Nile cruise in particular the tui one

[TwoHoots74]

My father in law would like my partner and I to go on a Nile cruise. I’ve tried researching as he las limited mobility in he can’t manage stairs and even the itinerary from tui says it’s not suitable.
my partner is adamant he wants to take him and was just looking for someone who has actually done this cruise for more info

We did it in 2009, i now have limited mobility. I wouldn't be able to do it now. Just getting on the boat would be two difficult. Some times you had to get accross two other boats prow to get to ours. The stairs were steep to each deck as well.

It is a lot of walking around the various sites, and not flat enough surfaces for a walker or wheelchair.

Cant remember which company we did it with to be honest. But not a trip for limited mobility.

Thankyou @Megsdaughter. He thinks he can sit on the boat all day and not get off. That would make me uncomfortable that we are sightseeing and he’s alone. Stairs are definitely a problem.

But how Is he going to get on or off the boat? Or move about it? Especially in an emergency?

Is he imagining a cross channel ferry or cruise ship type boat?

I have a paraplegic friend who is a wheelchair user. She has done a Med cruise and was fine, so thought she'd look at a Nile cruise. No chance. She reckoned, after a bit of research, that it would be impossible. The tour company agreed with her.

A med cruise is one thing a Nile is another kettle of fish. The crocodile population has increased 10-fold over the past 15 years and with the single hump camels it would make things all but impossible with insurance

Egypt is top of my bucket list but my mobility it also reducing. I googled it and one of my top pages were but there are others:

www.responsibletravel.com/holiday/5364/wheelchair-accessible-nile-cruise-egypt

He can walk but kind of just shuffles. Longer distance say 100m he uses a stick. His house has a lift fitted so never even attempts the stairs anymore.

i know it’s madness. How he would even get to the airport would be a pita really

Try Saga they are very good with limited mobility customers

Perhaps you could look into a holiday which would be suitable for someone with limited mobility as an alternative? I know that TUI do offer accessible holidays, but also maybe a company like saga which specialises in older people ?

Cruising on bigger ships is fine for limited mobility especially the mid sized boats (approx 2000 passengers or a bit smaller as they can dock alongside more commonly) whereas river cruising is a lot trickier. I’ve done several Marella (TUI) cruises and all had plenty of customers with mobility aids, all port calls were accessible (no boat transfers, do check for likelihood of that) whole ship is accessible even a lift into the pool I think. Would a Greek cruise perhaps appeal to him (and sea cruising is usually cheaper too)

I actually think his best option by far is a Southampton to Southampton cruise so no plane journeys required, they even help with luggage there, valet parking etc. p&o has lots of options also Cunard

Ocean cruise would be much more manageable than a Nile cruise.

I did the TUI one before Covid. It's definitely not for people who aren't steady on their feet.

Just as an example, when you're parked up at Luxor, the boats are stacked side by side. If you aren't on the boat next to the dock, you have to walk through all the boats via a Pirate Ship 'walk the plank' set up from boat to boat.

The sites can have a lot of rubble and lots of precarious stairs and there is usually a bit of a walk to the sites from the car park all in 40 degrees heat. Honestly The Valley Of The King's in November is genuinely the hottest place I've been in my life.

Lots of getting on and off buses as well with narrow aisles etc.

If your relative is happy to stay on the boat (sitting watching the landscape passing by is amazing in itself) it will be okay but if the actual sites are the main attraction, they will probably struggle.

Why does he want to go and sit in the boat?

I’ve done lots of cruises and a bike cruise back in 2006. Nile is insanely active!

Actually in hindsight, the boat is probably 4 decks and narrow steep stairs up to the dining area (restaurant would breach trade description act as it's not that posh...). Even if he managed to get on the boat, would probably be too difficult to get up to the dining room and top deck.

In my experience Mobility Assistance at airports is good. You might have to wait a while but they do get you to and from the plane. They even have a vehicle that raises up so you can walk or be wheeled on the plane if it doesn’t have an air bridge.

I do agree a cruise from Southampton is a good option, particularly a fjord cruise.

Yeah, I did a Southampton roundtrip fjord cruise with Cunard when my mobility wasn't great. Got a balcony cabin, so I didn't need to go chasing off anywhere for sail ins/sail outs. Some excursions were low activity, but you did need to be able to get on/off the coach. The staff were absolutely lovely.

The boats just aren’t suitable for low mobility, even getting from the cabin to food to the deck. I loved the Nile Cruise we did and would recommend it to anyone who wants to see the history, and sitting on deck watching the Nile go by is magical. But not with mobility problems.

ETA….the wheelchair one limed above does look possible though….

We are now looking at saga. He is desperate to cruise the Nile. He has been to Egypt before so not bothered about seeing the sights as it were.

he won’t consider going anywhere else except the Nile. Despite the fact his son lives in Southampton (his dad doesn’t) it would be incredibly easy.

Ive decided not to go as I’m not really interested. I’m self employed and feel it’s a waste or time and money and would much rather they go together and make memories rather than my oh worrying if I’m having a good time or not

You can’t really see much from the boat. You get a coach at every port to the destination.

I went on a TUI Nile cruise in November. There’s no lifts on the boat and you do often have to go across other boats (with different floor levels) when in port so I wouldn’t recommend it for someone with mobility issues. Like someone else said, try a SAGA cruise as they have better provisions

Saga is over 50.

I feel for your fil as my own parent did a river cruise (Hungary) when very poorly with terminal cancer and with extremely limited mobility. Although they only left the boat once, he was happy to watch the world
go by, felt he saw a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I was very worried especially as embarking in Hungary involved changes flights (why?!). They got airport assistance right through which worked ok.

I think maybe show your FIL the reviews of the ‘accessible’ wheelchair tour linked above.
even this specialist tour is reviewed as NOT being accessible by about half the customers… if he is happy to sit on board and watch the world go by then that might work. I mention my own parent’s experience above as he was genuinely happy to do just that,
albeit on a different cruise and it was a special experience for him as he knew his limitations. It’s no fun growing old and being ill :-(

Just done this cruise....definitely not suitable for anyone with mobility issues!