Earlier this year, Deanne, founder of Wheelie on the Waves, took part Celebrity Cruises Xcelerator Programme for Home-Based Agents by TTG Media – a training programme specifically designed to help home-based agents boost their business. 

Her participation in the programme led to her winning its grand prize – a £1,000 client event funding, giving her the “push she needed” to host her first Accessible Cruise Show – an event designed to show people with accessibility needs that travel is possible. 

Utilising the winning funds, Deanne promoted the event by distributing flyers, putting a press release in the local paper and sharing it on social media. “I planned for it to be a local event, but as soon as I put it on Facebook, I started getting comments from people all across the country,” she said.

Ahead of the day, she had 68 people registered to join. “People were coming from 3-4 hours away, so I felt a lot of responsibility to make it worthwhile." 

Giving people the courage to travel 

Held in Deanne's hometown of Banbury on 6 September, the Accessible Cruise Show welcomed a range of attendees with varying accessibility needs, from people using walking aids to full-time wheelchair users and neurodivergent individuals. 

Cruise lines represented at the event included Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, with other show exhibitors included Mobility at Sea – a mobility equipment hiring company specifically for cruises – and The Baggage Handling Company.

The event also featured three hour-long theatre sessions, including Q&As with the suppliers, and a discussion between Deanne and her client Karen, who recently returned from a ‘bucket-list’ trip on the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada followed by an Alaskan cruise. Karen and her husband are both wheelchair users.

“Sometimes it's hard to book non-fly cruises as they sell out so quickly,” said Deanne. “So this session aimed to give people the courage to fly again – and the questions came pouring in.”

“Some people had completely ruled out flying previously, so it was great to be able to alleviate some of their concerns,” she added.

For two event attendees with hearing impairments, Deanne arranged a British Sign Language interpreter for the theatre sessions. 

As a wheelchair user herself, Deanne explained she is most confident selling holidays to people with physical disabilities, but also encourages people with other accessibility needs to get in touch. “I have all the right contacts – if I don’t know the answer, I will find out.”

"I'm excited to start living my life again"

At the time of writing, Deanne made more than £15,000 in bookings within a couple of days of the event, including business for all the attending cruise lines. But for the cruise and accessibility specialist, the most rewarding part of the day was just being able to help people.

“The feedback has been amazing,” she said. "People have told me they've learnt so much." 

“Perhaps the best comment that I got was from a lady who said, ‘I feel like you've opened up a whole new world to me and I'm just so excited now to start living my life.’ After hearing that, I feel my job is done.”

Along with glowing reviews, Deanne has been inundated to with requests to run the event again. “It’s already booked in for next year!”

She hopes more cruise lines will be confident enough to join, and in a message of encouragement, said. “It’s not about cruise lines promising people [with accessibility needs] that everything is going to be alright… the whole idea of the event is to give people information, and for them to then make a decision for themselves as to whether that cruise line is right for them."

“Cruising offers a place I can be truly independent”

Deanne first set up Wheelie on the Waves with Inteletravel in April 2024, before moving to Premier Travel later in the year. Within the past two years, she has made more than £950k in bookings, with 95% of her customer base being travellers with disabilities.

“Compared to the rest of the accessible travel industry, cruising really is the very best way to travel – which is why I started doing what I do.” she said. “It offers a place where I can truly be independent.” 

Deanne Moses-Wright

The travel agent recently enjoyed her first ship visit with Celebrity. After stepping onboard Celebrity Apex, she was able to truly understand how the cruise line caters for wheelchair users and started to confidently book its cruises for her clients.

“The design of its Edge-class ships are made for people like me,” she said, praising features like its famed Magic Carpet bar that also transforms into a platform providing access to a wheel-on tender boat.

“I was so impressed [with the ship], I did a podcast episode on it, and on the launch of Celebrity's 2027 sailings, I sold more than £80,000 worth of bookings thanks to enquiries off the back of [the podcast].”

Deanne is looking forward to experiencing her first Celebrity sailing next year, joining her customers as part of a large group booking she made.