Travelers With Limited Mobility

Are cruise ships really accessible to folks with mobility issues? Absolutely! More than 250 major cruise ships sailing worldwide have wheelchair-accessible cabins with widened stateroom and bathroom doors, elevators that support wheelchairs, accessible tables in the main dining room and pier assistance on request. At the bottom of this page, you can search for the cruise of your dreams on any of these ships. But first, here are several important issues to consider:

Departure Ports

• U.S. ports are the most accessible because their pier facilities comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Outside of the United States, port accessibility is less predictable.
• Many people are able to drive to U.S. or Canadian departure ports, saving money on airfare and avoiding the hassles of flying.

Equipment Rental and Delivery

• If you require the use of a mobility device such as a scooter or wheelchair but prefer not to travel with your own equipment, we can recommend Scootaround who rents quality equipment and can have it delivered to the cruise ship.
• To see images and specifications for the mobility equipment that is available for rental and delivery, click here.

Stateroom Selection

• Request an accessible stateroom if you need the extra space for a scooter, wheelchair or need the grab bars to assist with limited mobility.
• If you don’t need the extra space or grab bars, you can request a stateroom close to an elevator bank for easy access. Most cruise ships have two or three banks of elevators to service their many decks.
• Some cruise lines offer modified rooms that are retrofitted with accessible features, but do not offer additional space. These are ideal for someone with some mobility and collapsible equipment.

Going Ashore with a Tender Boat

• Many destination cruise ports lack sufficient pier space to accommodate all cruise ships, and some ports have no pier at all. If your ship cannot dock at the pier, it will drop anchor offshore and passengers will "tender" into port via small boats. Guests who use wheelchairs may have to be helped down temporary stairs and/or carried on and off these boats. If conditions don't permit safe transfer to the tender (for example, if the seas are rough), the ship's officers may prohibit a guest from being carried aboard a tender if they feel it would compromise the safety of the passenger or crew.

Shore Excursions

• Cruise passengers with limited mobility should evaluate shore excursion choices carefully. Some lines will arrange tours that can accommodate people with disabilities, and some provide accessibility ratings in their shore excursion booklets. Your Vacations To Go travel counselor (800-998-6902) can work with you and the cruise line to determine which cruises offer accessible shore excursions.

Air Travel

• Always arrive early at the airport.
• Ask a security officer for help with your mobility aid and carry-on items as you go through the security checkpoint. Let the security officer know your level of ability (e.g., whether you can walk, stand or perform an arm lift) and whether or not you can walk through the metal detector.
• Check your chair or scooter at the boarding gate and request that it be brought to you at the gate when you arrive.
• Consider using gel or foam-filled batteries, also known as dry cells, in your scooter or power chair. The ground crew may remove standard acid-filled batteries, or wet cells, and pack them in special containers for transport.
• Alternatively, you can request special mobility assistance at the airport. This service, whether provided by the airline or airport, pushes you to the gate in a provided wheelchair.
• Consider removing any parts of your equipment you don’t want damaged by the airline or ground crew.

You can use “Accessibility options” in the box on the left to limit search results to ships that meet your needs. When you’re ready to see discounted rates, click “Show Me the Deals!”