Accessible Honeymoon Cruise to the Caribbean

My wife and I went on our honeymoon earlier this year. We took an eight-day cruise to the Caribbean out of Miami, Florida, and to four Caribbean/Dominican Republic islands. This amazing trip took much time and planning, but it was possible and worth it. I have always been a tropical and warm-weather person. Especially after my spinal cord injury and not being able to regulate my body temperature, I prefer hot over cold.

Going to the Caribbean has always been a dream of mine. We live in Southern California and planned our honeymoon eight months in advance. I would highly recommend it if you have never been on a cruise before. They are fully accessible, all-inclusive, and not extremely expensive. Cruises are very accommodating and I went in a full power chair and had no problems. When we booked the cruise, the first step was ensuring we had a fully accessible ADA room.

The room we got had a full roll-in shower, room under the bed for a Hoyer lift, and enough room to move around in my power chair. There’s a company that works with cruise lines where you can rent out medical equipment and deliver it directly to your room on the cruise. I rented a Hoyer lift for our room and brought my travel commode chair. I called in advance, making sure all the stops on the cruise were accessible, meaning all the ports we stopped at were ADA-compliant for me to get on and off the boat.

Our Caribbean cruise stopped at four different islands, Aruba, Bonaire, La Romana, and Amber Cove. Two of the islands were accessible, and I could go on a tour of the whole island in a wheelchair-accessible van with air conditioning. We went from the end of June to early July, and it was hot and humid. The other two islands, La Romana and Amber Cove did not have wheelchair-accessible taxis, but I could still get off the boat and hang out at the port, which had shops, food, and entertainment.

I paid for a second room and brought a caregiver with me. I wanted my wife to enjoy the honeymoon and not worry about doing any of my care. Our entire cruise experience was amazing. It was my wife’s first time on a cruise, and she loved it. We have already booked another one for the beginning of 2025. After we returned to Miami, we stayed there for five more days until we flew back home.

Traveling and vacationing as a wheelchair user takes extra work and steps, but it is possible and many places are accessible. I used to not want to leave my state because of the work required to travel, especially flying, but I want to encourage anyone reading this who wants to travel that it is possible and that you will create memories you will never forget.

I have my YouTube channel (Zack Collie), where I posted videos of our honeymoon, traveling, our ADA room on the cruise, and my experiences on the islands. Check them out if you are interested.