Cruising with special needs

How to cruise with health or lifestyle needs

For many people a cruise is the perfect way to relax – but a “carefree holiday” doesn’t mean the same thing for everyone. Some passengers need special attention because of a health condition, their lifestyle or limited mobility. If that’s you – say you’re vegan or use a wheelchair – the good news is that most cruise lines let you tell them about your needs and do their best to meet them, and we at CLICKnCRUISE actively help you with this. Cruising with special needs? It’s entirely possible!

In this post we sum up what counts as a special need, how to let the cruise line know, what happens after you do, and what to expect on board.

What counts as a “special need”?

Special needs cover a surprisingly wide range – and they’re not only about serious medical conditions. Here are a few examples:

• Food allergies or intolerances (e.g. gluten, dairy, nuts)
• Medically prescribed diets (diabetes, low salt)
• Lifestyle diets (vegan, vegetarian, kosher, etc.)
• Pregnancy
• Reduced mobility (e.g. wheelchair, walking frame)
• Medical devices (CPAP machine, insulin pump, oxygen)
• Mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions
• Medication or the need for a carer

None of these necessarily rules out a cruise – but if the cruise line isn’t told in advance, they can lead to discomfort, misunderstandings or missing services on board.

Food intolerances and special diets

Lots of passengers ask us:
“Is there gluten-free food on board?”
“What can I eat on a cruise as a vegan?”
“Can they cater for a special diet?”

The answer: yes, within certain limits, but not always. That’s why it’s so important to mention any food intolerance (e.g. gluten, lactose, nuts, soya) or special diet (vegan, diabetic, etc.) when you book. Most cruise lines can only prepare properly if they know several weeks before departure.

Where and how to tell us

When you book with CLICKnCRUISE, a section appears while you enter the passenger details, with this text:

“Special requirements”
Cruise lines do their best to help if you need special attention – for example with a diet, pregnancy, reduced mobility or a medical device.
☑️ I would like to discuss any special requirements related to my trip.

If you tick this box, our customer service team is notified and will email you to sort out the details. We’ll help you work out which form you need to fill in for your cruise line.

How it works

1. Tick the box when you book to say you have a special need.
2. We get in touch with you by email.
3. We send you the cruise line’s form
4. You fill in the form and attach a medical certificate if needed.
5. We pass it on to the cruise line and follow up on their reply.

MSC Cruises’ detailed request form

MSC is one of the cruise lines with a particularly thorough process for special needs. You’ll find the official form here:

MSC Cruises – Medical/Special Needs Request Form

The form lets you:

• state your specific dietary needs (e.g. gluten-free, sugar-free)
• request a specially adapted cabin
• tell the cruise line about any medical devices you use
• let them know if you need psychological or mental health support
• or tell them about a pregnancy

Good to know

Unfortunately we can’t influence which cabin the cruise line provides or how far it takes your request into account, but we can make sure your needs are passed on!

Important: nothing is guaranteed automatically!

However helpful cruise lines are, bear in mind that submitting a request doesn’t mean it’s automatically accepted. The cruise line decides for itself whether it can meet a request on a given ship, itinerary or cabin type.

The CLICKnCRUISE team helps here too. We:

• prepare the paperwork,
• pass on your requests,
• follow up on the confirmation,

but the final decision always rests with the cruise line.

If you have a question, email us and we’ll gladly help you work out whether your request counts as a special need.

⚠️ Important: This post is for information only. What a cruise line can do is always decided case by case. They may not be able to meet every request, and their policies can change at any time, but you can count on us 100% to record your needs and pass them on. Always check with us by email before you book!

If you didn’t know you could happily go on a cruise with special needs, you can breathe a sigh of relief now and start searching:

Need help booking? Email us at ahoy@clickncruise.com.