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Suggestions on a nice low impact cruise


sea_loving_couple
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Hi everyone, I grandchild (30) would like to maybe take my grandfather who is a spry 80 year old who loves people and nature out on a cruise next year and i am having trouble finding something he would enjoy.

 

Long story short is he has been taking care of my grandmother for many years and she is at end stage alsheimers. He has been a shut in for a few years and does not leave her. She is probably going to a long term facility soon and he will need a vacation as I fear he may be severly depressed.

 

He needs this, and I want to find a great itinerary where he can actually do some low impact activities at some of the ports. I was thinking New england cruise but he has seen all of the east coast. I'm thinking maybe a nice river cruise or something. He loves nature, gambling, and horse racing. He can walk but he can't hike long distances and he needs to take breaks fairly often. But he is pretty spry for 80 and does not need assistance with much.

 

Any suggestions? Would really apreciate it. I think we are going to be me, gf, my mom and him. My dad does not like water so he wont go. So 4 seems to be a magic number for cruising anyway.

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Hi everyone, I grandchild (30) would like to maybe take my grandfather who is a spry 80 year old who loves people and nature out on a cruise next year and i am having trouble finding something he would enjoy.

 

Long story short is he has been taking care of my grandmother for many years and she is at end stage alsheimers. He has been a shut in for a few years and does not leave her. She is probably going to a long term facility soon and he will need a vacation as I fear he may be severly depressed.

 

He needs this, and I want to find a great itinerary where he can actually do some low impact activities at some of the ports. I was thinking New england cruise but he has seen all of the east coast. I'm thinking maybe a nice river cruise or something. He loves nature, gambling, and horse racing. He can walk but he can't hike long distances and he needs to take breaks fairly often. But he is pretty spry for 80 and does not need assistance with much.

 

Any suggestions? Would really apreciate it. I think we are going to be me, gf, my mom and him. My dad does not like water so he wont go. So 4 seems to be a magic number for cruising anyway.

 

 

 

Have you thought about Alaska since he loves nature? You could tie in the land tour and see Denali too. It seems to attract an older group of folks. We have done it twice. The weather is cooler but sometimes you luck out and get lots of sunshine. We have cruised it on Royal Caribbean and Holland America once cruising up and once down.

 

 

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Alaska has to be planned out fairly far in advance. Shorter 5 day cruise to Caribbean might work as it offers lots of shore options depending on the port. I recommend Eastern Caribbean as it has better weather consistently usually lots of beaches, also fair amount of historical sights, parks, nature trails, etc that vary by port or city tours. I would research some of the ports to see what might fit the bill.

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Consider a cruise to Bermuda. There are departures from multiple northeast US ports that you could drive to from Ontario, eliminating that whole airport hassle.

For the 7 day cruises, the ships stay 2 nights in port so you're not rushing to get back to the ship from shorter stops at multiple ports. For example, Celebrity Summit arrives on Wed about 9 a.m. and leaves Friday about 4:00.

In port, there are plenty of transportation options, a full range of activities, beautiful beaches and scenery and some of the nicest people we've ever met. On most ships, the casino is open in port after 9 p.m.

We have found the best weather for us to be June. August and September can be extremely hot and humid with more chance of hurricanes.

There is lots of information on the East Coast departures and Bermuda boards and folks there will be happy to give advice.

Enjoy your trip.

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Just wanted to say that we agree with many of the things that SuzeCruz1 said about Bermuda. We were there on Celebrity Summit in June of this year and had a great time. It was a real plus having almost 3 full days at the Naval Dockyard. We have been to Bermuda on several land based tours over the years, but this was our first cruise to Bermuda. I would consider this for you and your family. Small island with lots of entertainment, shopping, and dining opportunities at the dockyard itself or within 30 to 60 minutes by ferry, taxi, shared tour bus or public bus.

 

I am not aware of any horse racing, but Bermuda is hosting a major sailing race event in 2017 and Summit will be docked there during that time. The cruise may be sold out due to that event, but worth looking into. I don't recall seeing any casinos in Hamilton during my visits to this interesting city, but I was not looking for them either. Happy Cruising! Bob and Linda

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Consider a California coastal cruise (Princess has a terrific itinerary). There are several great horse-tracks in CA you could visit before or after. But it is easy to tour Catalina, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, etc and the weather is pretty good most of the year. Plus, it is all in the US so if any health issues arise, a little easier to deal with.

So sweet of you to do this for him. Buy a small recorder. During sea days interview him about his life for YOUR children. Letting him talk and reminisce about his experiences and his life with his wife with a thoughtful, willing listener could be the greatest gift of all.

 

 

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