No Mobility Scooters !

Anyone who has booked a cruise with P&O or Cunard recently may be aware that, from 1st January this year, the two cruise lines will no longer allow passengers with mobility scooters to occupy a cabin that is not disabled adapted. It is still OK to take a wheelchair in a non adapted cabin, as long as the wheelchair can fit through the cabin door and be stored inside, not left in the corridor.

As, on some ships, there are very few adapted cabins, this potentially will cause lots of problems. The rules always were that to be allocated a disabled cabin you had to be 90% wheelchair confined or registered disabled, these rules have now been relaxed somewhat so that anyone needing a mobility scooter for their holiday can have one of these rare cabins. However to get one you will have to book early when prices are likely to be high, especially with the recent re-introduction of Getaway fares by the two cruise lines.

What is the reason for this? Health and Safety regulations are being blamed but, if this is the case, why has the policy not been adopted by all cruise lines? A telephone call to Carnival on behalf of a client yesterday revealed that they will still allow mobility scooters in normal cabins, again providing they can fit into the cabin itself and be stored there. Carnival are the parent company of P&O and Cunard so this just doesn’t make sense!

When talking about mobility scooters this always, for me, conjurs up an image of Madge from Benidorm racing around the swimming pool with llittle regard for anyone in her way! Is this what happens on a P&O cruise ? Is this the reason for the ban ? I doubt it but would be interested to hear what eveyone esle has to think.