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Blue Danube in a wheel chair
My wife and I took the Prague to Budapest cruise in early June. Gale has to use a "transport" chair for everything except short distances. For those interested, our review is posted at http://bit.ly/NQc3H6 and below as requested:
River Ship Travels with Gale
We took a Tauck river cruise from Prague to Budapest on the Swiss Jewel. Gale has limited mobility, and the off-ship tours were done with a transport chair. That said, the trip was a wonderful experience, and the cobblestones the price of admission.
The Hradcany Castle district in Prague has some of the worst cobblestones seen. The (wonderful) Tauck staff made arrangements all along the way for us to go in side doors to hidden elevators.
The Tauck dinner at the Lobkowicz Palace foreshadowed the special treatment we were to get throughout the cruise. The current scion hosted the wine reception with a 40 minute review of the palace’s history, followed by a private tour of the museum, followed by a private dinner in the Palace.
The third day of the trip was a killer. Bags packed by 7 AM, three-hour bus trip to Regensburg Germany, long tour over rough streets, boarding the ship and unpacking, dinner, and collapsing in bed late.
In Passau, the stones were smaller and flatter, and there was an HP entrance to the cathedral. Our small group tours with some great local guides were followed by on-board Austrian entertainment.
The ship moved through the beautiful Wachau Valley to Dernstein. The walk from the ship up to Dernstein was steep, and pushing the chair was a lung busting adventure. But the tour by another delightful local guide was worth it.
In Vienna, all sites are fairly easy to get to and around with the chair. Tauck had another of its private dinners, near where those horses dance, with spectacular music, opera, and ballet as entertainment. After Vienna we departed for Bratislava; interesting to see and very easy to see. Smaller, flat-topped cobblestones for the most part.
The cruise portion ended in Budapest. Can we tell you what hell Buda is for both parties riding and pushing a wheelchair?
Pest, is very easy to move about. From the Marriott in Pest, we had the benefits of the great view of the river and the hills of Buda, with the ease of moving about the modern Pest.
A large crew to keep the ship running, and the pusher’s scotch glass full. Four Tauck staff managed all the events, and gave wonderful lectures which enhanced the trip. Local guides at each stop gave knowledgeable and fun tours. The staff made a nice trip a wonderful trip.
Thanks to Tauck for taking a risk and letting us go.
River Ship Travels with Gale
We took a Tauck river cruise from Prague to Budapest on the Swiss Jewel. Gale has limited mobility, and the off-ship tours were done with a transport chair. That said, the trip was a wonderful experience, and the cobblestones the price of admission.
The Hradcany Castle district in Prague has some of the worst cobblestones seen. The (wonderful) Tauck staff made arrangements all along the way for us to go in side doors to hidden elevators.
The Tauck dinner at the Lobkowicz Palace foreshadowed the special treatment we were to get throughout the cruise. The current scion hosted the wine reception with a 40 minute review of the palace’s history, followed by a private tour of the museum, followed by a private dinner in the Palace.
The third day of the trip was a killer. Bags packed by 7 AM, three-hour bus trip to Regensburg Germany, long tour over rough streets, boarding the ship and unpacking, dinner, and collapsing in bed late.
In Passau, the stones were smaller and flatter, and there was an HP entrance to the cathedral. Our small group tours with some great local guides were followed by on-board Austrian entertainment.
The ship moved through the beautiful Wachau Valley to Dernstein. The walk from the ship up to Dernstein was steep, and pushing the chair was a lung busting adventure. But the tour by another delightful local guide was worth it.
In Vienna, all sites are fairly easy to get to and around with the chair. Tauck had another of its private dinners, near where those horses dance, with spectacular music, opera, and ballet as entertainment. After Vienna we departed for Bratislava; interesting to see and very easy to see. Smaller, flat-topped cobblestones for the most part.
The cruise portion ended in Budapest. Can we tell you what hell Buda is for both parties riding and pushing a wheelchair?
Pest, is very easy to move about. From the Marriott in Pest, we had the benefits of the great view of the river and the hills of Buda, with the ease of moving about the modern Pest.
A large crew to keep the ship running, and the pusher’s scotch glass full. Four Tauck staff managed all the events, and gave wonderful lectures which enhanced the trip. Local guides at each stop gave knowledgeable and fun tours. The staff made a nice trip a wonderful trip.
Thanks to Tauck for taking a risk and letting us go.
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Comments
I urge anyone with any sort of mobility issues to read it. Better still, perhaps the writer could post it here, too? I'm sure lots of Tauck Forum regulars would find it interesting. The review doesn't just cover wheelchair travel, either. I particularly liked the notion of keeping the chair pusher's whisky glass full!
And good on Tauck for taking the risk that the writer says other operators wouldn't touch.
Cheers,
Jan
Sheila