Looking for Advice - Cruising with my 84yr old mother - Fulfilling a Dream

First of all, what a wonderful gift for both of you! I did a cruise with my mother when she was in her late 70s and struggling with her health. It was a wonderful experience, but I was very careful to schedule about half of what I would normally do.

Most cruise lines are very specific about the level of activity in various shore excursions, and consequently, I booked the shore excursions through the cruise line. I didn't want to deal with surprises from independent vendors, and I'm glad I took that approach; some of the folks we met on the ship had problems with independent vendors. The other good thing about booking through the cruise line is that they will ensure you make it back to the ship in time – I didn't want to have to worry about late arrivals/missing the boat when I was with my mother.

In my planning, I did everything I could to minimize the possibility surprises. Surprises tend to consume a lot of energy – and she didn't have a lot of extra energy.

My brother and wife took my mom on a cruise while weakened by cancer also. They went slow and she never regretted a minute. Her attitude was I sit on a beautiful ship with breathtaking scenery or I sit in my living room with the tv.

This past summer we hired private tour guides through toursbylocals.com for a British Isles cruise. They pick you up right at the pier, do whatever you want, even just drive around and see the countryside or city sights, then take you right back to the pier. Each time we were back with an hour to spare. You can even end it early if need be. Two summers ago with booked through American Express for private guides. It was a bit more price wise, but sometimes we just say, "let's go for it and ENJOY the indulgence", none of us know when it will be our last trip, you can make more money, but you can't make more time.
Enjoy your indulgence.
Barbara

Try http://www.romecabs.com/transferservice/civitavecchia/

They are a wonderful company that does transfers and tours. This way your Mother can see Rome while in the comfort of a nice sedan.

Donna

You may want to consider getting a wheelchair or scooter for the trip, even if she doesn't use one at home. Travel is much more tiring than regular activity.

The cruise lines often have shore excursions specifically labeled as being for those with limited mobility and/or in wheelchairs. For instance, here's a page from Royal Caribbean's website about their program: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentWithHero.do?pagename=accessibility_ashore

However, this may not be what you want. As an example, here's their Accessible Florence excursion, just so you can see what they mean by this (basically, staying on the bus, except of course to shop): http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=LV85&DestinationCode=

I agree that if you can afford it, a private excursion will be better, as it can be tailored to your interests and your mother's stamina, and can be changed on the fly if needed. You may want to do this for at least one or two ports as a special treat, if you can't afford to do it for all of them.

Lots more information on Cruise Critic. For instance, here's their Disabled Cruise Travel Forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190. When you read the stories of people on kidney dialysis or tube feedings who managed to take cruises, you'll see that you can definitely make this work for you and your mother.