Wheelchairs on Board

This week has seen the start of the Paralympic Games and what a fabulous opening ceremony it was.

Our disabled athletes are already doing wonderfully well and I was especially pleased to see Ellie Simmonds win her first gold yesterday.

Watching the athletes compete in their wheelchairs made me think of a conversation I had with a client several weeks ago regarding wheelchair passengers on board cruise lines.

Disabled adapted cabins are available on most cruise ships, although there are not many of them on each ship and to get one you have to book early, be registered disabled, and 90% wheelchair confined. Consequently last minute deals are hard to come by.

The husband of the lady I was talking to needs to take a wheelchair on board but does not need a specially adapted cabin. This means he can take his wheelchair with him as long as he can get it into a normal sized cabin and keep it in there for the duration of the cruise. He can, of course, use it on the ship and take it with him when disembarking in ports of call.

The lady has I think a really good idea. There must be several spaces on most cruise ships that could be adapted to use as a wheelchair ” car park”. Maybe an area on the lower decks near to  the staff service areas where the wheelchair could be stored, at least overnight. The able bodied passenger could take them down each evening and retrieve them the next day, thus giving loads more room in the cabin. Moving aorunfd a standar cabin must be difficult enough if you have mobility problems let alone having to negotiate your way around your wheelchair too.

I think its a great idea – maybe you do too ?