As a wheel chair user I found the staff ignorant of my needs, there seemed to have been no training re mobility passengers. From getting into arrivals at Venice to departures at Venice 10 days later it was a shambles. We had to wait 45 minutes at Venice for special transport to the ship as the coach couldn't accommodate a wheel chair. When it finally arrived we were taken to the ship and left without any help whatsoever. We had four cases and a ramp to get up, and they were expecting my 66 year wife to carry them and push me up a steep ramp. We asked a RC staff if he could get us some assistance ( which we had booked with our travel agent) just to be told that all the staff were busy. Eventually after a lot complaining he pushed me up himself. I won't go on too much as it will take too long, but any wheelchair passengers thinking of booking a cruise on this be warned. If the ports of call are by a tender, you won't be able to get off, even the untrained staff wasn't aware of this until we got to the top of about 12 steps. Oh dear they said 'you will have to stay on board'. I told my wife that she should go ashore and not miss seeing santorini, she was very upset as she didn't want to leave me. When she had left the ship I was told I would have to make my own way back to cabin as all the staff were busy. Not only am I in constant pain with spinal problems but I also have rheumatoid arthritis which makes it difficult to push the chair especially on carpets. I decided to go to reception on my way back to tell them about what had happened, the girl didn't seem very interested but said she would send someone down to the cabin to see me. I waited, but no one came.

As we have previously cruised with p&o who seemed to take a different attitude with mobility passengers, our experience with RC left a lot to be desired. We couldn't book any of the shuttle buses because I would have had to climb around 4 steps to get on one. In the self service restaurant I couldn't see the food as I was too low down, my wife had to tell me what there was to eat, get it for me, take me back to a table, go and get drinks, take them back to the table. Go and get her own food which by this time I had nearly finished mine. On p&o this wouldn't have happened as a member of the crew would have taken over from my wife as soon as we entered the restaurant.

We found this lack of courtesy throughout the cruise, we don't expect special treatment but a bit of understanding would go a long way. When the cruise had ended and we were taken to the airport, we were just left outside, no idea where to go, asked a member of staff for wheelchair assistance. It took my wife over half an hour before she could locate anyone. So beware if you are a wheelchair user and can't climb steps, forget about going ashore if the boat has to use a tender. So disappointing, missed santorini and montellegro. I could go on and on, but think I have covered the basics