Izzywiz

You are very welcome. I hope you enjoy Menorca as much as we do. We have spent many happy holidays on the island over the years.

Menorca is a beautiful island with many lovely beaches. There are 3 that are quite near Mahon: Punta Prima is a 20 minute taxi journey from Mahon Cala en Porter is a 25 minute taxi ride from Mahon Son Bou is a 35 minute taxi ride from Mahon

We did the Explorer cruise from Corfu in 2022 and had a fabulous time. The great thing about a Marella cruise is that, because your flights are included in the package, disembarking at the end of the cruise is easy. The fact that you are able to stay on the ship and enjoy all the facilities saves having to find options to fill the day but you are also able to leave and return to the ship as you wish as long as you are back in time to get your transfer to the airport. You put your hold luggage outside your cabin before you go to bed on the last night (make sure you have your clothes and shoes for the following day…I’ve seen people disembark in pyjamas!!) and it is collected and stored until you identify it as you get on your coach to the airport so you do have to worry about suitcases. You keep your carryon cases for your night clothes, medication, flight needs etc. which are then stored in a safe but accessible location. If you haven’t been to Corfu before, Corfu Town is easily accessible from the port and is a blend of ancient and modern with lots of nice cafes, green spaces, a castle, a cricket pitch in the main square and plenty of nice shops. Marella Explorer docked in Corfu Relaxing on board

You don’t say which cruise company and ship as this can make a difference. If you are sailing on a Marella ship with your flight included in the package then you will have to vacate your cabin by 08.00 but you then have the run of the ship until your flight transfer is called - usually about 3 hours before take off. You can eat at the food outlets and use your drinks package until you disembark. There is an area to store your hand luggage and cabins are made available for you to shower and change to your travelling clothes. Sometimes, depending on availability, you can pay for the use of a cabin for the day.

You might get more relevant information if you post your question on the ‘Spain Ports’ section for La Corona, Mallorca, Barcelona and Seville and the ‘French Ports’ section for questions about Marseilles. This section is basically for questions about the British Isles and Western Europe (mainly Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and western France). You will find the Spain and France forums in the ‘Europe’ section below this forum. I can, however, give you a little information about some of your ports as an introduction….. La Coruna. Ships dock very close to the centre of the city and it is a short walk to the main square where there are cafes and shops. The city is built on a peninsula and there is a pleasant, scenic walk from the port that takes you around the headland to the beach area at the other side of the city from the dock. Mallorca (Majorca). The ship docks in Palma, the capital city of Majorca. The city is very picturesque with a huge marina, gothic cathedral, castle and old town as well as more modern areas. It is probably a mile walk along the sea front from the port exit to get to the cathedral and old town. Barcelona. The port area is huge so it is quite a long walk to the start of La Ramblas and the Gothic quarter. There are shuttle buses from the ship to the port exit where it is possible to get one of the Hop on, Hop off buses or walk across the very busy main roads to get to La Ramblas. Unfortunately I can’t help you with Seville and Marseille.

There is a Premier Inn situated a 5 minute walk from the FO check-in terminal. We are sailing from Newcastle in September and have just booked our room for the night before our cruise - £92 including breakfast. It is free cancellation up to the day of arrival. The address is Coble Dean Road, South Shields. Last time in July 2022, we checked out of the hotel at 10.00 on the morning of the cruise, left our cases in reception and drove in to Tynemouth where we spent a pleasant hour and then drove up the coast to Whitley Bay where we spent another pleasant hour with a coffee and cake on the sea shore before heading back to the port. We collected our luggage and drove it to the terminal before parking back at the Premier Inn and then walking back to do our check in. I can’t remember if we paid for parking at the hotel during our cruise but, if we did, it was a lot cheaper than the official Port parking.

I need a wheelchair or mobility scooter for long distances on shore but rarely need it on board the ship as there are plenty of places to sit between venues. I use an elbow crutch on the ship and plan my route around the ship to make sure that I know where I can rest for a few minutes. I can move around in the cabin without using any aids so, for that reason, I don’t need an accessible cabin. I have always stored my folding wheelchair in the cabin and completely understand the danger of leaving wheelchairs/scooters in the hallways. I do feel that the people who make decisions for those of us who are mobility impaired and people with other disabilities are probably young and have little personal experience of what we really need despite having the best intentions. I also know that we, who have a disability, should follow the rules and take responsibility for our actions but I wish the cruise lines would assess each case individually to ascertain whether a particular cabin is suitable for our needs rather than having a ‘blanket’ rule with no consideration for the degrees of disability…….rant over!!

As CruiserBruce says - have a look at the forum ‘Other Mediterranean Ports’ which is found in the ‘Europe’ section of the Ports of Call area. I have posted a review of our day in Praia do Vitoria and the email address of our taxi driver.

Have a look at my review of our day in Terceira which I’ve posted above. You could try contacting our taxi driver as he was excellent Our independent taxi tour - Taxi Amigo (taxiamigo 66@gmail.com)

Unfortunately, not everyone has the time or money to spend on extended visits to places of interest so, although it would be a more immersive experience to stay for longer, I would encourage the OP to use this excursion as a taster of a wonderful part of Italy. The bus journey also gives people a chance to get an overview of the area. Both Florence and Pisa have their attractions, especially if you haven’t been before.

My husband and I visited Praia do Vitoria, Terceira, on a Fred Olsen cruise in April 2022. It was a very emotional visit for me as my father had been stationed on Terceira as an air traffic controller in 1944/45 at the Royal Airforce base. The islands of the Azores were used as staging posts for transatlantic flights and also had aircraft that monitored enemy submarines and sea traffic. My Dad loved the islands and he spoke often about his time there and how beautiful the islands are. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to return so my visit felt like a pilgrimage to honour his memory. This is my diary entry for our day on Terceira which may have some information that is useful for you. I also have mobility issues so the taxi tour was perfect. Day 7. Monday 25th April 2022 Praia do Victoria, Terceira, Azores. 08.30 to 17.30 (all aboard time) A.M. Mixed sunshine and cloud, pleasantly warm but very windy in places P.M. As above Sea conditions: slight swell We were up early again so we could get organised and have breakfast before catching the shuttle bus into town. We left the ship at 09.00 and arrived in the town at 09.25 only to find that most places were shut because it was Portugal's 'Democracy Day'. Fortunately, there was a tourist information booth in the small square close to where we had been dropped off so I went to talk to the assistant. I explained about Dad and showed him the photographs before asking if there was any way that we could get to Angra de Heroismo. He was very helpful and rang for a taxi. We negotiated a tour and had a wonderful time. We got back to Praia at 12.45 and went to the cafe in the square by the tourist office for coffee and the custard tarts…..a bargain for €3!! We got the shuttle bus back to the ship at 13.45. Praia de Victoria Port. The port is industrial and is situated a 25 minute shuttle bus ride to the town. The shuttle bus cost £5pp for those on the 'saver fare' and was free for the rest of us. The fare covered unlimited trips to town. Passengers were allowed to walk within the port and out into the local area but there wasn’t much there, basically agricultural fields and a couple of farm houses. Ship’s tour busses were parked at the bottom of the gangway. I didn’t see any independent tours being offered but it’s possible that that was because it was a public holiday. Praia de Victoria town. The town is small and quite picturesque with a small marina, a beach, a few shops and some very nice cafes. The shuttle bus drop off point was on the upper edge of the town. The tourist information booth was situated in the square close to the shuttle bus stop. There were maps and advice available at the booth. The assistant spoke good English and was very helpful. Our independent taxi tour - Taxi Amigo (taxiamigo 66@gmail.com) The information official called the taxi driver. His name was Hildeberto and he spoke excellent English with an American accent as he had lived in the US for over 5 years. He came in a 7 seater van as was very happy to take Carol and Graham as well as us for €20 pp for 3 hours. We negotiated a route and were taken to the viewing point overlooking the lush fields before being driven through pretty villages to Angra do Heroismo. Our first stop was at the top of Mount Brazil where we had a great view of the town of Angra and the coastline as well as seeing the county park and the fortress. I had shown Hildeberto the photo of Dad and he was able to take us to the exact spot where Dad stood in 1945 so I had my photo taken there too…..a very emotional experience. Hildeberto then took us back to Praia and dropped us off in the square at 12.45 A most enjoyable experience

Who says you can’t drink the toilet water?😱🤣

If you go to the Cunard website there is a place where you can look at the deck plans for each ship. When I look at your QM2 deck plan your cabin it has a black square by the side of it. This indicates that it is a 4 berth cabin and 2 of those berths pull down from the ceiling. If you are sailing alone or as a couple , those ceiling berths will remain secured to the ceiling and will not intrude into the cabin. In fact, when we have sailed in similar cabins, we hardly notice the extra beds. They just show as slight ‘bumps’ in the ceiling.

It is interesting that you mention a dock on James Island as I believe in 2015 that the canoe tender pulled straight onto the beach so a little different now. Hopefully Mrs. F will have good weather and be able to land.

Hi again Mrs F and congratulations on having 2 new knees. I hope your wait for the hip replacement isn’t too long. My issue with making it to James Island was that I had only had my hip replacement 10 weeks previously so our Gambia holiday was a chance to recover in a warm climate. I was walking on flat ground without a problem but it was the fact that the boat couldn’t dock at James Island so we had to climb down a rope ladder to a canoe type craft to access the Island which I decided was too risky. Also, I had done quite a lot of walking that day so I was tired. All this took place in 2015 so it is possible that access has improved since then as a way of encouraging tourism. We love The Gambia and hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Regards Izzy