Can I take my own mattress or furniture on board, including profiling beds?
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) provides the regulatory framework for the safe carriage of all guests and crew on board our ships. All furniture holds the appropriate IMO Fire Rating Certificate as required of ships at sea.
Therefore for safety reasons, guests are not permitted to bring any of their own items of furniture on board unless it has the approved IMO certificate. Examples of furniture would include, arm chairs, mattress and mattress toppers. The ‘’Your on-board needs" questionnaire can be used to notify us if you intend to bring furniture with IMO certification onboard.
Guests are welcome to bring an airflow mattress on board, alternatively our recommended supplier Mobility at Sea offer a variety of compliant mobility equipment available for hire. Guests are advised any extension lead for their essential medical equipment is long enough to reach the required areas. Electrical Officers onboard may test all personal medical equipment and extension leads on board prior to sailing.
Surge protected extension leads are not accepted in any circumstances as they interfere with the ship's electrical distribution. Please also see "What type of plug sockets / voltage are used on board and where are they located?" and contact the supplier of the electrical equipment if you have questions as to the compatibility
Please note, Mobility at Sea can only provide equipment on Southampton to Southampton sailings. We do not have a recommended supplier in other countries, but guests can independently hire & bring this on board provided that the equipment meets our size / safety requirements. Unfortunately, representatives from a hire company that is not Mobility at Sea will not be permitted to board the ship.
Hospital/profiling beds
We are unable to supply hospital style beds and guests wishing to bring/hire their own bed/mattress must ensure its meets the applicable IMO fire safety regulations.
Subject to the ships storage facilities compliant bed/mattresses can be hired through our recommended supplier Mobility at Sea. Please contact them prior to booking to check availability.
Please note our ships can take a maximum of two profiling beds.
Additional Information
- You must ensure to ask every guest “In the unlikely event of an emergency, would anyone on the booking need assistance?”. If they would require assistance, please add the relevant level of support to Polar Online using the "package list" option. If a guest is bringing a mobility scooter or wheelchair on board, you must add evacuation chair assistance for them. 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 the 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.
- If the guest has mobility or accessibility requirements, they must complete their "Your on-board needs" questionnaire via My Cruise as soon as possible. You can send them a reminder to do this by following this process guide.
- We have a range of how-to-guides on Shine Rewards Club. Please click here for Cunard and here for P&O Cruises.