baltic cruise

[jan white]

my mother who is in her mid 80's would like to come with us on the cruise however it is difficult for her to climb a lot of stairs. Are the countries and the excursions on this cruise accessible for someone with her limitations. Any information would be appreciated.

[kitty9]

There are tons of itineraries on Baltic cruises. Tell us some of the ports of call, and we can better help you. But, if St Petersburg is one of the stops, that is one of the worst places in the world for those of us with disabilities. Everything is stairs and non-working elevators. Same for Tallin and Warnemunde. Copenhagen and Oslo are pretty decent, but you have to really check out the tours to see if they're accessible.

[jan white]

Thanks for the information. We are planning on going to Oslo, St. Petersburg, Copenhagen, Tallin, Helsinki, and Stockholm. I have been looking at the ez tours but still think that they may be too difficult for her. She also has macular degenration.

I would appreciate any ideas of what she can do and see at these ports. She enjoys sightseeing and shopping but I do not know if she can walk on the cobblestone streets. I have not been to any of these places and do not have an idea of what she can do. Thanks for your help.

[kitty9]

St Petersburg will be the most difficult, with Tallin being next. See if your cruise line has tours designated as "less walking". I generally take those if I don't do a private tour. Stockholm is a beautiful city with lots of museums and outdoor gardens. Old Town is lovely, but it's difficult walking. You can see a lot of the city on a bus tour that has maybe one or two stops for photo taking. Oslo is a really great port city, but to be honest, I didn't find much in the way of things being unusual to see---just your general museums and churches. I took a private tour out of the city to see the beautiful scenery. The Viking Ship Museum is quite nice. Copenhagen is wonderful with all their canals. See if she can get on board one of their cute canal cruise boats and that will give you a really good overview of the city. Don't forget the Little Mermaid statue. Helsinki is another lovely Baltic city, but again, it's one of those places that's great for gardens and museums. It's easy to get around and a but tour with little walking would be perfect to get a taste of the city. St. Petersburg will be very tough. While it's one of my most favorite cities in Europe, it's the most difficult to get around. Lots of step to everything, long walks just to get from the parking to the buildings and elevators you cannot rely on. If you take private tour that's not done by one of the government sponsored companies, like Red October, you'll need individual visas. If you take ship sponsored tours, you won't need those visas. You can get a really nice overview of the city, without going into the palaces or museums, on a three to four hour bus tour. Those tours will stop at places like Nevsky (the main shopping street), Church of the Spilled Blood, Catherine's Palace, the Winter Palace, and the Hermitage Museum. Just seeing the architecture alone is worth sitting in a bus. I don't think your mom could handle the tours of the palaces or museums, but just seeing them is a great experience.

[bruisersgrandma]

Jan,

Be sure to check with the shore excursion people on your ship about the walking, stairs etc. We were picking only the ones with one person in the icons, and some of them, as already mentioned Tallinn, St Petersburg & Rostock/Warnemunde, were pretty difficult walking. When I discussed it for about the 4th time they told us that the 1 activity level in Europe was the equivalent of at least a 2 and so on in the USA.

[lvellen]

My husband and I have recently booked the Carnival Splendor for August 30, 2008 for a Baltics cruise. I have a bad leg and also cannot do a lot of walking and climbing stairs. On another thread on this board someone wrote about a new tour company in St. Petersburg that specializes in tours for the disabled. I have already contacted them and their tours seem very nice. The name of the company is Liberty tours and their e-mail address is infor@libertytours.ru. If you are interested in going on that cruise, perhaps we can do the St. Petersburg tour together, therefore cutting down the cost of the tour.

 

If you need anymore information, please reply on this thread.

 

Ellen

[jojo18]

Hi

My husband is a paraplegic and is confined to a wheelchair. We were on the RCL Baltic cruise in early June. We were with friends who assisted my husband over the cobblestones in the "old cities" but there were places to visit in all of our stops where this was not a problem. In St Petersburg, we were able to visit the first floor of the Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Church on Spilled Blood (unbelievable) and the Gardens of the Peterhof. (There is a small palace on the grounds which is accessible but time did not permit a visit). This was all made possible by a wonderful tour company called Liberty Tours. We had a van with a lift and our own driver and tour guide. The cost of the tour was one half of that of the Cruise Line! The tour guide (Olga) had completed the neccessary courses to become a guide in St. Petersburg and was extremely knowledgeable. Don't let the Cruise Line scare you into thinking that you need a Visa if you want to do an independant tour! It is a lie. The tour

company provides you with a "tour ticket" that is easily accepted by the Russian immigration authorities. In Oslo, there is an accessible "on and off" bus that is reasonable but there is really not a lot to see. The bus does allow you to go to the "Kon Tiki" and "Viking Museums" but the wait between buses (there is only one that is accessible) is about 2 hours. In Stockholm, we did an independant tour while in Copenhagen and Helsinki we simply set out on foot. We have done numerous cruises and we do not rely on the tours provided by the Cruise Lines. Almost none of them meet the needs of someone confined to a wheelchair. If someone can walk a few steps, there are a few tours which require "moderate effort".

Enjoy!