Impairments and conditions

If you have a hearing impairment, you can notify us once you have booked your cruise by completing the on board needs questionnaire on My Cunard so that we can assist you with the support available.

Hearing loop

We are able to offer a hearing loop facility (which requires you to move your hearing aid to the correct position) at Southampton cruise terminals and at the purser’s office on board. In addition we also provide an ‘infra-red’ hearing support system within some of our theatres and on board venues - compatible headsets (Listen technologies) are available from the purser’s office on board.

• Queen Mary 2: Royal Court Theatre, Queens Room, Illuminations Theatre, Connexions 6
• Queen Elizabeth: Royal Court Theatre, Queens Room
• Queen Victoria:  Royal Court Theatre, Queens Room
• Queen Anne: Royal Court Theatre, Queens Room, The Pavilion, Bright Lights Society

Should you require the use of the hearing support system, please speak to the production staff at the venue who will be able to direct you to the best location in order to utilise the equipment correctly.

Visual alert systems

A limited number of wireless visual alert systems and textphones are available on board. The textphone system is subject to the availability of telephone lines on board. The textphone will also enable us to alert you to any important announcements concerning your voyage and in the event of an emergency. Please note, the visual alert system will reduce surface space in your stateroom.

To request a visual alert system please select the relevant question on the on board needs questionnaire on My Cunard.

For guests who use their own devices and software for translation or conversion of information, please contact accessibility@carnivalukgroup.com to discuss this prior to travel.

Subtitles

Our in-stateroom emergency video offers closed captioning. The televisions within the staterooms unfortunately don’t have closed captioning due to the way that the satellite signal is received.

Should you wish to watch a DVD in your stateroom, we can provide access to a DVD player and a DVD library which contains closed captioning, subject to availability. Please speak to the purser’s office on board for further information.

Theatre shows

We are able to provide a transcript of the songs during the theatre shows for deaf and hearing impaired guests. Please request this at reception or with a member of the production staff.

Shore Experiences

Providing that we are aware prior to sailing that you would like written commentary of an organised Shore Experience, we will work with the tour agent and endeavour to provide this for you. Please call our Customer Contact Centre as soon as possible to request this.

For your own safety and comfort, guests who are blind must be registered for one-to-one assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency as a minimum. This should be completed at the time of booking. In the unlikely event of an emergency, you will be given the required assistance and led by a crew member to your assembly station.

You can notify us of more specific requirements once you have booked your cruise by completing the on board needs questionnaire on My Cunard. This will help us to identify any extra services that may need to be considered, such as providing important information in an alternative format.

Large print and Braille

We are able to provide the following voyage information in large print:

• Safety and emergency drill information
• Daily programme (for guests that use a device that converts electronic documents, we can provide an electronic copy of the Daily Programme for you each day. Please enquire with the purser’s office to request this service).

The safety and emergency drill information is available in Braille. The majority of our ships offer Braille stateroom numbers, Braille lift buttons/audio call signs. Our crew will also be on hand to assist you with directions if required.

Orientation tours and navigating the ship

For guests who are partially sighted or blind, we strongly recommend that you travel with someone who can support you. Please note that our on board and Shore Experience staff are unable to provide long-term or sustained assistance to any guest.

If you are travelling with a sighted companion, we will be happy to give you a short orientation tour of the ship. This is completed as soon as possible after embarkation and will provide you with the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the location of key areas in relation to the position of your stateroom. To arrange this, please contact accessibility@carnivalukgroup.com prior to sailing.

From a health and safety point of view, we need to ensure that guests travelling without a sighted companion can safely manage on board and find their way independently to the main areas and locations around the ship. This is done via a mandatory orientation tour, which will be set up for you once you arrive on board. Once you’ve completed the orientation, you’ll be asked to demonstrate that you can safely navigate to the muster station from your stateroom and other key areas.

Please note that if you are unable to demonstrate that you can navigate the ship independently, we may not be able to safely accommodate you on board, in accordance with our Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requirements.

Audio books

We have a variety of audio books available from the libraries on board each Queen. All are available on CD.

Please note that the libraries do not have audio players, therefore you will need to bring your own.

We welcome passengers with intellectual, cognitive and developmental disabilities on board all of our ships.

Guests who require the assistance of a carer at home, or who require assistance with day to day living, including moving around the ship, must travel with a companion that can provide the same level of care as they receive at home.

Once you have booked your cruise, please complete the on board needs questionnaire on My Cunard to advise us of any cognitive disabilities and carer/companion details.

We understand that not all disabilities are visible and that autism, dementia, anxiety and a visual or hearing impairment may affect individuals differently. We need to be made aware of any such information in advance of your holiday for your own safety and enjoyment. These are just a few examples of non-visible disabilities; there are many others that you could have and should tell us about. It is your responsibility to highlight anything that may have an impact on your well-being, your behaviour and your enjoyment of your Cunard voyage.

Please note, your disability may mean that you would require assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency.

If you have non-visible disabilities and require assistance, please let us know by completing the on board needs questionnaire after booking, and requesting assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency at the time of booking. Wearing the green Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard indicates that you need additional support or just a little more time. The lanyards are not currently available on board, but all our staff have had training to understand what they mean.

We encourage all children to use our fantastic children's facilities on board. However, we do not provide one-to-one support or care. If your child requires this, then a parent or carer will need to be present at all times.

If your child has a disability or medical requirements and would like to take part in our activity programme, please speak with our youth teams when you are on board. We kindly ask that you provide as much information as possible to support our Youth team caring for your child when registering your child to use the children's clubs, which you can do via My Cunard at 15 days before departure. You will also need to complete the on board needs questionnaire (also on My Cunard) as soon as possible after booking.

If you use your own device and software for translating or converting information, please inform us via the on board needs questionnaire on My Cunard prior to sailing.

If we are informed in advance, we can provide a full and varied menu that caters to your needs if you have specific dietary requirements. If you are diabetic, or need a fat-free or gluten-free diet, please call our Customer Contact Centre to register your requirements.

If you have a specific food allergy or intolerance, you will need to call our Customer Contact Centre to inform us before you embark. We will endeavour to meet your requirements but are unable to guarantee specific branded items.

If you require kosher meals, please advise us at the time of booking or no later than 10 weeks prior to departure. We will send you a list of pre-prepared meals for you to choose from. Please select your choices and return this to us as soon as possible. Once on board, your selected meals will be available for you to choose from each day to enjoy. Please note, we do not have a separate kosher kitchen on board.

For babies, Hipp Organic baby food jars (Stage 1 and Stage 2 only) are available. If required, please request this at the time of booking.

Vegetarian and vegan diets are catered to as standard across our fleet in all restaurants. You only need to tell us about these specific requirements if you’ve booked a flight through Cunard that includes a meal, so we can ensure the airline caters to you.

Find out more about dietary requirements on board

Pregnant guests can travel with us, however, we cannot accept guests who will be more than 23 weeks pregnant (i.e. 23 weeks + 1 day or more) at any time during the cruise.

Please advise us that you are expecting a baby as soon as possible. You'll be required to send confirmation of your expected due date (EDD), certified by your doctor or midwife, confirming you are fit to travel.  We will then determine whether you are able to travel on your planned cruise; if you will be in the 24th week of your pregnancy at any point during the cruise you will be assisted to make an alternate holiday arrangement. Please be aware that if you are found to be in the 24th week of your pregnancy or later at embarkation, you will not be permitted to board and it will not be possible to support alternate holiday arrangements.

Please send your letter to medical@carnivalukgroup.com.

Cancellations

If your pregnancy lies outside the permitted timelines above, you may be able to cancel your booking at no additional charge, providing you were not aware that you were pregnant prior to booking. This would only apply to the pregnant guests' booking.

You will be required to supply written confirmation from your doctor or midwife of your estimated due date. This must be supplied on practice headed paper with a practice stamp.

This should be sent to our medical team who will place a note on the booking. If you made your booking through a travel agent, please contact them after sending the above to the following address: 

Medical Department
Carnival UK
Carnival House
100 Harbour Parade
Southampton
Hants
SO15 1ST

Or email: medical@carnivalukgroup.com.