Accessibility Assistance

Norwegian Cruise Line has a dedicated team of experienced travel professionals specifically trained to assist guests with disabilities and special needs, before, during and even after your cruise.

The Access Desk

Within our Reservations Department, an exclusive team of experienced professionals operate to help facilitate your travel. After receiving your Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire, these specially trained in Norwegian Cruise Line's policies and procedures, will document your reservation with information concerning your service requests. These details will be communicated to our cruise staff who will take care of the accommodations and prepare for your vacation.

A member of the Access Desk will speak with you about each and every aspect of your cruise, from transportation to and from the vessel, your stateroom, shore excursions and any other expectation or need that you may have.

Onboard

Once you have boarded, you will be met by staff who will have all of the information that you conveyed to Norwegian Cruise Line either directly or through your travel professional. Staff will be available throughout your cruise to see to your needs. Norwegian Cruise Line has Access Officers who will be the primary point person working to make sure all your needs are met. Norwegian Cruise Line also has a centralized internal corporate resolution staff to assist the Access Officer, available by telephone 24 hours a day.

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

Whatever your special requirements are, Norwegian Cruise Line will do whatever it reasonably can to accommodate you. But we do need adequate time to prepare for your arrival. Please make every effort to contact our Access Desk well in advance of your cruise – at least 90 days for interpreters and 45 days for all other requirements.

The more information that we have concerning any special requirement you may have, the more prepared we are to meet your needs during your cruise. What works well for others may not meet your requirements. You'll have a much more enjoyable cruise experience if you tell us what you need. We will work with you to try to meet all your reasonable needs for your cruise, but due to the nature of travel on a passenger cruise vessel, if advance notice is not given, Norwegian Cruise Line may not be able to provide you with what you need.

In limited situations (either on board or ashore), we may find it necessary to ask you to make alternative travel arrangements, such as if a disabled guest is unable to satisfy certain specified safety and other criteria, even when provided with appropriate auxiliary aid and services. Guests who are unable to care for their basic needs (e.g. dressing, eating, and attending safety drills) MUST have a capable traveling companion. It is essential that we be notified of any special medical, physical, or other requirement you may have as soon as possible, including whether you intend to bring a scooter with you.

Pre-arranging for special assistance helps travel proceed more smoothly. Assistance is arranged for at the time of booking upon identification of your specific service request.

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

For guests who cannot walk on their own, a wheelchair, scooter or walker may be the primary mobility assistance aid for getting on and off the ship. Norwegian Cruise Line has a limited supply of wheelchairs onboard. In order to accommodate our guests, Norwegian Cruise Line wheelchairs are reserved exclusively for embarkation and disembarkation situations. If you will require regular use of a wheelchair, we strongly recommend that you bring your own wheelchair with you or make rental arrangements with Scootaround. The limited supply of wheelchairs onboard are available for emergency rental arrangements and are on a first come first serve basis.

Wheelchair accessible staterooms are available on all our ships. We recommend you book well in advance as possible as availability is limited. Accessible staterooms offer wider door frames, roll in showers, shower benches, high-rise toilets and handrails in shower and toilet area.

Motorized wheelchairs and scooters are allowed in our accessible staterooms provided that they are powered by gel-cell batteries and the chargers must be adaptable to 110 volts. Should you choose a stateroom that has not been designated as accessible, you will need to bring a collapsible wheelchair, or if you have a motorized wheelchair or scooter, the width must not exceed 26 inches to enter the stateroom door. All scooters and wheelchairs MUST be stored in the stateroom. Due to the safety and escape way requirements established by SOLAS regulations, they cannot be stored in the hallways, stairways, or any other public area. Beach wheelchairs can be rented for use on Norwegian Cruise Line's private island.

Amenities and Services include:

• Embarkation day meeting with staff member who will see to your accessibility needs during the cruise
• A limited number of wheelchair accessible staterooms with grab bars in the bathrooms, raised beds, adjustable hanging rods in the closets, shower seats, extra wide doors for easy access
• Wheelchair rental available for use on the vessels
• All Norwegian Cruise Line ships have pool lifts
• All Norwegian Cruise Line ships have accessible restrooms in a variety of public spaces
• Accessible transportation to and from the vessel can be arranged in advance for all US destinations with 15 day advance notice provided to the Access Desk
• The Access Desk can provide specific and up to date information on the accessibility of shore excursions prior to your cruise

Assistance On & Off Ship

Guests requesting wheelchair assistance on and off the ship during embarkation / disembarkation, must be able to enter and exit the terminal without assistance.

Assistance onto the ship at embarkation

Norwegian Cruise Line crew cannot exit the terminal, therefore guests cannot be picked up at the drop-off area/curb. Guests must enter the terminal before they can be provided wheelchair assistance. Guests are taken to the check-in area and then up the ramp to board the ship, but cannot be taken all the way to their stateroom.

Assistance off the ship at disembarkation

Announcements will be made onboard to advise guests to meet at a specific location, where they will wait for crew members with wheelchairs, to arrive and assist them to the security/check-out area. Guests are dropped off at the check-out area. Guests will need to make their own way out of the terminal to the curb.

Ship Transfers and Shore Excursions Facilities

Ship Transfers & Tenders

Guests must be aware that certain vessel transfers, such as tendering and gangways, may not be fully accessible to wheelchairs or scooters at the time that they desire or that they cannot go ashore at all. When a ship is unable to dock, guests are taken ashore on smaller boats called tenders. Guests may need to utilize steps or a stair case to access the tender and to re-board the ship. Some guests with limited mobility may find it difficult to embark or disembark the ship at certain times while at dock or while tendering.

Note: We are unable to provide assistance from the ship to tender and/or from tender to shore for guests with scooters and/or wheelchairs that weigh a combined 100 lbs. Guests tendering to Great Stirrup Cay may be exempt from this. Mobility devices must be able to fold in order to be accommodated onboard the tender.

Papeete, Fiji does not have ADA lifts or Medi-vans that can accommodate guests that are full-time wheelchair users, to and from the airport in addition to Shore Excursion transportation. If you are a full-time wheelchair user, please fill out the Accessibility & Medical questionnaire and be as detailed as possible so we can try to accommodate your needs.

Please see Tender List here

Shore Excursions

Some shore excursion facilities may not be fully accessible to guests with mobility challenges. Although we endeavor to make sure that companies based in the United States provide accessible shore excursions, we cannot guarantee that all are able to provide facilities that are accessible to persons with disabilities. Moreover, shore excursions in foreign ports can present challenges to disabled guests. For detailed, up-to-date information on accessibility issues involving shore excursions, we recommend that you contact our Shore Excursion team experts at 1-866-625-1167 or visit our website.

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

At Norwegian Cruise Line, we will attempt to provide our Deaf or Low Hearing guests with an enjoyable cruise, which means making every attempt to make the technology available to assist Deaf and Low Hearing guests during your Freestyle cruise experience. We strongly encourage Deaf or Low Hearing guests to contact the Access Desk prior to cruising so that your specific needs can be discussed prior to your cruise. Many different options are available prior to the cruise and needs vary from guest to guest.

Amenities and Services include:

• Embarkation day meeting with staff member who will see to your accessibility needs during the cruise
• The Sky, Sun and Pride of America have staterooms that are hard wired for Deaf and Low Hearing guests which includes a visual-tactile alert system to alert you if there is knocking at the door, telephone ringing, alarm ringing or smoke detection
• On those vessels where rooms have not been hardwired, a portable kit is available upon request in your stateroom that includes a visual-tactile alert system to alert you if there is knocking at the door, telephone ringing, alarm ringing or smoke detection
• Individual and/or group emergency drills for all Deaf or Low Hearing guests upon request
• Pagers are available upon request on all Norwegian Cruise Line vessels to alert Deaf or Low Hearing Guests to vessel announcements and a manual for same can be provided in advance
• Assistive listening devices are available on many vessels in the main theatre through the Guest Service Desk
• Closed-captioned televisions are available for your state room
• Closed-captioned movies are available on the ‘New Movie Release’ channel. A DVD player may be requested if a guest wishes to bring their own DVD movies from home
• Sign language interpreting services may be provided for Deaf guests if that is their primary means of communication. A request for sign language interpreting, only on sailings that depart from and/or return to a port in the United States, can be made with the Access Desk through the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire, no later than 90 days prior to sailing. Requests are subject to a number of considerations, including but not limited to, the availability of interpreters and cabin space. A request for an interpreter with less than 90 days’ notice may still be granted but cannot be guaranteed
• TTY Phones are available onboard all ships except Norwegian Spirit that use handy phones and text messaging. The guest can request that the phone in their room be replaced with a TTY phone and this will enable them to communicate with the Guest Services Desk staff by teletype

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

At Norwegian Cruise Line, we will attempt to provide our Blind or Low Vision guests with an enjoyable cruise, which means providing personal, customized service to make your cruise fun, safe and happy.

Amenities and Services Available include:

• Embarkation day meeting with staff member who will see to your accessibility needs during the cruise
• A vessel orientation tour is available upon request
• Braille / tactile signage
• Service animals allowed onboard and must be arranged through the Access Desk prior to the cruise

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

Special Medical, Allergy and Diabetes

Guests with special medical diets and/or food allergies should contact the Access Desk to discuss Norwegian Cruise Line's policies and procedures concerning special diets and your specific allergies prior to your cruise. Because the vessels are supplied all over the world, it may be easier to meet your specific food allergy requirements in some countries, but very difficult in others. Special dietary requests should be submitted at least 45 days prior to sailing. Any requests inside 45 days cannot be guaranteed. We can arrange to have no sugar and low sodium meals for guests with those specific medical dietary restrictions upon request. Refrigerators are available upon request for storing insulin.

PLEASE NOTE: Kosher Dining is not handled through the Access Desk. Click here for more information.

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accessibility & Medical Questionnaire or contact us using the phone number at the bottom of this page.

Dialysis

Guests requiring continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis are welcome to board all vessels. However, Norwegian Cruise Line does not have the ability to assist or administer hemo-dialysis treatments. Those guests using peritoneal dialysis 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 the Access desk prior to the cruise for more information on Norwegian Cruise Line's policies and procedures.

Oxygen

The ship is not equipped to provide guests with these services other than on an emergency basis in the Ship's Medical Center. For security and safety reasons, we have selected Scootaround as the only outside vendors that we will permit to deliver oxygen supplies to the ship. We believe they will meet your on board respiratory needs.

However, you are also welcome, to bring your own oxygen and/or oxygen equipment from your home. Please contact the Access & Compliance Department prior to sailing if you will require oxygen while on your cruise. Please note that liquid oxygen is not permitted on any Norwegian Cruise Line vessel.

For additional details on the prearranged rental program for oxygen equipment and other medical equipment, please contact our exclusive supplier and authorized vendor. For the safety and security of everyone, oxygen and/or oxygen equipment deliveries will not be accepted from any other company other than Scootaround.

Pregnancy

Norwegian Cruise Line will not accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the time their travel with Norwegian Cruise Line concludes. Norwegian Cruise Line will not be responsible or liable for any complications of pregnancy which arise or occur during the cruise.

Norwegian Cruise Line welcomes guests with medical, emotional or any other challenge to Freestyle cruising. If you have a need that has not been discussed, we encourage you to contact us at the Access Desk regarding your special requirements or requests and our policies and procedures.

Children with Disabilities

Children with disabilities are welcome on all Norwegian Cruise Line vessels. Please contact the Access Desk to discuss Norwegian Cruise Line's policies and procedures regarding children with disabilities and how we can assist you in making your child's cruising experience safe, fun and comfortable.

Cognitive, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Guests with cognitive, intellectual and development disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are encouraged to contact the Access Desk to discuss your cruise. Upon request, every effort will be made to meet your cruising special requirements, including:

• Boarding and disembarkation assistance