Wheelchair on a sandy beach facing the ocean

More Kinds of Cruise Travelers

First-timers, solo, young families and accessible cruising.

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Some cruise travelers have so much to plan that we gave them their own sites. If you are a first-timer, traveling solo, cruising with young children or using a wheelchair, the guides below go much deeper than any single page could. Here is what to think about first, and where to go next.

First-Time Cruisers

Your first cruise is mostly about choosing well: a three- to seven-night sailing, a region with easy ports, and a ship whose style matches your own. Most first-timers worry about seasickness, dress codes and hidden costs, and most of those worries fade within a day aboard. First Time Cruise walks through the whole first cruise step by step, from booking to the last morning.

Solo Travelers

Solo cruisers face one big question — the single supplement — and several good answers, including studio cabins built for one and hosted meet-ups. Sailing Single explains supplements, solo cabins by line and how to meet people on board.

Families With Young Children

Families care about kids’ clubs, minimum sailing ages, cabins that sleep four and how to plan sea and port days around naps. Cruises for Children covers clubs by age, babies and toddlers, teens and family cabins in depth. For three generations together, see our own multigenerational cruise page.

Two children playing together at the edge of the sea — Family cruises work best when the ship suits every age.

Wheelchair Users and Limited Mobility

Accessible cruising depends on details: the accessible cabin’s door width and shower, whether ports are docked or tendered, and how scooters and wheelchairs are handled. Accessible Ocean Cruises covers all of it, including hearing and vision access. Our medical needs page covers equipment such as CPAP and oxygen.

Still Not Sure Which Traveler You Are?

A couple with a parent in tow? Plan for the parent first, then the couple.
Solo but traveling with friends? Price shared cabins against solo studios.
First cruise at 72? Read our seniors page and the first-timer guide together.
Need help choosing a line? Ask the Cruise Experts matches lines to traveler types.

Or skip the reading: our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise will ask a few questions and suggest the right ship.

Groups That Mix Traveler Types

Many cruises are booked for a mix: friends of different ages, a club, a wedding party, a reunion. In those groups the planning rule is the same as for families — start with the person with the most specific needs, then check the ship and the itinerary work for everyone else. For large groups, Group Cruise Planner explains blocks of cabins and group amenities, and Cruising Reunions covers reunions at sea.

Whatever the mix, put special requests — diets, accessible cabins, medical equipment, celebrations — in writing at booking and confirm them again a few weeks before sailing.

Not sure what to ask? Tell our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise who is going, their ages, anything that makes travel harder for any of them, and what each of them wants from the trip. That is enough for us to suggest two or three ships that fit.

Get Advice for Your Kind of Trip

Whatever kind of cruise traveler you are, our cruise advisors at Mister Cruise will match you to the right ship. Free.

Ask Our Advisors