Disney Fantasy Caribbean Cruise: Day 3 – Cozumel Private Vehicle w/ Lift Port Adventure

Date of Visit: September 29, 2014

I kept going back and forth on doing any port adventure in Cozumel, but two weeks before the trip I went to look at the options and since I could book the private vehicle w/ lift option online I finally just went ahead and did it. I am glad we did because while we only used it for two hours, we had a great family adventure at the Mayan ruins.

The private vehicle w/ lift was really just an accessible taxi. The driver was a great guide, though, so they clearly are experienced taking people around as guides.

The lift was in the back and there were two bench rows of seats in front. He did have to duck his head when going in, though, which was sort of inconvenient. Good thing we didn’t bring the power chair, as that would have never worked in the vehicle or at the Mayan ruins.

There were no tie downs, but it must not have been too bad because Mik did not freak out that much and he is known to freak out on the Walt Disney World buses and Super Shuttles where they do use great tie down techniques. There also weren’t any working seat belts, so it’s not like the other passengers were any safer.

Disney Mediterranean Cruise with Greece: Day 7 – Athens by Private Vehicle w/ Lift

Date of Visit: June 21, 2013


In Athens, Dad and I were supposed to do a Port Adventure that involved competing in games at the Panathenaic Stadium, but two days before the Pireaus port call we got a note that said our Port Adventure was cancelled due to not having enough people. Thus, we joined Mik and Mom on the Private Vehicle w/ Lift tour that was already booked with an itinerary to visit the Panathenaic Stadium as well as the Acropolis. The four hour tour ended up being just the right amount of time to enjoy both rather leisurely.

Panathenaic Stadium

Here the driver parked right in front for us to visit. Most of the bus tours also stopped here, as it is a good photo stop out in front. However, we also took the time to go inside the stadium. The cost was 3 Euros for adults, but Mik only had to pay the student price (1.5 Euros) and one companion got in free with him. The walkway around the track is rather flat, but it is a large step up onto the track. There appears to be a ramp in the front, but it is part of the gated off section. For us, it was easy to just lift Mik up onto the track. There you can run around the track, take pictures on a medal podium, and see tablets inscribed with the years and host cities of the modern Summer Olympics (they are in Greek and interestingly over the past century the spelling of Athens and London seems to have changed).

For Olympic fans like us, it was cool to see the stadium for the first Modern Olympics in 1896 (it was also used for more ancient games), although it is annoying Dad did not show us the pamphlet that came with the tickets until we were back on the ship because we missed climbing up to the seat with the founder of the modern games on it. Mik would not have been able to go up there, but he would not let me climb up to the top at all because he did not want to wait for us (it was his tour Dad and I joined after all). However, if he had known there was something to see other than a different view he would have been fine with me going up there.

Acropolis and Parthenon

At the Acropolis, the driver drove right up to the ticket office area to drop us off. He could not stay parked there, so he parked the vehicle and came back up to wait for us to be done and then brought the vehicle back up to pick us up and return to the ship.

When we started out tour we were warned that Mik might not be able to visit the Parthenon, as apparently it is pretty common for the elevator to not be operating. The driver checked for us before unloading and if it had not been working we would have gone to the Acropolis Museum instead.

The path to the “elevator” (Dad called it more like a mine car) is where those climbing up and down exit. They only allow one person to go with, so Dad went with him. They both got to go in free. Mom and I could have got tickets and climbed up, but we thought we would likely end up taking longer to do the climbing and since it was Mik’s tour we did not want him to have to be waiting for us.

Mik was glad Dad and my tour was canceled because he would never have been able to do the Parthenon with Mom. The worst pathway was the area at the bottom around the ticket office and shops. Dad almost tipped Mik since his front wheel got stuck in a crack. Up at the Parthenon it was better, although it is old worn stone that can be slippery and not totally even. For an ancient ruin, though, it is pretty accessible other than it sounding like you may need luck for the elevator to be operating when you visit.

Disney Mediterranean Cruise with Greece: Day 4 – Rome by Private Vehicle w/ Lift

Date of Visit: June 18, 2013

Mik’s first port adventure for the cruise was from Civitavecchia. We decided not to do the first two ports because it required using the tender boat and it was unclear if it would require a transfer. Turned out Villefranche would have been no problem other than it is quite hilly to go around too much in the port town. The gangways up in La Spezia, though, were too narrow at the top and would have likely required carrying Mik and the chair on separately.

Mik did not much care about missing the stuff from La Spezia, but he would have liked to see Monaco. However, he really did love having his first two days basically as at sea days compared to all the people we overheard saying they wished the first at sea day came before the three days of port calls to give more time to adjust to the time and get settled on the ship.


Mik and Mom did only the 4-hour private vehicle w/ lift port adventure. All along we were warned it would only allow time for a panoramic tour, which was fine with Mik and Mom since 4 hours is about their limit on touring, as they are the ones that always prefer the at the hotel/cruise ship parts of vacation and not long days of seeing stuff like Dad and I. Also, it was flexible enough that they could have stayed out longer and just paid for the extra time if they ended up finding something they wanted to spend more time at or wanted to see more things.

The ride between Rome and the port is about an hour to 90 minutes, so that does take up a big chunk of the 4-hour private vehicle tour in Rome. However, they still saw more different parts of Rome than Dad and I saw in our 10.5 hour tour, although that was because we spent most of our time in the Vatican and the other time was just seeing the inside of the Coliseum. Mik and Mom still got to see the outside of both, which while the insides are at least partially accessible Mik probably would not have enjoyed inside much because of the crowds.

During their tour, they mostly viewed stuff from the vehicle, but the driver would stop and open the side door to give a better view. They did get out once, though. They parked about a block from the Trevi Fountain and the driver even pushed Mik to it. He then took a picture of Mom and Mik in front of the fountain. Mik was totally excited to hear when we got back that he went to something I have never been.

One of the coolest parts of the tour for them was that they got to drive around/close to the Capital Hill and Forum area that you normally have to walk through. Mik also liked that the way they tied down the chair made it feel very secure, which really has to be saying something with the way driving and traffic in Rome can be crazy.