By
Rebecca Gibson |
Costa Cruises has joined with the Costa Crociere Foundation and the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Association (AISM) to become the first cruise line in the world to create group shore excursions that are accessible to all passengers, including those with impaired mobility.
Verified by AISM as meeting international best practices for accessibility, the new Adagio Tours will be available at every port of call on Costa Diadema’s Mediterranean itineraries from 1 January 2019. The list of tours currently includes visits to the cities of Genoa, Palermo and Cagliari, Italy; Marseilles, France; and Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Passengers with impaired mobility will not need to pay any additional costs.
"With the cooperation of AISM and the contribution of our foundation, we have tackled the subject of accessible tourism in a responsible way, with the aim of making significant changes to people's lives,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. “This project, which is a real innovation in the world of cruises, is an important step forward towards including people with disabilities and ensuring that there are no more differences and that everyone can share the same experiences when on vacation. I hope our initiative can be extended to the whole sector in future. We certainly undertake to extend it to the other ships in our fleet.”
Each of the tours has been designed to enable guests to explore destinations at a slower pace, making them suitable for people with permanent or temporary mobilities impairments, elderly guests and parents with pushchairs. They were devised with the help of 15 women with multiple sclerosis who attended a 160-hour training course onboard Costa ships and onshore as part of AISM’s ‘WAT! Women Accessibility Tourism’ programme. The women then tested the tours according to several criteria: accessibility, route mapping, tourism experiences and opportunities to make the most of local attractions.
"Our aim of achieving a world free of multiple sclerosis also means ensuring full inclusion and the opportunity for everyone to live their life beyond multiple sclerosis,” said Mario Alberto Battaglia, president of AISM. “This is why the priorities in our Agenda for 2020 include access to stable employment and the right to inclusion, which also means accessible tourism.”
The Adagio Tours supplement Costa’s other services for guests with disabilities. They include priority boarding and landing services; guaranteed reserved seats in the theatre, buffet and pool decks; cabins with necessary equipment and no architectural barriers; and free travel for any passengers who need a carer to stay in their cabin.