal range, your purchase will be automatically refunded.
Transportation standards
All adapted transportation vehicles and tours that are locally arranged are sourced from reputable and competent operators. They are fully insured, have safety management systems in place and comply with all prevailing local rules, regulations and standards. Unfortunately, in some destinations only minibuses are available and do not have the storage space to accommodate a wheelchair. The health, safety and comfort of our guests is paramount, however please be mindful that local country standards may not reflect those at home.
Please call our Customer Contact Centre on 03453 555 111 (local call charges apply) to discuss mobility during City Stays as not all our hotels may be suitable for guests with reduced mobility. For further information on accessibility please visit our websitewww.pocruises.com/accessibility-information.
