In 20 years of selling river cruising, I have learnt to dread one key question: "My partner and I have limited mobility – will we be able to enjoy a river cruise?"

Why do I dread this question? Well it's because I know my answer probably won't be what the potentially new client wants to hear and therefore won't result in a booking.

This question was asked in a similar way during the recent excellent Clia River Cruise Conference in Amsterdam. However, the four experienced river cruise chiefs onstage chose not to address the real limitations river cruising presents.

As a result, a vast room full of agents – half of whom were new-to-river cruising – were left with the impression a quick phone call to the reservations team of any river cruise operator would lead to a booking.

I'm afraid that couldn't be further from the truth. After all, river cruising and limited mobility can be a difficult match. This is for three main reasons.

Design challenges

Firstly, many European towns and cities have cobbled streets, steps and narrow entrances, which make access difficult for most, let alone those with mobility issues. However, some guests happy to spend the majority of time on the ship with the changing scenery and accept that excursions will be limited.

Secondly, the design of the ships is restricted by the bridges and locks on the rivers they travel along. Often little allowance is made for those who depend on wheelchairs, scooters or even walking frames.

In many cases, elevators do not go down to the lower accommodation deck, and there are none that go up onto the sun deck apart from a very rare stair lift appliance on a handful of ships.

This gives the captain a problem when passengers have to meet on the sundeck in the event of an emergency. Does the captain refuse boarding to someone who clearly cannot meet this requirement, and potentially put others at danger in the event of fire or accident?

Thirdly – and most importantly – getting on and off the ship often requires a good degree of mobility. When moored alongside the quay, the boarding gangway can be steep may even be slippery in winter or during wet days. The way on or off the ship may be via the sundeck, with no escalator to the rest of the decks.

With more ships coming to market all the time, vessels have to moor alongside one-another "pontoon-style". Access to the shore can mean going up and over one or even two adjoining ships' sundecks, which can be a challenge with a number of steep staircases to be tackled for the able-bodied.

The '15 step' rule

For these reasons, I have learnt to ask about possible mobility limitations. As an "internet" agent, I do not have the advantage of seeing a client face-to-face and being able to quickly assess the situation.

I have therefore devised my own key statement to quickly establish whether the client can sail – especially if they are travelling with a supportive companion.

I ask if the individual can manage at least 15 stair steps on their own and can therefore get up and down from the sundeck. If the answer is "yes" then I'll look to take the enquiry further. But if the answer is clearly "no", I advise them a river cruise is probably not suitable.

The latter is obviously not a great response. I recommend looking at an ocean cruises that visits river ports such as Hamburg, Rouen or Bordeaux. I always advise the client talk to one of the agencies than specialise in "accessible" travel.

I've read the recent influx of new operators and new river ships should recognise the current limitations for the less mobile with fresh design and ship innovations.

I do not hold out great hope this will happen and therefore I will continue to use the "15 step" rule to tackle this difficult question.

James Hill is a GoRiverCruise agent.