FRONTLINE
wheelchair users from Premier Travel. We had a conversation and I realised the ethos of the company was exactly what I wanted. I want my customers to come first, and the support has been fabulous. I joined Premier in November 2024 and did more than 100 sales in the first 10 months and I’ve now passed £600,000 worth of sales, just from accessible cruise bookings.
Q. What is your most memorable booking? There is a lovely couple who have entrusted me to take care of their travel plans, which has taught me so much and helped me to have more confidence in taking on more challenging adventures myself. They are both full-time wheelchair users, so the planning and preparation is especially important to ensure all their accessibility needs are met. They originally didn’t want to fly, but they put their faith in me to ensure all their access arrangements. Last year, I sent them on their first fly- cruise with Virgin Voyages on Resilient Lady. They loved it so much that not only did they book again for 2026, but Karen even came home with a Resilient Lady tattoo, which was very apt for her.
Deanne moses-wright
The Premier Travel consultant talks to Ella Sagar about specialising in accessible cruises and her new podcast
Q. What made you get into travel? I started an online page called Wheelie on the Waves about three years ago to share my experiences of cruising in a wheelchair. I started getting lots of people contacting me to ask if cruising was the right thing to do for them, and then a huge influx of people started contacting me when a cruise line changed its accessibility policies, which led to issues with different people turning up at the port and not being booked correctly. I started publishing all the cruise lines’ accessibility policies and realised that it didn't seem to matter how much information people had themselves, it was still sometimes being booked incorrectly, so I decided to retrain as a travel agent.
Q. How did you end up at Premier Travel? I originally joined InteleTravel and realised it wasn’t the right fit. I then went on a ship visit and met other
36 22 JANUARY 2026
Q. What is trending in the accessible cruise market? People are looking for more adventure and not just wanting to stick to the same cruise line or itineraries. While it is increasingly difficult to source accessible cabins on UK round-trip sailings, this means many of my clients are open to flying for the first time, which can be a very anxious experience for a wheelchair user. Ensuring everything is in place for them is my priority and it is still more challenging than it should be.
Q. What have you done in the past year that you are proud of?
I launched my podcast, Wheelie Smooth Sailing!, with an episode with the head of accessibility at Carnival UK, Sam Peplow, after the changes the line had made to the policies around evacuation chairs. I have cruised with P&O Cruises on many occasions and have a lot of respect for the company, and although there are downsides to the new policies for the disabled community, I knew that it would have been made for the right reasons. P&O Cruises contacted me to ask if they could use the interview to help train their own staff on the policies, which was an amazing feeling.
Q. What are you excited for next? I want to continue with my advocacy work across the industry, and beyond that fulfil my ambition to ensure everyone can travel on the same terms. I am currently collaborating with Royal Caribbean Group’s accessibility team, which is very exciting, and I hope to meet with Clia UK to discuss the implementation of an accessible working party, which would be a huge step forward for cruising. I have also just booked a Wheelie on the Waves group cruise in August 2027 to the Arctic Circle on Celebrity Apex, which I cannot wait for.
WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR AGENTS SELLING TO CLIENTS WITH
ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS?
I would urge people not to be afraid to have conversations and ask questions, as you
need the correct information to be able to ensure your client is able to travel safely and
comfortably. Firstly, remember to ask the person requiring
the assistance directly; there is nothing more infuriating that being spoken over when we are perfectly capable of answering for ourselves. You also do not need to know the medial condition your client has. As an agent you only need to know what adaptions, facilities and services someone requires, so word your questions accordingly. I have been working with some of
my clients for many years and know everything about their needs when travelling, but not their specific condition. Another thing I would say is the accessibility situation could mean anything at every different airport and hotel, so
you need to do extra research. For example, one airline may only have wheelchair- accessible seating in a window seat, or a port of call can end up being non-accessible, so you have to react and figure out alternatives.
On board P&O Cruises’ Azura
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