Waynetor

Thanks - looks very similar to the Island P we were on recently - its very tight getting a wheelchair beside the bed in order to do a transfer when someone can't stand by themselves.

Can anyone provide a photo of an inside accessible cabin sleeping area on the Enchanted P?

Thanks for the info - very helpful

Thanks but my wife can't get in a normal taxi - how far was it?

My wife and I are interested in going to the Aquarium.(Europe's largest) She is in a wheelchair and can't transfer. I looked at various sites and saw the distance from the cruise port as being 7km, then 2.1 km and then 1km. Has anybody been there and how far from the port is it? Is there public transit that is accessible by wheelchair?

Thanks for replies We are cruising in and out of Barcelona so will look into it.

Wondering if anyone has taken a lift for transfers from wheelchair to bed and back to wheelchair on a cruise ship. Any experience taking one on an airplane?

Having free tokens for elite members would be cheaper for Princess over having them do the laundry but if they did that, what's to stop people from giving them to friends that are not elite. Always somebody looking to take advantage of a program.

We disembarked Jy 26 - there were luggage tags with codes being called between 8 and 820 for early flights and 9 to 920 for later flights. Other times were self disembarking or tours. They ended up being ahead of schedule and everyone was called by around 9am It was about an hour and half to the airport

On the Island P in the Patter each day the open hours are listed for each food service location That was the only place the Pub Lunch was mentioned. The Patter now is only 1 page double sided so not much advertising or descriptions. If you want to now when something dining wise will happen, ask a head waiter. .

My wife's wheelchair is 2" wider than standard - We were able to get into the h/c cabin no problem but the space between the bed and wall was very tight. I had to turn my night stand sideways and push the bed over a couple inches in order to get her chair to fit beside the bed in order to do a transfer. This was on the Island P. We have had this issue on other ships also. '

I was on the ship for 28 nights Ju 28 to Jy 26 and did not see any mention of a crab-shack. The pup lunch was offered once per 14 night segment. It was in the main dinning room and was just a case of 3 pup items replacing some of the other lunch options. Besides the pup items, burgers were also offered as they are everyday. There is no pup atmosphere when done in the dinning room. Never know with Princess, but hard to imaging charging for Bangers and Mash when the buffet offers plenty of items that are better quality for free (my opinion)

The Island has 2 specialty dinning rooms, 2 general dinning room, buffet, grill and pizza on pool deck. None of the Alfredo type restaurant..

We just got back from a Princess cruise. My wife is confined to a wheelchair. I was able to book 2 tours for her. Each tour had room for 1 wheelchair - one using a ramp and the other a lift. If some had booked it using w/o really needing those spaces she would not have been able to do any tours. Having booked the tours we still needed to go to the excursion desk on the first day to fill out a form confirming wheelchair details.- size, weight etc.

I'm not aware of any way to pre book special meals. The standard is to go to the dining room that is open when embarking and talk to the head person there. They will help with that nights menu. For each night one of the head waiters will bring the next nights menu to you and you can order what you want and it will be prepared special for you considering your special needs( gluten, salt free etc). Some items may be marked gluten free in the buffet but I am not aware of any way to pre-book meals there.

Just got off the Island P - it was offered once per segment in the main dinning room - no real pub atmosphere. They just add the pub items to the lunch menu replacing the some other items. Hamburgers were still available.

Long day for us yesterday. Our colour was to meet at 9:05 but because of the wheelchair van for us we were asked to meet at the deck 5 bar at *:50 - we were there at 8:40 and were told our coolour had already been called so off we went and by the time we got to the luggage area there was only 4 bags left including our 2 so they were well ahead getting passengers off. The van that was to take us to Heathrow was not there so the Princess rep called the driver who said he was tied up with another ride and would be late. The Princess rep then went over to where taxis were waiting and there was one there that could handle a wheelchair so Princess ended up paying 185GB to have us driven to Heathrow - a great deal for us considering we paid the normal transfer fee. Several hour wait for the flight - we ended up getting to our condo at 2:30Am this morning London time. Very glad we had a direct flight. I had talked to a couple from Vancouver that were routed - London - Dallas- Vancouver. Rather ridiculous considering there was a direct London Vancouver flight. Overall the meals were fine - not too much that was real special. There was one pork lion meal that 3 people at our table ordered and all said it was way over salted and could not eat it. The shape of the ship was as expected. There were a couple minor things like taps that were out of service for extended periods and some automatic doors were also out of service for several days. Staff overall was wonderful. My opinion on the Cruise Director staff was below par. Some of the game shows are greatly improved by staff with a great sense of humour and I felt they came up a bit short in this area. I. Normally there would be a staff person near the wash basins entering the buffet but the person would rarely say anything to those just walking in without stopping which was over 50% of those entering the buffet.. Our next cruise will be 21 nights on the Enchanted P Sp 30 - Oc 20 R/t from Barcelona across the north coast of the Med. Sea and back.

Our last day was a sea day - unusual to have 3 of the last 4 days on a 14 night voyage being sea days. Best weather day since we boarded back in June. Sunny with very little breeze and temp in low/mid 60's. There were more people on the pool deck today than all the 27 previous days combined. . Late afternoon we swung around the Land End area of England moving from the Irish Sea to the English Channel.. At diner we could see the outline of the British coast. We got conformation last evening that a wheelchair ride to the airport will be available for us at 9 am tomorrow morning. Other than the sad act of having to pact, it was a verily typical sea day. I did not see the upturned sugar boat yesterday. I did walk past the Oak Mall - seemed like a lot of people coming and going including several crew loading up on supplies but it certainly would be a matter of what it is being compared to. 9 weeks to go until next cruise - time to start planning

Jy 24, day 27 – Greenock (for Glasgow), Scotland 7am – 5pm our day Today was our last port of call on this voyage. More cloud than sun but still a nice day. . I had booked the Princess wheelchair accessible excursion “Easy Scottish Lochs” from 7:30 – 11:30 for both of us. The description was - Indulge in a leisurely, half-day guided exploration via motorcoach along the bonny banks of Loch Lomond, Scotland's second largest freshwater lake. Tour the picturesque village of Luss located on Loch Lomond. View its stone cottages and visit the pier for awe-inspiring vistas of the loch, renowned for its loveliness and tranquillity. Continue your scenic drive along Loch Lomond, dotted with islands on its southern end, resembling a fjord at its northern end and offering picture postcard views around every corner. Enjoy photo opportunities at Rest and Be Thankful an overlook featuring stunning panoramas of Highland glens and mountains. Then travel along the glistening waters of Loch Eck and Holy Loch en route to the village of Hunters Quay where you will board a ferry and cross the River Clyde en route to Greenock and your Princess ship. This made for an early start for us. The tour was basically as described but was done in reverse order. We were on a large bus that had a wheelchair lift so Freda was able to get out and enjoy some countryside for a change. We had 40 minutes at the village at Loch Lomand. The residents their take great pride in the flower gardens. One farm we passed had a few Llama – not expecting to see that. The port description in my intro is from the local tourism but it was not our experience today. Getting off the ship there was a lone piper. Those doing excursion went straight to their buses, so I did not go through the terminal until around 2pm – there was no indication of any greeting or even maps available. There was a band on the dock as we pulled away from the pier. After lunch I headed to town for a couple hour look-around. Great mix of historical buildings and modern buildings. There is a god walkway along the waterfront. There were several statues including one for James Watt. There is also a Watts Institution which included the Watt Library (closed today) A little side story – As I mentioned in the above Greenock intro, this is the home city of James Watt (1736-1819), the famous Scottish Inventor and mechanical engineer who developed the concept of horsepower and the unit of power, the “watt”, was named after him. He named his first born son James and the tradition of such naming has continued for every first born to a James to this day. I know the current James Watt. He lives about an hour outside Toronto and is a well-known doctor and well-known Canadian philatelist. Some passengers took a train to Glasgow – it was a 42 minute ride. Today’s thought of the day - Cruising isn't a competition; it's a holiday.

Jy 24 Greenock (Glasgow) Scotland, Monday 7 – 5 intro Greenock cruise ship terminal (officially "Greenock Ocean Terminal") features a waterfront walkway connecting to downtown (at approx 5-min easy walking distance). In 2023 the terminal was updated (GBP 19,2 million project / ~USD 23,3M / ~EUR 21,9M) and a new visitor center (leisure complex) was inaugurated. The new complex consists of a museum (paying tribute to George Ralston Wyllie/1921-2012, Scottish sculptor), a restaurant, a hall (for arrivals/departures) as well as a roof terrace overlooking Clyde River. As the port for Glasgow and the west coast of Scotland, Greenock Ocean Terminal is perfectly positioned for a cruise itinerary that guarantees a warmth of welcome. It is the gateway to some of Scotland’s most breathtaking scenery and a host of exciting excursions and attractions, including the architectural, cultural and shopping delights of Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. At the head of the sheltered and scenic Clyde estuary on Scotland’s Atlantic coast, the deep water quay combines modern quayside facilities with a fantastic location. From the moment passengers disembark to the stirrings sounds of a traditional piper’s welcome, they experience the friendliness and character for which Scotland is world renowned. Dedicated staff are on hand to ensure passengers enjoy a cheerful greeting and a seamless transfer to the many excursion opportunities including places such as Glasgow, Loch Lomond and Edinburgh. Every cruise ship that visits is greeted by the greatest ambassadors of our local area, volunteers from the Inverclyde Tourist Group (ITG). Dressed in their distinctive tartan uniforms, these dedicated local residents are an outstanding source of information and assistance for visitors. Passengers not participating on pre booked tours can spend time with the ambassadors learning about the many places of interest nearby and can enjoy free local tours in the Inverclyde district including Greenock, Gourock and Newark Castle. The ITG team are seasoned professionals in welcoming cruise passengers and crew. The ambassadors also provide transportation timetables, information on local attractions, eating out, shopping, phone cards for sale and access to the internet. Passengers preferring to explore the local area can sample the town of Greenock with its spectacular views over the River Clyde from The Esplanade. The viewpoint at Lyle Hill boasts vistas of Loch Long, Holy Loch, Loch Goil, Gareloch, the Argyll Hills and a number of Munros on a clear day. The town was originally built on herring fishing which developed the shipbuilding industry bringing prosperity to the region in the 19th and 20th centuries. This is evident in the many examples of fine Victorian architecture such as the Municipal Buildings, Sheriff Court, Custom House and the McLean Museum which is most certainly worth a visit to learn more about the fascinating history of Greenock and the local area. James Watt (1736-1819), the famous Scottish Inventor and mechanical engineer is one of Greenock’s most celebrated sons. He developed the concept of horsepower and the unit of power, the “watt”, was named after him. James Watt is commemorated in Greenock by a college, library, pub and street. The 21st century has seen a £400m regeneration of the Greenock waterfront where the shipyards were originally located, with exciting projects including residential and commercial ventures, a marina and theatre. For passengers wishing a spot of handy shopping, Greenock boasts a pedestrianised indoor shopping mall, the Oak Mall, with many high street names, while West Blackhall Street features a host of independent traders.

Jy 23, day 26 – at sea Today was mostly sunny but wit a cool breeze. There were white caps but the waves were not enough to rock and roll the ship. Temp around 17C/63F. A mostly quite day for us. This was our 3rd and last formal night for this segment. The had a bit of a farewell party in the atrium this evening with lots of crew there to say farewell. The captain needs to get up at 3:30am to help bring the ship into port so he was not there. I had the opportunity to talk to the Food and Bev Mgr and asked him about the extra charge for the surf and turf option when someone wants 2 of one of the items and none of the other. We went over a number of changes that have been made to the menu and how H/O is contestably revaluating menus/policies. He could see my point that 2 surf or 2 turf should be the same as one of each and suggested anyone that wants a change to add it to their post cruise comments. As we are approaching the end of this voyage, I’m already reminiscing a bit. I’ve knocked off a few destinations off my bucket list and have now passed the 100 country/territory ‘been to’ count. The Travelers' Century Club is an international nonprofit social organization that well travelled people can join. They have a list of countries plus territories that while part of a country, are separated in some way – eg Greenland, Easter Is. and the various US territories. To join you need to have been to a 100 from their list and I am now at 106. Most of their local branches are in the US but there is one in Toronto. Looks like they hold local meeting as well as meeting in various international tourist locations. My gut tells me they are more geared to travellers doing land-based travelling and not cruising. The groups website is https://travelerscenturyclub.org. Anybody on CC a member or have any experience with them? Re 100 countries - Life is not a competition. Just because you stepped foot on a few more chunks of earth than everyone else doesn’t make you special. It simply makes you someone who travels a lot. Not a tally of what you’ve seen and where you’ve been. It should be how meaningful that moment was when you saw it. Who were you with and how were you feeling? Were you happy? I guess the bottom line for me is I’ve always loved travelling since I was very young and have been truly blessed with many great memories. 7am tour tomorrow. Today’s thought of the day - Travel by sea nearly approximates the bliss of babyhood. They feed you, rock you gently to sleep and when you wake up, they take care of you and feed you again. - Geoffrey Boca

Jy 22, day 25 – at sea Freda appreciated a sea day with me staying on the ship all day with her. Weather was a mix of cloudy and sunny but too cool for almost everyone to sit outside. Managed a tie for first this morning in trivia but lost the tie breaker. The pools were re-filled today but I doubt they got much use. Today was the second group of Captain Circle party events. There are 2,078 passengers onboard. 559 blue,346 gold, 236 ruby, 575 platinum and 368 elite. The most travelled passenger has 121 cruises, 2,534 days, 2nd had 74 cruises with 1,484 days and the 3rd had 85 cruises with 1,174 days. Top two were from Australia and the 3rd from UK. Great comedy show tonight – Phil Tag. Today’s thought of the day - "Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results." - Willie Nelson

Jy 21, day 24 Reykjavik, Iceland 7 – 10 our day Weather – solid cloud, hit hazy, damp feeling with temp around the same as last few days. Freda still has a bit of a cold so we took it slow this morning. I offered to push her in the wheelchair into the city along the waterfront but she decided with the damp weather to stay on the ship. After leaving her in the room most of the last 2 days, today in the afternoon I took the free shuttle to downtown. I did a relative quick walk-about and got back to the ship in about 2 hours. The downtown has its historic sites but there were many modern buildings. Here are some nice park areas and a huge pond. There were monuments/statues everywhere. I only saw Hallgrmskirkja Church - a unique looking church that is a symbol of the city from a distance. Was told it had a funeral going on for a motorcyclist. I saw another church that had a wedding going on – two very different church events. In the Princess Theatre tonight the show times were moved up and some local talent were brought on to do a show titled ‘Icelandic Folktales’. Started with 2 men playing guitars and singling folksongs. Later a third singer was added and more songs done with no instruments, finally the two original men were accompanied by to women laying violins. Some songs were in Icelandic and other in English. We have about 19 hr 9 min of sunlight today. Even thou we did not depart Reykjavik until 10 pm, we still had just over a hour of daylight. Time change tonight back to British time. Today’s thought of the day - "If you want to have a great time you will and if you want to have a bad time you will". - Captain Glenn Edvardsen

Reykjavik JY 21 Fri intro Reykjavík is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. Reykjavík has a population of around 140,000 as of 2023. The Capital Region has a population of around 248,000. Some popular sights Blue Lagoon - these manmade, geothermally heated pools provide a great and relaxing way to spend a morning or afternoon. The lagoon is 40 minutes away from downtown. Tour companies run express buses hourly from the BSI bus terminal. Open daily 7am in the summer and 8am rest of the season. Entry from 8490 ISK (July 2022) pre-booking required includes locker, towel and drink. https://www.bluelagoon.com/ Sky Lagoon - opened in 2021 providing a second geothermal lagoon attraction. Sky Lagoon is located by the ocean with a more natural setting and closer to downtown. https://www.skylagoon.com/ Hallgrmskirkja Church - this unique looking church is a symbol of the city. There is a lift to a viewing deck on the top. The Leif Eriksson Memorial is outside. Harpa Concert Hall - You can wander around both the inside and outside of this building to admire the architecture and views. Tours are also available. https://en.harpa.is/ Perlan (Pearl) - A hot water storage facility transformed into a tourist attraction with restaurants and observation decks. Free. National Museum of Iceland - Small museum located on the southwest corner of the pond (Tjorn). Entry 2000 ISK. Overall the streets in Reykjavik are very wheelchair accessible but there are some mild hills. When docking at Skarfabakki, the distance from Reykjavik cruise port to the city centre is around 4 km. You’ll usually find shuttles that will take you there. Alternatively, it is quite an enjoyable walk, following the coastal path and passing landmarks such as the historical Höfði House and the giant steel sculpture, the Sun Voyager. If you’re wondering how to get to Reykjavik from the cruise port using public transport, then the city has a good bus network that runs daily from 6:30 am to 1 am.

Jy 20, day 23 Grundarfjordri, Iceland 9 – 7 our day For today I did a small group tour organized on the roll call. As happens, sometimes it got a bit hard to follow the roll call for this cruise as there was one for each of the 14-night segments and another for the combined voyage which Princess sold as a single voyage. As normal, those doing both segments get 2 cruise credits and if elite, get 2 mini bar set-ups. We ended up paying $120US each for 15 people in a 20-passenger mini bus. Princess had a somewhat similar tour around the same price (bit higher) but it was only 4.5 hours. Everyone on the ship had to do an immigration on the ship this morning. Weird done on 3rd day but has to do with existing the geographic zone Iceland is in after being in the previous zone – makes sense to them. While in the line to get passport checked a whale was seen out the window. We were in line between windows and missed it but it was just a brief show. Tendering started around 9am and the last of our group made it ashore a bit after 10. There were a lot of sea bird activity in the area of the dock including some puffins. They would only be at the surface for a very short time before diving again. Also noted some jelly fish just below the surface. The tour was though Wake Up Reykjavik. The (negotiated) cost for a 6-7 hour private tour was approx 220,000 ISK for the van and driver/guide. They normally do this tour starting in Reykjavik but for us they sent a guide, in a minivan, from Reykjavik to pick us up at the cruise port in Grundarfjordur at approx 10am. Our tour was planned to include all of the highlights of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula - since it is a private tour, we could make stops whenever we felt like it! The normal public tour description is (following the 2 hr drive from Reykjavik) The beauty & mystery of Snæfellsnes Peninsula lies in the natural history of the area and you might just be lucky enough to see seals, rare Atlantic birds and possibly whales from the shoreline as much of the day is spent on the coast. For the same reason, the tour can be slightly different every time as your guide of the day has flexibility to make short stops here and there when we come across wildlife or any other natural attractions beyond our control. We spent the day making about 10 stops exploring the surreal landscapes of lava fields, coastal cliffs and viewing mountains, one with small ice-cap with glacier. Those are of course Arnarstapi coastal cliffs with the large gull colonies clinging to the cliffs, Hellnar fishing village and more famous attractions such as climbing up a side of a volcanic crater to view the inside as well the surrounding lava field. Among the stops is the “most photographed mountain” in Iceland - the effable Kirkjufell mountain. Throughout much of the whole tour we had up-close views of Snaefellsjokull glacier. Our stop where we expected to see seals was disappointing as it was low tide and that is not good viewing time. Only saw a few in the distance. We stopped at 2 churches, 2 waterfalls (plus saw several others) and a maritime museum quickly to see some of their outside exhibits. Several of the stops had no large buses which was nice. Most of us brought a snack from the ship but we did have an opportunity to pick up a snack along the way. Our give gave us just about the right amount of time at each stop so that we could fully see the place without wasting time over doing a place. The fields in Iceland have a very nice range of wild flowers – they come on a range of colours and are all short. A purple Lupin has ben introduced – this taller plant helps with soil erosion but is invasive and is crowding out native plants. It was a vey enjoyable tour. There were a couple companies offering tours at the dock. We were about a half hour late leaving the port. It did not take too long to hit open water but the short trip offered more mountain views. – did not see any whales.