Can you cruise if you're on dialysis?

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What each line publishes

Three columns, because the answer depends entirely on which kind of dialysis you do. The last column says how sure we are.

Line's own site means we read it on the cruise line's own published pages on 28 September 2026. Reported — confirm means we found it in travel press, agency pages or cruiser forums but could not verify it on the line's own site. Treat the second kind as a question to ask, not an answer.

Each line's rules and contacts

Royal Caribbean

• Send the Guest Special Needs Form at least 30 days before sailing.
• Tell them whether you're bringing supplies or having them delivered — include the vendor's name and phone number.
• "For hemodialysis, please call us."
• Your medical supplier contacts the Access Department to arrange delivery to the port.
• Access Department: (866) 592-7225 · [email protected]

Celebrity

• Access Department: (954) 628-9708 · [email protected]

Princess

• Be stable on dialysis for at least 12 months.
• Get medical clearance and a report with your prescription from your treating doctor for your itinerary, and carry it with you.
• Bring all equipment and supplies for the whole voyage.
• Arrange vendor delivery to the ship if needed.
• Not recommended on remote itineraries or ocean crossings.
• Princess strongly recommends extra travel insurance that covers your condition and medical evacuation.
• You can arrange dialysis at a port of call, but port calls are never guaranteed.

Holland America

• Guests on dialysis are welcome if their condition is stable, they carry their own equipment and self-administer, or travel with a trained individual.
• Onboard medical staff are not equipped or trained to perform any type of dialysis, and there are no nephrology services aboard.
• They recommend being stable for at least 12 months, and note the cruise environment is higher risk than a home setting.
• Ships carry no back-up battery support for dialysis equipment.
• Peritoneal supplies must be delivered before sailing, and port clearance has to be arranged through [email protected] or your supplier can be denied access to the port.
• A vendor information form is due no later than one week before sailing, and there is a separate dialysis risk acknowledgement to sign.
• Label every item with your name, contact details and stateroom number.

Carnival

• Welcome if stable, carrying your own equipment and self-administering to your nephrologist's instruction.
• Medical staff are not equipped or trained to perform any type of dialysis.
• Self-administered systems such as NxStage are allowed with 12 months' experience, including anyone caring for you.
• You and your supplier are responsible for delivery before the ship sails, and you assume the risk of third-party services including their refund terms.

Virgin Voyages

• Virgin states it cannot provide dialysis equipment, but sailors undergoing peritoneal dialysis may bring their own.
• Contact their accessibility team before booking: [email protected] or (954) 372-3721.

Norwegian, Cunard, MSC and everyone else

• We found reports about all three, but nothing we could verify on their own sites, so we're not going to print it as fact.
• Norwegian's Access Desk: [email protected]. Cunard and MSC handle it through guest services at booking.
• Every line's accessibility contact is on our forms page →

Dialysis at Sea

• Provides hemodialysis on select Royal Caribbean and Celebrity sailings, with a board eligible or certified nephrologist and two or more dialysis nurses.
• Spots are limited — book early.
• dialysisatsea.com · +1 813-775-4040 (the cruise lines list 1-800-544-7604)

Costs and coverage

• One insurance company, Travel Guard, says onboard treatment "can cost up to $700 per session."
• Travel Guard also says "Medicare and Medicaid typically do not cover dialysis treatment on a cruise." Check your own plan.
• Consider travel insurance that covers your condition and medical evacuation. [Compare plans — link to be added with affiliate disclosure.]
• We are not licensed insurance agents, and nothing here is insurance advice.

Questions to ask your kidney doctor

1. Am I stable enough to travel, and for how long have I been stable?
2. Can you write a medical clearance and a report with my prescription for this itinerary?
3. How many sessions or exchanges will I need, and how much extra supply should I pack for delays?
4. What should I do if I miss a treatment or feel unwell at sea?
5. Which ports have dialysis centers if I need one?

Questions to ask your cruise line

1. Which type of dialysis can I do on this ship?
2. How do supplies get delivered, and where are they stored?
3. What forms do you need, and by when?
4. Is this a sailing that Dialysis at Sea serves, if I need staffed hemodialysis?
5. What happens if a port call is canceled?

Facts checked 28 September 2026.

Sails Anyway is not a medical provider, not a licensed insurance agent, and not affiliated with any cruise line. Dialysis policies change without notice and differ by line, ship and itinerary. Confirm everything with your cruise line and your own doctor.