jagshaw

Andrea,

We have cruised 4 times with Autism on the Seas, and many other times on our own. My 12 yo with autism also prefers the quiet at times, and we have retreated to the cabin when things have been too much for him (good option to have compared to other vacation options). As noted by the other repliers, there will be "quiet" areas on all ships. For example, all ships that we have cruised on have a library, which is usually quiet. Many have a game room that also seems to attract a quiet group. Many of the lounges are virtually empty during the day. And usually during port calls, many of the passengers disembark to go on excursions, which could provide a good opportunity for you to visit parts of the ship you may have avoided earlier, such as the pool.

There are benefits to cruising with Autism on the Seas' staff. They seem to recruit staff that generally like to work with our kids, giving parents a few hours to do their own thing without worry. They are able to expedite you through the embarkation and disembarkation process at the beginning and end of the cruise. They are able to arrange private sessions at some of the ship's most popular features (on our most recent cruise with them, they arranged private sessions at the ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, zip line and flow rider just for the AotS families; no other ship passengers). Sometimes they are able to secure a separate part of the children's activity center for a few hours just for our kids.

I encourage you to go to the AotS website. They recently started a program called Parent Connect, which allows you to contact other parents who have gone on AotS cruises who can help answer any questions you may have. I hope you find something that works for you and your son. John