cythna

I have just returned from a cruise on Emerald Princess. I had an accessible room, but took my own toilet raiser with me. However I was unable to use it as it blocked the button to flush the loo. When I compared the height of the toilet to the height of my wheelchair I discovered there was only an inch or so difference, and I was able to manage fine-there were lots of handrails. I have no idea of the situation in regular rooms.

More irritating to me was the way the steward kept putting drinking glasses and the tv remote on high shelves where I couldn't get them!

We are going on this cruise next year. Would you share who you booked your excursion with to the North cape? Which ports would you suggest we book our own excursions and which should we stick with Princess?

 

 

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We didn't use an independent to get to North Cape. We had tried booking a car or a taxi but I guess had left it too late. Also there is the my wheelchair issue. North Cape was the only place where Princess had coaches with lifts for chairs, and we were glad to use them.

 

However we did use Rodne Fjorde Cruise for a three hour boat trip up the Lysefjorde. They are a five minute walk from where the ship docks, and I'm sure that on a good day it is sensational. They also do sail and hike trips. We booked online.

 

http://www.rodne.no/fjord-cruise/lysefjord-pulpit-rock/

 

 

We also booked the Flam railway on line, but we never got there. I have it on good authority that the walk from the ship is like two minutes.

 

The other independent we did was an the Lofoten Islands. To be honest I can't see why you would book a tour by the cruise company, except of course that in the event of a disaster the ship would wait for you. Maybe Olden. We tried to use the buses, but there were two cruise ships at the pier, and just not enough capacity. It was very chaotic, and I would have been glad to have done a cruise tour if I could have got on one! We ended up going round the lake in a little train.

 

Hope this helps.

I was on this cruise, and have enjoyed reading your diary/blog! I'd like to add that the spray on the storm day reached beyond Gala deck, and was hitting the windows in Riviara, deck 14, where I was. I could not believe it, that's practically the top of the ship.

We lost money on the Flam railway, which we'd booked independently. The trips that Princess runs are very expensive. My sister and her husband did a trip independently in the Lofotans which they had booked before we left, and which, while virtually identical to the one the ship offered, was exactly half the price. My other big grouse is that so few of the trips are wheelchair accessible. The only two places where Princess provided access was at North Cape and Bergan. Ridiculous when you see how many wheelchair users there are on board. I think a lot of them did not get off at all.

Otherwise a very good time was had. And how well behaved all those children were.

Our first cruise was fourteen days. It look us at least four days to settle on where to eat and just to get the hang of things etc. You can see the stress levels falling in the photographs, we look really tense in the early ones and totally chilled by the end. So if we'd only gone for four days I'd probably have said I hated it, but by day fourteen they had to force me off the ship.

Go for seven days, heck, how about six weeks. Enjoy.

I did the two day St Petersburg tour in a powerchair with Denrus. The were so helpful. It was a little cheaper than using the ships tour, and we had so much more freedom. My Brother in Law is a Russian authors buff, so we did a tour round where Dostoevsky and Pushkin lived.

When we got to the Hermitage their lift had broken down, so they rounded up four strong looking Russians, and they carried me, powerchair and all, up the steps.

The pavement are often cobbled, and getting around can be hard work. I don't know if it would be doable in a manual chair, I felt shaken to pieces, espescially at the Peter and Paul fortress.

There is a terrible lack of accessible toilets, but if you can walk a few steps you'll probably be able to manage. pretty much the only public disabled loo is at the souvenir shop 'Art Gallery', and even then you can't take you chair in with you or the door won't shut. There is a proper accessible loo in the Hermitage and the modern hotels seem to have them.

St Petersburg was the highlight of the Baltic cruise, and exceeded my expectations. Everywhere you could hear people saying 'Wow!', 'Amazing!', 'Wonderful!'. I really envy the people going this year, have a wonderful time.

I went on a Baltic cruise with my two wheelchairs, one power, the other manual. I couldn't get on any of the shuttle buses. However, Copenhagen is very accessible on foot, the main problem being the cobbled pavements. Stockholm is walkable too but it's a fair walk. I got a taxi to the Vassa museum (recommended), there were lots of them parked up near the ships.

Helsinki I couldn't do, I couldn't get on the shuttle or the tram, and there were no taxis. Didn't go to muuga. I expect you are going to St Petersburg? We booked a private tour with Denrus. They provided a wheelchair accessible van, a driver and a guide over two days. It was worth every penny, although it was about the same price as the cruise ship's own tour. St Petersburg is short on disabled toilets, so it was good to have someone who knew where they were! Denrus do tours in most of the Baltic ports if you are interested. Have a lovely time.