Jul. 24th, 2011 | 11:44 pm
Welcome to St. Peter's Port (aka Guernsey)
This was to be our last port of call before we headed back to South Hampton. We didn't book any tours because as it turns out, Mom has a friend who grew up here, and her brother was going to meet us inland and give us the royal treatment. (aka tool us all over the island in his mini-car and show us the hotspots.)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/United%20Kingdom/lastdayonshipandreturningtolondon/#!cpZZ3QQtppZZ20
It sounded good, until things started to work against us. The weather the previous night had been wet/foggy. The sea got so rough that we were banned from going out on the decks. (Again, not a fun night for those of us battling motion sickness) So, we got into port very late due to reduced visability/speed.
This port was a tender port (haul out the lifeboats) so those with booked tours got priority when it came to going ashore. Had we gone in, we likely would have only had an hour or so to look around before the last boat left for the ship. It was too rushy for us, and after a rough night, I was looking for some relaxation. Miracles of miracles it was finally HOT. Traveling north had been great, but the south finally offered some fun in the sun. The pools onboard came to life with laughing kids and adults alike. Still, Mom and I stuck to the "adult" pool at the stern of the ship (yes, I'm using the REAL term:-)) Even with suntan lotion I managed to get pretty crispy, but the warmth of the sun made it all worth it. Mom swam in the pool behind me, while I stared out at the fancy boats that were zipping across the water to get an upclose view of the ship. I had fun waving at them from my perch above:-)
I was disappointed that we never saw land. From everything I read, this was a unique island with lots to offer, and those that I spoke to who had gone on a tour seemed to really enjoy it. There was this structure poking out of the water...I still have no idea what it is...
Oh, this was the day I figured out how to "bring a picturer in closer" with the magical lever, first time I saw Mom up close in fifteen days! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding, sort of:-))
It was fun having the waitress bring me Coke's while I sat around doing pretty much nothing for the first time in days. Not a bad way to spend some time. Here's a link talking about Guernsey, I'm sorry I can't give you an in-depth report.
It has an interesting history and as the link speaks of, it's not technically part of the UK.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey
Here's some fun in the sun pics
I never figured out what this structure was. I bet it's mentioned in the link above, Mom and I had fun taking guesses...
Part of a castle? Part of a dungeon? Absolutely nothing?
I haven't been able to find this shirt since I got home...That's okay, now that I see that I look like Charlie Brown's chubby sister in it. Just say no to stripes for Cindy.
Hey, she's up close! Yay! I found the zoom lever! Go Me! :-)
I would have given anything to ride on top of the boat on this hot, sunny day. The Princess crew would have had a heart attack watching me climb up there sans wheelchair. Anytime I moved, they were hovering a foot away. SO sick of it by the end of the trip. There's help and then there's going overboard. Hmm..going overboard, interesting idea...
Boats kept jetting out too meet us, was fun watching them all look up as they got closer...
All in all, I enjoyed the trip. I wish I could have seen it in a different way. It was too rushed. The frantic pace was rough on both of us and I think it hindered our ability to get the most out of each city. One of my friends asked me to look at it from a "disabled traveler's" prospective and I have to tell you, from that perspective it gets little more than a C+.
Had I been alone in the airports, I would have struggled to get from point A to point B. The ramps were too steep, I couldn't push myself up/down them and though the washroom accessibility gets an A, I can't live in the bathroom. Often, I was left watching as Mom struggled to haul around four suitcases by herself. Help that was supposed to show up was either late getting there, or just didn't show. (help phones were around but staff was slow to respond.)
When we got back into Toronto, the man helping us disembark from the plane said they have roughly ten staff members handling hundreds of passengers on airplanes spread out over three terminals.
Curbs are lovely, but if you make one curb, there should be a corresponding curb directly on the other side, not twenty feet over in the wrong direction.
By comparison, the Princess staff went crazy with their offers of help. They were constantly in my space and in my face and it drove me up the wall. If Mom even so much as left my side for 30 seconds, they were all over me. At one point, they dragged me to a tender boat without Mom (while I had her cruise card, something she needed to get back onboard) and I had to insist that they let go of my chair. Honestly, that kind of thing was very annoying. I'm already in a chair with little control, you don't need to be touching me. They knew early on that I was capable of asking for help, I made it clear, but just as clear to me was the fact that they were going to carry out their "job" no matter what I said.
The moral of this story--ASK someone if they need help. Sure, help someone that needs it, but it doesn't hurt to say "Can I help you?" Sometimes I need it, sometimes I don't, but believe me when I tell you, If I KNOW I can't do something, I will ask. I was so grateful that people in the UK had no trouble looking me in the eye. They would talk to me, not just Mom. Here, I've noticed that people tend to talk to Mom INSTEAD of me because I'm in the chair. One wonan onboard proceeded to ask Mom if I could walk/talk. This, as I sat one deck below, working on my computer, sipping a Coke. Mom laughs that kind of stuff off, but man it gets under my skin. If you want to know about me, try asking me, if I don't talk back, THEN assume I can't talk. It drives me crazy. Quite often if I'm in a store, a salesperson will ask Mom what size I am ect...and I'll pipe in with "You can ask me that." The look on their face? Priceless. :-)
Having been through all of this, I know now that vacationing on my own is a pipe dream. It won't happen in my lifetime. And the simple fact is, we've made little progress in equaling ANYTHING out. Here's the really bad news. If it doesn't happen in the next ten years, I predict that it will NEVER happen. Baby boomers are all aging, so disabled/aging numbers are at an all-time high. So, if we don't find the money to level the playing field now, we never will.
It makes me sad to know that I will never see the kind of freedom that the majority of the population enjoys. I will never get to plan a vacation strictly based on what I want to do, see, or experience. I suppose I will just have to wait for my next life, but man, it sucks in the meantime.
Anyway, issues aside, I hope you've enjoyed my take on the journey and that in reading along, you got to experience some of the joy along with me because despite all of the challenges, I did enjoy it. Mom did a fabulous job handling so much on her own, other passengers were in awe and rightly impressed.
One man came up to us at the end of the cruise handing me a clunky, cheap ring with a heart that flashed. He joked that I'd stolen all of their hearts. I had to laugh, because I'm anything but a heart stealer, and it's not like I was Molly sunshine the whole time, I mean, this was all pretty challenging. It was nice to be acknowledged, and know that people were keeping an eye out for us, even if we didn't always realize it.(Where were these people when we needed them in France? Couldn't find you then, could we?:-))
If you got a chuckle out of my accounts, my job here is done. Now if you'd like to add some pennies to my bank account so that I can buy a compass for the next trip, feel free to drop me a line. :-) Us directionly challenged people need all the help we can get.
Thanks for reading/following along!
This was to be our last port of call before we headed back to South Hampton. We didn't book any tours because as it turns out, Mom has a friend who grew up here, and her brother was going to meet us inland and give us the royal treatment. (aka tool us all over the island in his mini-car and show us the hotspots.)
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/United%20Kingdom/lastdayonshipandreturningtolondon/#!cpZZ3QQtppZZ20
It sounded good, until things started to work against us. The weather the previous night had been wet/foggy. The sea got so rough that we were banned from going out on the decks. (Again, not a fun night for those of us battling motion sickness) So, we got into port very late due to reduced visability/speed.
This port was a tender port (haul out the lifeboats) so those with booked tours got priority when it came to going ashore. Had we gone in, we likely would have only had an hour or so to look around before the last boat left for the ship. It was too rushy for us, and after a rough night, I was looking for some relaxation. Miracles of miracles it was finally HOT. Traveling north had been great, but the south finally offered some fun in the sun. The pools onboard came to life with laughing kids and adults alike. Still, Mom and I stuck to the "adult" pool at the stern of the ship (yes, I'm using the REAL term:-)) Even with suntan lotion I managed to get pretty crispy, but the warmth of the sun made it all worth it. Mom swam in the pool behind me, while I stared out at the fancy boats that were zipping across the water to get an upclose view of the ship. I had fun waving at them from my perch above:-)
I was disappointed that we never saw land. From everything I read, this was a unique island with lots to offer, and those that I spoke to who had gone on a tour seemed to really enjoy it. There was this structure poking out of the water...I still have no idea what it is...
Oh, this was the day I figured out how to "bring a picturer in closer" with the magical lever, first time I saw Mom up close in fifteen days! (I'm kidding, I'm kidding, sort of:-))
It was fun having the waitress bring me Coke's while I sat around doing pretty much nothing for the first time in days. Not a bad way to spend some time. Here's a link talking about Guernsey, I'm sorry I can't give you an in-depth report.
It has an interesting history and as the link speaks of, it's not technically part of the UK.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey
Here's some fun in the sun pics
I never figured out what this structure was. I bet it's mentioned in the link above, Mom and I had fun taking guesses...
Part of a castle? Part of a dungeon? Absolutely nothing?
I haven't been able to find this shirt since I got home...That's okay, now that I see that I look like Charlie Brown's chubby sister in it. Just say no to stripes for Cindy.
Hey, she's up close! Yay! I found the zoom lever! Go Me! :-)
I would have given anything to ride on top of the boat on this hot, sunny day. The Princess crew would have had a heart attack watching me climb up there sans wheelchair. Anytime I moved, they were hovering a foot away. SO sick of it by the end of the trip. There's help and then there's going overboard. Hmm..going overboard, interesting idea...
Boats kept jetting out too meet us, was fun watching them all look up as they got closer...
All in all, I enjoyed the trip. I wish I could have seen it in a different way. It was too rushed. The frantic pace was rough on both of us and I think it hindered our ability to get the most out of each city. One of my friends asked me to look at it from a "disabled traveler's" prospective and I have to tell you, from that perspective it gets little more than a C+.
Had I been alone in the airports, I would have struggled to get from point A to point B. The ramps were too steep, I couldn't push myself up/down them and though the washroom accessibility gets an A, I can't live in the bathroom. Often, I was left watching as Mom struggled to haul around four suitcases by herself. Help that was supposed to show up was either late getting there, or just didn't show. (help phones were around but staff was slow to respond.)
When we got back into Toronto, the man helping us disembark from the plane said they have roughly ten staff members handling hundreds of passengers on airplanes spread out over three terminals.
Curbs are lovely, but if you make one curb, there should be a corresponding curb directly on the other side, not twenty feet over in the wrong direction.
By comparison, the Princess staff went crazy with their offers of help. They were constantly in my space and in my face and it drove me up the wall. If Mom even so much as left my side for 30 seconds, they were all over me. At one point, they dragged me to a tender boat without Mom (while I had her cruise card, something she needed to get back onboard) and I had to insist that they let go of my chair. Honestly, that kind of thing was very annoying. I'm already in a chair with little control, you don't need to be touching me. They knew early on that I was capable of asking for help, I made it clear, but just as clear to me was the fact that they were going to carry out their "job" no matter what I said.
The moral of this story--ASK someone if they need help. Sure, help someone that needs it, but it doesn't hurt to say "Can I help you?" Sometimes I need it, sometimes I don't, but believe me when I tell you, If I KNOW I can't do something, I will ask. I was so grateful that people in the UK had no trouble looking me in the eye. They would talk to me, not just Mom. Here, I've noticed that people tend to talk to Mom INSTEAD of me because I'm in the chair. One wonan onboard proceeded to ask Mom if I could walk/talk. This, as I sat one deck below, working on my computer, sipping a Coke. Mom laughs that kind of stuff off, but man it gets under my skin. If you want to know about me, try asking me, if I don't talk back, THEN assume I can't talk. It drives me crazy. Quite often if I'm in a store, a salesperson will ask Mom what size I am ect...and I'll pipe in with "You can ask me that." The look on their face? Priceless. :-)
Having been through all of this, I know now that vacationing on my own is a pipe dream. It won't happen in my lifetime. And the simple fact is, we've made little progress in equaling ANYTHING out. Here's the really bad news. If it doesn't happen in the next ten years, I predict that it will NEVER happen. Baby boomers are all aging, so disabled/aging numbers are at an all-time high. So, if we don't find the money to level the playing field now, we never will.
It makes me sad to know that I will never see the kind of freedom that the majority of the population enjoys. I will never get to plan a vacation strictly based on what I want to do, see, or experience. I suppose I will just have to wait for my next life, but man, it sucks in the meantime.
Anyway, issues aside, I hope you've enjoyed my take on the journey and that in reading along, you got to experience some of the joy along with me because despite all of the challenges, I did enjoy it. Mom did a fabulous job handling so much on her own, other passengers were in awe and rightly impressed.
One man came up to us at the end of the cruise handing me a clunky, cheap ring with a heart that flashed. He joked that I'd stolen all of their hearts. I had to laugh, because I'm anything but a heart stealer, and it's not like I was Molly sunshine the whole time, I mean, this was all pretty challenging. It was nice to be acknowledged, and know that people were keeping an eye out for us, even if we didn't always realize it.(Where were these people when we needed them in France? Couldn't find you then, could we?:-))
If you got a chuckle out of my accounts, my job here is done. Now if you'd like to add some pennies to my bank account so that I can buy a compass for the next trip, feel free to drop me a line. :-) Us directionly challenged people need all the help we can get.
Thanks for reading/following along!
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