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Disabled Access P&O Ferries Dover

England, to Calais, France

By
Michael Coatesworth

For a short while I had a little time to myself, so I decided that as I had never been to France, I would go while I had the chance.

Choosing Calais as my destination, I found that I would need to catch a ferry from Dover in the south of England. On the 22nd March 2004, I telephoned the P&O Ferries and spoke to a very polite lady, and I explained that I was a full time wheelchair user, and I asked if there would be any problems with me in my wheelchair sailing on the ferry?

She immediately replied and informed me that there should not be a problem as many wheelchair users are taken on board. She requested that I should give her at least 24 hours notice to book a passage, and make suitable arrangements to ensure my comfort.

I thanked her for her politeness and information.

Now being of an impulsive nature, I decided to see what would happen if I just turned up at the ferry terminal unannounced and tried to board the ferry just like any other foot passenger.

So on the 23rd March 2004, after packing an overnight bag, my son-in-law, Neal, and my daughter (carer,) Lesley headed for Dover.

We arrived at Dover and approached the P&O ferry ticket office, and I explained my situation.

It was confirmed by the receptionist that there would not be a problem, and that a bus with a ramp would be laid on to take me and my carers onto the ferry

I bought the tickets, and within minutes of the time given by the ticket office, we were picked up and as informed, we were taken aboard the ferry. We got off exactly outside a lift (elevator) and we had easy access, no problem at all. We arrived at our deck and I was surprised at the spaciousness of it all. I had no problems at all in my wheelchair. I explored the ferry and found that there was a “disabled toilet” on each deck. I went into the lounge, the bar, the restaurant, the café, and the duty free shop. Everywhere I went, there was wheelchair access, no problem at all, I even went out onto the deck and had a great view, and all the staff were very friendly.

We arrived at Calais and the crossing had taken approximately one-and-a-half hours, we were courteously escorted to the bus on the transport deck and transferred to the main area where we were able to catch a taxi into the town centre.

I intend to try the ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge in two weeks time in April, and I will write another disable access report and check if the ferry here is as good as the one in Dover, so come back again later and read my disabled access guide from Hull to Zeebrugge towards the end of April.

My Rating for P&O Ferries Dover to Calais

Independent wheelchair access: 10/10

Assisted wheelchair access: 10/10

Customer service: 10/10

Hospitality: 10/10

Overall for able bodied guests and wheelchair users: 10/10

Mike Coatesworth

Visit my other disability access pages

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/disaccess2.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~mikeco158/disabacc.htm

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