Regal Princess Review
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The Regal Princess is a lovely ship. Very large. And for someone with mobility issues like me, renting an electric scooter from CareVacations.com was an excellent decision. For $285, they delivered a scooter to my stateroom to await me upon my arrival. I was able to explore the ship from stem to stern in comfort and with ease. The entire ship, including gangways, is wheelchair accessible.
I did not take Princess shore excursions except in Stockholm. I didn't get off the ship at all in Oslo, Aarhus (Denmark) or Helsinki. I've visited Oslo and Helsinki before and the shore trips were not suited for people with walking problems, for the most part - -the interesting trips anyway. Aarhus is a rather unremarkable pretty town -- not easy to get about in. In Warnemunde, I went off the ship in my scooter and could explore this cute seaside village on my own. In Talinn, Estonia, I took the Princess Shuttle bus to the entrance to the Old Town and there I found a bicycle cab (Velotaxi) with a young lady driver who speaks excellent English and she took me all around the old town, upper and lower, for an hour for 50 Euros. She narrated the tour as well. In St. Petersburg, I arranged for a private tour with a guide and an attendant to push the wheelchair which they provided. We had a minivan with driver for two days. The company in St. Petersburg is AcademService and they were marvelous. Sergei, my guide, speaks fluent English and is a retired professor of Russian History with an emphasis in St. Petersburg History. I am, as a result, a walking MINE of information on the Hermitage and other wonderful sites we visited.
The cabin was fine. Balcony Obstructed view. There was a lifeboat roof about 3 feet from my balcony rail. I watched them doing their drill routines which was actually interesting. One can still see the water and the view even with the lifeboats in front of their balcony. Anyway, it was too cold to sit out there. People taking a Baltic Cruise need to include a sweater and a jacket and some long-sleeved and long-legged garments -- dress in layers. Northern Europe is cold. Cool at best. Some people on our cruise included down jackets and down vests. Good idea. The shower was more spacious than many showers I've had on cruise ships. Bathroom was good. Lots of storage space.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Small but very nice -- door wide enough for the scooter to enter and exit -- but the outside hallway was so narrow it was hard to position the scooter so that I could go in and out without scraping the door jambs. Shower was more spacious than most cruise ship baths provide. Balcony small but certainly adequate for 1 person. Probably for 2 as well.
Port Reviews
Rostock (Warnemunde)
I explored this cute little seaside resort on my scooter and enjoyed it very much. 6 hours on a train and then 5 hours on a bus (for wheelchair/mobility challenged persos) is not my idea of a good time. So I opted not to go to Berlin.
Tallinn
Princess had a shuttle bus that took you to the entrance of the Old Town. From there, you walk around. But the streets are cobbled and uneven and for mobility challenged persons, represent a true obstacle. But at the entrance, you can hire a Velotaxi -- a bicycle cab -- and mine was a sweet young woman who spoke fluent English and for $50 euros, she took me ALL OVER Talinn -- both upper and lower town -- a very bumpy ride but wonderful. She narrated to me as well.
St. Petersburg
Using AcademService tour agency in St. Petersburg, i had a two-day private escorted tour with a minivan and driver and a folding wheelchair with an attendant to push it -- plus the guide. He spoke excellent English and is a retired professor of Russian History and especially of St. Petersburg history. I am a walking MINE of information on the Hermitage and the Catherine Palace and a host of other St. Petersburg and Pushkin places as well. Cost about $550. Well worth the cost for such deluxe service!!!!
Helsinki
Helsinki is a lovely city - I've been there before. None of the shore excursions were of particular interest to me and none were wheelchair or mobility challenged appropriate.