I am honoured to have had the opportunity to curate Jo and Katherine's travel experiences for numerous years, consistently placing accessibility as a paramount consideration. Having organised various cruises for them, I eagerly awaited their invaluable insights following their recent European trip...
With past cruise experiences on Cunard, P&O and Royal Caribbean, we were eager to see how Celebrity Cruises measured up for accessibility on a five-night summer voyage to Amsterdam and Bruges.
We are two ladies - one in a wheelchair, partially deaf and using a hearing aid; and one a profoundly deaf lipreader using a cochlear implant. Both of us are good communicators.
The accessibility on the Silhouette ship was very good. Our Accessible Twin Balcony Cabin was easy to get into with no fiddling about with inserting keys or cards - it was simply a matter of waving the card in front of the sensor like a contactless card payment.
The door then automatically opened to allow wheelchair access and impressively re-closed once the wheelchair was through.
Previous experiences on other ships have involved one person holding the door open, flattening themselves against the wall to allow the wheelchair to enter while trying to keep their toes out of the way, then reaching over the chair and its occupant to hold the door open as the wheelchair passes through, with the occupant crouched down low, resembling a game of vertical Twister.
The bedroom, bathroom and balcony offered ample space and excellent accessibility, making it easy to navigate. Additionally, a light-up sensor on the cabin door informed us of any knocks, and a vibrating alarm under the pillow ensured we were promptly alerted to fire alarms or urgent notices during the night.
Disabled toilets were integrated with the general ones with a push button door opener to allow easy entry and exit, which felt really inclusive and made life far easier.
Regrettably, the TV lacked subtitles, which was surprising as Celebrity had been so proactive with everything else. Guest Relations staff tried hard to sort this out, but the only subtitles available were on the foreign films.
Dining was initially a little difficult when, upon entering the restaurant for the first time, we were allocated a table halfway across the dining room which was difficult for the wheelchair to access. Apparently, this had not been considered at the time of booking, despite having been advised of the details.
We were given a temporary table near the entrance but told that we would have to move to the restaurant upstairs for future dining. Additionally, we observed that once the waiting staff became aware that one of us needed to lipread, they automatically directed all conversation to the other person.
Sunshine, the Assistant Manager at Guest Relations was excellent, resolving things so that we kept the table near the entrance for the rest of the trip and alerting the staff to their deaf awareness training, and they subsequently worked hard to communicate well.
She was very proactive and friendly, and nothing was too much trouble. She followed up regularly by asking how things were going, and her attitude was echoed by the other staff on the ship - all were approachable and helpful.
Amsterdam and Bruges were enjoyable experiences although we had to book a private wheelchair accessible vehicle to take us to Bruges from the port, which was very costly.
While we enjoyed the excursions, we couldn't help but feel that we were not on an equal footing with other cruise passengers, something to perhaps investigate further.
In conclusion, Celebrity exceeded our expectations, and we would certainly choose to travel with them again.
Our sincere thanks to Felicity for her invaluable help and support throughout the booking process.
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