distance from ship to shops, cabs, bus while in port

hi! am sailing on the royal princess 2/8 for 10 days. my husband has a walking disability and i am wary of booking excursions. don't know how far from the ship he would have to walk. are there any trams? i have seen some before but don't know if they are available for my cruise. any info would be appreciated. thanks

what ports?

They are going to Princess Cay, St, Thomas, Antigua, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts.

St Thomas.....shops are at the dock but depending on where on the pier the ship docks, it could be a long walk

Antigua....the town/shops are right at the bottom of the pier

Barbados...depends on where the ship docks....if at a far location, there is a free bus to take you to the mall, but downtown is a long walk. There are taxis outside of the mall, but they are a bit of a walk from the mall entrance.

St Lucia...there are shops right at the pier with taxis to town

St Kitts...there is a large shopping area right at the base of the pier, and they have golf cards to take people with mobility issues to and from the ship

Even without knowing which ports you are visiting, some general information can be provided.

If you are booking Princess excursions, you can be assured that any motorcoaches, vans, taxis, buses will be parked very close to the dock--usually no more than a few hundred feet. Also, there is usually a choice of public transportation not excursion-affiliated--e.g., taxis, HOHOs--available close to the dock. If you provide a list of ports, others may be able to give you very specific information.

Similarly, the descriptions of the Princess excursions have an icon indicating how much walking is involved:

• Easy -- These excursions include walking for short distances over relatively level terrain, possibly with cobblestones or a few steps. Participants should have ambulatory capability in order to move into and out of ground transportation such as motorcoaches or rail cars and into and out of confined spaces, such as small aircraft and small boats.
  
• Moderate -- These slightly more active excursions involve an increased amount of physical activity such as substantial walking over uneven terrain, climbing stairs or extended periods of standing. Comfortable, sturdy shoes are recommended.
  
• Strenuous -- These very active excursions involve physical exertion over an extended period of time. Terrain may be uneven or steep. Activities such as canoeing, biking, hiking or kayaking are examples. Participants should be in good physical condition.
  
• Wheelchair Accessible -- These excursions can accommodate guests using wheelchairs. Vehicle configuration or weight restrictions may limit the use of electric wheelchairs or scooters. Please refer to the shore excursion description for complete details.
  

Of course, you and your huspband will have to make a judgement as to which of the above categories would be most comfortable for you.

Also, if you are planning to book your excursions privately, you may have to do more reasearch. There is a Cruise Critic Ports Forum that may be a good place for you to look.

The only exception I would take to the above is that we've had some ports (not the ones you are going to) where there was quite a long walk from the ship to the bus transportation. The bus transportation for Princess guests is generally as close as it is permitted to get to the ship, but particularly stops in Japan and Buson, South Korea were quite far from the gangway.

We've learned that with our mobility impaired family member, it is often better to not book excursions in advance of the cruise because she consistently over-estimates her abilities. We may book one in advance and then add others while on board based on how she is feeling. We've also learned that it is much better to have a "day off" between excursion days, regardless of what the ship is doing.

That souds prudent. Have a great cruise.

(y)

Antigua is a long walk to where the buses are parked.

Others not as bad.

Some piers have golf carts that shuttle folks back and forth. My advice would be to speak to the shore excursions desk onboard and arrange for assistance.

Problem is .... Princess no longer seems to be giving the the number of feet to get to meet up with the excursion like they once did.

E for Easy is OK once to the meeting point ... but it can still be a L-O-N-G walk to get to the meeting point and request for assistance is not provided.

As long time Princess cruisers who has liked Princess excursions, wish this problem would be addressed. :(:mad::mad:

"Problem is .... Princess no longer seems to be giving the the number of feet to get to meet up with the excursion like they once did.

E for Easy is OK once to the meeting point ... but it can still be a L-O-N-G walk to get to the meeting point and request for assistance is not provided.

As long time Princess cruisers who has liked Princess excursions, wish this problem would be addressed."

This advice is VERY true! The tour itself may be very easy (E)(sitting on a bus much of the time), but getting to the bus can be quite a hike! Beware!

hi! am sailing on the royal princess 2/8 for 10 days. my husband has a walking disability and i am wary of booking excursions. don't know how far from the ship he would have to walk. are there any trams? i have seen some before but don't know if they are available for my cruise. any info would be appreciated. thanks

Last year we had to rent a small electric scooter to take, it worked perfect. This comes apart to go in truck of car and also went on tender. My husband used it 100 % of the time.

"Problem is .... Princess no longer seems to be giving the the number of feet to get to meet up with the excursion like they once did.

E for Easy is OK once to the meeting point ... but it can still be a L-O-N-G walk to get to the meeting point and request for assistance is not provided.

As long time Princess cruisers who has liked Princess excursions, wish this problem would be addressed."

This advice is VERY true! The tour itself may be very easy (E)(sitting on a bus much of the time), but getting to the bus can be quite a hike! Beware!

Thanks for your reply! Glad we aren't the only ones finding this a problem and do think it is something Princess should address.

Thanks for your reply! Glad we aren't the only ones finding this a problem and do think it is something Princess should address.

Easy to address for some ports, not easy for a number of ports.

As one example, in Juneau, Alaska, where a number of ships dock there each day, Princess will not know in advance which docking space they will be assigned to.

As another example, ships going to Stockholm may have to decide less than 24 hours before port whether they can go all the way to Stockholm or have to dock miles from the city and with passengers having to be bused to get there. Diustance to transportation is different for each possibility.

thank you so much for all the help. much appreciated. princess really needs to address this problem. heck of a thing to pay for an excursion and then not be able to take it due to too far to get to bus, etc. many thanks again for your help.

My experience is that most ports have some kind of pier transportation for those who need. Passenger golf carts etc.

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My experience is that most ports have some kind of pier transportation for those who need. Passenger golf carts etc.

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Unfortunately, this is often not the case.:(

Seems when an excursion is maked E for easy, some sort of shuttle should be provided for those on the excursion when it's going to be a long walk to get to/from the actual Easy excursion.

It's now made many hesitant about booking a Princess excursion marked EASY.

It's a problem Princess should address.

Problem is .... Princess no longer seems to be giving the the number of feet to get to meet up with the excursion like they once did.

E for Easy is OK once to the meeting point ... but it can still be a L-O-N-G walk to get to the meeting point and request for assistance is not provided.

As long time Princess cruisers who has liked Princess excursions, wish this problem would be addressed. :(:mad::mad:

Very true. Last fall on the CB British Isles/TA we booked a tour to Winchester on turn around day. When we got into the theatre to meet the tour group DH asked a member of the tour staff how long the walk was to the bus. He said it's short and rushed us into the row. It turned out that the walk was very long through the entire terminal which was a problem for DH who has a pacemaker/defibrillator.