Cruising from Venice with walking difficulties

I've started to write long day by day reviews of our cruises with particular reference to how easy it is to get around with walking difficulties.

So here comes number 3 which is our cruise on NCL Jade from Venice around Greek islands and Adriatic Turkey and Greece. Back to back cruises with pre and post cruise stay in Venice. This will take a while and there are no photos so be warned!!

A bit about us. We have been married 28 years and about 7 years ago hubby was hit out of the blue with a particularly aggressive form of inflammatory arthritis which by the time was correctly diagnosed and appropriate treatment initiated had badly damaged most joints in his body.

You may remember a popular TV series in the 70's The Bionic Man or the 6 Million Dollar man as it was known in the UK. Well the aim was to rebuild him better ,stronger, faster and the medical bill was $6 million.

Well so far 2 metal hips and further surgery in the future so have nicknamed him 6-unfortunately he doesn't look anything like Steve Austin/Lee Majors!

I do a lot of planning pre cruise-6 says I suffer from OCPD[obsessive cruise planning disorder] and a lot of this is working out tours to minimise walking

This trip 6 had been prescribed a course of anti inflammatories which meant he was able to cope with more walking than usual.

We planned a direct flight from our local airport to Venice with a low cost airline with a couple of days pre cruise in Venice.

Our daughter-D [22] was planning an interail/back packing holiday around Europe with her boyfriend C after graduation and before starting their jobs in September. When planning her trip[yes got involved with that as well] we tried to work out an overlap in Venice

As it turned out their initial plan to Eurostar from London to Paris and then train down to Mediterranean wasn't going to work out as there were no train reservations available. The French traditionally start their holidays at beginning of August and so peak time to head South.

Instead it was decided that D and C would head North and fly with us out to Venice where would then separate out for our holidays.

C has met us on several occasions and hopefully is used to our sense of humour/weirdness by now. Well he must have wondered where D bossiness comes from!

intro over-coming up pre trip drama

Great start! Looking forward to following along.

Oooo I'm looking forward to this!! :)

I too, suffer from RA and did the Jade Greek Islands last year after a particularly nasty fall, so I empathise.

We have a son P 24 year old who is well regarded at work after having been recently promoted and is studying for his Masters degree. He is presently living back home until finds somewhere else to live-preferably with a girlfriend so she can take over maternal responsibility as he obviously shows a different side to himself at work than at home.

If anyone has read my previous review this is the son who rang us in the middle of the night [our time] whilst in middle of Caribbean sea to tell us his car wouldn't start[he'd forgotten the time difference and what he thought we could do about it anyway thousands of miles away!]

Waiting for 6 to come back from work so could head up to airport for overnight hotel stay as very early flight.

My phone rings-it's P-ringing from his bedroom upstairs as had locked himself in!!

We've lived in the same house for 28 years and that was originally our bedroom.It was fitted with a key lock so as to ensure some privacy when children were smaller and liable to burst in at inappropriate times.

The lock hasn't been used for many years but for some reason he decided to turn the key and the lock seized up!!

D of course did what any considerate sister would do and posted the situation on facebook

Meanwhile P has access to the internet and looking for suggestions on how to free a seized lock-one involved inserting a wet cotton bud into the keyhole?!

WD40 also didn't work and no answer on 6 work or mobile phone-had already left work

So rang his 80 year old granda who came over with his tool kit and broke him out!

C must be convinced by now that his girlfriends family are mad.

we eventually set off for the airport with boot full with 2 suitcases and 2 rucksacks. I'd arranged a meet and greet service at the airport where car would be driven off to secure car park and all had to do was find correct car park. Even though its a small airport the signage was very confusing and we ended up in the wrong park-that's my story and sticking to it!

Eventually saw a guy waving to us and got to the correct place. By now was well stressed out and handed over keys, grabbed the bags and checked into the nearby hotel. First thing-where's the bar?

we arranged a 4am alarm call had food at the bar and headed for bed

coming up-getting to Venice

Oooo I'm looking forward to this!! :)

 

I too, suffer from RA and did the Jade Greek Islands last year after a particularly nasty fall, so I empathise.

Hi

yes I read your review and it helped a lot with the planning!

hope this review brings back some great memories for you

I am enjoying your review. I read your review last year as we prepared for our trip to your country and our cruise on the Spirit.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Hi

 

yes I read your review and it helped a lot with the planning!

hope this review brings back some great memories for you

Aww I'm so glad my review was helpful......I'm now re-reading your Spirit review as we are considering that for next year!

And yes, your review will bring back many lovely memories, thank you! :)

I, too, suffer from OCPD.

thanks for kind comments so far-nice to know am amongst friends!

4am and alarm call-urgh

We were staying at Doubletree by Hilton and as am Gold member had 2 vouchers for breakfast which started at 4.30.I knew I wouldn't be able to face eating that early in the morning but C is at that age where young men never stop eating and yet don't gain weight so passed vouchers to them. However said to get to breakfast on the dot as wanted to be across the road to check in ASAP.

4.40 went downstairs and no one in restaurant ,met them coming out of the lift having left their bags in the room and intending to eat now-TOUGH!

Whilst they went back to retrieve their bags I sweet talked the guy in the restaurant to putting up a doggy bag for them with pastries and coffee.

I cant relax until through security never knowing how long will take with 6 always setting off alarms due to metal hips and requiring frisking down.

The system is I go through first with his injectable medication is a cool frio pack and a letter explaining that should not go through an X ray machine as this is an expensive drug which may be affected by X rays and so requires a visual examination .

This then allows me to collect up his extra metal such as watch, belt,walking stick etc while he goes through and sets off the alarms. Somehow he remains hopeful that the attractive female will be the one to do the frisking but alas is always the male!

When the airport requires removal of shoes it can take quite a while to get him redressed so why I like to allow plenty of time to get through-THEN C could have a proper breakfast.:D

I'd booked wheelchair assistance in advance not knowing how mobile 6 would be, in some large airports it's essential-think Heathrow!

We were told to go to a separate gate where there was a young lady on crutches and an elderly couple. I was asked if I wanted to meet on the plane but said would prefer to stick together-he might get on another plane to escape me!;)

We were loaded onto an ambulift-a kind of bus with about a dozen seats that drove out to the plane and could lower up and down to the plane entry level. It also meant we were first on the plane and could get settled in.

The flight was 2 1/2 hours-we decided to use the steps down from plane at the other end and so missed wheelchair assistance but to be honest Venice airport is so small it wasn't an issue.

However outside the airport it was a long hike to the water taxi dock. It says 7 min walk along a flat level covered walkway and if fit and healthy no problem.

However it took 6 longer than that and pulling suitcases made it harder especially with crowds of people jostling him along the path. We didn't see any porter assistance or luggage trolley to help.

With being the 4 of us I had pre reserved a water taxi via venicelink for a 10euro reduction on usual 110 euro rate. This was interesting to say the least getting 6 across the gap and down the steps into the boat!

Fortunately the boat driver helped with luggage and assistance getting us all into the boat.

It certainly is a fun way to arrive in Venice in less than 30 mins

2 years ago we had stayed in P Roma and so got the bus link-7 euros and very easy as bus stop immediately outside the airport terminal. That was our original plan. However the Hilton Molino Stucky had a great rate that worked out cheaper than the originally booked hotel and would benefit from being a gold member. It would also give us a different viewpoint on Venice but most direct route to the hotel was more expensive water taxi or Alilaguna.

We treated D and C to the first night in the hotel and as was now lunchtime thought to check out rooftop pool and have lunch.

Well the pool was packed and the prices on menu far too high for a required snack-cheapest 12 euros for a sandwich anywhere in the hotel.

Change of plan we decided to head to P Roma where knew could get pizza slices for a few euros . It was now after 1 o clock and the complimentary hotel shuttle to St Marks was on a break till 2 o clock.

We walked along the canal front for a few hundred yards to the Palanca Vaparetto stand. This was fairly easy with just 1 bridge to cross.

We got the no2 to P Roma which goes the quickest route not up the Grand Canal. Vaparettos are easier to get on an off as flat ramp and usually a bit more stable. Flat fare is 7 euros per journey up to an hour-break even point is if you're going to use 3 times in a 24 hour period when can get pass for 20 euros.

Palanca stop is easy to find-turn right out of hotel, over side bridge and clearly visible yellow and black floating platform. There is no ticket machine at this stop but tell guy assisting you on you need a ticket and will sell you one on board.

Venice is not easy for anyone with walking difficulties as there is no such thing as a direct route and small bridges with steps everywhere.6 coped but it's very difficult if you can't manage steps or hauling luggage!

We had the required snack-1 pizza between us with C requiring an extra baguette to keep his strength up-long time since breakfast for someone with hollow legs[our son P is the same]

We found the COOP round the corner and stocked up with cheap snacks and drinks for later.

As already mentioned Venice is not disabled friendly and to be honest difficult to see how to change that. There are steps and uneven surfaces everywhere and 6 tripped when focusing ahead rather than looking down slightly but managed to use his stick to right himself. Another danger is being knocked off balance if jostled in crowds-difficult to avoid that in St Marks square.

Gondola rides are seen as a "must do" but looks pretty scary-particularly when there're out in the Grand Canal with barges and Vaparettos bearing down on them .Anyway would never get 6 up and down steps and in the boat without use of a hoist!

We saw 5 or 6 gondolas filled with people and moving along in a group with an accordion player between them-very romantic-NOT!:rolleyes:

We decided to take the scenic route no1 down the Grand Canal to St Marks. This takes at least 40 mins as zig zags its way down and is hot and crowded. We found the hotel shuttle near San Zaccaria Vaparetto stop in front of Londra palace hotel-look for statue of man on horseback.

We caught the 4.20 shuttle back-it's a smaller Alilaguna boat with max seating capacity 40 people.

I had been wearing sunscreen with insect repellent all afternoon but was now in desperate need of a shower. At 6 o clock with sun still high in sky reckoned would be safe enough not to require covering in insect repellent for short walk along canalfront to suss out local eateries-WRONG

We left 6 to enjoy the executive lounge available to gold member and 1 guest and offering complimentary wine and beer between 5-7 but not available to D and C:( so we three went to check out alternatives to eating in hotel

There were a couple of restaurants but prices similar to hotels offerings so decided to bite bullet and eat in the bar area. If had been able to explore side streets sure would be able to find cheaper eateries as looks a mainly residential area.

We had pasta or ravioli at 20 euros-nice but pricey for what it was.

We then headed upstairs to drink our cheap beer and wine from the COOP in our rooms

So ends first day of travelling and ending up in Venice

awoke to discover the results of my failure to apply insect repellent-2 mosquito bites on my legs-unfortunately I never feel the initial bite just discover a small lump 12 hours later which usually blisters and leaves nicely tanned legs a bit of a mess. They don't bother with 6 but me they love. In fact I have found they don't wait till dusk-these must set their alarm clocks to wake up early and attack in sunlight:(

we had complimentary breakfast in the executive lounge-make the most of it as regular breakfast is 20 euros!:eek:

D and C checked out and we caught vaparetto to P Roma to find their hotel for the next night. It was near the train station so convenient for the start of their trip the next day. Despite trying to follow instructions from the hotel we took a few wrong turns-this is Venice!

Hotel Ca Dario was £79 per night-basic but clean and set in a leafy courtyard .Rooms small and provided towels appear to be same material as napkins!There was a communal bathroom but hey you cant have Hilton luxury every night!

Lunch we found a Burger King opposite train station-I know foodies amongst you are shuddering.

We had a 2.30 island tour booked from St Marks-suggested Vaparetto but as we had plenty of time 6 decided he wanted to walk!

Well it's an interesting journey:eek:

Follow signs above eye level pointing way to Rialto/St Marco -frequently signs point in both directions suggesting 2 routes to get to same place.It involves lots of twists and turns and certainly no as the crow flies routes.It wouldn't have been so bad if not for the jostling crowds particularly around Rialto Bridge.Getting up and down that sucker meant he had to stop for a rest.

Eventually got to St Marks and exchanged Alilaguna ticket office to exchange vouchers for boat tickets.

The trip was a 4 hour guided tour of 3 islands run by Alilaguna

I had bought tickets months earlier via Viator as 10% off meant £17 [approx. 22euros]each When knowing D and C were going to join us went back on Viator to find them selling the same trip as a shore excursion for £40+!!!

I went on Venicelink where also pre purchased water taxi for 17 euro-approx. £14-less than what we paid!

the same trip bought on the day from the Alilaguna ticket office was 20 euros

First stop Murano-famous for glass making and indeed included a glass blowing demo.It was a hot day and the boat had been crowded and hot so a furnace room was all we needed!

After the demo the guide suggested a showroom visit as was air conditioned!

At the front of the shop was the cheap stuff but as wandered further in noticed no prices and when approached by man realised had wandered into the expensive bit-no thanks just looking and made a sharp exit

3/4 hour allowed on Murano and then on to Torcello.

the guide said 5 min walk along canal to main centre and have 50 mins before boat leaves.

Well it was longer than 5 mins even at normal walking pace!It was a pleasant route at end of which was an old church being restored and restaurants and shade

Also a snack shop selling bottled water for 1 euro-half price from St marks.

back on boat had misfortune to be sat next to a woman using wet wipes to refresh herself by reaching under her blouse and applying deodorant-:eek:

only benefit was her frantically fanning herself so at least got benefit of cooling breeze-was thankful was not sat next to her on a long flight!

Last stop was Burano famous for lace-50 mins at this stop.The guide led us to a shop for a lace making demo-ie a woman sat there with a work in progress-took 5 seconds then invited to tour shop where tried to sell lace tablecloth for 6-8 person setting for 160 euros-great can just see stains on that from son P KFC takeaways or ketchup stains!

instead I bought a fan for 2 euros

Burano is a very pretty place with multi coloured houses and a leaning tower like Pisa

one of the lingering memories however is of a local elderly woman sat outside her house with washing out and sat on a kitchen chair with legs splayed:eek:

Journey back to St Marks took 45 mins-overtaken at points by speed boats including speedo boat man-elderly man "driving" standing up with black speedo style trunks-is the mental picture imprinted on your eyeball yet?[well after my previous description of the elderly lady outside her house had to prove not sexist-I will admit to ageism but having turned 50[yes screen name out of date] there is no way I am going to subject others to any unnecessary displays

Back at St Marks we separated from D and C and caught 7-20 hotel shuttle back to the Hilton

had shower and had meal in the hotel bar and then back to room to consume COOP bottle of wine-feet up on bed as mossie bites throbbing however 6 said he felt fine after days walking!

Thanks for this review. This is one of the cruises I really want to take. Like your DH, I have severe arthritis problems that have wreaked havoc on my body. It's discouraging to see Venice isn't disability friendly. I'm always regretting not doing more traveling, when I was in better health. Hopefully, the rest of the trip was easier on 6. :)

Walking around Venice is a challenge (DW uses crutches and she/we really feel it by the end of the day). A better plan is to get the two or three day tickets for the Vaparettos and use them as a Hop-On Hop-Off type service.

If/when you get tired, you sit on one for a time and get the benefit of a bit of a breeze and a sit-down.

Thanks for this review. This is one of the cruises I really want to take. Like your DH, I have severe arthritis problems that have wreaked havoc on my body. It's discouraging to see Venice isn't disability friendly. I'm always regretting not doing more traveling, when I was in better health. Hopefully, the rest of the trip was easier on 6. :)

I'm trying to be as realistic as possible in describing the walking conditions to give worst possible scenario so as to give future disabled visitors the "head up"

please don't discount Venice-it is possible but just requires future planning-accessiblevenice is a very good website to visit

to be honest the most difficult cruise for him was Baltics as he was in urgent need of his 2nd hip replacement and the most difficult port for him was Tallinn described as an easy walk to centre of town-but a long long walk on a flat pier for him

OK for those I've scared off visiting Venice with warnings of bridges and long winding walks here's my suggestions on how to make the most of the place for the not so nimble on your feet

accessiblevenice is a website which describes wheelchair accessible routes, a map can be picked up at tourist information points

plan to stay P Roma area as that is the last land point. Staying elsewhere on Venice island will involve water transport at some point which can be tricky to get in and out of boats-particularly water taxi, Alilaguna and of course gondolas!

I can recommend hotel Santa Chiara which is right on P Roma and has a small lift/elevator-we stayed there 2 years ago. At the moment it looks a bit of a mess as it is undergoing construction-looks as if are doubling the size of it. There are a few other hotels a small bridge away such as Best Western Olimpia-the bridge in question is 6 steps up-flat top and then 6 steps down-all bridges are like that just varying in number of steps and steepness of them-none are smooth slopes where could wheel up and over

getting from airport the ATVO bus takes 30 mins and drops off in P Roma. Cost about 7 euros and bus stand very close to exit to terminal. Need to be able to get up steps into bus itself[don't think wheelchair accessible]

luggage stored under bus and driver will help load and unload

alternatively land taxi airport to P Roma and vice versa is fixed 40 euros

from P Roma to cruise port is 20 euros fixed fare for a short distance. However should drop you off directly outside your ship terminal which could be worth it as the alternative is

a-walk-possible and some people do this when lines for people mover are long

b-people mover-an elevated monorail between P Roma and parking garage[Tronchetto] with cruise terminal in between Cheap at 1 euro 30 HOWEVER

the clue is in the description elevated

you buy a ticket from machine at P Roma-if there's a long line of people with luggage they may not necessarily be queuing for the people mover

but for the left luggage office next door-they may be blocking the entrance so have to negotiate through as never seem to leave a gap for people entering people mover[exit is round other side so not same issue there]

There is escalator/moving staircase to get to platform difficult with luggage or 1 small lift/elevator for which may be queue

once there the ride itself takes a very short time-easy to roll cases on and off but then you have to repeat the lift/escalator process at other end. Then depending on where your ship is docked can be a long hike to the embarkation terminal

after all that 20 euros for a taxi door to door sounds reasonable

Venice itself buy multi trip Vaparetto tickets and use as hop on system-these are the easiest to get on and off and are wheelchair accessible to a point-the flat ramp makes a bit more stable

no 1 zig zags from one side Grand Canal to the other from P Roma to St Marks square and can be good for photo ops if you pick a quiet time. Forget about getting off at Rialto bridge unless you want a real challenge climbing those steps up and down and fighting the crowds-best seen from water level in my opinion

the number2 goes in 2 directions between P Roma and St Marks-down the canal with fewer stops than number 1 or the quickest route which is not as scenic

If you are not completely wheelchair bound and can manage a few steps a light wheelchair you or helper can lift up and down may be an option when you unexpectedly come across a bridge-that or a wheeled walker so you can rest when need be

hope this helps to put into perspective:D

Went to executive lounge for breakfast and an MSC cruiseliner sails past the window on way to cruise port-those ships are big!

An excitable woman beside me cries out "look there's a ship leaving Venice but it's going the wrong way-do you think they do a big circle"

[duh that's cos it's arriving not departing]

then to our profound relief she announces that will be us tomorrow-phew not on our ship then:D

We headed up to the pool to see if can see our ship as distance wise very close if you could walk on water but ours is obscured by the MSC Ship just gone past.

Saturday is obviously peak turnaround day with several ships in port.

We checked out and went out to Hilton jetty to catch 10.30 Alilaguna as cruiseport is the next and final stop. Cost should be 8 euros but as no ticket machine at the hotel to pay on board they slap on an extra euro each! Tip-if you catch the Hilton shuttle to the Zattere stop on opposite side Guidecca canal there is a ticket office there where can purchase ticket in advance for 8 euros.

The Hilton jetty can rock with waves from boats so getting onto the boat with luggage can be fun:eek:

they do extend a platform to help but it's still a bit unsteady and then negotiate steps down into boat.

NCL Jade was docked behind RCL ship so had to walk the length of 2 ships to get to the embarkation terminal-still didn't seem as long as walk to NCL Spirit 2 years ago as that was docked even further away.

Both Alilaguna and people mover station access are close to each other which means a potential hike with luggage depending on where ship is docked. If staying in P Roma area might be worth considering 20 euros for a land taxi to deliver you and luggage right up to ship.

We went to priority latitudes line and check in was fairly simple however previous history with Venice port I asked the Italian check in girl to write an Italian translation on the doctors letter explain the medication was not to go through ray.2 years previously the guy at x ray machine didn't understand what we were trying to say to him and letter in English no use as next thing we knew he'd put the pack on the conveyer belt and damage was done!

This was a wise precaution as when handed the security guy the letter he read the Italian translation but still had to call his supervisor-fortunately he passed it through with the visual inspection that was indeed medication.

We got boarding group 3 so were on the ship 11-45 and headed straight to deck 7 to get the corks and caps sticker for our cards.

I had prepaid but girl at desk wanted to see our voucher-I only had the confirmation print out but she found my name and cabin number on a list anyway-when got access to our stateroom the required vouchers were in there but not much help if you board before they are ready in our case!

We had booked back to back as 2 separate cruises. The reason was that there was $150 OBC for each cruise but if booked as 1 cruise would be only $150 altogether and crucially only $30 less!

So it made financial sense to book as 2 but they said on board account would be linked-well this did later cause issues but more on that later.

Also we started the first week 2 points short of moving from Gold to Platinum so the 2nd week being a separate cruise would qualify us for Platinum benefits

There are 2 beverage packages for alcohol as well as wine packages of 4-8 bottles available to purchase at discount

The Ultimate Beverage Package costs $59 per day or $54 if purchased in advance. This included wines beers spirit cocktails and soft drinks up to $10 value[that's value of the drink-don't worry if the 15% auto gratuity takes over $10

The other package is corks and caps which includes wine beers and soft drinks up to $10 and costs $44 per day-no discount for pre purchase. As we don't drink spirits or cocktails we had pre purchased corks and caps

In retrospect that was a bad move as there was no discount, caused an issue with not having vouchers and with having to purchase 4 packages-1 each person for each week that led to a problem with our final bill-more on that later.

I should have just purchased at the desk on embarkation for first week and again on change around day for the 2nd week-lesson learned.

I had pre paid service charges and beverage package in advance to simplify on board bill and had plans for those 2 sets of $150 OBC in the spa;):D

Anyway armed with those all important cc stickers on our cards we headed to the Aloha bar in the Atrium and ordered a glass of Prosecco and watched the ship fill up. Lines soon started forming at guest services and the table to purchase beverage packages. Eavesdropping found other people were having same issue with pre paid packages and no voucher to show as will be in the stateroom-surely an easier way would be to issue the voucher at check in when key card issued?

Leaving 6 to his 2nd glass of Prosecco I headed to the Spa to get another sticker on my card-week long access to the Thermal Spa for $129.Couples passes are $199 but knew there was no way getting 6 in there!

The set up benefits same sex couples or friends anyway. The communal area consists of 6 heated loungers and a therapy pool-either side is all male on portside and all female starboard. This is where padded loungers, Jacuzzi plunge pool ,sauna ,steam room and experience showers are found.

I returned to find 6 still in the bar and making friends with the bar waiters-I think they quickly got a clue we would be frequent patrons:D

We then headed upstairs to Blue Lagoon for food

Whilst eating there was an announcement not to panic but to ensure balcony doors closed on the starboard side to prevent smoke coming in from a fire on the dockside-so of course everyone piles over to that side to find out what was going on ! Apparantly a shuttle bus had caught fire-no one injured but RIP shuttle

We then went to find our stateroom-a balcony on deck 9 as far back as can get without being an aft balcony .Sat out there with freestyle daily and noted black clouds on the horizon.

Soon it was a thunderstorm breaking-sorry for anyone lugging their suitcases along the dock! We had had beautiful weather for previous 2 days so timed our excursions well.

Muster drill was 5pm which was in 5 different languages so took a while and people constantly chatting over language announcements foreign to them so took a while.

Sailaway was 6pm so headed to the Spa for what must be the best and most relaxing view of sailaway out of Venice

On deck 12 right at front of ship on a heated tile lounger and views all around-I had the place to myself:D

A few spa tours came through but not a problem and was eventually joined by another 2 women using the hot tubs.

As moved into the open lagoon I got changed and found 6 in the atrium who said was also a good place for sailaway as could move easily from one side to other for views.

There was a guitarist playing in Atrium that night so that's where we ended up most of the night till our stateroom called us.

Assessment of day walking wise-getting on and off Alilaguna bit tricky with swaying platforms and the hike to the ship with luggage was a bit of a hassle but once on board just take it easy!

Walking around Venice is a challenge (DW uses crutches and she/we really feel it by the end of the day). A better plan is to get the two or three day tickets for the Vaparettos and use them as a Hop-On Hop-Off type service.

 

If/when you get tired, you sit on one for a time and get the benefit of a bit of a breeze and a sit-down.

Thanks for the tip. :)

I'm trying to be as realistic as possible in describing the walking conditions to give worst possible scenario so as to give future disabled visitors the "head up"

 

please don't discount Venice-it is possible but just requires future planning-accessiblevenice is a very good website to visit

 

to be honest the most difficult cruise for him was Baltics as he was in urgent need of his 2nd hip replacement and the most difficult port for him was Tallinn described as an easy walk to centre of town-but a long long walk on a flat pier for him

I appreciate you telling it exactly like it is. Forewarned = forearmed. Thanks for the additional tips in your later post. I don't use a wheelchair only a cane when necessary. We try to stay close enough to our hotel for me to retreat there for rest, when the pain gets to be too much. Steps are a big problem for me, if there are several of them or if I'm constantly encountering them. My DH can help me up (he can pick me up, if necessary), if it's just a step or two. I can handle 4 or 5 steps slowly, but my knees revolt if I try to do that more than once a day or on multiple days. My back prevents me from sitting or standing too long also. Anyway, I appreciate all your info, which will allow us to be better prepared, when we finally do this cruise. :)

I'm sorry your Baltics cruise was tough on your DH. That can't have been much fun. As of now, a Baltics cruise isn't near the top of our list. Maybe, I'll follow your DH's lead & get a complete mechanical makeover before then. :p

Enjoying your report and all the information so far Lyn-hoping that I do not have any disability by the time we go next year but just in case I am keeping all this information very close at hand!!!

fabnfortysomething, where is the Doubletree located? PRoma or on the island?

fabnfortysomething, where is the Doubletree located? PRoma or on the island?

sorry I've confused you-the Doubletree in question was Newcastle airport hotel

The only Hilton In Venice is the Hilton Molino Stucky which is on Giudecca island almost opposite St Marks and accessed between the 2 by the hotels complimentary water shuttle

Clocks went forward an hour and woke to blue sky and calm seas.

Discovered another mosquito bite and the first one had now developed a blister 1cm across:(

I checked the shop on board to see if they had citronella bracelets but all they had was childrens DEET free repellent which stinks but decided am going to have to apply whenever on land!

For this weeks cruise there was also a letter along with freestyle daily that as would not be calling at a non EU port Italian VAT of 20% would be payable on purchases on board .Fortunately this does not include drinks and speciality restaurants but anything bought from shops. So a $10.99 bottle repellent had $2.42 extra added. So just be aware if you're planning to buy any of those must have T shirts[VAT was not payable 2nd week of cruise]

time for a relax on the balcony before the Meet and Greet at 11

We were in no 9168-this is a well situated stateroom furthest to aft with no neighbour to the right-there was a crew storage area there. We've mostly been lucky with considerate neighbours but with this cabin there's only someone to your left to worry about-again we had no problems this cruise.

11am we headed to Le Bistro for the meet and greet and were met by Olivia-group service co ordinator who gave us that all important card with head of dept contact numbers and started a list of names.

Well it was a short list as we were joined by Keithjenner[look for his current review] -a lovely couple with their young son. 10 officers turned up and we laughed about being outnumbered 2 to 1! They did introduce themselves anyway and assured they would be happy to address any possible issues .Despite a very low turnout it was definitely worth attending as most of those officers recognised us and greeted us for the rest of the cruise.

We stayed for a while and chatted to the other family and indeed bumped into them a few times over the next week and compared notes. They were also doing a back to back but this was their 2nd week so had a few tips for us.

We laughed about recent reviews complaining that the main dining room menus never change-oh yes they do!

The left hand menu is the same always available items-presumably based on which are most popular. However the right hand side menu changes each night and there is always a chefs special based on cuisine of local port of call.

The blue lagoon is the open 24 hours eatery and has a standard menu of comfort food but again has a chefs special between 7-9pm

The garden café has lots of buffet choices.

The menus that don't change are the speciality restaurants and they were doing a big push on the ultimate Dining Package-Keithjenner commented that this meant people pre reserved but then didn't turn up so restaurants were half empty despite showing full on the boards-definitely needs a bit of fine tuning as this means people who would be prepared to pay the additional fees on an ad hoc basis are being turned away.

I decided to head for the spa-there were a few people in there but as they were still giving spa tours were not sold out of passes-in fact I found it very quiet whenever went in there.

I felt a bit peckish so decided to get dressed and look for 6-we passed each other on the pool deck-this is a small enough ship where you are bound to find each other sooner or later. The pool deck was packed with sun worshippers and water sliders and crowds at the poolside BBQ .the garden café was also packed so headed to Grand Pacific just in time for 1.30 cut off point. Quick service and a tasty lunch

The sun was now over to starboard so our balcony would be sunny so sunbathed there for a while and 6 had a nap on the bed.

6 o clock was the lattitudes cocktail party so headed up to the Spinaker lounge where captain and senior officers were greeting-recognised some of them from the meet and greet.

Complimentary drinks but man was that wine rough!!!

The usual raffle with prizes such as spa vouchers ship model ,bottle sparkling wine and of course what everyone was most excited about-the NCL Chase mastercard lanyard:D[6 was gutted didn't win that!]

In search of a decent glass of wine we found the star bar which is an apparently little used bar on deck 13 overlooking pool and close to Cagneys. The windows are tinted so cant see in but good view pool area but effective insulation means no noise carrying.

7pm there were still people sunbathing and enjoying the slides but not as crazy as before.

Feeling peckish and needing to soak up the alcohol queues for Grand Pacific and Alizar were long so went to Blue Lagoon and were served quickly.

We finished off the evening in Magnums bar deck 6 listening to the Pianist

All in all a very relaxing day with minimal walking!

I'm enjoying your report so far Lyn. It's interesting to read a different perspective on things, and to see how 6's (I've got to get used to calling him that) walking difficulties change things. I was very aware when writing my report how easy it was for me to just say it's only a couple of miles so we decided to walk, and I know that this isn't the situation for everyone.

I have to say, I was really struck when we were talking how great your and 6's attitude was. Talking to you we would barely realise that there was any problem, and when it did come up, your outlook was extremely positive, just a bit of an inconvenience. Having previously met many people who use health issues as an excuse not to do things, or to complain, it was really refreshing.

I'm interested to see how you got on in various places. After telling you how much we enjoyed the walls in Dubrovnik, I'm especially interested in hearing what you did there. In hindsight, there really were a lot of steps.

Hi Keith

Also enjoying your report-as you say gives a different perspective on how to approach ports depending on mobility!

still on holiday till Monday so hopefully get a lot of the day to day report done so doesn't take as long to write as it took to do the cruise!

as to how we approach life-you gotta have a sense of humour!

set alarm as was meeting tour guide as soon as possible after docking 8am.

Got off ship easily and boarded provided shuttle bus to transport to security building. Many people walked which at a ordinary pace would take about 5 minutes.

Mike from Corfu taxi tours was waiting for us with a sign with my name and led us to a very nice Mercedes E class car.

We had been due to share with another couple but about a month before the cruise they obviously came to their senses about touring with this crazy couple and went to extreme measures and broke her leg so had to cancel entire cruise:eek:

Only joking Lynn I know how gutted you were to have to cancel and hope your recovery speeds up so when you take your rearranged cruise you don't have to take notes from this review.

Anyway todays review and the ones to follow on Santorini and Olimpia are dedicated to you-hope you're enjoying reading.

Corfutaxitours is made up of a group of 3 friends and one of them-Spiros has been delegated to do all the emailing/booking[Mike very happy to let him do this] This week was very busy for them so contact other taxi drivers as necessary to drive but all speak very good English and full of information. In Greece you need a separate licence to accompany into historical sites but will drop you off, lend you guide books and tell you about the history. In the case of Corfu this wasn't necessary as it was a tour of the most picturesque parts of the island

And picturesque it is! Very green and mountainous.

Mike drove us up steep and windy roads to a viewpoint in the middle of the island where could see coast to coast and our ship far in the background.2 other taxis pulled up about the same time including Spiros the man I had been emailing

unlike many Greek islands Corfu is very green as it gets a lot of rain in Winter[in relative terms-apparently 10% island population is British ex pats.I can see why-6 joints do suffer in cold damp whether so could definitely see us moving there:D

The houses are painted in pastel shades unlike the classic Greek whitewashed-apparently this is a throwback to Venetian occupancy.

The island is mountainous inland with 1 flat inland area and of course resorts near the coast.

The inner island roads are very steep and winding and not suitable for large tour buses-another reason to prefer small group tours.

At the other side of the island and still at top of hill we stopped at Golden Fox resort-a collection of villas to rent, restaurant and souvenir shops-a clue that the presently empty car park is a popular stopping off point for tourists.

We stocked up on water bottles and took some photos of the spectacular view down to the sea. We had the place to ourselves but just as we were leaving tour buses started pulling in to the car park.

Mike drove down to the resort area at the base where much increased traffic and people heading to the beach-we declined to stop there and he drove up to a small church and panoramic viewpoint. We took a few photos but as it was crowded we quickly retreated back to his car.

Next stop was half an hour away over steep hair pin bends and this time did encounter tour buses-tight squeeze at some points!

Mike did ask if we wanted to stop at an Olive oil/Wine stall on the way but we declined-still only mid morning!

Destination was Achillon palace along with what seemed half the tourist population-small car park, narrow roads tour buses and a local bus trying to get through=congestion.

Admission to palace was 7 euros so we just looked through the gate and took a few photos.

Heading back to the car park found the exit practically blocked by a large tour bus-there was a lot of gesticulating and Greek "conversation" between Mike and driver of tour bus and eventually bus moved a few inches to allow us to squeeze through-no damage to the lovely Mercedes car!

Driving back to Corfu old town he drove round the main part and asked if we wanted to end tour here to wander or do shopping or to be dropped back at the ship-we chose the latter.

What should have been a 5 min drive back took 40 as the very narrow road was very congested and drivers trying to find a parking spot-still back in plenty of time for lunch on the ship.

The cost was 200 euros for 5 hour tour which could take 4 passengers so with 2 couples would work out much cheaper than a ships tour. In fact even with just the 2 of us when I compared the ship offerings we had a very personalised trip for not much more-well recommended.

It was an easy tour for 6 as very little walking involved and got to see a lot of the island.

Back on the ship the only option for lunch was garden café so quick snack then grabbed my costume and a towel and found a deserted area on deck 14 aft to catch some rays.

I lasted about an hour as was intensely hot and headed to deck 7 where surprise surprise found 6 in the Aloha bar. Michael the waiter had already sussed our lunch preference and offered a glass of prosecco-well would be rude to refuse:D

I headed to the Thermal spa for sailaway and enjoyed the view from the female side on the padded loungers-again no one else there.

Being ultra cautious with my insect repellent sunscreen for on land I realised would need extra sunscreen to use while at sea so when shop opened after sailaway went to see if could get more-they had sold out!!!

The guy at the desk suggested if I wanted to keep my tan could sell me baby oil!

Only afterwards did I think he may have been suggesting that instead of sunscreen-I do hope he wasn't that ignorant:eek:

I headed back to the balcony for some late afternoon sun and found 6 flat out on the bed sleeping off the lunchtime prosecco.

He says I snore worse than him and challenges me to prove otherwise-here was my chance!

I used the video function on my camera but unfortunately no sound:(

Becoming creatures of habit we ate at the Blue Lagoon that night as queues were long at main dining rooms around 8pm and talking to fellow cruisers taking about 1 1/2 hours to get through the meal.

There was a guitarist playing in the atrium so listened till 11 then headed down to Magnums on deck 6 where a jazz act were playing. Jazz not being our style we retreated further back to Tankards bar. Around midnight there were 5-7 year olds running around and shrieking-parents wherever they were were oblivious. Decided to make an exit before they knocked 6 off balance so grabbed our drinks and headed back to the balcony for what would become a nightly ritual-sitting out listening to the sound of the waves and gazing at the stars:)

I am sitting here ROFL as I am reading this Lyn-sounds so wonderful-I so wish we could have shared this excursion together but I will email Spiros again for next and hope to God that this darn foot is healed so that I can get there and enjoy the beauty that you just did. I am so enjoying the detail of each port and we have decided, or should I say, I decided ;) to go for the entire two weeks and do the back to back cruise so I will read and taking LOTS of notes :D Thanks and I honestly do hope we get to share an excursion or two some time!!!