Excursion Advice

[Cruisevirgin1965]

We will be on the NCL Spirit on the Grand Mediterrian cruise this coming July. We are a group of 7. My mom is in a wheelchair (collapsible) and she can do the couple of stairs in and out of a van/mini bus. My husband will be a few months post-op from a hip replacement and a few months pre-op for the other hip replacement. In many of our ports I have found private van tours but these aren't offered in all. When I search for accessible tours I find ones but they have a limit of 3 or 4 people and we would all like to travel together. We do not require a specialty van, but need something her wheelchair can go into and a tour that we can do at our own pace. Does anyone have experience with any good tour companies in any of the following ports who may be able to accommodate us.

Ports -

Mykonos, Greece

Athens, Greece

Venice, Italy

 

Thanks in advance.

[Splinter]

In Venice you are not going to find van tours. People get around by walking or boat. Some of the vaporettos (water bus or taxi) are accessible. You need to find out how you get from the cruise ship pier (in an industrial area) to the main part of the tourists areas. We went by boat (arranged by the cruise line), so their rules would apply for any mobility equipment. Here is a map that shows accessible walking routes and locations in Venice:

http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1318

 

In Athens, you will actually be in Piraeus, a port in the Athens suburbs. There are a number of companies that run either bus or van tours.

 

Suggest you Google "shore excursions" or "port excursions" plus the port name to find tours which you can use at these ports without going through the cruise line.

[Knolmom]

If you can get to the Piazza Roma area where the Grand Canal begins, you can get on the Vaparetto there that is roll right on. It is the first and last stop so you can be assured of a spot for the chair and a disabled seat near the window.for others.Thsi Vap stops at St Marks Square, another easily accessable station, so you can roll right through the square. It is crowded but always a place to stop and sit for a minute. You can get to the stores there pretty much as far back as the Rialto area and there are some sidewalk cafe's on the side streets to take luch without paying exorbitant prices. I have been to Venice twice in the last two years using a rollator.. Tough but double. Be careful using a cane as the stones are slippery best to use a rollator for stability. May of the bridges now have ramps but it would be tough to push a chair. i think St Marks would be the big sight up close and personal and then a complete round trip circle on the vaparetto, maybe once during the day and once after dark, it is truly magnificent.