British Isles Cruise

[Misouri Lady]

Am booked on a cruise around England, Ireland, Scotland. Princess Lines. Husband uses wheelchair on land, travel scooter on ship. Appreciate any info/advise on handicap acccessability, esp. on land portion. Has anyone done this lately?

[kitty9]

It might be a lot easier for your husband to use his scooter on shore also. Europe is notorious for being terribly inaccessible and with all the cobblestone walks a scooter is so much easier than a manual wheelchair.

 

I did a cruise last summer to the exact places you're visiting and was quite surprised by how inaccessible many things on land were. A lot of the places don't even have cut out curbs which made it difficult for me. Dublin was fine as was Edinburgh, but once you got out of the cities, walking was really uneven and pushing a wheelchair would be very difficult. There were a number of passengers on my cruise that had scooters, and they just merrily rolled along on all the tours.

[cricket_h]

Hi Kitty, I'm Misouri Lady's daughter. We travel as a family, but have never done Europe.

 

You're information was intriguing. We've heard that when tenders are involved, that wheelchairs are often easier to handle than scooters. Do you know if this is accurate?

 

Which tours on this itinerary do you recommend for someone using a wheelchair or scooter?

 

We had given some thought to hiring a driver and doing some private touring -- have you tried this, and if so, do you have any suggestions?

 

Thanks so much,

Cricket

[kitty9]

Hi Cricket,

 

Because of my disability and because I feel strange when I hold my fellow tour participants back, I generally do hire private cars and guides when I cruise in Europe.

 

I don't think that many, if any of your stops will be tender ports. Please write and tell me exactly which ports you're visiting and I can give you some good ideas for tours. On my cruise in July 03, we stopped in Oslo, Gerringer in Norway, Copenhagen, Lerwick Shetland Islands, Dublin, Glasgow and London. All those ports were docking and we had no tenders. Let me know which cities you're visiting and I can give you some ideas.

 

You're correct about the manual chair for tenders, but from my experience (37 cruises with quite a few in Europe), cruise ships will assist with scooters. If it's rough seas when tendering, they generally don't advise anyone in wheelchairs to board the tenders. My point about the scooters is mainly because with the rough surfaces in most European cities, scooters are easier to navigate. But, another point against a scooter is that you will find many places where the curbs aren't cut out and a manual chair is better.

 

Let me know your itinerary and I can give you a few ideas about tours.

[cricket_h]

Darcie -- we will be on the Golden Princess, on a 10 day "British Isles" itinerary. The cruise begins and ends in London (Southampton), and has stops in Dublin, Holyhead, Wales; Belfast, Glasgow (Greenock), Kirkwall (Orkney Islands), Edinburgh (South Queensferry).

 

My father's heritage is Irish, and he is very much looking forward to doing some sightseeing in Ireland. Princess has advised us the tenders will be required at Holyhead, Kirkwall and S. Queensferry, for sure. My guess is that as these ships get bigger, that tendering is becoming more necessary until the ports are able to make the necessary changes to accommodate them.

 

You're point about the cobblestone streets was very interesting -- we really hadn't thought about that -- a scooter would be a real benefit there. But as you say, dealing with the lack of curb cutouts is easier with a manual wheelchair (and a strong person behind the chair!!).

 

We really appreciate any insight you can offer -- your experience is valuable. :-)

 

Thanks,

Cricket

[slkmcs]

Cricket and Misouri Lady,

 

DH and I are taking the same cruise 5/22/05 sailing. Are you on that cruise or one of the later sailings? One "S" in Missouri??? :cool:

[kitty9]

cricket, in Dublin I had the most wonderful car and driver who took great pains to get me close to everything I wanted to see in the area. He had some kind of "in" with the guards at Trinity College because he was able to get through some usually closed streets to get me right to the door where you could access an elevator to the Book of Kells and the Trinity Library. That's a stop not to be missed. Once inside the building, the employees were wonderful in assisting me with using their elevator which is not usually open to the public. He then drove me to Guinness and a short tour of the brewery. Next was a lovely stop at St. Stephen's Cathedral. It's one of the most interesting churches and one that can take a long time to visit. If you stop there, make sure you look up at all the flags hanging from the ceiling. I thought they were just tattered, old flags, but they are actual flags carried by Irish regiments in various wars. Some of them are over 100 years old. I then took a walk through St. Stephen's Green, a beautiful park in the center of Dublin. We had some time left over and he then drove me though various neighborhoods and explained the history of the buildings. He was one of the best drivers I've ever had for a private tour.

 

In Glasgow I had a private car take me through the city and then to museums. He then took me to a place in the center of town to do some shopping.

 

I've not gone to any other of your ports, so I'm sorry I can't be of more help there.

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[cricket_h]

To slkmcs: sorry, we aren't on your sailing -- we're going to be on the 8/10/05 sailing. As to the missing "s" in Missouri.....that's an unfortunate typo! :-) Thanks for asking.

 

Cricket

[cricket_h]

Darcie -- thanks so much for all the great information. I'll make sure that your suggestions get passed on to my parents. Do you remember (or feel comfortable sharing) the name of your guide in Dublin? He sounds like someone we should look up!

 

Thanks again,

Cricket

[kitty9]

cricket, I have used the same company for my shore excursions all through Europe. They even had an office in St. Petersburg Russia and they were wonderful. The name of the company is Auto Europe---they are a private car service and I ask for the chauffered auto service. Their number is 800-223-5555.

 

I hope this helps. :D