Special Needs at Sea works with Royal Caribbean to provide mobility services for thousands of travelers aboard their ships each year!
Royal Caribbean is an industry leader in handicap accessible cruises in the Caribbean and beyond and understandably a top choice for people with disabilities and slow walkers. Royal Caribbean’s Accessible Seas program ensures that every traveler is able to discover and explore the world around us.
All of Royal Caribbean’s ships have accessible staterooms to provide handicap accessible cruises. When Royal Caribbean launched the Oasis of the Seas ship and the Allure of the Seas ship, the ships exemplified Royal Caribbean’s commitment to providing handicap accessible cruises. The ships have 46 accessible staterooms dispersed in a variety of categories. The Freedom-class ships and Voyager-class ships are also good options for people using a wheelchair for travel with 32 and 26 accessible staterooms respectively. All accessible staterooms are equipped for guests using a wheelchair for travel, including wider doors (at least 32 inches), ramped bathrooms, roll-in showers, grab bars, raised toilet seats, lowered sinks and vanity areas, and a five-foot turning radius in sleeping areas, bathrooms and sitting areas.
Royal Caribbean also ensures that children with disabilities don’t miss out on the fun. The Freedom Class as well as the new Oasis class ships have a children’s water park (the H2O Zone) where plastic wheelchairs are provided for them to navigate this area. Royal Caribbean’s children’s camp, Adventure Ocean, may place the child by ability, rather than age. And for the child at heart, the OnAir Club, a space dedicated to karaoke, has ramps up to the stage which allow guests in wheelchairs and scooters to participate.
For first time cruises and travelers with limited mobility or using a wheelchair for travel, Royal Caribbean recommends Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, and New England cruises as they have excellent accessibility in port as well as on shore excursions. For handicap accessible cruises in the Caribbean, the Eastern Caribbean may be preferable because many of the ports are “docked,” versus Western Caribbean cruises where many of the ports require tendering to shore.
For passengers who are blind or have low vision, Royal Caribbean provides Large Print menus and service directories as well as Braille/tactile signage and elevator buttons. Portable room kits featuring a visual and tactile alert system for door knocking, telephone ringing, alarm clock and smoke detector are available upon request for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing. Royal Caribbean allows oxygen rentals of all kinds onboard for travelers requiring oxygen.
Royal Caribbean offers priority boarding services for people with disabilities, as well as boarding and departure assistance and lifts for one pool and one whirlpool on each ship in the fleet. For those feeling lucky, the casino slot machines and Blackjack tables are accessible for those using a wheelchair for travel.
Royal Caribbean handicap accessible cruises do not provide wheelchairs or scooters for the duration of the cruise. For wheelchair rentals, scooter rentals or other special needs equipment rentals, contact Special Needs Group at (800) 513-4515. To learn more about each of the ship’s accessibility, call Royal Caribbean’s Accessibility Department at 866 592-7225 or email special_needs@rccl.com.