A mother and daughter’s longed-awaited cruise aboard a P&O Cruises ship never left the port – all because of a travel agency oversight.
Ruby Poole, 87, and her daughter, Wendy Tucker, 63, arrived in Southampton, England, on May 24, 2025, for a 7-night cruise around the Norwegian Fjords aboard P&O Britannia.
The dream trip was meant to take the women to Haugesund, Skjolden, Lustrafjorden, Sognefjord, Stavanger, and Kristiansand, Norway, with two sea days before returning to Southampton on May 30.
According to Poole, who told her local newspaper, the Hereford Times, the cruise had been a lifelong dream. She had never traveled by ship and uses a wheelchair following a stroke 11 years ago.
But when mother and daughter arrived at the terminal, they were told they could not board. The issue? Their tickets did not include the required assisted boarding designation, and the ship did not have enough safety chairs onboard to accommodate Poole.
Safety chairs are specialized chairs that ships keep on board to transport people with mobility issues down stairs during emergencies.
“We went to Southampton in a taxi, we were excited, our cases were taken and put on the ship, and we were taken to board, and a man said to us, ‘We are very sorry, but you can’t come onboard as we have not got enough safety chairs,’” Tucker told the Hereford Times.
She said her mom was “in the terminal, sobbing her heart out.”
Tucker said the cruise had been arranged through a travel agency in Basingstoke, England, and that the staff there assured them that assisted boarding and an accessible cabin had been arranged.
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However, it turned out the proper designation was not selected in the booking system, and their tickets did not reflect their accessibility needs.
The pair received a refund for the £2,400 trip but were left without the vacation and called the ordeal “devastating.”
The travel agency, Hays Travel, admitted the error and issued a statement to the newspaper.
“We always acknowledge when something has gone wrong and will adapt our colleagues’ training if required,” it read. “In this instance, our customer did not receive the level of service that they should expect from Hays Travel, for which we are sorry.”
The agency offered Tucker and Poole £100 compensation, which Tucker called “disgusting.”
“They didn’t press the right button to say that my mum was in a wheelchair,” she said in frustration.
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A spokesperson for P&O Cruises also issued a statement, expressing regret that the guests were unable to sail.
“We’re very sorry Wendy and her mother weren’t able to go on their holiday, but I’m glad to hear our port team handled the situation well and that they’ve now received a refund,” the cruise line told local media.
Tucker and her mother are now warning others to carefully check travel documents and not rely solely on verbal assurances when booking through travel agents.
“It was our first time booking a cruise,” Tucker said. “So, we didn’t know what to check.”
Navigating Wheelchair Needs on a Cruise
Passengers who use wheelchairs or mobility scooters must be careful when booking and boarding a cruise. Cruise lines like P&O Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation’s other cruise lines, have strict policies to ensure safety.
For example, Carnival Cruise Line requires that scooters fit through cabin doorways – 22 inches for standard rooms and up to 32 inches for accessible cabins. Oversized equipment may result in denied boarding.
Guests with powered mobility devices must be booked into fully accessible cabins to ensure proper storage and access.
Accessible cabins are limited aboard ships and are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, so early booking is important. These cabins offer roll-in showers and maneuverable space.
Onboard, public areas are generally wheelchair-friendly with wide gangways, accessible seating areas, and elevators.
