A Grand time on the Royal Princess Grand Mediterranean Cruise – Aug 10 – 22, 2013

[IECalCruiser]

Thanks for the info on the water shuttle. Think we will use the people mover and vaporetto to get where we want to go for the time we are there on our B2B. We won't need to be going to St. Marks more than once so we will turn in the water shuttle tickets.

Edited September 7, 2013 by IECalCruiser

[sashas_mom]

I loved your review and must say, you are an excellent writer. I loved your word pictures and felt I was there with you enjoying the whole experience.

 

We have never used the shuttle from the ship into St Mark's Square before, but are seriously considering it in October. Your description of thoe wait time and how far it was from the ship nowconcerns me. I have limited mobility. Can someone else comment on this who has also recently been on the Royal? Did you have the same experience? It would be very helpful to know ahead of time.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write a wonderful review. Can't wait to be on the Royal in October.

Edited September 7, 2013 by sasha'smom

[homeinboca]

Thanks for the info on the water shuttle. Think we will use the people mover and vaporetto to get where we want to go for the time we are there on our B2B. We won't need to be going to St. Marks more than once so we will turn in the water shuttle tickets.

 

If we had to do it over again, we would have turned in our tickets as well, especially since we were there for a couple of days.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I loved your review and must say' date=' you are an excellent writer. I loved your word pictures and felt I was there with you enjoying the whole experience.

 

We have never used the shuttle from the ship into St Mark's Square before, but are seriously considering it in October. Your description of thoe wait time and how far it was from the ship nowconcerns me. I have limited mobility. Can someone else comment on this who has also recently been on the Royal? Did you have the same experience? It would be very helpful to know ahead of time.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write a wonderful review. Can't wait to be on the Royal in October.[/quote']

 

To get the Princess shuttle you must get off the ship, walk through a terminal building and then walk some more to get to the line for the shuttle. I seem to remember the surfaces being flat, perhaps only a few stairs. The shuttle dropped us off at a small dock that was maybe 100 yards or so from St. marks, but to get to St. Marks you had to walk up and down stairs to cross at least one bridge...there may have been two.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the info on the water shuttle. Think we will use the people mover and vaporetto to get where we want to go for the time we are there on our B2B. We won't need to be going to St. Marks more than once so we will turn in the water shuttle tickets.

 

I think that is a way better option for people without mobility issues etc.

So many more options to see other areas of Venice which are just awesome away from the crowded 'touristy' places - of course Venice itself is a tourist dream.

Can't wait to be back and I was just there a couple of months ago - tonight 4 weeks till we leave to meet you :)

[Julia’s Journey’s]

HomeinBoca, great review - you really made me want to get back to Istanbul and Greece although I have spent a lot of time on land trips in both years ago hubby has never been and I think it's time to get him there (good excuse for me:D:D)

[TorontoTL]

Thanks again for your wonderful detailed review. I like many, have really enjoyed it.

[yukongold]

Excellent review... you made the trip come alive.

[sashas_mom]

Thanks for the info on the water shuttle. Think we will use the people mover and vaporetto to get where we want to go for the time we are there on our B2B. We won't need to be going to St. Marks more than once so we will turn in the water shuttle tickets.

 

This sounds like what we should do as well. Don't need to see St. mark's again, been there 3 times. Just want something easy so we can see a little of Venice

again. So, since we also have never used the people mover can you spell out directions for me please if we wanted to get on a Vaperetto and just ride around the canal? Would there be a lot of walking to get to the people mover from the ship?

 

I just love Venice, but it's the most difficult place to visit when you have mobility issues.:eek:

[rpcv77]

Homeinboca,

Yours was one of the best reviews I have ever read. You thoroughly covered many things that I am interested in and did it very eloquently. My younger dd and I have long dreamed of a Mediterranean cruise and your itinerary sounded perfect. Saving my pennies...

[homeinboca]

I loved your review and must say' date=' you are an excellent writer. I loved your word pictures and felt I was there with you enjoying the whole experience.

 

We have never used the shuttle from the ship into St Mark's Square before, but are seriously considering it in October. Your description of thoe wait time and how far it was from the ship nowconcerns me. I have limited mobility. Can someone else comment on this who has also recently been on the Royal? Did you have the same experience? It would be very helpful to know ahead of time.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write a wonderful review. Can't wait to be on the Royal in October.[/quote']

 

Hi sashas'mom,

 

Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the review of our trip and my writing. I'm happy to share my experiences and help others in our CC community as they have helped me.

 

As far as the people mover, it's a bit of a hike from the ship to the station, probably 20 to 30 minutes or so depending on where the ship is berthed. DW also has some walking issues and we did it with luggage, but its flat and straight forward to get to. It's 1 EU for the tram and it takes you to Piazza Roma where you can catch the Vaporetto to anywhere in Venice. The #1 can be caught here and takes you along the Grand Canal with lots of stops.

[Cruise Junky]

As far as the people mover, it's a bit of a hike from the ship to the station, probably 20 to 30 minutes or so depending on where the ship is berthed.

 

I think it's going to be very dependent on which berth you get. On Ruby last year we were no more than 10 minutes from the people mover.

[homeinboca]

HomeinBoca, great review - you really made me want to get back to Istanbul and Greece although I have spent a lot of time on land trips in both years ago hubby has never been and I think it's time to get him there (good excuse for me:D:D)

 

Thanks Julia, I would love to go back to Istanbul one day, so much more to see and do there! It's really one of the worlds amazing cities. And of course Greece is so beautiful also. We want to go back to Santorini, it wasn't on this itinerary.

 

Ron

[sashas_mom]

Hi sashas'mom,

 

Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the review of our trip and my writing. I'm happy to share my experiences and help others in our CC community as they have helped me.

 

As far as the people mover, it's a bit of a hike from the ship to the station, probably 20 to 30 minutes or so depending on where the ship is berthed. DW also has some walking issues and we did it with luggage, but its flat and straight forward to get to. It's 1 EU for the tram and it takes you to Piazza Roma where you can catch the Vaporetto to anywhere in Venice. The #1 can be caught here and takes you along the Grand Canal with lots of stops.

 

Did you happen to notice if anyone with a mobility scooter was able to get on the people mover or a Vaporetto. I'm afraid that long of a walk would do me in. What a bummer! We didn't even go into Venice in 2011 because of my limitations and I regretted it. Might have to stay on the ship again if I can't figure it out.

 

Thanks again

[homeinboca]

Thanks again for your wonderful detailed review. I like many, have really enjoyed it.

 

Excellent review... you made the trip come alive.

 

Thanks so much for your positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed!

[homeinboca]

Did you happen to notice if anyone with a mobility scooter was able to get on the people mover or a Vaporetto. I'm afraid that long of a walk would do me in. What a bummer! We didn't even go into Venice in 2011 because of my limitations and I regretted it. Might have to stay on the ship again if I can't figure it out.

 

Thanks again

 

Yes, I did see people with scooters get on Vaporettos, they have made provisons for this. I also saw someone at the top of the Acropolis on a scooter! How he got up there, I'm not sure, I think there's an elevator somewhere.

[homeinboca]

Homeinboca,

Yours was one of the best reviews I have ever read. You thoroughly covered many things that I am interested in and did it very eloquently. My younger dd and I have long dreamed of a Mediterranean cruise and your itinerary sounded perfect. Saving my pennies...

 

Wow, thank you so much. I'm flattered. I am glad you enjoyed. Keep saving, it's worth it!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Did you happen to notice if anyone with a mobility scooter was able to get on the people mover or a Vaporetto. I'm afraid that long of a walk would do me in. What a bummer! We didn't even go into Venice in 2011 because of my limitations and I regretted it. Might have to stay on the ship again if I can't figure it out.

 

Thanks again

 

We rode the vaporettos all around Venice (we stayed two additional nights and bought a pass) incuding Murano and Burano and I do not remember seeing any mobility devices on the boats at all.

 

Had you considered a ships tour? They might be safer and a better bet for people who can assist you.

Edited September 8, 2013 by sunsetbeachgal

[sashas_mom]

Thank you all. Decided to see what else I could find out and found the disability section of CC and as always found very valuable info. Looks like we'll get off the ship after all. Seems like Venice is improving with new features for the disabled. That's wonderful because it's a gorgeous place to visit.

 

As I always say, gotta love Cruise Critic.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Hi sashas'mom,

 

Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the review of our trip and my writing. I'm happy to share my experiences and help others in our CC community as they have helped me.

 

As far as the people mover, it's a bit of a hike from the ship to the station, probably 20 to 30 minutes or so depending on where the ship is berthed. DW also has some walking issues and we did it with luggage, but its flat and straight forward to get to. It's 1 EU for the tram and it takes you to Piazza Roma where you can catch the Vaporetto to anywhere in Venice. The #1 can be caught here and takes you along the Grand Canal with lots of stops.

 

Eileen, if we are at a berth that distance from the people mover, another option would be to take a cab from the ship to P.Roma and then the Vaporetto from there around the canal.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks Julia, I would love to go back to Istanbul one day, so much more to see and do there! It's really one of the worlds amazing cities. And of course Greece is so beautiful also. We want to go back to Santorini, it wasn't on this itinerary.

 

Ron

 

There are great cities in both those countries besides the large well known cities, I spent 3 weeks in Turkey and loved it, this was years ago and safety wasn't as much of an issue as now. The Greek Islands are stunning and when I was there in the 80's and early 90's I fell in love with them and they weren't as popular destinations as they are now:D

You made all these places come alive for me me once again.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Did you happen to notice if anyone with a mobility scooter was able to get on the people mover or a Vaporetto. I'm afraid that long of a walk would do me in. What a bummer! We didn't even go into Venice in 2011 because of my limitations and I regretted it. Might have to stay on the ship again if I can't figure it out.

 

Thanks again

 

I know the people mover had an elevator to go up and down.

I'm not sure on a scooter but would imagine it would be easier to get around in a regular wheelchair where you could go over the bridges - some have ramps on the side but doubt a scooter would be easy.

 

After typing all that I did a search:D

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187870-i57-k6764706-Mobility_scooter-Venice_Veneto.html

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thank you all. Decided to see what else I could find out and found the disability section of CC and as always found very valuable info. Looks like we'll get off the ship after all. Seems like Venice is improving with new features for the disabled. That's wonderful because it's a gorgeous place to visit.

 

As I always say' date=' gotta love Cruise Critic.[/quote']

 

 

Glad you found info and you get to enjoy Venice this trip - it is an awesome place.

[AliceS]

Thanks so much for your positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed!

 

 

Just read your review and really enjoyed it. You have me really looking forward to time on the Royal this year and the Regal next. Istanbul and Ephaseus were on the top of my list for a return visit. I appreciate knowing the tour companies that worked for you.

 

Thank you so much. Alice

[sashas_mom]

Eileen, if we are at a berth that distance from the people mover, another option would be to take a cab from the ship to P.Roma and then the Vaporetto from there around the canal.

 

 

Thanks, Julia. Had no idea i could get a cab to P Roma. Do they generally line up at the dock? That sounds the easiest of all.