Appropriate review topic?

[HopefulCruiser123]

Hello,

 

I will be a 66 year old female, and my husband will be 65 when we take a 16 day Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Equinox in 2025. He is a paraplegic who uses a manual, non-folding wheelchair.  11 years ago we sailed on the Silhouette and I wrote a live cruise review with some accessibility-related commentary and perspective by my husband.  The upcoming trip will be much more than just the cruise.  We are planning to rent a car and travel through Spain, Portugal and France, where we will ditch the car and finish the rest of our trip using public transportation.  The last two  weeks will include another transatlantic cruise from Southampton to NYC aboard the Queen Mary 2, and then several days in NYC before we will rent another car for our return trip  back to South Carolina. 

 

My question is whether or not a review of the entire trip (either "live-ish" or as a retrospective) is appropriate for Cruise Critic.  I am sure the cruise portions will be appropriate, but since the majority of our trip and navigating our way through Europe will be land based, would a full review here be considered "irrelevant".   Nobody wants to watch somebodies else "home movies" 😝  2025 is a long way from now and if it would be considered excessive for Cruise Critic, then I'll let the idea go.  If it would be of value and welcomed, then I think I would enjoy doing it.  If it would be considered inappropriate, does anyone know of a better web based forum where it would be relevant?.  I know I have had a "Ka-Jillion" questions myself about how we are going to make this trip work and if the information I learn would make other's travel easier, I would be more than willing to share.

 

Opinions?  

[Essiesmom]

It is absolutely appropriate.  There have been several live blogs in the past year on the Carnival board, Celebrity board and probably others I don’t read.  And although you will be doing it from the experience of a disabled person, you should do it on your cruise line board where more people will see it.  EM

[shadow 123]

I would think any information that would help someone is appropriate.

[Dunchues]

On 1/2/2024 at 7:40 PM, HopefulCruiser123 said:

Hello,

 

I will be a 66 year old female, and my husband will be 65 when we take a 16 day Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Equinox in 2025. He is a paraplegic who uses a manual, non-folding wheelchair.  11 years ago we sailed on the Silhouette and I wrote a live cruise review with some accessibility-related commentary and perspective by my husband.  The upcoming trip will be much more than just the cruise.  We are planning to rent a car and travel through Spain, Portugal and France, where we will ditch the car and finish the rest of our trip using public transportation.  The last two  weeks will include another transatlantic cruise from Southampton to NYC aboard the Queen Mary 2, and then several days in NYC before we will rent another car for our return trip  back to South Carolina. 

 

My question is whether or not a review of the entire trip (either "live-ish" or as a retrospective) is appropriate for Cruise Critic.  I am sure the cruise portions will be appropriate, but since the majority of our trip and navigating our way through Europe will be land based, would a full review here be considered "irrelevant".   Nobody wants to watch somebodies else "home movies" 😝  2025 is a long way from now and if it would be considered excessive for Cruise Critic, then I'll let the idea go.  If it would be of value and welcomed, then I think I would enjoy doing it.  If it would be considered inappropriate, does anyone know of a better web based forum where it would be relevant?.  I know I have had a "Ka-Jillion" questions myself about how we are going to make this trip work and if the information I learn would make other's travel easier, I would be more than willing to share.

 

Opinions?  

 

I'm sure there would be great interest here, I'd certainly look forward to hearing about the experience.

I've never managed to drop a rental car off in Europe unless in its country of registration, and actual experiences of how to do things like that would be appreciated by many people, not only those of us with physical challenges but of great general interest too.

I'm actually a bit envious already!

Edited January 4 by Dunchues

[HopefulCruiser123]

31 minutes ago, Dunchues said:

 

 

I've never managed to drop a rental car off in Europe unless in its country of registration, and actual experiences of how to do things like that would be appreciated by many people, not only those of us with physical challenges but of great general interest too.

 

Welp!  I'll let you know how it goes.  I've done a little research on it and have read that it is possible (though expensive).  But time will tell if I am successful or if I have to rent three separate, one way cars.

[HopefulCruiser123]

I just checked a little further.  I'll be picking the car up in Barcelona.  One place I looked at has SUV's that look like they have a lower wheelbase (I'll be checking that out).  I made a temporary dummy reservation for THIS year (they aren't accepting reservation for 2025) in the same month and specified picking up in Barcelona and dropping off in Toulouse.  It would be for 23 days of rental.  The vehicle was $62.81 per day, unlimited miles. I went with the basic collision and theft insurance (that was $433)  The one-way fee added $901 to the reservation, I included a one time fee of $26  for cross border driving.  Taxes were $590.  Total was $3393 US dollars..  This was with a company named SIXT rent a car.  Looking at the reviews of this company, I am not sure.  But Avis also has a rental package for the same thing with a little more coverage (windshield and roadside assistance) for about $100 more.  

 

So I feel pretty confident that I WILL be able to get a car, one way and will be able to cross borders and drop in another country.  .  Like I said.....we'll see. 

[Dunchues]

That's excellent,  although it's not cheap it will save so much aggravation having to cross borders with all your luggage and no car it's almost worth twice the price!

Sixt is a large German company well represented in Europe who are reputable and reasonablypriced, but  if you pay at the time of booking Avis give a large discount that usually makes them a great deal. 

[Dunchues]

Incidentally, if you pay with a credit card that has cdw protection and choose no additional coverage you'll only pay the base cost that is a big saving, but always take a video when you pick it up, ask me how I know!

A European suv is a good idea, but the very small ones are so close to the ground with small doors they can be difficult to get into for me.

[Essiesmom]

I believe @Hlitnerhas some experience renting vehicles in Europe and might be able to give some advice.  EM

[Hlitner]

I heard my name :).  It sounds like the OP is dealing with all the rental car issues, but I would caution that picking up in one country (i.e. Spain) and dropping in a different country (i.e. France) can often be a problem.  Make sure your rental car company has no problem and that you do not get stuck with huge one-way drop fees.  The other issue, which trips up many North Americans, is that many European rental cars have manual (stick shift) transmissions.  There are a lot of folks who have no clue how to drive a stick and it can be hard to teach yourself on a rental car.  If you need an automatic (which usually comes at a higher price) make sure to reserve well in advance.  

 

Insurance (on a rental car) is the usual nightmare.  Do your pre-trip homework and know your options.  The collision damage waiver offered by some credit cards can be fine, but know the rules and always check with your credit card company (before your trip) as to the current rules.  In fact, we recently arranged for a rental car in Italy (both pick up and drop in that company) and our credit card company suggested they send us an e-mail making it clear that we are covered (just in case the rental agency wants such evidence).

 

And finally, when it comes to rental cars (where you are keeping the car more than 3 days) we suggest checking with Autoeurope.com and Kemwel.com (sister companies located in the USA) who are "consolidators" (discounters} for several major rental car companies (i,e, Europcar, Avis, Hertz, etc).  They sometimes have better deals (with lower deductibles) and should be viewed as just one more option.  

 

Hank

[HopefulCruiser123]

WOW!  Great information everybody.  Thank you!  Thank you! Thank you!