Accessability in Eastern Med / Turkey / Africa (NCL)

[HB Giraffe]

Hi there,

I've beensearching the threads so bear with me if this information is already on the board somewhere and I haven't located it.

 

My sister and I are doing the Jan 4 2009 NCL cruise to the places listed in the title, specifically:

Civitavecchia

Pireaus / Athens

Izmir / Ephesus

Alexandria / Cairo

Valletta, Malta

 

We've decided to visit Ancient Ostia instead of Rome as we live in Scotland and feel we can visit Rome at another time, particularly as the day we're in Port is Jan 6, a public holiday, so the Vatican, Sistine Chapel aren't open.

 

We've also decided to visit Corinth when in Athens

 

We're doing a tour called "Easy Ephesus" in Turkey - which is for folks like me with limited mobility

 

The rest are also ship tours for Cairo & Alexandria (no overnights to Cairo) and in Valletta.

 

Has anyone been to these ports or places? Could you advise on the accessiblity / ease on which to get around?

 

I have contacted some disabled travel operators in both Italy and Greece but have had nothing back from Italy and the operator in Greece is more expensive than the ship's tour.

 

Many thanks!

Heather

[katisdale]

I have been to all of those places except for Valetta. I did not go to Ostia when we were in Rome. In Athens we went to Corinth. The ruins area is small and has uneven walking paths. At that time I was still doing OK with a rolling walker that had a seat in it. Nearby is a large fort like area (AcroCorinth) which would have required a fairly long walk to visit. We chose to view this from the road. We also visited the Corinth canal on this day trip which was interesting. We drove into several small villages and enjoyed that as well as seeing the lion that was carved by a blind man. In Cairo we went to the pyramids, sphynx, stepped pyramid and Egyptian museum. What made this trip more accessible was that we used Nile Blue Tours. At the museum there are hundreds of steps and the best exhibits (IMHO) are upstairs. If you have a native guide you can use the elevator which if you don't "know" someone you are not allowed near. We really enjoyed the King Tut exhibit and our guide was excellent. In Ephesus I took the easy ships tour while my husband went on the regular tour. The easy tour was fine. We went to the museum (slippery marble ramp), a village in the mountains, and a carpet school. The carpet school was a highlight for me which I didn't expect. They showed how the thread is made, dyed, the loom set up and the rug woven. I do need to mention that when you use a ship's tour you have to be able to do the steps on a standard bus. You won't find a lift equipped bus. On the private tours you can transfer into a car or bus and put a standard collapsible W/C in the trunk.

[HB Giraffe]

Thank you Katisdale! I'm not a wheelchair user - I use a walking stick so I'm able to get around a bit - my disability is based more on my bladder disease so having access to a toilet as well as hobbling around on my cane are my biggest concerns. A couple of folks on our roll call are offering a tour of Rome, so we're hoping we can join that one. I'm going to do the Easy Ephesus tour as well. I would have preferred to use Blue Nile or DeCastro for Egypt but am concerned about being away from the ship at night due to my bladder concerns (though I've heard it's a 3 hour drive to Cairo and 3 hours back!) I'm very happy to hear about Corinth though - I have been in touch with a disabled tour company in Athens, so I may just go with what they are offering (though I think it might be more expensive than the cruise line, so that may make me stick with the ship's tour)

 

I'm from Knoxville, TN originally by the way (though I now live in Scotland) - it's so nice to speak to someone close to home!

 

All the best!

[katisdale]

My ancestry (my other hobby besides cruising) traces back to the McGregor clan in Scotland so it is a small world after all. Someday I will get to Scotland. As far as going into Cairo, I would check with the cruise company to see if they offer buses with toilets. I liked Nile Blue and feel they would include a stop at any of several roadside areas if the need arose. I don't see a bus stopping until they reach Cairo.