Choosing the Best Cruise Line for Travelers with Disabilities

Going on a cruise is an excellent option because you get accommodations, transportation, and multiple destinations. However, if you are traveling with a person who has a disability, you will need to choose your cruise line carefully. Most cruise lines are ADA-compliant. However, a few cruise lines go above and beyond for any travelers with disabilities. Today, I will share one traveler’s experience on Royal Caribbean. This will list how to Choose the Best Cruise Line for Travelers with Disabilities.

Royal Caribbean’s ADA Spacious Balcony Room

Royal Caribbean offers ADA-compliant rooms on their ships. Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas has a fantastic, spacious balcony room. The layout of this room allows for plenty of space to move around in a wheelchair if needed. There is an emergency push button above the nightstands on each side of the bed.

One of the closets offers a pull-down bar, so travelers can reach their clothes from a wheelchair if necessary. The room's floor is slanted to make wheeling out to the balcony easier.

Entering the bathroom is also simple because there are no steps. The fold-down bench in the shower, plus a detachable showerhead, improves the showering experience. The emergency pull cord in the bathroom ensures help is available if needed.

One Traveler’s Experience While Cruising with Royal Caribbean

The traveler I am sharing an experience about today was concerned about traveling with their G-tube. There were certain items, like drinking water and Ensure, they needed to have available for the duration of their cruise. At the same time, they could have arranged to bring all those items on board, which would have added to the luggage they carried.

Instead, a simple request was sent to Royal Caribbean to determine the best way to handle this situation. Royal Caribbean went above and beyond for this traveler by providing them with Ensure and drinking water. This meant the traveler did not need to pack either of those items and did not need to worry about whether those items made it onto the ship.

Choosing the Best Cruise Line for Travelers with Disabilities

I am not saying that Royal Caribbean is the only cruise line offering these extras for travelers with disabilities. Most other cruise lines will do the same if asked. However, some cruise lines make the entire experience seamless, while others may require you to jump through a few hoops to get the results you desire.

If you are looking for the best cruise line for travelers with disabilities, I recommend considering these things:

• Are accessible rooms available? A view of Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas ADA balcony room can be found here.

• Is the ship ADA-accessible?

• Are there ramps and other accessible options at the ports of call? You can check out the accessibility of different ports in the Caribbean by visiting this blogger.

• Does the cruise ship offer support services to travelers with disabilities?

• Are accessible tours available at each destination? (These book quickly)

If you are traveling with a person with a disability, I recommend working with a travel advisor like myself. I can advocate for travelers with a disability to ensure they have everything they need while on vacation. Click here to contact me today to get started with the vacation planning process.