Someone has flicked on the cruise switch

Last July we booked our latest cruise to the Baltic which we are taking in June and at that time it was too early to get excited.  However, it is as if someone has flicked on a switch and turned the excitement on for us.  Our cruise is just over three months away and there is still a huge amount to do. 

Cabin E225

Being disabled means that most standard excursions are not suitable for me for one reason or another.  On this cruise we will be visiting St Petersburg for two days and because you require a tourist visa most people do the ships excursions because your visa is included in the price.  Unfortunately there wasn't any suitable standard excursions and we were considering getting our own tourist visas for Russia but after reading about some problems for tourists we have decided against it.  At this point I was feeling fairly low because it was looking as if we would have to rely on doing accessible excursions which are hugely overpriced in my opinion and very limited to usually one or two per visiting port.  Over the weekend while talking with our broker the topic of excursions came up and telling her how disappointed we were at not seeing St Petersburg the way we had hoped she suggested that we look at private tour companies.
There are many companies that specialise in providing private and tailored tours.  After doing a considerable amount of research we have decided to go with Guide Guru.  At the moment we are in the process of sorting an itinerary for a one day tour which will include French Painting of 19th and 20th Century  (which none of the P&O excursions do) at The Hermitage The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood, St Issac's Cathedral, a city tour and of course no trip will be complete without shopping! The cost is very reasonable considering it is a one to one tour experience for just us.  It also means that I can do things at my pace.  I find it rather odd that the standard excursions have been bookable for some months but the accessible excursions are not released until tomorrow (10th March).  I can't believe it is because they are harder to organise or this only happens with tours to the Baltic because this is the same with every cruise we have done with P&O.  We have of course looked at the other ports that we are visiting but have not decided anything yet.  We may do our own thing but then again we may do an excursion we will have to wait and see.
This will be the third time that we have stayed in cabin E225

and knowing where everything thing is means that we will settle in that much quicker.  I am so excited by this and I see Azura as an old friend who I have made such wonderful memories with.  It is funny that it takes weeks to pack but minutes (hour) to unpack.
It is so hard to explain to someone who has never cruised the advantages of doing so and the fact that your holiday starts the moment you step onto the ship and not spending the first and last day of your holiday sitting around in airports or flying.  
For our friends it must seem confusing and exhausting the amount of enthusiasm and excitement that we build up prior to a cruise.  I have been nicknamed "list queen" because that is how I organise us for a cruise.  By the time we get to d-day I will have produce a list for virtually everything we take.
One other important thing that I do is to take a file which has every piece of paperwork relating to the cruise.  I also have passports and photocopies, maps and port information, pre-paid dinner receipts, Prescription form and letter, useful phone numbers, travel insurances and deck plans of Azura and there is probably something I have forgotten.  
Last May we sailed on Britannia for a 14 night Canaries cruise which was lovely but the ship was missing the wow factor and the one thing that really spoilt it for me was that there is no promenade deck.  We love to take a stroll around the promenade deck after dinner and have a drink and it just didn't feel right, we had a balcony but that wasn't the same.  On Britannia the Promenade was at the top on the Sports Deck, which was not undercover and could be windy at times; it wasn't what I would call a promenade.
So for the foreseeable future I will be compiling my lists and start to prepare for our cruise on Azura.

Baltic on P&O's Azura

Azura in Gran Canaria

I can't believe that this week sees the start of spring and it only seems like yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas.  I can't believe that in just three months until we embark on our next cruise to the Baltic.  I am so excited as we are visiting countries that we have not been to before which include Russia, Estonia, Finland and Belguim.  We are also visiting Sweden, Norway and Denmark which I visited many years in my late teens; I think as an adult you appreciate things more so I looking forward to revisting these places.
For us going back on Azura is like visiting an old friend.  I think she is our favourite ship to date and we were able to book our usual cabin which makes it even more special.  I am looking forward to just being able to kick back and chill out for two weeks.
For me a round trip cruise is the perfect holiday, I am able to do as much as I want or do as little as I want.  The ship provides me with everything that I need and much more.  I can choose whether to get off the ship while in port or stay onboard and take advantage of the vast facilities while most passengers are ashore.
With every cruise we do it seems as if we take less to time to organise, prepare and pack.  I suppose in some ways it has become routine and I am not saying I mind at all.  The cruise in June is the first one we have done where we will be doing a lot more sightseeing.  It is unfortunate that the standard cruise excursions are not suitable for me as it seems most are done at some speed.  The accessible excursions are a lot more money and usually only a couple of hours and as we are in St Petersburg for two days it seems a shame to waste the time.  At the suggestion of our cruise agent we have looked around and found a company that does private tours called Guide Guru and the prices are very reasonable.  We are at present in communication with them to arrange something.  We both have places we want to visit and for me a must is the French Painting of 19th - 20th centuries at The Hermitage.
I am looking forward to a memorable cruise.

Have things improved for disabled people?

Someone asked me the other day "Do you think that things have improved for the better for disabled people?" and even though I try to promote equality I had to think about it.  I think you could ask a hundred disabled people and you would get a different answer every time, I think it depends on a persons circumstances.  

I know in recent years people with disabilities have become the targets and victims of physical and verbal attacks in public and I consider myself very fortunate that I have never been a victim of such behaviour.
My parents removed me from Charlton Park school at the age of nine and from that day I never looked back.  My parents were never overprotective and they encouraged and taught me that I could be anything in life I wanted to be.  Because of my parents I have lived an active and fulfilling life and I have done so many things that others dream of.  I have met some amazing disabled people along the way who have succeeded against the odds.  While others I knew from my childhood who I have caught up with in recent years through social media have just stagnated.
If you want change (equality) to happen you have to want to do something about it.  Too many people just sit back on their laurels and watch others do the hard work to try and make change happen and that makes me fed up to the back teeth that it is always the same few.  It annoys me when I hear someone moaning about lack of accessibility and then does nothing about it.
It is only in the last year or two that I have found a passion for disability awareness and equality because of increasing frustration at the shoddy way people with disabilities are treated by society and I want make a difference; no matter how small my contribution.  For a long time I never gave accessibility a second thought but as I have deteriorated it has become more prevalent to do so.
Having spent a considerable number of nights in both standard and accessible hotel guestrooms over the last two years I discovered they are not always equal in facilities but I was expected to pay the same rate.  Typically you will find that a sofa, comfy chairs and coffee table are often removed from the accessible guestroom; giving an illusion of space.  Hotel chain Premier Inn state on their websites that their older hotels sometimes have smaller rooms it has been necessary to replace a king size bed for a double, I find this unacceptable and again you would be expected to pay the same room rate.
At many hotels a discerning disabled guest is not offered a choice of guestroom grades; accessible guestrooms more often than not are standard.  As a rule disabled guests are unable to stay in executive rooms or suites that give them extra facilities, comfort and access to private facilities that are reserved for the higher grade rooms. So where is the equality there?
My own research shows there is a lack of accessible guestrooms especially somewhere like London were hotels have between 0.60% and 3% of their guest accommodation is accessible.  The Building Regulations state it should be 5%.  One hotel the Crowne

Crowne Plaza Birmingham NE

Plaza Birmingham NEC have the correct number of accessible rooms but offer only bathtub facilities which is no use to someone like myself who needs a wet room.  When I recently enquired if they had any guest accommodation with a shower cubicle they informed me they hadn't and they considered a reasonable adjustment to be for a disabled guest to use their on site gym facilities where there was an accessible shower facilities.  The Building Regulations state that disabled guests should be given the choice of bathroom with a bathtub or wet room facility.  This hotel had 12 accessible rooms most hotels offer just a couple if your lucky, but again I have been denied this as a hotel to use because they do not have wet rooms. 
Am I equal to my friends I would honestly say that I do not feel equal.  It seems that when I am with other people I get ignored as if I have been taken along for the ride.  The thing that annoys me the most is people see my disability suddenly slow their speech as if I will understand them better.  I don't why they do it but I have seen it happen it and experienced it all my life.  A couple of weeks ago I went into a branch of WH Smith and the first floor was not accessible and spoke to a female assistant who said that she would get anything I wanted.  I was just so annoyed that I felt like giving her a list of 50 items!  This happens all the time places are not accessible and these businesses do not realise what disabled people can bring to their businesses.  
Being disabled means a part of us does not work properly so some of us use wheelchairs while others use sticks or crutches but it does not stop us having a voice.  My answer is yes things have improved in parts but there is still a long way to go.

I'm happy to go with the flow

My life has been so surreal of late and I sat in my lounge today wondering where the last three years have gone.  I know all that has happened but sometimes it feels as if I am bystander in my own life.  Death can make you act totally out of character and I find myself

Christmas Day 2013

Invoice

wanting to go back to the safety of living at home when Mum was always there for a cuddle, she seemed to know how to put the world to rights as only a Mum can.  She was the true matriarch of our family.

Three days ago (11th January) we heard of the sad passing of the legend that is David Bowie, a person who touched everyones life in some way and everyone has a memory or story that they can share about him.  Like a lot of people I shed a tear or two and to pass the day we decided to do a mini clear out and tip run, a clear out seems to clarify my muddled mind.
While going through some bits and pieces I found the invoice from The
Connaught Hotel in Mayfair Mum's last Christmas present to me for us to stay there for Christmas in 2013.  It was a true Downton Abbey experience right down to having our own butler John.
Looking back it's as if Mum knew that it was her last year; she often said that she wouldn't see another birthday and like most people I just dismissed as nonsense.
During her 90th year she had achieved so much that she wanted to.  On her birthday Karen and I took

Mum, Karen &Me at Claridge's

Mum to Claridge's Hotel in London for a festive afternoon tea.

I think that's what gave her the idea for Christmas at The Connaught.  She also celebrated her 90th birthday with a party for her closest friends and family.  She went up the Shard with her granddaughters and learnt she was going to be a great-grandmother for the first time. During that last year she put her will and funeral plans in order.  I now wish I had taken more notice.
2014 is a year I just want to forget, the stroke, the fighting with family, the care home and then her funeral and afterwards dealing with the Co-op Funeral Service and getting a settlement because they lost Mum's wedding ring which Mum had left me in her will.  Being appointed her executor and dealing with everything that that involves.  I don't regret any decisions I made during that period except one and that was because I wanted a easy life and didn't  want another fight with my family.  Mum was a big Duran Duran fan and her favourite songs were Save A Prayer and Hungry Like The Wolf. Mum had mentioned at Christmas that she would like one of those tracks played at her funeral but unfortunately had not put that in documentation that Mum had left with her solicitor but she hoped that I would try to do it, but because of all the fights I had had with my family while she was ill I just couldn't face another round and chickened out and now I am angry with myself for letting others get to me.
Most of 2015 was spent in the main sorting Mum's estate and so I didn't have

much time for grieving.  A year after her death and suddenly things had slowed down allowing me the time to gather by thoughts.  It's rather strange but lately I have gone to phone Mum and at the last minute remembered she is no longer here.
People say the first year is the hardest when someone has died I disagree.  I have found it much harder to cope since Mum's first anniversary and I miss her more than ever.  It may just be that if you are the executor you are so busy you just simply don't have the time to stop and grieve.  I am lucky that I have wonderful friends that have helped and supported me through this process.
I sometimes have a gut feeling about things but right now I'm happy to go with the flow.  For the first time in two years I feel strangely tranquil and actually do not dread what the

Abby taken 10th January 2016

next day will bring.
Apart from my disability awareness work I am Mum to our 9 month old kitten Abby Luna or "Abby",  She is the most loving cat always wants cuddles but does has a mischievous side as well.  There is also Maisie our 12 year old tabby who is affectionate but on her terms but loves to just curl up in a nice warm place.  So for now I'm content.

Latest Update from P&O

As you already know I have had a very challenging time of late with P&O.  I have been trying for three months to get some answers to questions that I had put to their customer service after returning from my cruise in May.  After three months and going nowhere and going through two Customer Service Executives, one Head of Marketing, one Disability Adviser and one Customer Services Manager I believe I have answers to most of my queries.

Last week I received a call to discuss for the umpteen time my comments and suggestions that I had sent in May and to say that I was extremely disappointed is an understatement to say the least.

The Retreat on Azura

Information Sheet 
I have been campaigning for an information sheet on each P&O ship to give to passengers that have registered a disability.  Information that I suggested should be included is the location of platform lifts (Azura & Ventura) and lifts on their other ships for use by disabled passengers, facilities and accessibility information could also be included.

I have been informed that P&O have no plans to create an information sheet for passengers now or in the future because they have invested millions into their on line help service and website.  I have voiced my own opinions on this as they have just assumed that all passengers have access to a computer.  I was told that a large number of passengers book their cruises through travel agents.  This being said I cannot understand their reasoning behind their decision.  For those passengers an on line help facility would not be of use so sending a hard copy to those passengers would be helpful.

It was also assumed by the manager that I was talking to that disabled lift location information was included in the ships cabin directory, I informed her that it was not the case.

"Full Time Wheelchair Users"
I had also noticed the wording "full time wheelchair users" being used when using certain facilities on board ships.  I pointed out that this discriminates between passengers who are part time wheelchair users and full time wheelchair users.  I explained that many part time users often have a disability or condition that may vary from day to day and therefore may require the use of a chair at anytime and stating that only "full time" users may use the spaces in the teatre is discriminating.  The Manager tried to tell me that it was done to deter mobility scooter users from using these spaces.  I pointed out that most venues have a policy where disabled spaces are for the use of wheelchair users and walking disabled only and clearly states no scooters.  She had no answer.

Front Line Disability Team
This team was disbanded when the company was restructured.  I was told that the company has invested in customer and online services which they are confident can answer any questions that may arise and have no plans to have a front line team.  Again, I do not know how they can say that when you are put on hold for some considerable time and only be told that they don't know the answer, no surprise there!

Our last cruise was booked through a cruise agent who passed everything on to P&O, which is normal.  A couple of days later I called P&O's customer service to request a disability questionnaire only to be told that I would have to go back to my cruise agent and ask them to request it my behalf and then P&O would sent it to my agent who would eventually pass it onto me.  Tell me how is that more effiicent?

The Cookery Club 
What can I say it took over 9 weeks and several people later who informed that The Cookery Club does have a lowered workspace.  My initial contact and equiry to P&O was based on computer images and information supplied to my cruise agent and myself over the phone and in personal by P&O staff.  At that time I believed it to be true.

During the last 14 weeks I have been in contact with a total of 5 people from P&O and my impression is that none of them had any idea of where to go to answer any questions I had and so when the customer services manager told me that given time they can answer any queries; I laughed.  What has annoyed me most is the promises that were made that I now know were a pack of lies.  Why lie to me?

I find it hard to believe that they feel producing fact sheets to send to passengers time comsuming.  It was made obvious to me that the disability adviser would rather not have direct contact with passengers and it seems to spend their time in the legal side, I doubt they even know what the Equality Act 2010 is about.  But I now have there email so if anyone has any questions or queries I will be more than happy to contact the adviser.

Poor Customer Service P&O!

Following on from my previous post about P&O's customer service I actually had a 4th person call me and I will refer to her as Clare (not her real name) who introduced herself as a disability adviser.  From the off she spoke to me with contempt, launching into the fact that The Cookery Club does have a lowered workstation and not giving me the chance to explain that all I had to go on was a couple of CGI's and incorrect information given to me by P&O which I believed to be correct at the time.  This information was given over the phone and in person.

When Clare had stopped to draw breath I asked her why it had took two months and 4 people, who were two customer services executives, one director and one disability adviser before I was informed that there was a lower counter in The Cookery Club.  I also told her that my letters were about accommodation floors, lack of or incorrect information, gangways and disembarkation.

I had said that customer service was poor at the best of times and very frustrating if you have a disability question as you are often put on hold for a period of time and when the person does eventually come back they often don't have an answer.  When I first cruised with P&O in 2008 there was a dedicated team that you could speak to.  This was when Clare told me that when P&O restructured they decided that they did not want a disability team that the passengers could speak to, but she could not expand on their reasoning behind this ridiculous decision. Although she is supposed to be a disability adviser she does not deal with a lot of queries but the admin side of things.
 
Our conversation eventually got back to Britannia and The Cookery Club and she offered to send me some photographs she had taken to show this workstation and I immediately said that I would like to see them and she also said she would email them to me along with her contact details so that I could contact if I had anymore questions and we left it there. 

You could guess what happened next, nothing! So once again I found myself chasing her up by having to email one of my other contacts.  Clare eventually emailed me back in what I consider a rude manner saying that because I am not sailing on Britannia again she assumed I didn't need to see these photographs.  She just doesn't understand what disability awareness is.  I did reply but by this time I was starting to loose the will to live and with the reply I sent I didn't expect to hear from her again.

It was on 31st July and Clare called me I didn't really want to talk to Clare as we would only go over old ground and speaking to her wasn't going to achieve anything but the polite person I am I agreed to speak with her.  The conversation was just a carbon copy of our previous conversation.  I know I probably won't get anything improved but I think I am entitled to a letter of apology.

Two Months, 4 people and I am still getting fobbed off by P&O

CGI of The Cookery Club

Over two months ago I wrote to P&O's Customer Service with several comments and issues that I experienced whilst on board Britannia.  One of items I mentioned was The Cookery Club which I believed was not accessible according to this image which was released by P&O.  My agent had been invited to spend two nights on board prior to the maiden voyage and whilst on board made a point to find out if the club was accessible and on her return she reported that all the workstations were the same height.  Based on the images available and information at hand I decided not to book a class.  Other items that I mentioned included accommodation floors, gangways, lack of and incorrect information.

Once P&O's Customer Service has received a letter or email a case is raised and is given to a Customer Service Executive.  They have 28 days to reply to your communication and in my case the first person contacted me on day 27.  The person who I spoke to was very polite and during our call offered a lot which I had asked to be confirmed in writing.  An email did arrive all be it after several days but did not confirm everything we discussed but did include things that we didn't discuss.  So I sent an email back asking for certain things to be confirm; and I waited and waited!  A week passed and I heard nothing from this chap and found it hard to know where to go to next and decided to follow my own advice, which is to go to the top of the tree.

After a bit of a search I was given the email of Christopher Edgington, Director P&O Cruises.  I sent a rather lengthy letter to him explaining my issues and concerns and that I felt as if I was being fobbed off.  He took the time and read my letter and emailed me to say that he had asked his team to look at my letter urgently.  Great, Fantastic News!

Enter person no.3 who called me and we discussed the issues that I had raised and once again I was promised a email confirmation of our conversation and again I was let down.  I was slowly losing patience and I had to contact Christopher Edgington again, I say I was frustrated would be an understatement.  I was once again told that he would get his team to look at my letter urgently.  I was contacted again by person no.3 that day to see how I would like to proceed and replied to his email and ending it by saying I deserve a letter of apology at the very least.