A few months ago, a friend and I boarded MSC Seashore from Rome (Civitavecchia) to go on a week long cruise stopping at 5 destinations in Italy, Spain and France.  This is my 9th ever cruise and my 2nd of the year after going on the Disney Wonder back in March.

At all of our 5 port stops, the MSC Seashore was able to dock right at the pier.  I will write a separate blog post going into more detail about the ship and about what I thought about the accessibility later.  This blog post will describe my experience of these 5 stops only.

Getting Off The Ship

Every time we get off the ship, my friend and I had to go through the employees area on deck 4 to use the ramped gangway.  The regular public passenger side had a few steps to walk out to the dock.  We both needed to scan our cruise ID card every time we left the ship and also to get back on the ship.

Palermo, Italy

Our first stop is Palermo, which is the capital of Italian island of Sicily.  The city is known for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy.  Once we got off the ship, we weren’t far from the downtown area.  My friend just pushed my manual wheelchair around and we started by strolling on the boardwalk right by the pier.

We started going down a busy downtown street where there are lots of shops and restaurants and ate a delicious cannoli which is a a staple Sicilian pastry.  We saw the Praetorian Fountain which is a monumental fountain located in Piazza Pretoria in the historic center.

We took a bunch of pictures in Quattro Canti which is a big square right in the center of the historic quarters.  We got a drink at a convenience store and continued exploring the area including seeing the Teatro Massimo.  We spent almost 4 hours in Palermo and were ready to head back to the ship.

Ibiza, Spain

Our next day was a sea day, with Ibiza being the next port stop.  Ibiza is known for its nightclub and party scene but our ship return time is 11 PM, so we couldn’t visit any of the late night parties.  We were fine with just exploring the downtown area in the afternoon on our own.

After wheeling off the docked ship, we had to wait in the taxi stop area and actually got a wheelchair accessible taxi to go downtown.  We looked around the area for a bit and then went on the Vera de Ray walkway which has his statue and is full of shops and restaurants.

From there, my friend pushed my wheelchair uphill 4 or 5 blocks so we could see the Castle of Ibiza.  Located at the top of Dalt Vila, we got to see panoramic water views from a hilltop castle surrounded by medieval fortifications and narrow laneways.  There was another section to go to the top by stairs so my friend went to get pictures.

We went back to Vera de Ray walkway for some drinks before heading to the beach to relax for a bit.  There was an accessible boardwalk that was easy to wheel on.  We did eat at a local restaurant which had the worst ceviche I have ever eaten before getting an accessible taxi back to the port.  Overall, it was a great 7.5 hour day in Ibiza.

Valencia, Spain

Our third stop is Valencia, Spain.  After brunch and wheeling off the dock, we got our accessible taxi to drop us off and a downtown main square.  We explored the area and quickly headed to the closest park passing by the Exhibition Bridge to Gulliver Park.

This huge park has kids climb and play on the area structure of the character Gulliver.  There is a ramp to get closer to the park but the play area wasn’t wheelchair accessible.

Just a few minutes walk/stroll away, there is a huge arts plaza that has a beautiful white huge Opera House, Hemisphere Valencia which is a building in the shape of an human eye that contains a museum, IMAX and 3D theater. 

I wish we had more time to actually check out the museum or watch something but it was still cool to check out the architecture.  We then explored a little bit more around the area and then took a free shuttle bus from just the edge of downtown back to the cruise terminal.  We ended up spending about 3.5 hours in Valencia.

Marseille, France

Marseille is our 4th port stop and after we had lunch, we got off on the dock and took a regular taxi to downtown.  We took a bunch of pictures of cool old buildings and streets including the gothic looking St. Vincent de Paul church.  Marseille is the 3rd most populous and oldest city in France.

It started to rain a bit, so we went to the nearest coffee shop to get a hot drink and to seek cover.  After, we continued on and saw a blue giraffe with a baby giraffe sculpture that we thought was just an art piece, but Zarafa and Girafon was actually a used book exchange kiosk.

The Palais Longchamp park was very nice too with its waterfalls, fountains and green gardens.  We then went to another coffee shop to get some macarons and then headed back to where the taxi initially dropped us off.  There was a big protest with lots of police around just as we were leaving to get back on the ship, spending almost 4 hours in the city.  

Genoa, Italy

Our 5th and last port stop was to Genoa, Italy which is known as the birthplace for Christopher Columbus.  After our usual brunch, we got off our docked port and got a taxi to take us to the middle of downtown at the main square called Piazza De Ferrari.  This is where the main big water fountain is located.

We then continued exploring downtown to browse a few shops, a park near by and saw the Teatro Carlo Felice which is the principal opera house of Genoa.  We were in an underpass tunnel and just happened to find an elevator that takes us to Spianata Castelletto.  This lookout point gives the best views of Genoa.

We did take a bunch of pics of the 360 degree views and listen to some local artist play his bag pipes.  We rested a bit on the bench then we explored the area a bit more before having a snack in Genoa.  It was about 3 hours now so we got a regular taxi to take us back to the ship.

Final Thoughts

Our 7 night cruise on the MSC Seashore had 5 port stops that were all docked on port.  This made it easier to just get off and on the ship on the gangway ramp whenever we wanted.  We didn’t book any extra excursions in any of our stops but we still had a great time exploring each city on our own. 

Accessibility varied from easily getting an accessible taxi or not having curb cuts at every sidewalk.  My friend did a great job helping me get around regardless.  Look for my full review of the ship coming up next!