What should I do if a guest needs assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency? – Travel agents only
We always operate within International Maritime Law and must ensure we follow regulations for on-board needs requirements declared in advance. To ensure that we can meet any specific requirements for our guests, they must inform us of any on-board needs or risk being denied boarding at the cruise terminal.
If your customer did not make us aware at the point of booking that they required assistance, then you need to contact us to confirm their requirements. These requirements will then be added to their booking. However, this is subject to availability. Please complete our Partnership Helpdesk Webform and we'll come back to you as soon as possible. For bookings departing within the next six months, please call the Partnership Helpdesk for urgent support.
Supporting documents
We have a range of how-to-guides on Shine Rewards Club. Please click here.
What do I need to do?
- If you’re booking a cruise, amending a cabin or adding/amending guests, you must ensure to ask “In the event of an emergency, would anyone on the booking need any assistance? For example, in an emergency, the lifts will not be in operation. Would you require an evacuation chair, assistance walking down any stairs, or have any non-visible disabilities which would lead to needing assistance during an emergency?”. It’s best placed to ask at the beginning of a new booking call to ensure you address any accessibility requirements and to check emergency resource availability.
- If the guest would require assistance, please add the relevant level of support to Polar Online's "package list" option. However, it’s not possible to add this resource to existing bookings. If this step is missed or needs to be added post-booking, please complete our Partnership Helpdesk Webform and we'll come back to you as soon as possible. For bookings sailing within the next six months, you should call the Partnership Helpdesk for urgent support.
- Any guest who is a wheelchair or mobility scooter user must be allocated an evacuation chair in the event of an emergency and those guests using mobility aids or are blind or deaf are strongly recommended to have a minimum of one-to-one assistance.
- If the guest has mobility or accessibility requirements, they must complete their "Your on-board needs" questionnaire via My P&O Cruises as soon as possible. You can send them a reminder to do this by following this process guide.
How do I know which level of support is required?
- An evacuation chair is needed if guests would be unable to use the stairs due to mobility or other circumstances. For anyone bringing a wheelchair or mobility scooter, this is a mandatory requirement.
- One-to-one assistance is a mandatory requirement if the guest would require someone to guide and steady them on the stairs in the event of an emergency, due to mobility or other circumstances. Crew will still need to be allocated to support guests even if their travelling companion could do this, to follow safety regulations. We recommend that guests who are blind, experience heightened anxiety or have a non-visible disability have, as a minimum, one-to-one assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency. For anyone bringing a mobility aid, like a walking stick or walker, this is recommended only.