Splinter

I took the bus trip through Hurtigruten, not the RIB, but it was lovely and we were able to see the maelstrom both from the nearby road bridge and from shore. There is a walk of about 200 yards from the bus parking lot to the best places to view the maelstrom, and the walk is lovely past several quaint cottages and shacks. Here are some photos I took pretty much at the end of the pathway and through the bus window on the bridge:

As usual, best to dress in layers. A fleece jacket or sweater with a wind breaker or light rain coat on top may be needed for the first and last 1-2 days, and even close to Hawaii, a light jacket or wind breaker on deck is a good idea, as the winds can be cool. Unlikely to be shorts weather even with the best weather close to the continental USA in January, but you will want shorts for the islands. A light raincoat is better than an umbrella both a sea and on land.

I would concur for river cruises in Europe not being mobility challenged friendly. Often when you have as many as 6 boats rafted up alongside the pier, you must climb up the stairs, cross over the boat, down the stairs, up the stairs on the next boat, etc. etc. to get on or off the boat if yours is the one on the outside. On many boats the less expensive cabins are also on a deck with no elevator. Most do not have elevators to the top or observation deck.

You might want to investigate a river cruise in the USA instead. The river cruise ships that ply the Mississippi and Columbia rivers all have a limited number of accessible cabins, and usually have a ramp for access on/off the pier, and are not competing for pier space with other river cruise ships.

There is a Target and a Walmart at the Del Amo mall in Torrance, but there is also a Target at 1701 N Gaffey St. about 1 mile north of the cruise ship pier in San Pedro. You could Uber or cab there from the pier.

I STRONGLY recommend that you download the Uber app and use Ubber. It will be about $12 for the car and you'll get to the ship in about five minutes.

Mike

There is no way you are getting from LAX to Long Beach in 5 minutes unless you have a teleporter! At best, it is a 30 minute drive, longer during rush hour. An Uber is going to be more expensive than a shared Supershuttle for this as well.

Not sure why you would take the northern route California Zephyr if you are going to LA...the Southwest Chief route makes a lot more sense. It goes from Chicago to LA, so you would probably have to take the train from Indianapolis to Chicago to catch it.

Once you are at Union Station in LAX, you can take an Uber or shared van Supershuttle to get to the port (about 30 miles) or there is a Amtrak shuttle called the Throughway that you can book by booking your entire trip from Indianapolis (or Chicago) with your destination as San Pedro, CA (SPD) instead of Los Angeles. It takes you to the Catalina Express (ferry) pier which is a short walk to the cruise ship terminal in San Pedro. A taxi will be VERY expensive.

Also check out La Pensione in Little Italy. Small boutique hotel, right in the middle of Little Italy for great eating, and it is walkable from the cruise ship pier.

http://www.lapensionehotel.com

Some people manage this by taking their luggage to a nearby hotel, and "fibbing" to the bell hop that you will be checking into the hotel later in the day and want to check your luggage until that time. For a small tip ($2-3 per bag), they may store your luggage.

The seats provided by the ship didn't work for my mother, so we invested in a travel shower commode chair, which worked both for the roll-in shower and over the toilet. The one we bought (on eBay) was a Chameleon (Italian made) but I know a lot of people who have ones made by Nuprodx or Go-Anywhere. No charge for checking these on the airlines, easy to use, and worth the purchase cost when used for a lot of travel vs. renting.

Hurtigruten is probably the best for this if you want to do it on a cruise. Don't know of any cruise lines that do Iceland in the winter (although there are a number that do it in the winter). Hurtigruten ships are not ships bought from other cruise lines...they build their own, and they are designed for their specific needs, which is for ships that can serve as freighters, passenger and car ferries, AND cruising. They don't have casinos, show rooms, pools, or things like bingo and "art" auctions. Most of the port stops are brief (15-30 minutes); just long enough to take on/off passengers, cars, and freight. A few of the stops are longer (as long as 3-4 hours). Excursions from the ship are expensive, and I didn't see any that provided accessible transportation but many of these ports are walkable. The newer ships have 1-2 accessible cabins, and also have a platform lift at the gangway for wheelchair users. I was on the MS Trollfjord and there were two wheelchair or scooter users on the cruise. Even the hot tub area was ramped.

The reason to take this cruise is the beautiful scenery...I spent nearly every minute in the observation lounge when not out on the deck to take photos. I went in the spring so no Northern Lights for us, but many people go on these cruises in the winter just for that. On a few of their cruises they even guarantee you will see the Northern Lights, or you get a free cruise! A Hurtigruten ship leaves Bergen 365 days a year, so you most likely want to pick a date based on the ship, and focus on December-March as the best dates to see the Northern Lights. If you only want to do 5-6 days instead of the 11-12 day round trip, I think the northbound trip is better than the southbound most times of the year.

The Sea Eagle Safari is only offered on the southbound route (Kirkenes to Bergen) so would not be an option for you. It was the best tour I took.

I agree that you can do much on your own in Trondheim (you can walk to the Cathedral or Rock Museum from the pier easily), and Ålesund (I just walked around town to see the beautiful architecture, and if you are ambitious, you can walk up the 418 steps, or take a bus or cab up to to the Aksla Viewpoint. In Tromso, you can easily walk to the Polar Exploration museum, or Polaris (aquarium), and either walk or take a city bus to the Arctic Cathedral. The old town area near the pier is interesting for a stroll. In Bodø I did take a bus tour to the Saltstraumen (not the rib boat trip) and saw some beautiful countryside as well as a drive past the major sites in Bodø including the Cathedral and Aviation Museum (which would be a short cab ride if you are interested in that).

We traveled twice with Celebrity, but not to Alaska. We liked their accessible cabins, and felt we had good service; in fact when we went through the Panama Canal, we and other people with disabilities were invited to the captain's private lounge for the transit, with lunch served there.

I would not book a flight earlier than noon. You can cab, Uber, car service, or shared shuttle from the port to LAX.

You can check your luggage in at the airport up to 4 hours prior to your flight. There are no luggage locker or storage areas within either the pier facilities or at the airport, for security reasons.

I have not used this fairly new service, but have read about it; would suggest contacting them well before your trip:

http://www.sdairportluggage.com/

Yes, on many ships the top-most deck (often called the Sports Deck) has no elevator, so those who cannot do stairs cannot access that area. This is an issue for those wanting to use the tennis or basketball courts which are often on those decks. If parking your scooter someplace be sure to check with crew that you are not blocking emergency exit areas, and take the key...kids have been known to play with unattended scooters!

Just be aware that the shower chair offered by the cruise line is a tub bench, usually without a back, and without a cut out or wheels, so cannot also be used over the toilet. You can rent a rolling shower/commode chair from the same company mention above, but it won't be cheap.

Thanks all Port stop has been cancelled an switched with St. Thomas.

For which cruise lines? Where did you get this information? RCCL says they will start again in St. Martin the end of this month.

Never had a problem with SuperShuttle. Shared shuttle is $17 per person. If you go with an exclusive van, it will run you about $70, as will Execucar (which is part of SuperShuttle).

Easy walk from there to Little Italy. One of my favorites is The Indigo Grill (India & Cedar). One of the new "hot" restaurants is Ironside Fish & Oyster one more block north. Lots of new restaurants in this area, especially along India but now a few being put in along Kettner as well.

Just be aware of the big construction project taking place between Harbor Dr. and the Amtrak station along Broadway (in the old cruise ship parking lot) just south of your hotel as this whole area is fenced off, and there may be some noise during the daytime hours.

For more informal dining, I can recommend the Carnitas Snack Shack right on the Embarcadero near the Broadway cruise ship pier.

You might want to check out this tour:

http://www.accessiblecaribbeanvacations.com/top-navigation/accessible-shore-excursions/nassau-shore-excursions/best-of-bahamas-accessible-shore-excursion/

According to RCCL, they will be ready for cruise ships by mid-December. Many boats were destroyed or damaged though, so you may find many less water taxies are available.

We just ordered distilled water from our cabin steward when we arrived on the ship, and it was there when we returned to the cabin after dinner. Easy peasy!

All the major car rental companies have moved into the new airport rental car facility at the east end of the runway. If picking up a car at the airport, you will have to take the shuttle from the airport terminal to this facility to pick up your car, which you may want to do while the rest of your party waits for luggage, then return and pick them up at the curb. When you return the car, you would do best to drop them and the luggage off at the pier, then return the car and either Uber or cab from the rental car facility...it is only about a mile.

Sally's (restaurant) at the Marriott is very good; they have both inside and outside dining right on the marina if you are looking for a more upscale dining experience. Otherwise you are a short walk to many good restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter. The Fish Market (on the other side of Seaport Village from the hotel, just south of the USS Midway) is also a local favorite, with casual dining downstairs and a more upscale dining area upstairs. For breakfast, you might want to walk over to Cafe 222 (222 Island, about 4 blocks) which has fabulous breakfasts (they only serve breakfast and lunch).