Q – As you are aware, we will be joining you, along with 34 other Churchill & Turen clients on the Ponant Yacht chartered by A&K around the southern coast of Italy this coming September. The entire program will begin in Florence and end in Venice.
In reviewing the just-released list of shore excursions for our sailing, we noticed that many of them seem to be rated carrying the designation “elevated” with the notation that “Walking longer distances while traversing uneven terrain and/or stairs; suitable for active guests”.
This surprised us as we are in our early seventies and we were not fully expecting A&K to be offering such “elevated” offerings to typical retirees who wish to see the world in style but who have, lost a bit of “pep in the step”. Wondering how what A&K’s reasoning is since you rate them so highly? We know it will all be OK but will we be embarrassed when we start looking for the nearest bench? This will be our fifth guided tour/cruise to Europe and we are truly excited. But we are just wondering why A&K would advertise they are offering an “elevated” physical requirement? Looking forward to seeing you and Angela soon.
A – This is an interesting question and it has been discussed at length with A&K. The fact is that Italian cities are ancient, often hilly, and the streets have been, for centuries, paved with cobblestones. Any tour operator must provide what the average traveler will want and in the case of a deluxe operator like A&K the assumption is that no one really expects to see the museums, to visit the outdoor markets, to tour ancient buildings, and to maximize their time in each location on a tour designated as “easy”. There are some tour operators that specialize in tours for those lacking full mobility, but for most, the planning is done to provide maximum exposure to the destination – and that includes walking, sometimes climbing stairs, and often entering neighborhoods where buses are not permitted.
A&K like most tour operators does and is providing tour experiences on our program graded at “intermediate” level. But you are correct – when it comes to fully experiencing and immersing oneself in a destination, guests do need to be out walking the destination, walking the unsmooth streets, and exploring the ancient sites.
A&K has responded to your question by stating that “we tend to veer away from the typical “cruise” excursions, i.e. just sitting on a bus all day – as that is not “our guests expectation.
That said, what do we recommend: First, you can be sure that one of us will remain with you if you are unable to proceed with the included sightseeing. We will come up with solutions. We may, in some ports where “intermediate” tours are not available, suggest that we inquire about hiring a private guide/driver to allow you to see portions of our journey at your own pace. We can arrange for private touring at your own pace in advance and will be happy to do so. You can speak with the Tour Desk soon after boarding to set up private touring (at an additional cost of course) in any of the ports. Or, to save a bit of money, we can forward a special report that will list the better online shore excursion booking agencies so you can pick the pace of your tour far in advance and have it quickly confirmed online.
If you do join our tours that are causing a bit of anxiety, please know we will be present to make certain that the guide slows it down and allows for a break when the group is feeling it necessary. This is meant to be a life-changing journey with friends – not a marathon through the streets of Tuscany and points south.
