A Consumer Reports survey of nearly 19,000 people ranks Disney Cruise Line as one of the best cruise lines for accessibility.
Disney Cruise Line Accessibility
Disney and Viking both achieved 5/5 ratings for accessibility according to the survey by Consumer Reports. They were followed by Celebrity, Holland, Oceania, Princess, and Royal, all with 4/5 scores, and Carnival and Norwegian with 3/5.
CR surveyed 18,850 cruisers who had been on an ocean cruise in the last 36 months.
Cruise lines are required to follow accessibility guidelines set in place after a 2015 Department of Justice settlement against Carnival and the 2005 Supreme Court case Spectator v. Norwegian Cruise Line.
Approximately 3% of a ship’s cabins and all public spaces are required to meet Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.
We toured an accessible cabin on the Disney Fantasy a few years ago. It’s larger than other cabins to accommodate wheelchairs and other mobility devices and has features like a roll-in shower, larger doors, and more seating.
Cabins aren’t the only accessible spaces on Disney Cruise Line. Jamie Santillo, who uses a power wheelchair, said cruising is her favorite form of travel, and she was hooked after riding the AquaMouse on one of Disney Cruise Line’s ships.
“I’d never been on any water slide,” Santillo told CR. “I couldn’t believe I was getting to do this.” To experience the water slide, Santillo took an elevator to the loading platform and transferred into a two-person inner tube with a backrest. The experience inspired her to launch Adventures by Jamie, an agency focused on accessible travel.
“Cruising is definitely the easiest means of accessible travel,” Sandy Gilbreath told CR She has been on more than a dozen cruises with her son, Cory Lee, who relies on a 400-pound motorized wheelchair. “We can go to destinations around the world and not have to board an airplane or risk his wheelchair getting broken during a flight. And we can go to dinner each night without having to look for an accessible restaurant or transportation.”
A 2024 survey by Open Doors Organization, an accessibility travel advocacy non-profit, found that 13% of U.S. adults with accessibility needs have taken at least one cruise in the past five years.
Disney Cruise Line has a webpage dedicated to accessibility. Guests with disabilities or special medical needs are encouraged to fill out the Special Services request form ahead of their sailing. Through this form, guests can notify Disney if they will be traveling with a service dog, request ASL interpretation, indicate dietary requirements, and more.
Watch our tour of an accessible deluxe family oceanview stateroom on the Disney Fantasy:
Disney Cruise Line Ties for Top Accessible Cruise Line in Major Survey
