Leah M كتب تعليقًا في فبراير 2023

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Wheelchair Review of Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp accessibility

I recently travelled on the northbound Hurtigruten (MS NORDKAPP) from Bergen to Kirkenes as a part time wheelchair user, I wanted to write up a review as I know I found it difficult to get good information when I booking so hopefully this will help others.

Firstly, hurtigruten advise passengers travel with a foldable wheelchair, please don't be put of by this, I travelled with a Whill c2 power chair and it was fine. I think the foldable guidance is if you are booking their flights (which we didn't do) if you're not sure, just call them they're really helpful in the office.

We flew from London to Bergen, and found the Light Rail from Bergen airport to the centre of city to be really accessible, it's step free and tickets can be bought via the skyss billet app. We departed from Bergen Hurtigruten Terminal. Which is about 15 min walk/roll from where we were staying (near the tourist information centre) and is flat and paved all the way with dropped curbs. If you have luggage, a taxi would only take 5mins. Other Large parts of bergen are cobbled though so bear that in mind.

The hurtigruten terminal is completely step free and there was a bridge onto the ship which takes you onto deck 5. The hurtigruten lounge was open from 2pm and serves free food and drink while you wait to embark.

They will check your luggage in and have it delivered to you cabin.

MS NORDKAPP has 3 accessible cabins, located on deck 3. We stayed in cabin 333, which is a twin. One bed is able to rise and lower and be positioned to sit you up. The bed also has rails which can be lowered if not needed.

The cabin doors open with an automatic door opener and closer using your room key, and the door and corridor outside are both wide. The cabin itself has plenty of turning space for wheelchairs however the bathroom is a bit trickier, the bathroom door is very heavy and does not open automatically, it also has a door closer on the top so it will slam shut. I managed but it was difficult. The bathroom is lovely though and had two shower seats and grab rails. Slightly annoying thing though was that the shower gels/shampoo and handwashes aren't at an accessible height.

There were 3 emergency cords, 2 in the bathroom, one in the bedroom and 2 power sockets (I brought an extension lead so we could charge devices as well as powerchair).

Getting around the ship overall was great. There are lifts to all floors, and accessible toilets located on deck 4 near the restaurant and deck 7 next to the multi bakery. I'd just point out that the toilet on deck 7 has much less turning space and again, things are too high (the basin and hand-wash were a struggle).

All the doors to the outdoor decks have buttons to automatically open them, and there are ramps. Some of the thresholds aren't completely flat, I.e there is about an inch/inch and a half to clear with some doors)

You can access outside via 2 decks; deck 5 which goes around the entire ship, it is a bit narrow in parts but this was only a problem when we all crowded to the deck to see the aurora! When the aurora happens, everyone will rush out and it's a bit of a bunfight for spots but I didn't let that stop me. I'd advise you take a selfie stick to allow you to take photos above the railings (just hold on tight to it as the wind nearly took mine into the sea!).

You can also access the outside on deck 7 which has two heated/covered areas.

Deck 6 has the hottubs but these unfortunately are not accessible, both have steps up to them but they do at least have hand rails. The sauna is on deck two but we didn't get a chance to go.

The dinning area is all step free and the staff will move chairs for you if necessary. The only issue I had was that both breakfast and lunch are buffet style and I wasn't able to reach anything myself. This meant having to rely on others to help every day. The same is true of some of the coffee machines. Dinner on the first night is normally buffet, and then each evening after will be a set menu (dinner is easier as you are served at your table). You are allocated a table for dinner which will be yours all week. you are also allocated at timeslot for dinner for the duration of your voyage. You can change your table and time, just speak to the restaurant staff at the entrance on your first day.

Excursions weren't really possible for me in February as I just wasn't sure what the surface would be like at each place, but if you do want to try and do anything, speak to the onboard expedition staff, they're great and will find out what is possible for you.

Presentations are held in the conference rooms on the 4th floor, and are also shown on the TV in your room (great for when the ship has some bumpy waves and you just want to watch it in bed)

We disembarked at kirkenes, if you speak to the expedition crew they can contact the bus company to inform them of wheelchair requirement. You can exit the ship via the cardeck which has a ramp/lift down. The coach's park about 150m away, it was compacted snow/ice when we were there and my powerchair managed it OK. The bus has a lift so you don't have to get out of your wheelchair, and it has safety straps to secure the chair. The bus takes about 20mins and was £13.

Overall I'd say the access is good but there are definitely small things that hurtigruten could easily change quite easily (height of hand-wash and shower gel would be a low cost quick change that would really help).

This review isn't really about the other aspects of the ship as I wanted to focus on accessibility but happy to answer any questions I can on access or anything else!

طالع المزيد

تاريخ الإبحار: فبراير 2023

نوع المقصورة: Outside

نوع الرحلة: Friends

الوجهة: Europe

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