QUESTION: Embera Indian Village

My husband and I are scheduled to sail on the Equinox for an 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise in just a few days.

We have been on 19 cruises and this will be our 20th.

Holland America uses 'walking men icons..., one, two or three', to indicate the ease or difficulty of each of their shore excursions.

Princess also has a fairly good system for rating SE's.

Now, this is our second Celebrity Cruise. The system used for their shore excursions regarding ease or difficulty is very hard to figure out. The only way to know for sure is to ask someone who has been on that particular SE.

This is where I need your help. We have signed up for the Embera Indian Village SE...it is around 6 1/2 hrs.

My husband has MS and though he has limitations, we have been on many shore excursions rated easy to moderate.

My concerns: How much walking is involved? My husband is able to walk for short distances rather than say a longer trek of a mile or more. Restroom facilities I understand are on the rough side, but how often are we offered an opportunity to use one. Some shore excursions, the guides are terrific about that 'need' and others (like in China) where our guide often would wait a long time before we had the opportunity :-/

How difficult is it to get into and out of the dugout canoe?

And, if you feel it might to be too difficult for us:)...what alternative would you suggest for Panama....we have already been through the locks and done the tour on a previous Panama cruise.

Thank you!:)

I just viewed this shore excursion from the Celebrity website and it is rated for a activity level of moderate. Here is what they say about what moderate activity level means. See picture with caption text.

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You might ask over on the Panama Canal ports of call board. It is a popular excursion, and I'm sure someone who has been can answer your question

I might also add, to answer your original question about the website providing information on how strenuous or it easy the different shorts versions are, Celebrity uses a number system (1, 2, or 3) with 1 being mild, 2 is moderate and 3 being strenuous. As the number gets higher, the harder and more difficult the excursion is.

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My husband and I are scheduled to sail on the Equinox for an 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise in just a few days.

 

We have been on 19 cruises and this will be our 20th.

 

Holland America uses 'walking men icons..., one, two or three', to indicate the ease or difficulty of each of their shore excursions.

 

Princess also has a fairly good system for rating SE's.

 

Now, this is our second Celebrity Cruise. The system used for their shore excursions regarding ease or difficulty is very hard to figure out. The only way to know for sure is to ask someone who has been on that particular SE.

 

This is where I need your help. We have signed up for the Embera Indian Village SE...it is around 6 1/2 hrs.

 

My husband has MS and though he has limitations, we have been on many shore excursions rated easy to moderate.

 

My concerns: How much walking is involved? My husband is able to walk for short distances rather than say a longer trek of a mile or more. Restroom facilities I understand are on the rough side, but how often are we offered an opportunity to use one. Some shore excursions, the guides are terrific about that 'need' and others (like in China) where our guide often would wait a long time before we had the opportunity :-/

 

How difficult is it to get into and out of the dugout canoe?

 

And, if you feel it might to be too difficult for us:)...what alternative would you suggest for Panama....we have already been through the locks and done the tour on a previous Panama cruise.

 

Thank you!:)

It requires the ability to step over seats and to balance yourself while entering and leaving the canoe, as well as sitting down on a low seat inside the canoe and then getting up from it.

But there are employees right there who would undoubtedly help if you asked.

Maybe ask if you can be the last one into the canoe so you can sit right down in the first seat at the end, right where you step into the canoe, avoiding the need to walk any distance climbing over seats inside the long canoe.

You just sit there, looking around and enjoying the scenery; no paddling required.

Once you get to the village, it requires walking up an embankment that is not particularly steep, but it is uphill.

You can go at your own pace and take your time.

After that, you can just sit down to watch the entertainment and there is nothing strenuous or challenging. They bring the food right to you.

They invite the visitors to join them in some of their dances, and it is your choice to participate or just sit and watch, as you wish.

You can wander around and look at some of the booths with handicrafts around the perimeter, but that is all level walking.

I guess I should mention that we got caught in a storm on our canoe ride back and we all got soaking wet, so would advise bringing a plastic bag along just in case, for your camera or anything else that you would mind getting wet.

I tried to put on one of those plastic ponchos that I had in my bag, but the wind was too strong. Should have put it on as soon as I saw those dark clouds in the distance, before we hit the wind and rain.

The ride out there was very pleasant though.

I did that tour a year ago, and getting into and out of the dugout is NOT for those with any sort of balance issue. I am able bodied but am in my 70's and it was a real challenge for me. The guide was there to help out of the canoe, but only after you climbed over the seats with the canoe rocking.

It did not rain, but the spray from the canoe got everyone wet….the canoe is motorized.

However, the Embera Village was very interesting.

Just a thought:

At the beginning of your cruise, go to the Shore Excursion Desk, tell them that you are interested in this tour and ask them to contact the vendor to see if they will arrange to have someone available to assist your husband in getting in and out of the canoe.

Certainly you can ask for assistance when you get there, but for peace of mind it may be better to know that you have the arrangements set up in advance.

Also, many times a ship employee will go along on a ship's excursion and I have seen them offer assistance to passengers who need it as well.

It would be a shame to miss out on a 6 and 1/2 hour tour you want to take because of a balance issue that involves less than a minute of time at each end of the canoe ride, and with which a sturdy person could easily assist you.

Now that I think about it, even better if you can have a sturdy person stand beside the canoe on each side to provide support and balance for your husband as he enters and leaves, it should be no problem at all.

To All:

Thank you all for your suggestions!

It helps to know exactly how the excursion goes....walking, balance, etc.

And THANK YOU for telling me about the difficulty getting in and out of the dugout canoe. I sort of figured that might be the issue for hubby.

I have read so many good things about this excursion and how wonderful it is. I would hate to miss it. But, I will check with the shore excursion desk and over on the Panama Canal board to ask as well.

Yes, a person on either side of hubby to help him balance to get in and out of the canoe would do the trick. He does have a walking stick he uses for walking short distances.

By the way, the story of the storm while riding in the canoe...now that isn't something I would expect! Thank you for the heads up!

I still am a bit leery about that particular excursion, but will check out all options and will also go to the disability board here (I think there is one?)

Here is a picture of loading the cayuco at the village.

Very helpful thread! Thank you. We have a group doing this excursion next month. ;)