P&O Cruises May Soon Restrict Booking with Mobility Devices

P&O Cruises to Implement Mobility Device Policy Which Requires Booking of Specific Cabins. The new policy as it is currently written, to affect bookings from summer 2013 forward, requires that disabled individuals using motorized scooter book a wheelchair accessible cabin, a mini-suite or a suite. All the P&O ships are registered in Bermuda and therefore are not subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA – U.S.) or the Equality Act (U.K.) which protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. Most cruise lines, at least those that operate out of the U.S., do not require an individual who utilizes a motorized scooter to book a larger cabin as long as the mobility device is not left in the corridor.


Many of the motorized scooter users do not need the mobility device too often on the ship but primarily for visiting the ports on the itinerary. Their motorized scooters are kept in their cabins in accordance with cruise line policies when not used. Even if the scooters were used all the time on board, at the end of the day the scooter occupies a corner in the cabin. If the traveler with the scooter is fine with the added obstacle in the cabin then why propose such a policy that essentially penalizes mobility device users?

P&O cites “legitimate and proven safety concerns” related to new European Union (EU) regulations as the grounds for this new policy. Certainly there are significant challenges to manage a ship evacuation when there are motorized mobility devices, but how often do these evacuations occur? Is that slight chance of an evacuations sufficient reason to restrain the cruise booking opportunities of the disabled traveler? The EU Rights of Passengers Travel by Sea states that the disabled traveler should have the same booking opportunities available to other passengers and the line shall provide embarkation/debarkations assistance. An exception is noted which allows the line to not follow these passenger rights due to “a circumstance in which there is a need to meet safety requirements as established by international, union or national law or in order to meet safety requirements established by the competent authorities”.

Assuming disability consumer groups are unsuccessful in efforts to convince P&O to drop the scooter policy; its implementation will run much deeper than to only affect the scooter users. This new policy will cause greater demand for the accessible cabins likely reducing the cruising opportunities to those disabled individuals who truly need the accessible cabin. This will be interesting to follow.


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