9 of the Most Accessible Cruises for 2019 (and Beyond)!

For travelers in wheelchairs, or with other mobility issues or special needs, a cruise offers a unique way to see the world. Unpack once—and, with the right cruise, see a handful of different countries in as many days.

"It's great for our group," says Jeanne Mohle, of New Directions Travel, which specializes in accessible travel for people with developmental disabilities. "There's a fancy dinner to go to, a show to see and many ports that are accessible." (Though not all, she adds as a caveat.)

What are some of the most accessible cruises for 2019? Cruise and accessible travel experts weigh in.

The newest boat from Celebrity Cruises has already raised the bar for accessible travel, with the advent of something they call the Magic Carpet. It's a 90-ton orange platform, about the size of a tennis court, that moves up and down the starboard side of the ship. What does it have to do with accessibility?

It serves as a tender boat-boarding platform, explains Colleen McDaniel, senior executive editor of Cruise Critic, a cruise review site and online community. (Tender boats are used to take passengers ashore when a cruise ship drops anchor off shore.) McDaniel knows the topic well. "I'm speaking as someone whose father requires a wheelchair full-time," she says. "When I've planned cruises for my parents, I made sure our itinerary didn't have any tender boats. I knew it would be too difficult."

The Magic Carpet, however, changes that for anyone with mobility issues—and expands access to ports around the globe. (Sylvia Longmire, of Spin the Globe, describes the process in detail.)

Get more details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Sylvia Longmire and Cory Lee, of Curbfree with Cory Lee, took the Royal Caribbean eight-night Scandinavia and Russia cruise together, on the Serenade of the Seas. In addition to the accessible amenities people have come to expect from Royal Caribbean, the only port of call that posed a problem for individual travel—from Copenhagen, Denmark, through Scandinavia, Russia and back into Helsinki, Finland—was St. Petersburg, Russia, says Longmire. (But for Lee, it didn't seem to be as much of an issue!)

Get more details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy Royal Caribbean International

"For disabled passengers, bigger may really be better," writes Brittany Chrusciel on Cruise Critic. And at 5,518 passengers, Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas is indeed the world's largest. There are 46 accessible staterooms, and three pool lifts. Longmire, of Spin the Globe, likes the all-docked port stops and accessible shore excursions of the seven-night Western Caribbean cruise, out of Miami.

Get more details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy Royal Caribbean International

Named the best cruise company in overall facilities for physically challenged passengers by Porthole Cruise magazine, Holland America has lots of accessible cruise options. And while Cruise Critic likes the Koningsdam for its high percentage of cabins for passengers with disabilities, Lee found 17 reasons to love the line's Nieuw Amsterdam ship, and the seven-day Alaskan Inside Passage departing from Vancouver, British Columbia. Note: All shore tenders are equipped with wheelchair-accessible platforms.

More details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy @halcruises via @the.wandering.siren

Disney is known for the special attention it gives to guests with special needs and disabilities—and it's no different on a cruise. The four-night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream—which has been upgraded to match the accessible amenities of the Disney Fantasy—leaves Port Canaveral, Florida, and has two stops at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, which has paved, wheelchair-friendly paths. The boat docks at the island, so there's no issue with tendering. (Longmire's first outing on the DIsney Dream, with her parents and two sons, was a "joy.")

More details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Norwegian's six-day Pacific Coastal, a one-way Los Angeles to Vancouver cruise aboard the Norwegian Bliss, hits plenty of highly accessible ports—LA, San Francisco and Victoria, B.C.—and was voted "Best Shore Excursions" by Cruise Critic. As Norwegian's newest ship, the Bliss has the latest in accessible offerings.

More details at Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy Norwegian Cruise Line

Departing from Barcelona, one of the most accessible ports in all of Europe, Royal Caribbean's seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise, aboard the Oasis of the Seas, manages to dock in six different ports across Spain, France and Italy—with no tendering at all. Like other Oasis class ships, the Oasis of the Seas boasts more than 30 accessible staterooms, as well as pool lifts. "I would highly recommend taking a few extra days to explore Barcelona with this itinerary," writes Longmire.

More details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy Royal Caribbean International

This 12-night Israel and Mediterranean cruise takes places on the Celebrity Reflection, a ship in the line's solstice class that earned a lot of high marks from cruisers in 2018. All ports of call on this trip are docked, says Longmire, who went on a similar trip in November 2017—and loved it.

More details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Aboard the Carnival Horizon, the line's newest and biggest ship, there are 65 accessible staterooms, with various levels of accessibility, for a range of mobility issues. This more affordable cruise line's popular Caribbean cruises offer accessible shore excursions through outside vendors in ports like St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten—many of which are on the eight-day Eastern Caribbean cruise out of Miami.

More details at Special Needs at Sea and Cruise Critic.

Image courtesy Carnival Cruise Line.