WAV and traveling around Europe

[HopefulCruiser123]

Hello, I wasn't really sure if I should post this on the Europe board or on the wider version of the Disability board.   We are planning a transatlantic cruise in spring of 2025.  Not sure yet if we will sail into Southampton or Barcelona. We plan to stay in Europe and travel around for about 4 to 5 weeks and then sail home on the QM2 from Southampton.  So at some point, we'll be in Southampton.  My husband is a full time wheelchair user and we have one other assistive transferring device on casters that we plan to take.  I had hoped to rent a WAV for the duration but I understand now that since the UK is no longer part of the EU, that is not going to be possible.  Plus the whole driving on the "wrong" side of the road (kidding) is a little daunting.  So it was suggested we take the Eurostar in London to Paris (if we start in Southampton) and from Paris to London on our return trip.  The question is, how do we transport us and all our "stuff" to and from St. Pancras to Southampton?  Once at the Eurostar (in either direction) I figure I will use the door-to-door delivery service to transport our belonging to the Port at Southampton. So, here are my two questions..  Has anybody here rented a wheelchair van in Paris or Barcelona and if so were you able to drop it off at a separate location?  Can anyone recommend an agent that might be able to help me put all this together?  I am hoping I am allowed to ask that last question.  

 

[Island2Dweller]

If you want to get between central London and Paris then Eurostar is by far the best way to do it.  But if you want to get between Southampton and Paris, it really would not be my recomendation.  The transfer across London is a faff for an able bodied person.

There are direct flights between Southampton and Paris

[HopefulCruiser123]

19 hours ago, Island2Dweller said:

If you want to get between central London and Paris then Eurostar is by far the best way to do it.  But if you want to get between Southampton and Paris, it really would not be my recommendation.  The transfer across London is a faff for an able bodied person.

There are direct flights between Southampton and Paris

Unfortunately, air travel in our circumstances is out of the question.  Okay....I'll "reroute" and see what other options I can find.  

[FOPMan]

I don't think the UK exiting the EU curtails renting a WAV. I'm not sure renting is easy (or inexpensive) regardless of the UK's status, 

 

There may very well be other cruises between Southhampton and mainland Europe that you could take advantage of.

 

Barcelona itself is very accessible to wheelchair users, by the way. Rome can be very challenging without a good plan, especially for transportation between locations.

[Essiesmom]

How about a ferry?  Google ferries to France.  EM

[LondonTowner]

From St Pancras to Southampton you could prebook a n accessible taxi to go to Waterloo Station. From there you could take a train to Southampton on SouthWest trains by booking Special Assistance.

 

in Southampton you could check with WestQuay cars to see if they have aWAV taxi.

 

Accessibility on public transport is quite good throughout Europe.  Have you visited Barcelona and Paris beforehand? The traffic is horrendous and very difficult to find parking.

 

The reason you can’t rent a WAV in Europe and bring it to the U.K. is nothing to do with Brexit. It’s because we are an island and drive on the other side of the road. Somebody would need to collect the vehicle and return it to its original destination.

[HopefulCruiser123]

Thanks London Tower.  Pretty much any vehicle we rent will be a one-way rental, but after a lot of studying, I think our car travel will end in Paris.  From there we will take the EuroStar and accessible taxis.  We've also given up on finding a WAV to do this.  Our options open up with a regular car (minimvan or SUV with a lower ground clearance and wide enough door).  Obviously, that is going to take a lot more research.  I hope to book the first leg of our trip tomorrow when Celebrity announces their 2025 spring schedule.  

 

[HopefulCruiser123]

Update.  We have booked the Equinox April 19, 2025 TA from Port Canaveral to Barcelona (we managed to get an accessible Sky Suite).  Then we have reserved a balcony room on the QM2 from Southampton to NYC on June 6, 2025.  That will give us about 5 weeks to kick around Western Europe.

 

I tried to contact several travel sites specializing in Disability travel and was very disappointed.  It appears they largely just sponsor tours and that is really not what we are interested in.  I think I will find a good travel agent that can just help me to book car rental, hotels, other transportation through the various countries we will visit.  One very helpful thing I learned on the Cunard board that might be of interest to some folks here is the use of a "luggage forward" or similar type of service to ship luggage home that is no longer useful for the trip and to ship from home to one of the hotels or to the QM2 luggage that will be needed for upcoming legs of our journey.  This will make my task a lot easier and well worth the expense.  

 

Right now I am pursuing an accessible villa in The Algarve in Portugal for a week's stay.

 

I'll post updates of some of the places we end up booking, or car rentals we end up sourcing as we move forward in the event these resources might be useful to others.