Cruising
Embarkation assistance, onboard facilities and information regarding mobility aids, medical equipment and assistance dogs
If you have a disability or reduced mobility, you are entitled to support under Regulation 1177/2010 when travelling by sea and inland waterway.
This section outlines the accessibility of cruises on Titan Travel tours. Please read through the applicable sections carefully. If you’re booking a fly-cruise, please also refer to our travelling by air page for information.
It is your responsibility to inform us if assistance is needed. If you need to notify us of any special requirements, please do so at the time of booking. If you've already booked, please make sure you notify us no later than 48 hours before departure by calling our Travel Needs team on 0808 239 4755.
Every effort will be made to cater for your requirements. However, there will be some instances where a passenger should be accompanied by a fare-paying travelling companion who is capable of dedicating the time and attention needed to ensure the required care is received. For safety reasons, there are certain types of assistance that cannot be offered.
Assistance that is not offered:
- Carriage of passengers up and down gangways in ports other than embarkation and disembarkation ports.
- Assistance in using personal hoists.
- Any level of personal care.
- Routine daily care of assistance dogs including but not limited to feeding, exercise and sanitary needs.
It's important that you discuss your needs with us prior to booking so that we’re able to assess your individual circumstances and inform you if a travelling companion is required. Failure to notify us of any requirement for disability assistance may result in denied boarding, or curtailment of the cruise.
If you are travelling alone and it transpires once on board that you are unable to cope, a senior officer will discuss the situation with you and you may be asked to leave the ship at your own cost in extreme circumstances.
Embarkation and disembarkation
The assistance available for embarkation includes:
- Assistance with baggage check-in and its transfer to the cabin.
Due to local conditions e.g. river water levels and/or mooring adjacent to another ship in some locations, you may be required to negotiate a steep gangway and/or steps. If you are unable to make your own arrangements to get on and off the ship, you may be required to remain on board.
It is important to be aware that most river vessels and small ships don’t have lifts, and the stairs between decks can often be steep. Some excursions involve a fair amount of walking, sometimes over uneven surfaces. Please also note that on river cruises it's common for two or more ships to moor alongside each other at a berth, and on these occasions you'll need to walk through the other vessels when embarking or disembarking. We’re not able to confirm in advance when this will be the case.
If you have a disability or reduced mobility and are considering a river cruise, please discuss this with your travel advisor at the time of booking.
There are no adapted cabins on board MS Serenade 1 or MS Bellejour.
MS Serenade 1 has a lift between the Chopin and Mozart decks. A chair lift is available from the Chopin deck up to the sun deck.
Hearing and/or visual impairment
It is recommended that a blind or visually impaired passenger travels with a fare-paying companion. This recommendation is made purely on the basis of personal safety. In the unlikely event of an emergency on board, a travelling companion will greatly aid your timely relocation to your allocated muster station.
We are unable to provide any publications in braille.
To ensure that the crew can cope in an emergency situation, the number of passengers who require a wheelchair to be booked on any cruise is restricted for safety reasons.
Wheelchairs are not available for loan on board or for use during excursions. Anybody that requires the use of a wheelchair must provide their own.
Please note that if you arrive at the ship with a wheelchair and have failed to declare that you’re bringing this with you, and no wheelchair spaces are available, then you’ll be denied boarding on the grounds of safety.
Things to note if bringing a wheelchair or mobility scooter on board
- Wheelchairs or mobility scooters must be stored within your cabin when not in use and must never be stowed in corridors as they are considered an emergency escape route.
- Crew members are not able to carry passengers up or down the gangways; this is a risk to both crew and passengers.
- On occasion, it may be concluded that the gangway presents too much of a risk to put wheelchairs or mobility scooters ashore. On these occasions you may need to remain on board.
- You must be able to manoeuvre yourself or have a travelling companion who can assist you.
- Tour coaches may not be able to accommodate wheelchair users, or carry mobility scooters.
Walkers, rollers and other mobility equipment
If you need to bring any other mobility equipment on board, please make sure you let us know at the point of booking. This equipment must be stored within your cabin when not in use and must never be stowed in corridors as they are considered to be an emergency escape route.
All of our river cruises and excursions are regarding as level 1 in our pace guide.
We also grade each of our optional excursions, so that you can make an informed decision as to which suits you best. Please ask your travel advisor at the point of booking for further details.
In some ports, tour coaches may not be able to accommodate wheelchair users or carry mobility scooters. Please inform us if you require the use of a wheelchair while on tour so that we can check if there’s suitable transport available in that port before travel. We’ll also be happy to arrange private transport if you’d like to explore independently instead.
If you are in any doubt over the suitability of any excursions, please contact our Travel Needs team on 0808 239 4755, or speak to your tour managers on board.
