Mobility Concerns on a "Small Ship" Tour

My wife and I are considering an Antarctic Cruise in Feb. 2009 aboard the Akademik Ioffe. The cruise we're looking at is the "Crossing the Circle: Southern Expedition" through Quark. We'll both be in our mid-50's at the time of the cruise.

My question concerns issues my wife is having committing to this cruise because of knee problems. Although she is not an invalid, she does have knee pain that can sometimes limit her mobility. Note that she was able to walk 2-3 miles/day for 10 straight days on a recent stay in Rome and Med. cruise with lots of strenuous outings.

Given her knee issues, is this cruise something my wife should be able to do? She may not take all the zodaic excursions off the ship but would like to take some of them. What are people's opinions regarding some mobility limitations when it comes a cruise of this type?

BTW: It's me that's pushing for this. I've read a lot about early Antarctic explorers and truely want to visit this wonderful place. I know if we don't do it soon, we won't be able to do it when we're older.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Dennis and Kathy. (MacWiz)

Provo, Utah.

You might ask this on the disabled cruising board. I have found a folding rollator with a seat and big wheels makes it possible for me to go most anywhere.:D

http://cgi.ebay.com/Invacares-New-Rollite-Rollator-Lightweight-8-wheels_W0QQitemZ300062256464QQihZ020QQcategoryZ28176QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem

We were on the Professor Molchanov with Quark.

Her biggest problem will likely be negotiating the zodiacs. When going down the gangway stairs, they usually move with the ship, there's a small landing at the bottom where two crew members help you into the zodiacs, but both the ship and the boat are bobbing and you have to jump from the pontoon into the boat (not a high jump, but when you factor in that the boats are moving, it can be a hard landing). Will she be able to throw her leg over the side of the zodiac and jump into the water - can be ankle deep or higher, and usually on a rocky bottom. Will she be able to raise her leg high enough to get back into the zodiac without causing more damage to her knee? (I'm only 5'2" - so getting back into the zodiac was the most challenging part for me.) Add to all this that you will be on a small ship which will bob like a cork at the slightest motion - and we're talking about an area well known for high seas.

We did not have anyone with mobility problems on our sailing, so I can't say what help the crew may or may not be able to give boarding the zodiacs - they usually have their hands full just keeping the boat as steady as possible. It might be best if you talk to the Quark people; maybe see if you can discuss the matter with whoever is scheduled to be the ship's doctor. There is a medical release that has to be signed by your own doctor as well if you have any medical issues, so you'll want to check things out with him/her as well.

Perhaps someone who has similar knee problems and who has researched these adventures or gone on them can chime in with more useful information.

h2so4 explains the zodiac problems well, I have always believed they are the worst aspect of Antarctic cruising. I can assure you no one with a rollator + seat would ever get ashore in Antarctica! (re 1st reply) you do have to get a medical release signed by a Doctor, although on my trip Americans seem to have had less problems getting that than I did in UK. All the small ships use zodiacs & do give the best shore time as they only take a small group of passenger who are all allowed to go at once. If you are prepared to consider an alternative, I suggest you check out Hutigruten, they use PolarCirkel boats. Far superior to a zodiac IMHO. Steps out with handrails on to a portable 3 step stool at the beach & a safety handrail down the middle of the boat. Downside is, 300 passengers on ship so shore time arranged in groups & usually only 1 hour duration, I did not find this a problem. My review of the cruise on MS Nordkap can be found on this board & that can give you a link to photos on webshots that has views of the boats in operation.

Thanks for the Responses! We're considering our options. Fortunately, my wife's knee doesn't require a rollator seat, walker or cane yet. She gets around fairly well and is able to swim, ride a stationary bike and use an elliptical at the gym. She does have pain and is somewhat limited in terms of range of motion, ...

The Hutigruten Cruises look interesting. We need to do more research as to the difference between a Zodiac and PolarCirkle boat in terms of getting in an out. Based on the helpful description provided about the Zodiac process, my wife is leaning against a cruise using Zodiacs (at least she wouldn't attempt too many of the excursions.)

MacWizz, here is a link to a small album of 15 photos I posted on another cruise website, hope it works. The last 4/5 photos specifically show the operation of the PolarCirkel boats & details of the in/out arrangements. I posted these on that site as a member had posted reservations about these boats some time previously. Yes they go up & down in the swell if there is one, but at least you have something to hold on to. I found them to be better than I expected & other than a DUKW as good as you will get for landings in Antarctica link is :-

http://www.*****/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=2708&CatLevel=2&Cat1_ID=8&Cat2_ID=&Cat3_ID=&Cat4_ID=&FromSearch=True&SearchPage=%2Ftravelpage%2Faspgallery%2Fdefault%2Easp%3FCatLevel%3D2%26Cat1%5FID%3D8

That looks a lot to me, if it does not work go to the first bit of the website & find MS Nordkap in the "life on board" section of the photo galleries

Hooray, link worked when I checked

If you are prepared to consider an alternative, I suggest you check out Hutigruten, they use PolarCirkel boats. Far superior to a zodiac IMHO. Steps out with handrails on to a portable 3 step stool at the beach & a safety handrail down the middle of the boat. Downside is, 300 passengers on ship so shore time arranged in groups & usually only 1 hour duration, I did not find this a problem. My review of the cruise on MS Nordkap can be found on this board & that can give you a link to photos on webshots that has views of the boats in operation.

I agree totally. We did the Nordkapp cruise - in fact the last one before she ran aground. There was one person on our trip who was mobile but used a cane and he had no problem at all.

DON