ozscotart

I second the Sofitel: very comfortable and convenient hotel basically the entrance is in Terminal 5. 

Thanks very much for this report, we are doing the same cruise next year (all being well) and looking forward to Arhus and Hamburg. We’ve been to IJmuidin, which is really just another port for Amsterdam and has little of interest, beach cafes and sand dunes and difficult access. I would recommend a shuttle or taxi that goes to Amsterdam. I’ve already booked the accessible shuttle to Bruges, we’ve been there before so I may reconsider our options, but they are limited, we’ve been to Zeebrugge several times before, maybe the coastal tram. 
I’ve also booked the Rouen accessible excursion, again I’ve been before but would be keen to see the cathedral again, and DH hasn’t been at all. 
We’ve spent a bit of time in Copenhagen, there are some restaurants and cafes that have no steps but finding an accessible loo is harder. 

We were recently in Copenhagen for a few days, I’m gf and df. We liked Restaurant Tight, nice place, friendly and can adapt most of the menu. Popular in the evening so best to book. The other restaurant we liked was Osteria Alfredo, we weren’t the only gf people there and the pizza was excellent. I made the mistake of having my pizza with the df cheese, this didn’t work out well, but someone at the next table had hers without cheese and said it was very good. Again I think you need to book. Other choices are on Find me gluten free app, which was very helpful on our Baltic cruise generally. 

4 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

Hiya! We're living in Riga and my husband has a gluten allergy. There are a number of places in Riga that have gluten free options. Street Burger does a gluten free hamburger, Da Roberta at Aleksandra Caka Iela does Gluten Free pizza, Space Felafel on Antionijas does a Gluten Free menu, and a lot of places have gluten free options. (I've seen a couple of Indian restaurants listed on Gluten Free lists, but I'd avoid them... we have yet to find a god Gluten Free option.)

Thanks very much for this, very helpful 

50 minutes ago, cmph said:

Oh wow, well that hyphen makes a big difference! It doesn't show up that way on Chrome, but maybe it's struggling to translate Estonian to English. I have it set to automatically translate, but it doesn't quite get everything right. Thank you for sharing!

No worries, I was a bit alarmed that we wouldn’t get any lunch in Tallin ! I’ve accepted that we won’t get any in Helsinki or Kotka, everything will be closed. 

10 hours ago, cmph said:

Hi! Where did you find that info about Kivi Paber Kaarid? Their site lists their hours as:

"PT 12-22 | KN 12-23 | RL 12-02"

Translated, that's SunTues / WedThu / FriSat. 

 

Did you happen to find other information that conflicts with their website? I have been assuming their site is correct, and it hasn't been updated for newer, summer hours. I don't believe google is correct, in this case.

I got it off the English page on their website, see screenshot 

On 4/12/2023 at 3:56 AM, cmph said:

Ugh yes, this Tallinn day is making me nuts. I've been trying to earmark some indoor options for the days we're OYO, after realizing just how much outdoor touring time I planned (which is optimistic but not practical I'm sure). KGB prison cells - closed. Kiek de Kok - closed. The only good gluten-free restaurant option in old town - closed. I'm not even going to investigate further. If it rains, it's going to be a stressful touring day for us! My 17yo would happily duck into little stores to shop, but her brother will, um, not. 🤣

Kivi Paber Kaarid is open Monday, fully gf restaurant with recent reviews on Find Me Gluten Free. Sadly I was getting excited about the waffle restaurant until I found it is closed Monday. 
I haven’t found any museums open, we’ve been before so we’ll just wander around. 

Just now, ozscotart said:

I’m a bit paranoid, I duct tape a laminated sign I make to the seat, with flight details, my name and phone number, instructions how to handle etc. The airline will have a luggage tap and possibly several other tags depending on their procedures. 

And I AirTag everything !

I’m a bit paranoid, I duct tape a laminated sign I make to the seat, with flight details, my name and phone number, instructions how to handle etc. The airline will have a luggage tag and possibly several other tags depending on their procedures. 

Heathrow is the worst, it’s worse than CDG, years ago a wheelchair assistance girl at CDG found that hard to believe. I now take my scooter rather than rely on wheelchair assistance there, the service is contracted out and is notorious. Unfortunately if you’re flying trans Atlantic I’m not sure you have any other option, if you pay for a lounge they will take you and leave you there, then collect you to get to the gate on time. They should board you first , if passengers are already boarding because wheelchair assistance were late in collecting you, it would be better to insist on waiting to board once everyone was seated. They’ll be keen to pressure you to join the queue but you could sit on the jump seat on the plane until the aisle is clear. We’ve sat on the plane at Heathrow waiting for wheelchair assistance for an hour or more a few times, they’ll pressure you to get off but it’s a long walk ! It’s even worse if you have a connecting flight and have to change terminals. We’ve never been separated though. 

I have a related question, I hope you don’t mind my asking, we’re on Dawn in June and don’t like any of the excursions but I know there’ll be some ships shuttles into the town in some of the ports, will we be able to use the $50 excursion credit in the free at sea offer to pay for them ?

I use a Travelscoot, I use a 274 kWh lithium ion battery, max being 300. Most airlines allow one 300 and one spare, but some only allow 160, I usually carry a 300 and a spare. I generally find I don’t travel more than about 6 k a day, I get too tired, but if you are doing a lot of hills or ramps, or if the battery is old, the battery will go down much quicker. Of course, the travelscoot is extremely lightweight, so possibly the battery goes further. So, my usual suggestions would be, not knowing anything about your particular situation, is to check the airline rules about batteries, including spares, and carry any documents about the battery with you, they can be inspected at every stage of your airport journey. They are being particularly cautious about lithium ion batteries now, due to problems with unsafe ones on illegal e scooters and such like (they can explode). 

We had a situation where we had to rent one onboard in an emergency, we were just lucky they had one available. If you know you’re going to need it, best taking your own. 

They should be left in free wheel mode and you could then move them out of your way. Or get the steward to do it. You have to fill in a form to get Princess approval to take your mobility device on board, I would assume these devices can fit in a standard cabin. 

I’ve been chatting on another forum with another cruiser going to La Rochelle about finding suitable alternatives to cruise excursions, myself because Princess don’t seem to have any accessible excursions. I’ve read a very negative review on Google of a recent RCI stop there where the shuttle (La Rochelle being 16k away) was very small and inadequate for a large ship. I also looked into the local bus service, it being a large port there is one but possibly cruise passengers won’t be allowed to leave the dock gate on foot? 
My question is are there many taxis at the port ? 

I would not use your walker on snow at all. On ice, on the flat , it might be ok. On hills very dangerous. I tend to avoid going out in the ice and snow now but when I did I used yaktrax , these are grip things you put on your boots, and I use more suitable sticks, ( Flexyfoot but there are many others) year  round now. I’m in Edinburgh and there’s less snow and ice nowadays but the cobbles are still slippy in the rain.  Beware hills. 
https://www.yaktrax.co.uk

https://flexyfoot.com

 Possibly in Norway they have better pavements than Scotland. Posting in the Northern European ports of call would be a good idea. 

It also depends on the scooter too, I have a travelscoot, which on past cruises has been allowed on tenders. And whether you can go up and down the steps to the tender, possibly in slightly rough seas. 
Definitely the worst place I’ve been for accessibility is Santorini, I have been a few times when I was more mobile. I’m sure that with private arrangements or with a folding wheelchair it’s probably possible, but very difficult. 
The easiest are Spanish cities such as Barcelona and Alicante: accessible public transport and lowered curbs. The lack of lowered curbs in the U.K. and Europe is the main problem. 

13 minutes ago, India2017 said:

 

We were on this cruise also unfortunately tested positive for Covid 

just wondering if anyone is aware of how many cases there were

Were others abandoned by Princess at disembarkation like us

no knock on door as promised

so we finally left our cabin and went down to gang way to find scores of other Plague Victims leaving the Ship with no Covid safety protocol being observed

when in the terminal we mixed (of course wearing masks) with (non plague) passengers and indeed new arrivals who were not wearing masks 😷 to find we had descended into absolute chaos we had 3 taxi drivers abandon their journey to us finally the 4th bless him preserved and we finally got to our car and arrived home (Leeds) at midnight !!!

 a very strong 3 page letter of complaint (email) on its way or it would be if I could find a email address anybody?
many thanks 

Guestrelationsuk@princesscruises.co.uk 

I’ve always used theatremonkey too, a bit less useful since the Monkey sold it I think but still a good option. It’s very useful for seat info for the current production, but I always book direct with the the theatre. 

People (locals) on Arran swear by Avon Skin so soft, the theory being the little so-and-sos can’t get through it and fall off. I don’t get bitten that much, the theory my GP had was it was because I am Australian and eat Vegemite. 

I’ve had both my walker and my very light scooter taken on tenders, I’ve found it helpful to present myself to shore excursions people on the ship to demonstrate how small and light they are. You have to be able to go up and down the steps to the tender, possibly in somewhat rough seas. All these cruises were with NCL, but I imagine other cruise lines are similar. 

Just now, ozscotart said:

Buying wearable boots in Norway is going to be expensive, the best option I can think of is buying less expensive snow boots, these are usually fabric lined in fleece and waterproof with good soles. They would probably be available in most shoe stores but I have no idea of less expensive brands in Norway (we’re in Scotland), typically we could buy cheaper ones around £20-£50, and better quality ones for around £100 (and more ). Mountain and outdoor stores might sell cheaper ones (avoiding the stores you go to for your Everest expedition). The other thing to buy would be good quality socks, gloves hat and parka (waterproof). All these are probably less expensive in outdoor stores, I buy Landsend coats, they’ve taken me everywhere (not up Everest). But it may not be that cold in September? Definitely above 0 Celsius, maybe 5 ? We went on the hurtigruten in September once and although I think I did buy a beanie, my coat etc must have been ok. 

And everywhere a cruise ship goes there’s a shop selling outdoor gear, though not cheap. Your own boots are a good idea though. 

6 hours ago, nursinadream said:

We embark in Oslo for a 32 day Vikings and Baltic Shores cruise.  We will be in the Arctic Circle in early September.  I'm wondering if I need boots to keep warm and dry for these visits and excursions.  I'm looking at ATV and RIB tours with the strong possibility of getting wet.  Boots (and other cold weather clothing) are not in my wardrobe in South Florida.  What about buying some boots upon arrival in Oslo?  I will not bring them home - maybe donate them somewhere.  Any thoughts?

Deb

Buying wearable boots in Norway is going to be expensive, the best option I can think of is buying less expensive snow boots, these are usually fabric lined in fleece and waterproof with good soles. They would probably be available in most shoe stores but I have no idea of less expensive brands in Norway (we’re in Scotland), typically we could buy cheaper ones around £20-£50, and better quality ones for around £100 (and more ). Mountain and outdoor stores might sell cheaper ones (avoiding the stores you go to for your Everest expedition). The other thing to buy would be good quality socks, gloves hat and parka (waterproof). All these are probably less expensive in outdoor stores, I buy Landsend coats, they’ve taken me everywhere (not up Everest). But it may not be that cold in September? Definitely above 0 Celsius, maybe 5 ? We went on the hurtigruten in September once and although I think I did buy a beanie, my coat etc must have been ok. 

14 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Thank you but That was for Regal - plus we do not like her at all so can’t bring ourselves to give her the views 🤣 

I think she’s a wee star, she convinced me we’d like a Canaries cruise, which I’d previously been rejecting as probably dull.

27 minutes ago, joeecco said:

Thank you for all your insight. We get married aboard Sky in August. If it is near to you, and you don’t mind, would you possibly be able to take some pictures of the wedding chapel on riveria deck 14 as there are no pictures online and my fiancée is interested to see the room. Totally understand if not, it’s a cheeky request! 
 

We are hoping the mask mandate will become optional again before august, is there any word about this happening onboard? 

I think there was an episode of Susan Calman on Sky Princess at a wedding recently. On channel five I think.