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Do Cunard offer Actimel or anything similar at breakfast?

As you will see from my previous posr I am a full time scooter user. What are your travel arrangements to get to Southampton? We drive down the day before and stay overnight in a hotel and the scooter goes into the boot of the car, we have an electric hoist which makes it easy to put the scooter in and out of the car. You must also remember that you must have an accessable cabin as scooters are not allowed in an ordinary cabin and these cabins very quickly book up, I booked my cruise for next March a year ago. You say you are keen photographers as is my daughter, but please be aware that there is no guarantee you will see them, my daughter did the Northern Lights cruise this year and failed to see them, also they do not appear in all the colours shown in photographs but just a milky white, it is not until you transfer them to your computer that the colours appear. Having said that you may have a very expensive camera which might prove otherwise. I do not know whether you use a scooter all the time but would not recommend a Luggie for a Northern Lights cruise. You have to negotiate some very slippery snowy pavements etc and this can be quite daunting. I am going on my second Northern Lights cruise next year and am looking forward to it. I wish you well and hope you find a cruise for you and hope the above is of some use. I should perhaps mention that we park the car with Penguin parking and they then transfer us and the scooter by mini bus right to the cruise terminal,

I am disabled and a regular scooter user. I have visited all the places listed with a scooter and they are all doable. Bergen is fairly flat with good pavements especially around the fish market. Alesund is another port that you can manage as is Stavanger although the old part of Stavanger might be a bit of a challenge. Flam is a pretty little port. I do not know if you propose doing the train ride, which in my opinion is the whole point of going to Flam! Sometimes Flam can be a tender port depending on how many ships are in port on that day. There is a pretty walk up to a waterfall which I have done on my scooter and most enjoyable. Geiranger is another tender port, there is not a lot there, most people take a tour up to the mountains, but again a beautiful scenic port. I have a small scooter which I only use for holidays it is a Shoprider Pride as my scooter I use all the time at home is too big. I have never cruised with Celebrity and so do not know their policy re scooters on tenders, some cruise lines will not allow them on tenders so it may be something to research. I have been to Norway six times, the seventh next March to hopefully see the Northern Lights. I hope this information is of some use and you have a lovely cruise.

Have used Penguin parking several times always found them excellent. You do not have to wait long for the shuttle to take you to the dock or collect you on return. As already said it is NOT a public car park

Thank you that information is most helpful. I should have thought about checking the site before!

I am wondering if anyone has been on any of CMV ships. I use a scooter, would I be able to use it on the ship or only on shore excursions? I have contacted CMV but get conflicting advice, so any first hand knowledge would be much appreciated. Have posted on he CMV board but no replies, hoping someone on this forum will be able to reply. Thank you

I can recommend MaxiBoltTours, I too am a scooter user. Myself and my daughter booked a two day private tour with them last year and have nothing but praise for them. We were treated like royalty did not queue to get into any of the places which we wanted to visit, always went into a different entrance. Our guide, Michael was so knowledgable and even took us to places we had not put on our list pf places we would like to visit, nothing was too much trouble. You can Google them, they have a very good website, when you contact them tell them which sites you really would like to visit and they will send you a price. I really cannot fault them. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

I am also disabled and need a mobility scooter. We were in St,Petersburg last year and booked two full days tours with a company called MaxiBolt, they have a very good website. I cannot speak highly enough of their service. They will tailor the tour either half days or full days to whatever sights you wish to visit. This was a private tour and our driver, Michael, treated us like royalty. We did not queue at any of the sights, were taken through a private door and could take as long as we wanted. We wanted to go to the Peterhof Palace where they had arranged for a golf buggy to take us around the gardens which was lovely. I honestly do not think you could get a better company for your needs, as I said you will be treated like royalty. Regarding the river cruise, there are several concrete steps down to the boat and as previously mentioned you will not see any of the sights apart from the Hermitage. I personally do not think you will miss much by not doing the river trip. I should perhaps mention that we had a private car just my daughter, myself and Michael All in all we had a wonderful two days and saw all the sights on our list and more besides that Michael thought we might enjoy. I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise.

I think Princess do a special coach service from certain hotels in London to Southampton. I would check it out with either Princess or your TA. As others suggest I would hire a scooter from a Southampton hire shop. I am also a scooter user and have cruised on the Caribbean Princess in an ordinary cabin with no problems. The scooter I have is a Shoprider Pride which is quite small but adequate. I have travelled all over the world with it including Tallin, which has lots of cobblestones, I admit it was a bit bumpy but I coped. Have a lovely cruise and I do hope you enjoy the British Isles you will see some beautiful scenery.

Cabin 9056 is a disabled cabin. Has anyone stayed in it and what are the configuration of the beds i.e. twin or double.

Thank you so much for your reply, very useful information. We are actually going to Norway to hopefully see the Northern Lights. I am not expecting much in the way of excursions. As you say it will be very cold so plenty of thermals.

Has anyone taken a mobility scooter to Norway in the winter? Did it work well or did you have problems with the battery due to the cold. I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you

Has anyone stayed in a disabled cabin on the Balmoral? Would appreciate any information please as am considering booking one. Are there hand rails in the bathroom and is there a shower seat. Thank you.

Thank you for your reply, it was most helpful.

I am thinking of going with Hurtigruten on a Northern Lights cruise, but as I have to use a mobility scooter am wondering if this cruise would be suitable. I have been to Norway in the Summer months with no problems but with Princess. Can anyone give me some advice please. Thank you

Has anyone stayed in cabin E317? Was it very noisy as I notice it is above the theatre. Any negatives or positives appreciated. I should have said cabin E317 on Emerald Princess!

Thank you so much for your reply. I think I will re-consider and look into Alla tours as they seem to fit the bill.

Has anyone taken a tour with MaxiBalti tours? I have asked them if they could arrange a 2 day tour for us whilst we are in St. Petersburg as I am disabled and have to use a scooter. They have come up with a suitable tour at a price in excess of $1000 for two people. I know this is a lot of money but if it means I will get to see everything then I suppose it will be worthwhile. I have enquired from some other companies including Alla etc. but I am not sure how suitable they would be, Alla suggested I take their 2 day comfort tour.. I would really appreciate any comments or suggestions please.

Can anyone recommend an independent tour operator in St. Petersburg, I use a mobility scooter and am not sure how much I would see.

I have been to Iceland and did a private tour with a company called I think GI tours, they were excellent and did not ask for payment until we were on the mini bus. They guarantee to get you back to the ship on time. We had a superb trip and visited places that the ships tours do not visit. We found them on Google. Hope this helps. Also they were half the price of the ships tour.

Has anyone stayed in cabin 3394 which is a disabled cabin? Have read on one of the social media webs that it is not a disabled cabin. Can someone please enlighten me please as we are sailing on the Christmas cruise.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post the lovely photos and your comments, they are much appreciated. I hope you have a good Christmas.

We have done this exact cruise in 2013/2014. As for the festive part, the ship is nicely decorated, but not over decorated. There will probably be a tree lighting ceremony on the first or second night, with the Christmas tree in the Atrium area being lighted with festive caroling.

 

 

Throughout the rundown to Christmas, there will be singing with all nationalities in the theatre with all kind of small touches, nothing big.

 

 

Arrival of Santa on board is a nice feature, for all the children on board in the theatre.

 

 

No big events, but nice touches to celebrate the holidays, including new year’s eve with events throughout the ship, with the main one in the theatre.

 

 

The weather is a real different thing. If you approach this the “glass half full way”, you are good and you will have a great holiday cruise like we did, otherwise you might reconsider this cruise!

 

Taking a cruise through the bay of Biscay in the wintertime is always a risk and unpredictable. Rest assured that the captain and crew will always make sure that the most safe and comfortable ride is provided, given the circumstances. In our case, we found ourselves sheltering in Le Havre the first and second night of our cruise, missing out on two port visits later in the cruise and finding ourselves back in Rotterdam one day earlier than planned all because of two major storms in the bay of Biscay, on our way down south and also returning north.

 

My personal opinion is, that complaining about these diversions and missing port time in the Canary islands as lots of people on our cruise did, was absolutely ridiculous, this is nothing that HAL nor the crew could do anything about, if you choose to cruise down this area in the winter!

 

 

Small tip, the lower in the ship you are cabin wise, the better you are!

Thank you so much for all your information and lovely pictures. It really looks good. It was very kind of you to take the time to reply so well.

We are booked on this cruise but am wondering how festive it will be. Has anyone been on a Christmas cruise your experiences would be appreciated. Is it very festive or low key. Looking forward to our cruise only hope the Bay of Biscay behaves itself!!

Has anyone experienced a cruise with Holland America, especially on the Rotterdam. Was it very festive or low key. Would like to know of any experiences.