Wheelchairs on excursion buses

My sister and her husband are heading out on Emerald Princess June 4-17 on the Baltic Heritage cruise. They want to go on excursions to castles, museums, gardens, etc.

Her husband had spinal surgery some years ago, and still has much trouble walking very far. He will be using a wheelchair on the excursions, but can get onto the bus himself and walk short distances.

They are wondering whether or not these buses to the excursions typically have a place to load/store a wheelchair. He would not be able to take the excursion if they can't take the wheelchair along.

Anyone have any experience with the bus capabilities?

Thanks!!!

My sister and her husband are heading out on Emerald Princess June 4-17 on the Baltic Heritage cruise. They want to go on excursions to castles, museums, gardens, etc.

 

Her husband had spinal surgery some years ago, and still has much trouble walking very far. He will be using a wheelchair on the excursions, but can get onto the bus himself and walk short distances.

 

They are wondering whether or not these buses to the excursions typically have a place to load/store a wheelchair. He would not be able to take the excursion if they can't take the wheelchair along.

 

Anyone have any experience with the bus capabilities?

 

Thanks!!!

Some of the tour companies do, indeed, have space to store wheelchairs if the wheelchair can be folded and stored in the back of the bus (I have experience with Alla Tours and I know that they can accommodate wheelchairs - especially on their group Comfort Tour). That said, some of the tour itineraries offered by various vendors would not be appropriate for those with mobility impairments because they include many activities that include quite a bit of walking and many stairs. As with all group tours, one must possess the physical ability to keep-up with the group. I would encourage you to contact some of the frequently recommended tour companies to see which tours would be appropriate for those with mobility issues.

I took a manual wheelchair on the Alla 2 day Comfort Tour in SPB. No problem at all. Driver was very helpful and put it in the boot under the bus.

If you read through the various threads you will find all the information you need. There is also a Disabled Cruising Forum which comes under Specialist Cruising.

Some of the tour companies do, indeed, have space to store wheelchairs if the wheelchair can be folded and stored in the back of the bus (I have experience with Alla Tours and I know that they can accommodate wheelchairs - especially on their group Comfort Tour). That said, some of the tour itineraries offered by various vendors would not be appropriate for those with mobility impairments because they include many activities that include quite a bit of walking and many stairs. As with all group tours, one must possess the physical ability to keep-up with the group. I would encourage you to contact some of the frequently recommended tour companies to see which tours would be appropriate for those with mobility issues.

Thank you so much for the info!

They are definitely aware of the mobility restrictions of each of the tours they want, and they're not doing anything he can't do. Mostly museums, etc. where they can "roll". She is just worried about getting it onto the buses.

Princess told them to check with the excursion people straight away once on the ship and they can pretty much tell them immediately if they can or can't do it. We're just trying to plan.

I took a manual wheelchair on the Alla 2 day Comfort Tour in SPB. No problem at all. Driver was very helpful and put it in the boot under the bus.

 

If you read through the various threads you will find all the information you need. There is also a Disabled Cruising Forum which comes under Specialist Cruising.

Thanks a bunch!

I will try over on the Disabled forum also. I was on this one because I thought that people who have gone to this specific area would have more info on these specific buses.

I don't know what your ports of call are, or what you intend to do. This is what we did with wheelchair.

Amsterdam

My Dutch friend picked us up in her car

Copenhagen

HOHO bus which stopped right in front of our ship

Stockholm

We had an overnight so we bought a 24 hour travel card for use on public transport. We had a great time using buses, trams and the ferries. The drivers were very helpful in putting the ramps down. We went to the Vasa Museum on the bus.

Tallin

We took a taxi to the top of the hill and walked down. Not an easy town with a wheelchair. Our least favourite port of call as too touristy and quite expensive.

SPB

Alla 2 day Comfort Tour

Gdansk

Bit the bullet and took ship's excursion due to time constraints. Lovely town and the cheapest place.

We loved the Baltic and hope to do another cruise there with a different itinerary.

Princess told them to check with the excursion people straight away once on the ship and they can pretty much tell them immediately if they can or can't do it. We're just trying to plan.

What concerns me is that if they find out on the ship that Princess can't accommodate them, it will be too late to get the visa waiver for a private tour in St. Petersburg. The private tours are less expensive than the Princess tours, and use smaller vehicles so they can get closer to the attractions. We took a private tour of just our family, and our tour guide led us in front of the large ship groups waiting for entrance (our guide said that the museums limited their entrance) while we didn't have to wait.

We took a private tour for just our family, which we needed to do since we had a 3 year old, and that gave us the ability to stop and rest or feed our child whenever we needed to, and rearrange the schedule according to what we most wanted to see during the day. If your sister can afford it, she should consider booking a private tour for just her family, since St. Petersburg is an amazing destination and a private tour will let you maximize your time there, and do whatever you are most interested in.

I'd recommend that your sister contact the major tour guides in St. Petersburg, and explain the situation and see which one can best accommodate her husband's needs.

Tallinn was one of our favorite stops, and we really loved exploring its spectacularly preserved medieval center. Please note that this lovely city may be challenging for travelers with disabilities or families that use prams, since cars are not allowed in parts of the medieval center, and the cobblestones will make a stroller or wheelchair use difficult. Because my son has limited mobility without a stroller, our plan had been to take a pedicab around the city. There were some pedicabs at the port when we returned to the ship in the afternoon; however, the pedicabs were not yet available at 9 am when we left the ship (we visited Tallinn on their independence day holiday so this may not always be the case). Instead, we took a cab to the top of Toompea Hill (this is where the lovely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located) and then walked down. Our son was able to climb the city walls (although the passage is very narrow and steep), and there were gorgeous views. In the main square, we found a pedicab, and we were able to take a very enjoyable 15 minute pedicab tour through the charming city. They are also available for hire for longer tours to all the major tourist stops. Since our son loves trains, we also rode on a tourist train that departs from Kullassepa street whenever it is full and makes a 20 minute loop around the city. We were fortunate to sit in the very back, since we had a great spot to take photographs from the back of the train.

Kitkat

I have already said I took a wheelchair on our trip with Alla in SPB, so it's not a problem. They had even detailed before I booked exactly how many steps there were to negotiate and how many metres of walking distance.

I had no problem as the guide also arranged special entrance into the attractions to avoid queues and use lifts.

Thank you so much for the info!

 

They are definitely aware of the mobility restrictions of each of the tours they want, and they're not doing anything he can't do. Mostly museums, etc. where they can "roll". She is just worried about getting it onto the buses.

 

Princess told them to check with the excursion people straight away once on the ship and they can pretty much tell them immediately if they can or can't do it. We're just trying to plan.

Just to clarify: My post related to the independent tour companies in St. Petersburg, not the ship tours. The Comfort tour cannot be booked through Princess - it must be booked through Alla Tours (http://alla-tour.com/tours/). I have no idea whether or not the company hired by Princess has vans that can accommodate wheelchairs. I would not wait until aboard ship to book excursions in St. Petersburg - it the ship cannot accommodate, it will be too late to book with any of the independent tour companies and your sister may be stuck without a viable tour option in St. Pete. The independent companies offer more affordable options and much smaller group sizes. Most on this board will agree ... the independent tours are far superior to the ship tours.

Just to clarify: My post related to the independent tour companies in St. Petersburg, not the ship tours. The Comfort tour cannot be booked through Princess - it must be booked through Alla Tours (http://alla-tour.com/tours/). I have no idea whether or not the company hired by Princess has vans that can accommodate wheelchairs. I would not wait until aboard ship to book excursions in St. Petersburg - it the ship cannot accommodate, it will be too late to book with any of the independent tour companies and your sister may be stuck without a viable tour option in St. Pete. The independent companies offer more affordable options and much smaller group sizes. Most on this board will agree ... the independent tours are far superior to the ship tours.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful.

I know her husband is very stubborn and INSISTS that they ONLY do tours attached to the ship so that if something goes wrong, they won't be left behind or have any trouble getting back, etc. I, personally, prefer to independent tours myself also, but he's really putting his foot down on this one. He's scared, I'm sure. He's not been limited in mobility before - I think it's making him more apprehensive and super super careful.

livetogo

Show the husband all the glowing reports about the independent companies in SPB. All the recommended companies are extremely competent and experienced with the tours for cruises. It is not in their interests for somebody miss the ship.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful.

 

I know her husband is very stubborn and INSISTS that they ONLY do tours attached to the ship so that if something goes wrong, they won't be left behind or have any trouble getting back, etc. I, personally, prefer to independent tours myself also, but he's really putting his foot down on this one. He's scared, I'm sure. He's not been limited in mobility before - I think it's making him more apprehensive and super super careful.

If it's a 2-day stop in St Petersburg, perhaps he could be persuaded to do an independent tour on the first day? That gives him a clear 24 hours to get back in case of delays.

Our daughter uses a manual wheelchair and we went on a 2 day SPB Group tour in St. Petersburg. They were very professional and were able to assist us in visiting the major tourist sites. The only places that we had difficulty were lunch stops. Not many restaurants are accessible and we had to maneuver up and down stairs at times. The best part about the independent tours was the small group. We all looked out for each other. The ship excursions looked much larger and I can see how it would be easy to get left behind. The ship tour guides have more guests to attend to so probably less personal service. I would recommend a tour with Alla or SPB that is geared for "comfort" or "slow walkers." We didn't choose this because we wanted to see as many sights as possible and were prepared for the lifting and carrying at times. I specifically remember good wheelchair access at Peterhof, the Hermitage, and St. Catherine's Palace.

When we were on a cruise to Guatemala, there were very limited private tour options because Guatemala charges a lot to the cruise ships to visit so very few cruises stop there. It was a real shame, as the country is beautiful and we had an amazing tour guide who unfortunately needed to work full time in a banana factory because there weren't enough tourists that people could work full time in the tourism industry. I was very hesitant to book with this tour company since someone had previously written a review on cruise critic saying the tour operator forgot about the time and they got back late to the ship. The holland America ship captains wife and daughter happened to be on the late tour, and the captain made an announcement saying he'd try to wait for his wife and daughter but might need to leave them behind. Fortunately they weren't too late and were able to reboard without a problem.

The reason I decided to use this company (besides the fact that there were very few options) was that my family booked a private tour. I figured if it started to get late and we said " thanks we've had a wonderful time and would like to go back to the ship now" they'd take us back immediately since we were the only people in our tour group. So maybe he'd feel better with a private tour of just his family? You have complete control over the itinerary and can return to the ship as early as you need to in order to feel safe. Honestly there are so many well established Russian companies that no one would choose a company that left people behind.

Id honestly hate to see someone with a disability on a ship tour - there is a lot of wasted time waiting to enter museums on line (we kept skipping in front of ship tour groups at every major attraction) and waiting to get everyone boarded and organized on line every time you go back to the bus.

And if he still insists on using the cruise tour, please email the princess disability services office ahead of time to find out if the princess tours can accommodate a wheelchair. Your sister cannot wait until you board to ask this question, since it will be too late for the private companies to process a visa, and no one will be allowed to clear Russian customs without a visa or a visa waiver from the ship or a private tour company.

We took a private tour a few years ago in SPB and it was wonderful.

They put the wheel chair in the trunk of the car. My husband wheeled me thru everything we saw. We had both a tour guide and a driver. The guide knew all the handicapped entrances. We toured all day the first day, then they dropped us at a place for dinner and ballet. 2nd day more touring then dropped us back to ship. Others took ship excursions and did not see half of what we did.

Was well worth what we spent knowing we would probably not be back there again.