Cruising for wheelchair travellers

Cruise lines, especially American ones, are becoming increasingly aware of the value of a new market – disabled travellers, but it has taken them a while to do this. All cruise lines are supposed to provide cabins for people with a range of abilities, but many make it almost impossible to find out what facilities are available on board once you leave your cabin, such as priority lifts, pool hoists etc. Most of the cruise lines have elevators that have control panels at a wheelchair accessible height and collapsible wheelchairs but it is better, if possible, to take your own as collapsibles are rarely comfortable and demand has been known to exceed supply! Remember that if your chair is motorised you need a charger and charger adaptor. You also need to think about which ports you’ll be able to visit – there should be good transfer facilities at European and American ports but the ones in African coastal states are variable and many small island harbours have none and you end up in the cargo hoist! Not fun. It’s always a good idea to worth through an experience travel agent, to make sure you put your requirements in writing before you travel and to keep good records of all the replies to your questions – it’s not unknown for cruise lines to promise something that they forget to deliver, and you can get compensation or an upgrade if you can prove they stated that a certain aspect of your cruise would be available when it wasn’t – this also helps other wheelchair travellers by encouraging the cruise lines to focus on their disabled facilities.