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Just Cruising
Margaret Hides boards Arcadia and finds her beauty far outweighs any limitations for disabled passengers.
In that initial 24 hours aboard today's beautiful big cruise liners, the name of the game seems to be to first find your way around this amazing world without ending up (again) at the launderette: was it the royal blue carpet, or rich terracotta, that leads back to your door? Is this even the right deck?
Which expensive work of art brightening the corridors shows the direction you should go when coming out of the lift (left at that curious cube thing or straight past the Dalmatian dog painting)? A bag of breadcrumbs might come in handy for a start.
A recent invitation from P&O to drive to Southampton and tour their new cruise beauty, Arcadia, highlights an extra dimension in travel for disabled holidaymakers. Offering cruises from two nights (from £199) to 17 nights, Arcadia features sailings from Southampton during summer, calling at destinations in the Mediterranean, Atlantic isles, Norwegian fjords, and Baltic capitals to include Helsinki and St Petersburg. In winter she moves into warmer Caribbean waters with a programme of fly/cruising itineraries.
It can come as a surprise to meet some disabled passengers who rarely go ashore. Ask why and they tell you that being in a luxury class hotel with gourmet food, being waited on hand and foot, no beds to make, no washing up or cleaning to be done, can be vacation enough, especially for the carer. Fully adapted wheelchair access cabins are now part of the choice in most modern cruise ships. Ramps everywhere make sure you are not left out of shopping, or dropping in at attractive bars, excellent restaurants, the cinema, casino, spa . . .
Arcadia holiday horizons will range from guest lectures in gardening with TV personalities such as Diarmuid Gavin to interactive workshops and dining on superb cuisine created by Gary Rhodes. This ship with her cool, sophisticated décor in subtle pastel shades has been designed
to appeal to British tastes. The theatre is a gem with moving stages and amazing art effects. It is easy to get about everywhere.
Disabled access cabins, however, have been less thoughtfully designed than those on her P&O sister ships Oriana and Aurora; on both of those ships there is more generous manoeuvring
space. Arcadia presented a larger, electric, wheelchair with some difficult squeezes and an awkward configuration of interior doors opening on to each other. Tap controls in level
access shower and toilet were difficult for someone with hand problems. I felt that the wall-fixed (one and only) hand rail to the loo would need chimpanzee arms to reach.
Arcadia has only just left on her short maiden cruise, possibly changes may be made in time if feedback indicates a general need. At present, in my opinion, a wheelchair user needs
to compromise on some less than ideal cabin arrangements in exchange for being aboard a ship which must be among the most beautiful afloat – for she has none of the garish interior that is a signature of many liners.
But it's not all about wheelchairs; cruise companies are becoming more aware of assisting people with sensory disabilities.
Visual alarms, vibrating pillows and various other disability aids can now be included when notice is given before sailing.
In terms of getting the best value for your money, don't feel that it's essential to have an outside cabin. On a P&O cruise last autumn, our spacious inside cabin on Aurora had plenty of room for wheelchair manoeuvring, two big wardrobes, movable tables, and twin or double bed formation choice. The adapted bathroom was excellent and the cabin door was programmed to open and close automatically, giving you complete independence on entering or leaving. Like all modern cruise ships it had cabin TV with video and news programmes as well as one channel set to show views from the ship's prow – and incidentally give us a weather check before getting up
each morning.
That's the good news. The bad news is that fully adapted wheelchair access cabins book up swiftly, sometimes a year ahead in this fast-growing holiday market. You see passengers who may not need full access cabins using small scooters aboard the bigger ships, although I am not sure how easily they negotiate gangway arrangements for shore excursions.
Equally, early reservation is necessary with those ever-popular favourites like the more intimate, attractive smaller ships of Fred Olsen and Saga, sailing from UK ports. A newcomer to the Saga fleet, Ruby, has seven wheelchair access cabins.
For safety considerations all companies insist you travel with an able-bodied companion. Choose itineraries with few (or preferably no) tender landings. Although you will get lots of help if you can manage steps and transfer to a tender, stricter safely regulations now prohibit crew from lifting people in wheelchairs.
A friend recently asked me how, in an emergency, the ship would cope with wheelchair passengers. Ships I have sailed on allocate a crew member solely to assist in such an event and
anyone occupying a disabled access cabin will be automatically logged by the purser's office.
Compass Pointers
At Trans-Atlantic cruise destinations (New York, Boston) shore excursion coaches are likely to have wheelchair access. But always inform the ship’s shore excursion office in advance.
Ports with a flat walk of about 25 minutes from the main berths include Copenhagen and Oslo. Summer cruising in the Baltic is a time when seas are rarely capricious. Helsinki has wheelchair
access to public transport buses between the quayside and city centre.
Where tender landings make going ashore uncertain there are voyages where dramatic scenery comes to you: Norwegian fjords; North Cape; Alaska; the Caribbean.
Brochures: P&O and Fred Olsen from travel agents. Saga freephone
0800 300456. Accessible Cruise Club (Tel: 0845 2301033) is a specialist part of Accessible Travel and Leisure, Avionics House, Naas Lane, Quedgeley, Glos GL2 2SN.
www.travelability.co.uk
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