March 2026
Accessible Travel, Extraordinary Memories
I never thought I would be a cruiser.
My primary knowledge of cruise ships came from watching “The Love Boat” on Saturday nights as a kid and seeing “Titanic” as a young adult. Sure, I loved to travel all over the US and abroad as well but flying someplace to then go get on a ship and sail around just didn’t seem like it would be my thing. And it sounded expensive. And we’d be stuck on a big ship with lots of people we didn’t know. And my wife agreed. So, for 26 years, we said “Maybe we’ll try cruising someday when we retire, when we don’t have to be so ‘selective’ about how we use our vacation time. You know, in case we don’t have fun or feel like it was worth going.”
But stuff happens. My wife was diagnosed with ALS in 2021. A lot of things that had always been “we’ll do that later” activities became things that needed to happen much, much sooner. Travelling to bucket list locations all over the world went from daydreams to immediate plans. But now, travel would be different and more difficult, and before long wheelchair accessibility would be a must. This is where cruising became not just a logical solution, but the basis for our best vacations ever!
“Somewhere between the waves and the sunsets, I realized I was finally home at sea.”
There are lots of challenges for people with accessibility needs when travelling but cruising really simplifies everything and our experiences on every cruise line we used were wonderful. Over a period of 15 months, we sailed with Princess, Celebrity, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, and although each carrier and ship varied, all the vessels were set up to allow for easy wheelchair mobility throughout, had an adequate number of accessible rooms and the crews were all trained well to assist and went ‘the extra mile’ to make things as easy as possible for us. Because of the ease and convenience of travelling this way, we were able to see Alaska, the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, the Panama Canal, many islands in the Caribbean and Iceland and the Northern Lights. All were places that we would have had very limited access to outside of cruising.
We learned very quickly how wrong our thoughts and assumptions about cruising had been as well as how ideal it can be for someone with accessibility needs. Here are some of our realizations and discoveries:
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Taking into consideration availability and cost of accessible vehicles along with the normal costs of lodging and dining, the cost of cruising was dramatically less than trying to do anything close to a similar trip via other travel options.
- Every cruise line provided personnel as soon as we arrived at the port to help us through check in, as well as allowing us to schedule priority boarding so we didn’t have to wait in lines that would have been tiring and difficult to navigate with a walker or wheelchair.
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When travelling with medical equipment, supplies, devices, etc., having our luggage and all these things delivered to our stateroom and unpacking just once no matter how many ports of call we visited was a joy!
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When you want to check out a lot of different places in a relatively short period of time, visiting a port, returning to the ship to eat and sleep and then waking up in a new port of call the next day can’t be beat! The amount of effort it would have required to travel overland would have significantly reduced the number of countries, cities and sites we were able to visit.
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At every port, the crews provided extra assistance with leaving and returning to the ship and getting through security. Everyone wanted to make sure we were safe and comfortable when coming and going.
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Every cruise line had accessible excursion options available for booking, although selections were limited (which is fair and understandable, as demand isn’t high). There are many reputable companies out there that offer a wide variety of accessible tours and excursions at major cruise ports and we had success finding plenty that interested us.
As for being on a ship full of strangers, we immediately found out how badly we were mistaken about that as well! In every case, we found ourselves meeting people and making friends almost the moment we set sail. On every single cruise we were on, we met people who I continue to stay in touch with, and in one particular case, we formed such strong friendships that I visit or travel with them multiple times each year! Had it not been for the need for convenient accessible travel, we may never have experienced the relaxation and enjoyment we found cruising. Now that I know, however, I am 100% a cruiser for life!