DisabledTravelers.com Travel Blog

A cruise ship at the harbor of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands

Hello, everyone! I’m back and it’s time for more news from Disabled Travelers. Since the debacle I described last week about accessible travel problems with Canadian airlines, I’ve been thinking a lot about cruises. Cruises are a great way to get from place to place without the hassle of air travel; you get to explore at your leisure and enjoy luxury, wonderful scenery, and a whole slew of activities. So I’d like to spend some time in today’s post talking about wheelchair accessible cruises and disabled travel on the sea. I’ve had the good fortune to make a transatlantic journey on the Queen Mary II, and it’s an experience I wouldn’t trade in for any airplane, no matter how nice it was!

To start with, know that though most major cruise lines are very proactive about making accessibility easy for handicapped travelers, many ports of call outside the United States are not known for much in the way of mobility impaired access. It’s always a good idea to check with cruise companies and find out about individual stops on the itinerary before booking a cruise. The AARP’s Peter Greenberg has a huge assortment of great articles on accessibility in cruises. Peter covers transatlantic cruises and visits to plenty of exotic locales, including Alaska, China, and many more. Definitely worth a look. On top of that, Cruise Critic has a detailed piece on Top Ships for Cruisers with Disabilities. [more]