Wheelchair Access & Special Needs
Celebrity is committed to providing all its guests with an unrivaled cruise vacation. Their extensive attention to detail will make your vacation one that knows no boundaries.
Dialysis
Guests requiring continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis are welcome to board all Celebrity Cruises vessels. However, Celebrity Cruises does not have the ability to assist or administer hemo-dialysis treatments. Guests should have all solutions and equipment needed to perform the dialysis delivered to the vessel on the day of sailing at least two hours prior to sailing. Please contact Celebrity for more information on policies and procedures.
Oxygen
All types of oxygen are permitted onboard. Please notify Celebrity as to quantity, type and delivery schedule. Each vessel has a different storage policy. However, you will be able to keep some or all of your cylinders in the stateroom.
Mobile Disabilities
Every ship in the Celebrity fleet was designed with every guest's need in mind. You'll find wide, spacious corridors, to allow 180° turns for wheelchairs. Most decks are accessible through automatic doors, and all public rooms feature entrances with gradual inclines.
Celebrity will provide complimentary wheelchair assistance for embarkation and disembarkation only.
If you would like to have a wheelchair during the cruise, there is a limited supply of wheelchairs available on the ships. Please contact the Access Department if you would like to make a reservation for a wheelchair. If you want to ensure you will have a wheelchair or scooter onboard, you are welcome to bring your own or rent one from one of these approved vendors. They will deliver the mobility device to your stateroom on the ship:
CareVacations
Phone: 877-478-7827
Fax: 800-648-1116
E-mail: res@carevacations.com
On the web: CareVacations website
Special Needs at Sea
Phone: 800-513-4515
Fax: 800-513-4516
E-mail: info@specialneedsgroup.com
On the web: Special Needs at Sea website
Guests may bring and use wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other assistive devices onboard the ships. Due to safety regulations, Segways may not be used onboard.
Assistive devices including mobility scooters must be stored and recharged in your stateroom so fire doors, corridors and elevator lobbies are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When parked throughout the ship, they must be parked out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers.
Assistive devices should fit through a standard stateroom entry doorway which is at least 23 inches wide. Celebrity offers accessible staterooms which have wider doorways measuring at least 32 inches wide and may accommodate larger devices. If you have an assistive device larger than 32 inches wide, please contact the Access Department for assistance.
Please note: Crewmembers are NOT permitted to lift assistive devices.
Accessible Staterooms
Accessible staterooms are designed with wider doors, roll-in showers, grab bars and other special features for guests with mobility disabilities and other disabilities that require the use of the accessible features of that stateroom.
Accessible staterooms are held for people with disabilities until all other non-accessible staterooms in that category are reserved. Upon reserving an accessible stateroom, Celebrity requires that guests acknowledge the need for the accessible stateroom by completing a Guest Special Needs Form.
If a guest is booked in an accessible stateroom and they do not have a mobility disability or other disability that requires the use of the features that are provided in the accessible stateroom, they may be moved at any time to a non-accessible stateroom in order to accommodate a guest with a disability. Please note that Celebrity will investigate and take action on potential misuse of accessible staterooms where there is good cause to believe that such staterooms have been booked fraudulently.
For additional information, contact the Access Department at 1-866-592-7225 (voice), send an email to special_needs@celebrity.com, or have your travel professional contact Celebrity.
Boarding Accessibility
Airport Transportation - If requested in advance, Celebrity can arrange for accessible transportation to transfer guests between the airport and the pier. This service is offered at no extra charge to their air/sea guests or those who have purchased cruise-only transfers. Accessible transportation may be limited or not available outside the U.S. Contact your travel agent or Celebrity for details.
Extra Assistance at the Pier - Celebrity Cruises offers boarding and departure assistance with wheelchairs to guests with mobility disabilities. Request assistance once you arrive at the pier or contact Celebrity prior to your cruise so that they may prioritize your assistance to go onboard. During peak times there may be a wait for assistance.
Many ports provide easy access for wheelchairs and scooters. However due to various conditions - such as steepness of the gangway, tendering, weather, tidal and sea conditions, and shore-side facilities - guests using assistive devices may be precluded from getting on or off the ship.
Celebrity will make reasonable efforts to assist guests, but for safety reasons, their staff is not permitted to lift guests or equipment. Assistance with manual wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. will be provided.
Assistance Onboard - Celebrity will provide reasonable mobility assistance to guests in accessing areas of the ship that are not accessible.
Traveling from Ship to Shore - At some ports, the ship will anchor off shore, and guests are taken to shore by small boats called tenders. Even if the ship is scheduled to dock at a pier, it can change to tendering.
Guests with assistive devices who are unable to take a few steps will be unable to board tenders unless roll-on capability is available.
In order to safely board most tenders, guests must be able to take steps and use a collapsible manual wheelchair. In addition, motorized wheelchairs and mobility scooters can not be taken on tenders, unless roll-on capability is available. Inquire about tender roll-on capability at the Guest Relations Desk while on board. Please note roll-on capability is not guaranteed.
Weather, sea conditions and other factors may preclude tendering. Safety of the guests and crew is the primary consideration, and the Captain and his staff will make the final decision regarding transferring guests and their assistive devices based on safety reasons.
If guests are unable to tender or disembark due to these circumstances, there will be no refund or credit for missed ports. While Celebrity recognizes your disappointment, the safety of guests and crew takes precedence.
Hearing Disabilities
Celebrity accommodates guests who are deaf and hard of hearing by providing them with technological advancements wherever and whenever possible. To customize your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please request and complete the Guest Special Needs Form from Celebrity. For additional information, contact the Access Department at 1-866-592-7225 (voice), send an e-mail to special_needs@celebrity.com, or contact your travel professional.
Amenities for Hearing Impaired Guests include:
- A portable room kit in your stateroom is available upon request. It includes a visual-tactile alert system that provides alerts for door knocking, telephone ringing, alarm clock and smoke detector.
- A TTY (teletypewriter) in your stateroom is available upon request. The TTY in your stateroom interfaces with the TTY at the Guest Relations Desk to meet all your in-stateroom needs.
- Amplified telephones are available in the staterooms and public areas on Solstice class ships.
- Assistive Listening Systems are located in the main theatre on Solstice class ships.
Sign language interpreting services will be provided upon request for deaf guests who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary means of communication. Sign language interpreting services are provided for main production shows, port and shopping presentations and other major activities on a shared basis for all deaf guests onboard. A request for sign language interpreting services should be made with the Access Department at time of booking but no later than 60 days prior to sailing. Requests are subject to availability of interpreters. Sign language interpreting services are provided on cruises that depart from and/or return to the U.S. and Canada.
- Closed-captioned televisions are available in all staterooms across the fleet. Please note that only select programs are captioned. All safety videos are captioned.
Visual Disabilities
Celebrity has made the cruise experience as effortless as possible for guests who are blind or have low vision. Some Celebrity ships incorporate Braille in public areas and elevators. As always, crew and staff are on hand to assist in every way at any time. To customize your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please request and complete the Guest Special Needs Form from Celebrity. For additional information, contact the Access Department at 1-866-592-7225 (voice), send an e-mail to special_needs@celebrity.com, or contact your travel professional.
Amenities for Vision Impaired Guests include:
- Service animals are welcomed onboard all ships except those sailing to the United Kingdom (UK) due to DEFRA regulations. A relief area measuring 4 feet by 4 feet, with cypress mulch, is provided. Additional information below.
- Large Print menus and daily activity planners
- Qualified Readers: Select crew members have been trained as Qualified Readers to read written material such as the daily Celebrity Today newsletter and shore excursions information. Waiters will also read dining menus upon request. To request Qualified Readers for your cruise, please contact Guest Relations upon boarding.
- Braille/tactile signage on Solstice-class ships, Celebrity Constellation and Celebrity Infinity.
- Braille elevator buttons/audio call signals on Solstice-class ships, Celebrity Constellation and Celebrity Infinity.
Service Animals
Celebrity warmly welcomes service dogs on all ships except those sailing to the United Kingdom (UK) due to DEFRA regulations. Please note: pets are NOT permitted onboard.
A service dog is defined as "any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability." Service dogs are not considered pets.
Evidence that a dog is a service dog is helpful, but not required (such as identification cards, other written documentation, presence of harnesses and/or tags or the credible verbal assurance of the person with a disability using the animal).
Celebrity will provide 4 feet by 4 feet relief areas with cypress mulch to accommodate service dogs. Sod for sailings from the U.S. can be provided if requested in advance and is available. Relief areas are provided on a shared basis with other service dogs onboard. Please note that The Lawn Club on Solstice class ships is not designated as a relief area.
Please notify the Access Department at time of booking, but no later than 30 days prior to sailing, if a service dog relief area is needed.
Service dogs are permitted to accompany the person with a disability in all public areas, including dining venues. While in public areas, service dogs must be on a leash, harness, or other restraining device. Due to health regulations, service dogs are not permitted in pools, whirlpools or spas.
Care and supervision of the service animal is the sole responsibility of the owner. The ships are not required to provide food or care for the animal. Guests may bring a reasonable quantity of food and bowls for the dog onboard the ship at no additional charge. If refrigerated space is needed, notify the Access Department at time of booking, but no later than 30 days prior to sailing.
Guests are responsible for obtaining all required permits for service dogs to depart the ship in non-U.S. ports. Guest must carry a copy with them on the ship, and leave a copy with the Guest Relations Desk after boarding the ship.
To obtain specific information on required documents for service dogs, please visit the U. S. Department of Agriculture's website. All documentation and immunization requirements are established by government authorities and not Celebrity Cruises. Please note requirements are subject to change without notice.
If the guest chooses to disembark the ship at a port at which the service dog must remain onboard, the guest must make arrangements to ensure that the dog is cared for. Note that the ship's staff is not required to care for the dog, nor can the dog be left in the stateroom unattended.
