Cthulhu_Awakens

Nothing amazing but finally started to go through a few pictures from my august/September Mediterranean cruise. 

On 8/17/2022 at 6:07 AM, Paul S said:

For some of us the opportunity of shooting outside our usual locations and wanting to bring back outstanding images is  a major part of the enjoyment of the trip. In my bag I bring two bodies plus four overlapping zoom lenses, a couple of teleconverters and where possible a tripod and a few filters. Admittedly this is APS-C mirrorless, which reduces the weight somewhat, but both bodies have vertical grips and take extra batteries which then adds to the load. I don't carry everything when out and about, but at least I have a decent selection from which to choose for that day's circumstances. I also carry a little pocket sized Sony R100 III used for my work. This shoots RAW and has an optical viewfinder, so I have something with me at the restaurant, or whenever I don't want (or it's not practical) to take something bigger, plus failing everything else a decent phone which shoots RAW. I suspect I'm not the only one, but having been a keen photographer for more than 50 years I do feel rather naked when out and about without one of my cameras in my hand.

To piggy back your comment about shooting outside our usual locations. My excitement for my first vacation ever has just gone through the roof because I've recently gotten back into photography after 20+ years(last did it with film in high school in the mid to late 90s). I just purchased (for 950$) 2 months ago, a used Canon 70D with a EFS10-18, EFS18-135, EFS 24mm, and an EF 70-200 f/4L IS ii USM.

My cruise to the Mediterranean(Italy and Montenegro) starts next weekend and I'm curious if I should buy a 50mm. I'm thinking about passing for now since the 24mm on a crop is roughly 39mm.

Is there anything else I should be thinking of? I have extra batteries, SD cards, and a messenger bag. I'm going to leave the 18-135mm home since the extra weight/space isn't great for between 24-70 ( even though I know that is a huge hole that is a big part of pictures). My bag has spots for 3 lenses (though the nifty 50 and 24mm could probably fit in one of the sections if I went that route). 

19 minutes ago, FOPMan said:

We’d booked directly with the Vatican at https://tickets.museivaticani.va/.

 

Viator and other outlets are now selling tickets- we’d gone a number of years ago where there were less places to get the tickets. Most museums in Europe offer discounted rates for an individual accompanying an individual with disabilities. Occasionally, documentation is asked for. Because of the different ways disabilities are managed between the US and Europe, US residents don’t have the same documentation. A US vehicle hangtag is often sufficient, however. I don’t recall ever being asked for ID when using a wheelchair, scooter, or rollator, but it’s also super-obvious that my body doesn’t work “normally.”

Was looking through the site and couldn't find anything for disabilities and then visited the support page and this is on there for booking online with disabilities. 😕

Q. Is it possible to book online tickets for disabled visitors?

A. No, tickets for the disabled and accompanying person are issued directly at the Special Permits Desk. Kindly approach the Special Permits Desk and present required documents testifying the disability.

2 minutes ago, FOPMan said:

Two of our better moves in Rome were reserving breakfast in the Vatican, which included a good breakfast and early access to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. Kind of pricey, but very much worth it. We “saved” hours in line.

 

The second thing was a golf cart tour. While I was using a scooter at the time, I shifted to a rollator for the (3 hour) early evening tour. 
 

The driver/tour guide could go pretty much anywhere in central Rome- just a few feet (like 10) from pretty much everything. We saw an awful lot in those three hours.

The breakfast and early access to the Vatican sounds awesome!  We're suppose to arrive in Rome at 730AM so something like that would be great since we can't go into our hotel until 3pm or so. We can drop off our luggage but no access to the room.

15 minutes ago, CGinMTL said:

I love romeinlimo.  And they are in almost all Italian ports.

Here is what I do. Write one email for your " in a perfect world scenario". Including all that you want. And then send the same mail ( BCC works great) to all the companies. And see what they say 

 

I have and they said they do not have any vehicles available that do not require the wheelchair user to transfer into a seat. My wife has very limited ability to transfer and everything has to be perfect for her to be able to push herself up into a passenger seat. So we don't want to risk her struggling to transfer after a long days excursion or that the seat in a vehicle might be too high. 

On 8/5/2022 at 3:54 PM, kokopelli-az said:

You didn't say if your wife's wheelchair is collapsible, but my husband has a collapsible wheelchair we took to Europe.  We used Papillon Services for sightseeing.   They were beyond excellent and arranged an excursion specifically for us.  It was one of the best excursions we have ever done.  I don't know if they have vehicles with a lift but you could certainly contact them if you need one.   They have tours to a lot of the places you will be.   We told them what we wanted and they put together a tour for us,  They said they could include a winery tour so I'm sure they could put together something with a winery(ies).    They were very responsive and answered our questions quickly.

 

https://www.papillonservice.com/

 

 

Here are some other companies we considered but did not use.   I basically emailed all of them and told them about the wheelchair and the basics of what we wanted to do.   

 

https://www.joebananalimos.net/cruise-port-tours

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/

 

http://www.shoreexcursionsinitaly.net/2/shoreexcursions_in_italy_tours_3161377.html

 

https://www.stefanorometours.com/

 

Here's one we did not research but they cater to wheelchair users:

https://www.romeanditaly.com/accessible/accessible-shore-excursions/

 

How possible is it to do Rome without a driver? We're already at 475$ for the Airport to hotel transfer and the Hotel to ship transfer. We're trying to save some money and we're thinking of booking a higher cost hotel near the Pantheon in Rome so we can walk to Trevi fountain, Colosseum, and Vatican/Sistine Chapel. It looks about 2-2.5km from the Vatican and we have a powered wheelchair available to use if its easier to get around with it.

18 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

You want Via S. Gregorio Armeno, it's where they sell the precepi parts (the nativity scenes that Naples is famous for).  Some of them are still made locally but much is now mass produced, so look carefully at anything you consider purchasing (if local made is important to you, that is).

 

I don't know what the clay carvings are.

 

There are ferries to Sorrento and back throughout the day, all from Molo Beverello, the port adjacent to the cruise port.

Thanks for the info! I think the comments about how crappy Naples is for wheelchairs is giving her second thoughts. We're looking for accessible tours for Sorrento and a cooking/tasting tour nearby.

10 hours ago, ollienbertsmum said:

Cruisemom you voiced my thoughts.  We did a wander around the old town and saw some rather smart high fashion shoes.  We saw some veg and fresh fish shops.  The streets were not however accessible.  

 

The last med cruise we went to had to miss Naples due to bad weather.  Many passengers, including us, had to cancel tours to the Amalfi Coast.  We got a ‘shopping day’ in Civitavecchia instead.  Most of us were gutted.  

 

Sorrento would be a better shopping option in my opinion.  Try getting there by train/ferry/bus tour.  

She wants to go to some christmas alley or something. She also wants to see the people that do clay carvings and a various of other things. She also wants to head to Sorrento to shop too.

2 hours ago, marazul said:

If you find out that you can manage the tenders, both Kotor and Portofino have flat, level streets in town right near the tender docks. No need to plan anything special. Just enjoy the towns.

Great to know!  Thank you!

4 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

What is your next port?  If you're heading north you will see some of the coast (Vietri sul Mare, in particular) as you pull in and out, but a big cruise ship will not travel close enough to short to see much.  If you've ever come in and out of Port Everglades in Florida you get the idea, a long perpendicular route straight out and away from the coast.

 

Pompei and Herculaneum in the same day is a bit of a push.  With a guided overview tour, a minimal stop at Pompei will require three hours.  It will take about a half hour to drive between Pompei and Herculeneum, then assuming a two hour stay and a one hour ride back to Salerno you'd be back at the ship around 3:30.  Note that this does not include time for lunch - add in lunch and it's a full day.  A responsible car service is not going to head out along the Amalfi Coast road anywhere near the time you need to be back, the traffic would make the risk of not getting back too high.

 

If you eat lunch on the run and get back with a couple of hours to spare, you could have your driver take you to Vietri sul Mare, the eastern most of the Amalfi Coast villages and the one know for ceramics.

 

If you just go to Pompei and return to Salerno, you could have your driver drop you off at the Concordia ferry dock, where you could get a ferry along the coast and back easily.

After Naples our next port is south, in Messina. Oops, that was asked of a different poster.

19 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

 

 

The above!

Naples is a nightmare, even for those who are fleet of foot.  I would not like to try to navigate the streets and pavements with a wheelchair, either as a user or companion).  Cars and more dangerously, scooters use the roads as a race track and also park anywhere.  They consider the pavements as prime parking locations.

What are your other ports?  I have found (well, let's be precise, DW has found) that even Livorno has better shopping than Naples.

Leaving from Rome, then La Spieza, Portofino(tendered, so wont be planning anything), Naples, Messina, Kotor(tendered, wont be planning anything), Koper, Ravenna. Were going to Bologna from Ravenna to avoid Venice.

On 8/5/2022 at 3:54 PM, kokopelli-az said:

You didn't say if your wife's wheelchair is collapsible, but my husband has a collapsible wheelchair we took to Europe.  We used Papillon Services for sightseeing.   They were beyond excellent and arranged an excursion specifically for us.  It was one of the best excursions we have ever done.  I don't know if they have vehicles with a lift but you could certainly contact them if you need one.   They have tours to a lot of the places you will be.   We told them what we wanted and they put together a tour for us,  They said they could include a winery tour so I'm sure they could put together something with a winery(ies).    They were very responsive and answered our questions quickly.

 

https://www.papillonservice.com/

 

 

Here are some other companies we considered but did not use.   I basically emailed all of them and told them about the wheelchair and the basics of what we wanted to do.   

 

https://www.joebananalimos.net/cruise-port-tours

 

https://www.romeinlimo.com/

 

http://www.shoreexcursionsinitaly.net/2/shoreexcursions_in_italy_tours_3161377.html

 

https://www.stefanorometours.com/

 

Here's one we did not research but they cater to wheelchair users:

https://www.romeanditaly.com/accessible/accessible-shore-excursions/

 

Thank you for all this information. I have talked extensively over the weekend with Sharon from papillon service and it has been an absolute treat. While it may not work out for us to use her services, I have been completely blown away by her kindness and her attempt to make our travel work. Very impressed. 

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

Must you do everything together?

 

If all you want is a view of the coast you can take a train to Salerno, then a ferry along the coast, followed by a ferry to Sorrrento and another to return to Naples.  It's pretty easy and it wouldn't take all day, but probably more time than your wife will want to give up.  Could you meet her somewhere in Naples in the afternoon?

Not possible unfortunately. She’s disabled and in a wheelchair and while we do have a powered wheelchair for long periods of travel/shopping, I(we) wouldn’t feel very comfortable leaving her alone in a foreign country to shop. Not to mention my bank account wouldn’t survive!!! (I kid,I kid)(somewhat)! 
 

I appreciate the info though! 

1 hour ago, marazul said:

You do not cruise past the Amalfi coast if you port in Naples. You cruise past it if you port in Amalfi or Salerno. 

Thank you!

We’re porting in Naples and I want to go to the Amalfi coast but my wife wants to do some shopping/eating in Naples. We have watched videos of Naples and the Amalfi coast and we’re wondering if you can get decent views from the ship when you sail by? She saw videos that had some cruise ships going by. I know she’ll be bored with the drive to the coast and will love to see a view or two, but it can’t compete with shopping in Naples. 

3 hours ago, kokopelli-az said:

What are your port stops and which cruise line?

9 Nights Italy, Sicily & Montenegro from Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy | Celebrity Cruises

Rome, Florence(La Spieza), Portafino, Naples, Sicily(Messina), Kotor, Koper, Venice(Ravenna)

Landing in Rome the day before(August 26th) and then flying from Venice to Paris the night of the 5th and coming home the 7th.

Hello all,

I’m so overwhelmed and completely stressed out. We had a different vacation planned(sandals resort) but had to pivot last minute due to accessibility changes. Me and my wife now leave for a 9 night Mediterranean cruise and we’re adding a 2 day stop in Paris after the cruise ends. 

My wife is disabled and is in her chair with only limited ability to transfer, but not able to walk. I’m trying to find accessible excursions. I’ve checked into Sage, viator, and a few others but the prices seem insane. Close to or even over a thousand dollars for walking tours. I’m stressed to the max because I’m trying to find things for her/us to do but I can’t find anything accessible. She wants to make a pizza, make some pasta, wine tasting, etc… 99% of the tours that are accessible are get in a van and visit a few historic places or walk around the city. 

What are some other companies/sites that offer accessible tours? What are some hints and tips? I’m so stressed out trying to make this a great vacation for her. I’ve never been on a vacation and this is all new to me. Any tips and advice will greatly be appreciated. 
 

thank you.