WC accessible tours

[roughrider57]

I will be on the Cunard QM2 and RCI Legend of the Seas this June. I use a power wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy. I am looking for private shore excursion tours in an accessible vehicle (wheelchair lift or ramp) in Villefranche, Barcelona, Lisbon, and Vigo. I was able to arrange an accessible tour in Rome through driverinrome--Daniele and Monia were extremely helpful! I also need similar transportation from Southampton to London (from QM2), back to Southampton (to board Legend of the Seas), then back to Heathrow Airport at the conclusion of the second cruise. Does anyone know of any accessible tours in the above mentioned cities? Does anyone have any experience using euroadventures.net (in Spain and Portugal)?

I will be travelling with my wife and two teenage daughters. We are very excited about this trip! Many thanks for such a helpful board.

[DEL67]

I tried unsuccessfully to find accessible tours prior to our visit to Barcelona two summers ago, but perhaps things have changed.

 

Barcelona is a relatively accessible city. Most streets have good sidewalks and curb cuts. As a result, we did well on our own using the off/on tourist buses that circle the city. They are not all accessible, but we never had to wait more than 10 minutes for one with a ramp. In addition riding them gave us an overview of the city. Sites on the bus route that were all or partially accessible included the Picasso Museum, Gaudi Apartments, La Sangrada Familia (sp?) Church and the Miro Museum. We also enjoyed strolling up the Rambla.

 

The one issue you might have is getting from the pier to one of the bus stops. There are 2 or 3 companies with lift equipped minivans, but at a quick glance, I can not find any reference to them on the Barcelona website.

 

Have you considered taking a manual chair in addition to your power chair? The power chair is great aboard ship, but the manual chair provides much more flexibility ashore. In addition, at tender ports if the wheelchair lift is broken or unavailable, the crew will carry you down in a manual chair. They will not do so in a power chair.

[dbertell]

My wife (who is in a wheelchair) and I used handicapped transportation in Barcelona last year. We were getting off a Celebrity ship after a cruise from Venice. Now we arranged ahead of time handicapped transfers from the ship to the airport with Celebrity. And since Celebrity and RCI are jointly owned, I would think you would be able to contact the special needs desk at RCI and they should be able to help you. We were hoping for just a vehicle like a normal car that Linda could just get into out of her folding wheelchair. But they went a step further, and provided us with a taxi that had a roll up in the back and Linda could stay in her chair and was strapped down inside. Was very nice for transportation to the airport. It means it exists, RCI just needs to track it down for you. Hope that helps!

 

Dan B.

[Queenie2]

Accessible Barcelona can hook you up with taxi transfers, but I think the best way to see the city is on the tourist bus (as del did). It's really a pleasant city, and IMHO one of the most accessible choices in spain. I'd use David Player in Portugual. In the UK, try Wheelchair Travel UK for the transfers.

 

accessible Barcelona - http://www.accessiblebarcelona.com/

david player - http://www.player.pt/player/mysite/english/index_en.asp?pg=day_trips

Wheel Travel UK - http://www.wheelchair-travel.co.uk/

 

i wouldn't depend on the cruise lines, and I'd stay away from the mainstream travel companies (most require transferring to a coach seat).

 

candy