A smorgasbord of unrelated river cruising questions

[ellasabe]

@RobinMN, the more I read and see with the AMAMagna, the more I realize what a great design that ship has. 

[pontac]

2 minutes ago, ellasabe said:

However, international, cross-border businesses and goods must adhere to the same codes

 

Which codes? Cannot abide by every code of every country visited. I'd have though with a boat it's the code of the country they're registered with. Perhaps the country they operate in, e.g. Scenic sell their cruises in Australia, UK and US. 

[RobInMN]

20 minutes ago, ellasabe said:

@RobinMN, the more I read and see with the AMAMagna, the more I realize what a great design that ship has. 

It really is an amazing ship. I almost hate to recommend it to someone as a first river cruise ship, because when you take subsequent cruises, it will be difficult for the ship to measure up 🙂 

AmaMagna does do a Christmas Market cruise. 😉 

[Daisi]

I find Europe not very handicap accessible - especially in the older parts of towns where you go as a tourist. Cobblestone streets can get slippery (especially in winter), and access to toilet facilities is usually in the basement of the restaurant. 

 

As to going through locks, the only time I've been woken up by that is when I woke up realising the ship wasn't moving. You hear engine noise sometimes when you are going against a strong current, so it was the quiet that probably woke me up. It didn't bother me where I couldn't sleep.

 

Here are photos from Avalon's ships of the stars to the sun deck, and also the ramp. Sometimes the ramps are more a wire type handrail, rather than what is in the photo I took, but this shows the angle better.  You can see the handrails for both the 110m size (the Imagery II), and the Envision (borrowed from Avalon's virtual tour, hence the circles and blurred out bit).

Edited May 29 by Daisi

[1of4]

@DASI photos are indicative of the first set of stairs on Scenic boats with the exception of the railings which are attached to the stairs themselves, not the boat infrastructure. This made me let go of the railing to get down the last step, which is why I fell. I now have 4 broken bones. My 2 fingers on my left hand and my ankle plus a bone on the side of my left foot. I have 9 sets of physiotherapy exercises to do each day trying to recover mobility and I will be in an air boot until at least July 2 when I go back to the fracture clinic next. 
 

I have attached pictures from different Scenic boats as my accident happened on day 2, I didn’t get any photos from the sun deck on the Jade. 
 

I have not encountered steps as steep as those with the aqua arrows. That said, the stairs are steep from the lobby deck up to the lower sun deck and less steep from the lower sun deck to the upper. I fell on the steps from the upper sun deck to the lower but these stairs were covered in wet astro turf. 

[1of4]

Here is the ramp of a Gate One River boat on Day 1 as we passed to reach our boat, which wasn’t bad. Upon return to Amsterdam a set to two aluminum steps had to be used for the ramp wasn’t long enough to reach the dock without the steps. The ramp was steep. These aluminum steps had no railing. On the Seine river, the closer we got to Honfleur, the more the boat was affected by tides. So we may have been able to walk off the sun deck in the morning but may have a very steep ramp to reach the middle deck upon our return. 

Edited May 29 by 1of4

[CastleCritic]

Well to sell and both unsell AMAMagna in the same post....

 

It is the one ship where the elevator does reach all the areas.  The other  AMA ships the elevator either exits to the 1st floor rooms or the 1st floor restaurant, not both.   (but again this only applies if you have a first floor room, one of the non-balcony ones, though on the other ships there are "a few" steps still involved in a lot of cases to get to your room from the elevator like...3...

 

HOWEVER the sun deck opening for it is gone, or at least when I tried to pace it out it was under the squash ball court pavement.

 

As for the stairs, on Ama they are usually wood and they can get slick.  You may embark and disembark from any deck, including the sun deck (which yes means you have to get up those steps)

 

sometimes thats level with the ship and dock (but then you can see the ramp from the dock to shore)

 

 

sometimes its not, this is dismbarking from one deck higher to an old barge that is now the dock at that port in Serbia 

 

Edited May 29 by CastleCritic

[PoppyVelvet]

On 5/29/2024 at 9:38 AM, ellasabe said:

 

Unfortunately no matter how or where we travel, I am constantly vigilant. Making sure my husband doesn't get caught in elevator doors (his reflexes are slow), can climb out of a car or van and doesn't bang his head or slither to the ground, pushing in chairs and suitcases and any other object that might leap into his path. Reminding him to 'step up' every time he has to go into the bathroom on the cruise ship. Helping him navigate turnstiles. Lifting his suitcases - he has strength, but the force of lifting can make him topple over. 

 

It can be challenging at times.  

My father had Parkinson’s and this brings back memories. It is also similar to how I have to help my husband. He has low vision in one eye and none in the other so he doesn’t see in 3D. I have to tell him about cobblestones or low or high gutters (“big step” or “litt.le step”). In New York I have to constantly warn him about the fire hydrants that stick out of buildings at knee height. When we get to a new hotel or cabin I have to warn him if there is hard to see glass shower screens in the bathroom and of any steps up or down. One hotel we stayed at had the bed on a platform not much bigger than the bed and he was stubbing his toes or falling off it constantly. Our last three week stay in New York the room we were assigned had a huge step up into the bathroom. I got us moved to a different room to avoid the problems it would have caused. 

[pontac]

Dear @ellasabe

 

I have been pondering your post and have two further thoughts:-

 

1) I wondered why your neighbours were so negative and thought that maybe they were trying to put you off booking a river cruise because they know your husbands capabilities and thought he wasn't up-to-it.

 

2) You are considering a Christmas Markets cruise. By definition this will take place in winter and it will be dark a lot of the time. You guide your husband over kerbs and warn of obstructions, but these can be hard to see in the dark. Plus it will likely be raining some of the time with the possibility of sleet and snow which are not good conditions, especially in the dark,  for those with poor mobility.

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, pontac said:

Dear @ellasabe

 

I have been pondering your post and have two further thoughts:-

 

1) I wondered why your neighbours were so negative and thought that maybe they were trying to put you off booking a river cruise because they know your husbands capabilities and thought he wasn't up-to-it.

 

2) You are considering a Christmas Markets cruise. By definition this will take place in winter and it will be dark a lot of the time. You guide your husband over kerbs and warn of obstructions, but these can be hard to see in the dark. Plus it will likely be raining some of the time with the possibility of sleet and snow which are not good conditions, especially in the dark,  for those with poor mobility.

 

 

All very good points.