Accessible Cruising

At Margaritaville at Sea®, we believe that everyone should enjoy our iconic hospitality on our vessels. You can help us by discussing your specific needs and expectations with our dedicated and specially trained team at our Access Desk in advance of your cruise so that we can arrange a specialized, fun and entertaining cruise experience that suits with your specific needs. We’ll make every reasonable effort to accommodate your requests.

If you fill out our Accommodations Questionnaire, our Access Desk Coordinators will contact you prior to your cruise to assist you with any special requirements you may have during your cruise, determine whether we can meet your needs and expectations, and alert our team at the port and on the vessel so that when you arrive at the port and embark the vessel, any special arrangements will be ready for you. At the Port of embarkation and debarkation, our Terminal Operations Managers are also available to assist you with your special needs and our onboard Access Coordinator will assist you with your special accommodation requests on the vessel.

Please see our Accessible Cruising FAQ below if you have any questions or feel free to contact us directly. We are happy to have our dedicated and specially trained team of Access Desk Coordinators assist you with your specific needs. You can reach us at (800) 374-4311 or via email at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com.

Planning Ahead: Advance Notice Is Needed

We will do whatever we reasonably can to accommodate any special request you may have, but we do need adequate time to make arrangements prior to your arrival. While we don’t require information about the type or extent of your disability, the more information you share with us about your specific needs, the better we are able to assist you.  Note that guests who are unable to care for their basic needs (e.g., dressing, eating, etc.) must travel with a companion who can assist with those needs.

Please make every effort to contact our Access Desk well in advance of your cruise. Because some requests may not be able to be fulfilled if we receive notice closer to your cruise, we ask that you complete our Accommodations Questionnaire so that we can arrange for any special needs in advance of your cruise. Our Accommodation Questionnaire may be obtained by email, fax, or mail upon request by calling us at (800) 374-4311 or emailing us at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com. 

We encourage you to notify us of your needs at the time of booking. Please provide at least: 

• 90 days’ notice if you need sign language interpreting services; 
• 45 days’ notice for any other special need, including special equipment or services (see list below) to accommodate your disability; 
• If we do not receive sufficient advance notice, we will make every reasonable effort to provide the requested equipment or services, but we cannot guarantee they will be provided.

Accessibility Accommodations Before, During and After Your Cruise

Margaritaville at Sea® has a dedicated team trained to assist guests with disabilities and special needs from the time that you first contact us, at the port of embarkation and disembarkation, during your cruise and even if you need any assistance after the cruise. Our team is ready to assist you with viable solutions and all reasonable accommodation requests.

Access Desk

Our reservations and Access Desk team are there to assist you with your special needs.  After we receive your completed Accommodation Questionnaire, our Access Desk team will contact you and document your reservation with all agreed upon accommodations and communicate those details to our onboard Access Coordinators who will make the arrangements for you and will assist you on the vessel.  Our Access Desk Coordinators will be able to provide specific information about the port of embarkation and debarkation, the vessel, your stateroom and shore excursions offered by Margaritaville at Sea®.

Terminal Operations Manager

Our Terminal Operations Managers have been specially trained to assist you with all of your needs at the port of embarkation and disembarkation. If you notify us in advance, our Access Desk team will arrange for early boarding and disembarkation (when allowed by customs and border patrol). If we were not notified in advance, you can ask for assistance from our Terminal Operations Manager at check-in.

Onboard Access Coordinators

Our onboard Access Coordinators are dedicated and trained to assist guests with disabilities and arranging for all of your special needs and accommodations requests on the vessel during your cruise. The onboard Access Coordinators will have all the information conveyed by our Access Desk and will be available to assist you during your cruise. 

Margaritaville at Sea® Corporate Complaint Resolution Official

We also have a dedicated Corporate Complaint Resolution Official who is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you with any disability-related concerns you may have that could not be resolved by our reservations department, the Access Desk, Terminal Operations Manager or onboard Access Coordinators before, during or even after your cruise.

GUESTS WITH MOBILITY DISABILITIES

Wheelchairs and Scooters

Margaritaville at Sea® has a limited supply of wheelchairs onboard that are reserved exclusively for embarkation and disembarkation. Wheelchairs during the cruise are reserved for emergency use only. If you need a wheelchair or a scooter during your cruise, you will need to bring your own with you or make rental arrangements with Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea which will deliver a wheelchair or scooter to the initial embarkation port. The contact information for both companies is:

Scootaround 

Phone: 888-441-7575 or 204-982-0657

Fax: 204-478-1172

E-mail: info@scootaround.com

Special Needs at Sea

Phone: 800-513-4515 or 954-585-0575 

Fax: 800-513-4516 or 954-585-0577

E-mail: info@specialneedsgroup.com

Mobility Devices

You may bring and use wheelchairs, mobility scooters and other mobility devices onboard our vessels that are less than 26 inches wide. Mobility devices must be stored and, if power-driven, recharged in your room so that fire doors and corridors are kept clear for emergency evacuation. When not in use in the public spaces throughout the vessel, they must be left out of the way to allow safe and easy access by other guests and crewmembers, including other guests with mobility devices.

Wheelchairs may be difficult to accommodate in certain ports and in tenders or rubber inflatable rafts. Please contact the Access Desk regarding your specific itinerary.

Note: Crewmembers are not permitted to lift mobility devices weighing over 50 pounds.

Services and Features Provided

- Early embarkation and disembarkation (when allowed by customs and border patrol)

- Assistance inside the port terminal of embarkation and disembarkation (guests should enter the terminal at which time they can be provided wheelchair assistance)

- Boarding and departure assistance

- Upon request, an embarkation day meeting with a 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, and raised toilet seats for easy access

- Pool lifts

- Accessible restrooms in a variety of public spaces

- Grab bars in bathrooms

Our Access Desk can provide specific and up-to-date information on the accessibility of shore excursions prior to your cruise

We encourage you to notify us of your needs at the time of booking to guarantee availability of specific equipment or services.

Shore Excursions

Some shore excursions may not be fully accessible to guests with mobility disabilities. Although our goal is to offer accessible shore excursions in the United States, we cannot guarantee that all are able to provide facilities that are accessible to all persons with disabilities. Also, shore excursions in foreign ports are not subject to accessibility laws and requirements in the United States and may not be accessible. For detailed, up-to-date information on accessibility of shore excursions, we recommend that you contact the Access Desk at (800) 374-4311 or email at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com or review our website.

To get more information or request accessibility assistance on your upcoming cruise, fill out the Accommodation Questionnaire or contact us at (800) 374-4311.

Ship Transfers & Tenders

Vessel transfers, such as tendering and gangways, may not be fully accessible to wheelchairs, scooters or other mobility devices or guests with limited mobility may not be able to go ashore at all. When a ship is unable to dock at a pier, guests are taken ashore on smaller boats called tenders. In order to access the tender, guests may need to climb and/or descend steps 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. If you have any questions about transfers and tenders, please contact the Access Desk at (800) 374-4311.

Note: Wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility devices and/or guests that weigh 100 pounds or more will not be allowed to transfer from the ship to a tender and/or from a tender to shore.

GUESTS WHO ARE BLIND OR HAVE LOW VISION

We're determined to make the sailing experience as fun as possible for guests who are blind or have low vision. Our vessels incorporate Braille in public areas.

Visual Features and Accommodations 

- Upon request, embarkation day meet and greet with staff to see to your accessibility needs during the cruise

- Upon request, a private muster drill will be provided

- Large-print menus

- Service animals are welcome onboard and must be arranged for in advance through the Access Desk. A relief area will be provided. Please see below for rules relating to Service Animals onboard and requirements for service dogs in foreign ports and returning to the U.S.

- Qualified Readers are available

- Upon request, a vessel orientation and cabin tour will be provided

To tailor your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please complete the Accommodation Questionnaire. We encourage you to notify us of your needs at the time of booking to guarantee availability of specific equipment or services. If we do not receive enough advance notice, we will make reasonable efforts to provide the requested equipment and/or services.

SERVICE ANIMALS

Margaritaville at Sea® welcomes service dogs individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability on its vessels, but we do not accept emotional support animals, pets, or service dogs in training because they are not recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act and thus are not allowed onboard. 

Pre-Cruise Planning

- Please notify our Access Desk at least 45 days before your cruise that you will be traveling with a service dog.

- Please notify us at the time of booking but no later than 7 days prior to sailing if a service dog relief area is needed.  Upon notification, we will provide a box with cypress mulch or sod (if requested in advance and available) to accommodate your service dog in a public space on the vessel. 

- Guests must provide copies of the dog’s current vaccination records that show all shots are up-to-date (including Rabies), as well as a USDA or International Health certificate.

- Make sure you have reviewed the procedures for disembarking your service dog in the applicable tendering port and your service dog’s documentation is correctly completed. 

Guests are responsible for obtaining all required documents for the service dog to depart the vessel in tendering ports. A copy of these permits must be carried on the vessel and left with the onboard Access Coordinators upon boarding the vessel. For U.S. document requirements, visit: U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Documentation and immunization requirements are established by government authorities and not Margaritaville at Sea®. Please note requirements are subject to change without notice so please ensure that you periodically check U.S. and other government requirements frequently before you arrive at the port of embarkation to ensure that you have all the required documents to disembark and to return to the U.S.

Guests are responsible for bringing all food, medication, and a life jacket for the service dog. If refrigerated space is needed, notify our Access Desk at time of booking but no later than 45 days prior to sailing.

During the Cruise and Disembarkation in the U.S.

Service dogs are permitted to accompany a guest with a disability in all public areas and while in public areas, service dogs must be on a leash, harness, or other restraining device unless being tethered would interfere with the service dog’s work or your disability. In that case, you must maintain control of the dog through voice, signal, or other effective controls. Due to health regulations, service dogs are not permitted in pools, whirlpools, or spas. 

 

Care and supervision of the service dog is the sole responsibility of the owner. The vessels and crewmembers are not required to provide food or care for the dog.  

If the guest chooses to disembark the vessel at a port at which the service dog must remain onboard, the guest must ensure that the dog is cared for. Note that the vessel’s crewmembers are not required to care for the service dog nor can the dog be left in your cabin or anywhere else on the vessel unattended. 

Guests are responsible for the behavior or damage caused by their service dog. A cleaning or damage fee may be charged to the guest's onboard account. 

 

If the service dog's behavior creates a fundamental alteration or a direct threat to the safety of others, the dog may be denied boarding or removed from the ship along with the owner at the guest's expense. Examples include, growling, barking excessively, initiating unsolicited contact, biting other guests and/or crewmembers, failing to use designated relief areas, sitting on furniture, eating from the table, etc. 

So that we may provide you with any additional information you may need in order to sail with your service dog and make arrangements in advance of your cruise, please contact our Access Desk at (800) 374-4311 or by email at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com.  We also ask you to complete our Accommodation Questionnaire.

GUESTS WHO ARE DEAF OR HAVE LOW HEARING 

We strongly encourage Deaf guests or guests with low hearing to contact us prior to their cruise so that their specific needs can be discussed before traveling. Many different options are available prior to your cruise and needs vary from guest to guest. We'll make every attempt to make sure all guests enjoy their cruise experience to the fullest.
 

Features and Accommodations

- Upon request, on embarkation day you can meet with staff who will see to your accessibility needs while on the vessel.

- A private muster drill upon request or a printed muster drill may be provided.

- A portable visual-tactile alert system that provides alerts for door knocking, telephone ringing, alarm clock and smoke detector can be made available in your stateroom upon request.

- Amplified telephones are available in the cabins and public areas.

- Assistive listening devices are available at the Guest Services Desk.

Sign language interpreting services may be provided upon request for deaf guests who use American Sign Language (ASL) as their primary means of communication. Requests are subject to availability of interpreters and cabin space. A request for sign language interpreting should be made with the Access Desk at the time of booking, but no later than 90 days prior to sailing. Requests for an interpreter with less than 90 days’ notice cannot be guaranteed. Requests are subject to a number of considerations, including but not limited to, the availability of interpreters and cabin space. Sign language interpreting services may be provided on cruises that depart from and/or return to the U.S. 

TTY phones are available onboard all ships. Guests 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 customize your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please complete our Accommodation Questionnaire. We encourage you to notify us of your needs at the time of booking to guarantee availability of specific equipment or services. If we do not receive enough advance notice, we will make reasonable efforts to provide the requested equipment and/or services.

FOOD ALLERGIES AND OTHER DIETARY REQUIREMENTS

We ask that Guests with special medical diets and/or food allergies contact the Access Desk to discuss special diets and your specific allergies prior to your cruise. Because the vessels are supplied in the U.S. and internationally, 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 made 45 days or less prior to your cruise 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.

If provided advance notice, we will arrange for our crewmembers to set up a meeting on the ship with the chef to go over your food allergies and/or dietary requirements for your meals.

Margaritaville at Sea® can provide guests with meals suited to the following special dietary needs: 

- Celiac

- Dairy Free

- Gluten Free

- Lactose Intolerant

- Low Protein

- Sugar Free

- Vegan

- Vegetarian

- Wheat Free 

If you have any other special dietary needs, our chefs will make every effort to fulfill your requests and will gladly prepare options that meet your dietary needs. 

To customize your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please complete our Accommodation Questionnaire. We encourage you to notify us of your needs at the time of booking to guarantee the availability of services. If we do not receive enough advance notice, we will make reasonable efforts to provide the requested services.

MEDICAL CARE, DIABETES, DIALYSIS & OXYGEN

Medical Care

Please be aware that our vessels do not have full medical services.  In case of a serious medical emergency, guests are referred to shoreside medical facilities. Medical evacuation during the cruise, whether at sea, by tender, or by deviating from the scheduled itinerary, may create an increased risk of harm and may not be feasible for a variety of reasons.

We strongly encourage guests to carry a copy of their medical records (e.g., a list of medical conditions, allergies, names, and medication dosages as well as the name and contact information of their primary care and other physicians).

Diabetes

For guests who are traveling with injectable medication and need a Sharps disposal container, please alert us prior to your cruise so that we can arrange to have a mini refrigerator placed in your cabin for your medication. If you need a low sugar diet or have any other dietary needs, please notify us of this and all of your other needs by filling out our Accommodation Questionnaire by contacting us at or email at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com or via telephone at (800) 374-4311 or have your travel agent contact us.  

Dialysis

Guests with medical conditions that require the use of dialysis should contact us at the time of booking to discuss bringing the appropriate equipment onboard. Please notify us of this need by filling out our Accommodation Questionnaire by contacting us at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com or via telephone at (800) 374-4311. 

Guests requiring continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis are welcome onboard. Guests should bring onboard, or arrange to have delivered, all necessary supplies and equipment needed to perform the dialysis. Please have your supplier contact us to request clearance for port delivery.

We are unable to assist or administer hemo-dialysis treatments. However, guests using self-administered hemo-dialysis equipment are welcome to sail under certain requirements; contact us for details. Otherwise, guests requiring physician assisted dialysis may make arrangements by contacting Dialysis at Sea at 1-800-544-7604. Dialysis at Sea specializes in the treatment of hemo-dialysis care while onboard along with trained doctors and nurses and provides dialysis equipment and supplies.

Oxygen

Guests with medical conditions that require the use of oxygen should contact us at the time of booking to discuss bringing the appropriate equipment onboard. All types of oxygen are permitted onboard. Please notify us as to quantity, type and delivery schedule from the provider that you have contacted to deliver the oxygen to the vessel.

ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

ASSISTANCE AT THE PORT

We offer boarding and departure assistance to guests in wheelchairs or with mobility disabilities. To request assistance at the pier, contact us 30 days prior to your cruise so that we may prioritize your assistance to go onboard. 

We will make reasonable efforts to assist our guests, but for safety reasons, our staff is not permitted to lift guests or equipment. Assistance with manual wheelchairs, walkers, canes, etc. will be provided.

SHIPBOARD ASSISTANCE

We will provide reasonable mobility assistance to guests in accessing areas of the ship that are not accessible.

ANY OTHER SPECIAL NEED

If you have another type of medical condition not addressed on this web page, please inquire how we might make reasonable accommodations to meet your specific needs. Please note that not all accommodations can be provided. 

To customize your accommodations to meet your specific needs, please complete the Accommodation Questionnaire by contacting us at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com or via telephone at (800) 374-4311.  

NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ACCESSIBLE CRUISING?

Contact us at or email at accessdesk@margaritavilleatsea.com or via telephone at (800) 374-4311 or have your travel agent contact us.

Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.