By Steve Call

Special needs travel is an area that does not get much press coverage and is often overlooked by the everyday traveler and travel professionals, myself included. It is business as usual with most of us until a special needs situation arises.

My brother is taking our mom cruising in a few months and she has some mobility issues. I needed to perform some refresher research that would make her and everyone else involved in this journey more comfortable.

I’ll pick up the phone and call the travel agents’ special service desk. My search parameters are already defined so I will inform the air and cruise line representatives of my special travel conditions and it’s handled in a flash. Special service has now been requested and the traveler’s record is now documented. It is now in the hands of the professionals at the airline and cruise line to provide the services.

I always request confirmations of these special requests and most of the times I’ll receive an email or fax message confirming such arrangements. Occasionally I may have to make several attempts but what I am looking for is a “hard copy” of the special service request. This documentation is then hand carried by the traveler.

The airlines will provide assistance at the airport but once you leave the baggage claim area you’re on your own. If you’ve purchased the cruise lines transfers to the pier then they’ll assist you in getting to the boat then onboard, if not you’ll have to sort things out on the fly. After you board your floating resort the cruise line role is fairly complete.

Onboard items like a wheelchair, walker, a scooter or oxygen tanks and so forth generally need to be arranged with a third party provider. If you’ve booked with a travel agent they can provide you a list of suppliers. Better yet I’m sure that they’ll handle this situation for you. Now if you booked yourself with an on-line agency or directly with the cruise company good luck as their policies and procedures vary widely.

In recent years, cruise lines have added more wheelchair-accessible staterooms. The introduction of state-of-the-art ships, coupled with the upgrading of existing ships and phasing out of older ships, has helped enormously. Ease in boarding and disembarking from the ship is also important. Holland America Line, for instance, was the first cruise line to provide hydraulic tender lifts.

There are now many ramps throughout the ships for those with special needs. Some may be temporary, which can easily be installed if the cruise line is notified in advance. And it is important to confirm everything with the cruise line at time of booking and not once onboard. Whatever your needs, the cruise line and your vacation specialist will work with you so that your vacation is a happy experience.

Got travel questions? Email the thetravelprofessor@gmail.com.