Cruising For People With A Disability - Investigating Your Ship
By now, you will just be wanting to investigate your cruise ship.
But first, you want to go check if your luggage has arrived in your cabin.
To your surprise, when you use your boarding pass to get into your cabin, you find that your luggage has indeed been delivered.
BRILLIANT! Speaking of your cabin, where better to start your tour of the ship? Lucky you, you have chosen a cabin with a balcony, and the door into your cabin is wide enough for your wheelchair or electric scooter to get in.
Your wheel-in shower room is extremely spacious, and everything has been lowered to your specific needs.
Things like: · Toilet seat · Sink · Mirror · Shower seat · Detachable shower head · Shaver points Oh, I almost forgot, there are plenty grab rails around the shower room, just in case you need to hold on...
especially in rough seas.
There is plenty cupboard (closet) space for all of your belongings, and for those of you who need it, in your cupboard (closet), there is one part which has lower rails, for easy reach from your wheelchair or electric scooter.
There is desk space in your cabin, and you have a direct dial telephone as well.
The bed(s) are at a decent height for ease of transfer from your wheelchair/electric scooter.
Also, speaking of your wheelchair or electric scooter, they MUST be kept in your cabin at night, or any time you are in the cabin.
This is because you are not allowed to leave it outside, as it will block the corridor and/or emergency exits.
OK, so that's your cabin.
What about the other parts of the ship that need investigating? Well, let's start where everybody seems to end up on embarkation day...
the buffet restaurant.
The buffet restaurant is a lively place most of the time, with plenty tables with views over the ocean.
The vast array of food is all laid out in trays and baskets, and you are free to help yourself.
You can have anything from cereal and fruit to scrambled eggs and bacon.
There are also fruit juices of all sorts, tea and coffee, pastries, croissants...
the list goes on.
I just want to point out one extremely important point...
one which could save someone's life in the buffet restaurant.
Please!, when you use tongs to take food from the trays or baskets to your plate, please use the tongs for the food in that tray only! Please DO NOT use tongs which are for meat, to transfer fish onto your plate, then put them back into the meat tray again.
"Why not?" I hear you ask.
Well, the answer is simple...
If you use tongs to move fish, which are meant for meat, you could give a nasty unwanted shock to someone who has an allergy to fish.
Moving on from the buffet restaurant, but keeping in line with the topic of food, there are a multitude of places aboard that one can eat.
The main restaurant, for instance (which is included in the cost of your cruise).
Here is where you usually go every evening for your meal.
Depending on the cruise line and the ship, you can usually have a choice between Flexible Dining, (which is where you can pick your own time to eat between 5:30pm and 9:30pm), or Fixed Dining (which is where you choose between early or late sitting, and you are seated at the same table with the same table mates at the same time every night...
usually either 6:30pm or 8:15pm, and you cannot change half way through your cruise).
Shifting away from the main dining venues, we have the "Alternative" dining venues.
These venues are more intimate, with less tables and seating.
They also have their own menus, and to dine in one of the "Alternative" dining venues, you will have to pay a cover surcharge (usually between £25 and £50 per person, depending on the venue).
On numerous cruise ships, there is what is known as Afternoon Tea.
Afternoon Tea is usually served around 3pm each and every day of your cruise.
This consists of tea and/or coffee, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, all followed by those lovely fancy pastries and sweet treats.
This can be had on board cruise lines such as P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line.
Other cruise lines may also serve this during your cruise.
Also, there are plenty other eateries on the main deck during the day, serving more casual food such as burgers, hotdogs, popcorn, paninis, etc.
So, you should never go hungry any time day or night.
In my next article, I will take you through more of the public areas of the ship.
Until then, Take care.
But first, you want to go check if your luggage has arrived in your cabin.
To your surprise, when you use your boarding pass to get into your cabin, you find that your luggage has indeed been delivered.
BRILLIANT! Speaking of your cabin, where better to start your tour of the ship? Lucky you, you have chosen a cabin with a balcony, and the door into your cabin is wide enough for your wheelchair or electric scooter to get in.
Your wheel-in shower room is extremely spacious, and everything has been lowered to your specific needs.
Things like: · Toilet seat · Sink · Mirror · Shower seat · Detachable shower head · Shaver points Oh, I almost forgot, there are plenty grab rails around the shower room, just in case you need to hold on...
especially in rough seas.
There is plenty cupboard (closet) space for all of your belongings, and for those of you who need it, in your cupboard (closet), there is one part which has lower rails, for easy reach from your wheelchair or electric scooter.
There is desk space in your cabin, and you have a direct dial telephone as well.
The bed(s) are at a decent height for ease of transfer from your wheelchair/electric scooter.
Also, speaking of your wheelchair or electric scooter, they MUST be kept in your cabin at night, or any time you are in the cabin.
This is because you are not allowed to leave it outside, as it will block the corridor and/or emergency exits.
OK, so that's your cabin.
What about the other parts of the ship that need investigating? Well, let's start where everybody seems to end up on embarkation day...
the buffet restaurant.
The buffet restaurant is a lively place most of the time, with plenty tables with views over the ocean.
The vast array of food is all laid out in trays and baskets, and you are free to help yourself.
You can have anything from cereal and fruit to scrambled eggs and bacon.
There are also fruit juices of all sorts, tea and coffee, pastries, croissants...
the list goes on.
I just want to point out one extremely important point...
one which could save someone's life in the buffet restaurant.
Please!, when you use tongs to take food from the trays or baskets to your plate, please use the tongs for the food in that tray only! Please DO NOT use tongs which are for meat, to transfer fish onto your plate, then put them back into the meat tray again.
"Why not?" I hear you ask.
Well, the answer is simple...
If you use tongs to move fish, which are meant for meat, you could give a nasty unwanted shock to someone who has an allergy to fish.
Moving on from the buffet restaurant, but keeping in line with the topic of food, there are a multitude of places aboard that one can eat.
The main restaurant, for instance (which is included in the cost of your cruise).
Here is where you usually go every evening for your meal.
Depending on the cruise line and the ship, you can usually have a choice between Flexible Dining, (which is where you can pick your own time to eat between 5:30pm and 9:30pm), or Fixed Dining (which is where you choose between early or late sitting, and you are seated at the same table with the same table mates at the same time every night...
usually either 6:30pm or 8:15pm, and you cannot change half way through your cruise).
Shifting away from the main dining venues, we have the "Alternative" dining venues.
These venues are more intimate, with less tables and seating.
They also have their own menus, and to dine in one of the "Alternative" dining venues, you will have to pay a cover surcharge (usually between £25 and £50 per person, depending on the venue).
On numerous cruise ships, there is what is known as Afternoon Tea.
Afternoon Tea is usually served around 3pm each and every day of your cruise.
This consists of tea and/or coffee, finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, all followed by those lovely fancy pastries and sweet treats.
This can be had on board cruise lines such as P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises and Cunard Line.
Other cruise lines may also serve this during your cruise.
Also, there are plenty other eateries on the main deck during the day, serving more casual food such as burgers, hotdogs, popcorn, paninis, etc.
So, you should never go hungry any time day or night.
In my next article, I will take you through more of the public areas of the ship.
Until then, Take care.