8 of the best cruises for disabled passengers

1. P&O Cruises

P&O offers assistance to passengers with limited mobility both on board and on shore with personalised escorted shore excursions.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible rooms and a limited supply of wheelchairs available on board for embarkation, disembarkation and emergencies.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Specialised kits for the hearing impaired.
• Good to know: P&O offers escorted limited-mobility shore tours upon request so you won't have to miss out.

2. Holland America

Winner of the Best Overall Facilities for Physically Challenged Passengers by Porthole Cruise magazine, Holland America provides accessible experiences for all disabilities. Its fleet even features a specially designed lift system for tender transfers.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms; wheelchair assistance during embarkation, disembarkation and emergencies; alternate transfers for shore excursions and lifts between ship and tender.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Room kits with visual and tactile alerts, closed-caption TVs, amplified telephones, assistive listening systems, screen reader computer software, large-print/braille menu and ship familiarisation tours.
• Good to know: Holland America's Vista class has 28 accessible rooms. A screen reader in the Explorations cafe allows visually impaired passengers to read Internet text.

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3. Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian is so committed to assisting its special needs customers that it has a dedicated Special Needs at Sea team to help personally coordinate your trip.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms, wheelchairs for embarking and disembarking only and pool lifts on every ship. Barrier-free transportation to the ship on request.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Pagers for announcement alerts, hearing aids, visually-tactile kits and braille/markings onboard. Cabled cabins with optical and tactile stimuli and sign language interpreters on some ships.
• Good to know: Sky, Sun and Pride of America have cabled cabins for guests with limited hearing.

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4. Carnival Cruises

Young or old, Carnival Cruises provides accessibility options for all.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Modified and accessible cabins, wheelchairs for embarkation and disembarkation, and accessible elevators and routes throughout the ship.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Braille signage and large-print menus. Audible signals and portable ADA room kits upon prior request.
• Good to know: Ports with tenders (small boats which are used when the ship can't access the port) that are not wheelchair accessible include Belize, Catalina Island, Half Moon Cay, Cabo San Lucas and Kona.

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5. Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean pulls out all the stops to make sailing with limited mobility a breeze. Think automatic doors, early boarding and pool lifts. Talk about the royal treatment.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms, spacious corridors, automatic doors, ramps, pool lifts and accessible transfer vehicles.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Large-print menus, service animal relief areas, braille/tactile signage and buttons, orientation tours, hearing room kits, assistive listening system and closed-caption televisions.
• Good to know: Serenade of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas both feature over 30 accessible staterooms and pool lifts.

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6. Celebrity Cruises

Whatever your needs, Celebrity Cruises accommodates for all, including complimentary assistance getting on and off the ship.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms, accessible excursions, spacious corridors, early boarding, automatic doors and wheelchair assistance during embarkation and disembarkation. Some ships feature pool lifts.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Large-print menus, qualified readers (a crewmember who will read written material), tactile/braille signage and elevator buttons on some ships, ADA kit on request and closed-caption televisions.
• Good to know: Pool lifts on Solstice class and Celebrity Century. Tactile signage on Solstice class, Celebrity Constellation and Celebrity Infinity. Accessible routes to tender platform on Solstice class.

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7. Disney Cruise Line

Accessible staterooms and auxiliary aids are just a few facilities this ship of dreams offers its special needs passengers.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms and public rooms. Bed boards, bed rails, portable or raised toilet seats, shower stool and transfer bench on request.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Auxiliary aids, stateroom communication kits with bed shaker and TTY. Sign-language interpreters may also be available.
• Good to know: Dream class ships have 24 accessible rooms and feature youth counsellors experienced in working with children with needs.

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8. Cunard

Cunard is as transparent as a cruise line can be and provides you with a full list of accessible cabins so you know exactly what you'll get when booking.

• Available for limited-mobility passengers: Accessible staterooms and wheelchairs available for embarkation and disembarkation. Benches and shower stools on request.
• Available for the vision or hearing impaired: Visual alert system.
• Good to know: The Queen Mary II has 32 fully accessible cabins and over 100 non-adapted cabins for cruisers with partial mobility. Wheelchair assistance available at Southampton port.

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• Sydney and White Bay, Australia
• Adelaide, Australia
• Auckland, New Zealand
• Brisbane, Australia
• Cairns, Australia
• Melbourne, Australia

• Fremantle, Australia
• Singapore
• Southampton/London, UK
• Barcelona, Spain
• Monaco
• Naples, Italy

• Athens, Greece
• St Thomas, Virgin Islands
• Princess Cays, Bahamas
• Alaska (various ports are accessible), USA
• Castaway Cay, Bahamas

• Airlie Beach, Australia
• Bay of Islands, New Zealand
• Benoa, Bali
• Bora Bora, Polynesia
• Christchurch (Akaroa), New Zealand
• Isle of Pines, New Caledonia
• Lembar, Lombok
• Lifou Isle, New Caledonia

• Mare, New Caledonia
• Moreton Island, Australia
• Mooloolaba, Australia
• Moorea, Polynesia
• Mystery Island, Vanuatu
• Port Arthur, Tasmania
• Port Douglas, Australia
• Wala, Vanuatu

• Yorkeys Knob, Australia
• Catalina Island, California
• Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
• Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
• Kona, Hawaii
• Avonmouth, UK
• Liverpool, UK
• Rosyth, UK