Traveling with a Special Needs Child

[Esilef]

We were on Royal Caribbean when they let them stay in the cabin for muster drill. I don't know if the other lines do the same. Also about the dining room.....we told our waiters on the first day that we wanted to hurry along and not linger over dinner. They were accommodating and this worked out well for us.

 

 

We are also on RCI. We were told to contact the head waiter & preorder dinner every night to save waiting time.

 

To linger & enjoy dinner is a thing if the past.....

[3onOurWay]

Of course it's up to you' date=' but I'm not sure that's the best strategy. It's terrible that you had such a difficult experience, but if you check here, the overwhelming majority of our special needs kids have been handled wonderfully on cruises (including mine on our last RCCL cruise). If possible, having emails in hand just in case there was a breakdown in communication could be helpful. I will say, I've never had priority boarding because of special needs on any of the cruises we've done - that's something we just deal with, but meals and the kids club have always been outstanding with contact beforehand and an introduction to the kids club staff the first day and a reminder each time she's dropped off.

 

Best,

Mia[/quote']

 

So our special needs our different since they are primarily food based due to a diet restriction as a result of SBS and other operations. Her level of care at home is a FT aide at school to monitor daughter's intake, output, and restrictions. We have met with each individual each time / day to relay her needs when we are traveling be it ships, resorts, coaches etc.

 

We try to approach it how we approach TSA screening, with a full carry on of food, snacks, water, formulas and powders We live in Holland not the other individual and we need to be mindful that despite greater publicity, we can treat each interaction as a learning moment and that generally most people are kind, and will listen when they are informed.

 

We have preferred set dining and so wait staff have always had her food etc ready to go like another poster mentioned continuity routine, and scheduling work best in our out case also to support our daughter.

 

We are their advocates :-)

[TiaxMarie]

I just want to thank you all for the tips in this thread! I called Carnival yesterday and they have been amazing so far. They've put us in the express boarding at a designated time. They've also arranged for us to have a private/semi private muster drill. The representative I spoke with also emailed the ship to alert them of our daughter's needs and that info will be passed along to the kids club. Hopefully everything goes smoothly for us once on board!

[Esilef]

Glad to hear that the cruise line has helped you out. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Mums & families with kids with additional needs deserve a great holiday and the chance to relax and enjoy them selves.

[ProfTW]

 

Yes their autism status does seem a bit like a marketing tool.

 

This certification is by Autism of the Seas which is a travel agency (Google "autism certification cruise lines"

 

They are a for profit independent sales agent for RCI (and others cruise lines). We have used them and they are good (although we prefer to deal with the cruise lines directly). But the certification is a bit bogus as they really are not an national organization such as the Autism Society of America with depth of expertise and research to certify anything as autism friendly.

Edited March 12, 2015 by ProfTW
added wording for clarification

[Esilef]

I guess at least they are doing what they can to help people & families with autism travel

[ProfTW]

I guess at least they are doing what they can to help people & families with autism travel

 

Agreed!

[Colby Thor]

This certification is by Autism of the Seas which is a travel agency (Google "autism certification cruise lines"

 

They are a for profit independent sales agent for RCI (and others cruise lines). We have used them and they are good (although we prefer to deal with the cruise lines directly). But the certification is a bit bogus as they really are not an national organization such as the Autism Society of America with depth of expertise and research to certify anything as autism friendly.

 

Their website states they are a national organization, and their advisory board is made up of a ton of people from around the country, including someone from the Autism Society of America. And they have been doing this since 2006.

 

Bottom line is, as the other poster stated, at least someone is doing something and things are getting better and improved. Whether it was started for marketing reasons or not, at the end it will only help. And as with anything, there will always be bumps in the road and i am sure, especially for the cruise lines who are fortune 500 companies they will react to things if they are not going well and will correct. They have to now, as they are committing themselves to being autism freindly. Rome was not built in a day....

[Pebbles4444]

I wish I had thought to come look at these forums earlier. My husband and I are taking a cruise, sailing on Sunday (only a few short days from now) and it will be the first cruise for my husband and two of our four children (the youngest isn't going with us this time). Our 14 year old has Autism, ADHD, SPD and Mixed Expressive-Receptive Language Disorder. He is very high functioning and doesn't need a lot of accommodations usually, but stress and anxiety can trigger some reactions, not meltdowns necessarily but equally unpleasant.

 

I am wondering if it would be too late to try to get some adjustments made as far as length of time to board and muster drill site assignments. He needs to be exposed to as many "normal" things as possible, but if I could minimize his stress level that would be awesome. I did mention when I did our online check in that he has special needs, but other than giving me a form to print out, complete and turn in at the teen hangout, I didn't get any other contact from Carnival.

 

Does anyone know if it is too late to look into this? I was thinking of sending an e-mail to the icare@carnival.com address someone else had posted and see what they say. Any other advice?

[TiaxMarie]

I wish I had thought to come look at these forums earlier. My husband and I are taking a cruise, sailing on Sunday (only a few short days from now) and it will be the first cruise for my husband and two of our four children (the youngest isn't going with us this time). Our 14 year old has Autism, ADHD, SPD and Mixed Expressive-Receptive Language Disorder. He is very high functioning and doesn't need a lot of accommodations usually, but stress and anxiety can trigger some reactions, not meltdowns necessarily but equally unpleasant.

 

I am wondering if it would be too late to try to get some adjustments made as far as length of time to board and muster drill site assignments. He needs to be exposed to as many "normal" things as possible, but if I could minimize his stress level that would be awesome. I did mention when I did our online check in that he has special needs, but other than giving me a form to print out, complete and turn in at the teen hangout, I didn't get any other contact from Carnival.

 

Does anyone know if it is too late to look into this? I was thinking of sending an e-mail to the icare@carnival.com address someone else had posted and see what they say. Any other advice?

 

I had better luck calling. I had emailed but didn't hear back for 4 days.

 

Call and ask for their special needs department. They were very helpful for us.

[Esilef]

I agree with calling. Also once on board make the staff aware of any additional needs you may have.

[chadnmelissa2009]

Hello!

 

In the url below you'll find a pdf file with a Royal caribbean social story for before the cruise. Maybe you can adapt it for Carnival to help.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&pnav=2&faqType=faq&faqSubjectId=334&faqSubjectName=Life+Onboard&faqId=5953

 

My son is now high functioning but was moderate to severe when little. We never used social stories much but had friends with kids with autism that could not live without them. Hope it does help you.

 

Happy cruising!

[Pebbles4444]

I just wanted to post this. I e-mailed Carnival about my son with Autism, since we will be sailing on Sunday. I also e-mailed RCCL because in December we will be traveling with 4 children with varying needs. The responses I received back couldn't have been more different.

 

Carnival called me personally to ask me a few questions. They are e-mailing the port with our expected arrival time and names. When we get there, we simply give our names to the porter when we hand over our luggage and we will be immediately escorted onto the ship. No standing in the long, crowded lines. My son and I will get a private muster drill in the stateroom, while DH takes our two daughters to the regular muster drill. I will show our son where the muster station is at some point that afternoon or evening. They wanted to know what DS functioning age was in case he needed to be in a different club than Circle C, which is his age group. Since they have video games in Circle C, I expect that he will go straight for those and we won't see him again except at dinner and bedtime. They asked if we needed a private table in an isolated or quiet part of the dining room. When I said I didn't think that would be necessary, the young man said that if it turned out to be needed I simply had to talk to the Maitre'D and they would arrange it for the rest of the cruise. He was just AWESOMELY HELPFUL.

 

RCCL was completely the opposite. They said we couldn't get priority boarding or onto the ship faster, without the crowds and long lines. And then for my other questions I was told to simply talk to guest services once we were on board and they would see if they could accommodate our requests. And this was sent in an e-mail. I don't know what sort of review or qualifications Autism on the Sea does to give the rating or recommendation that RCCL got from them, but it is so not deserved at all.

 

Carnival has my loyalty from now on. We may try a Disney cruise in another year or so. They are so much more expensive that I doubt we will, but other than that, we will stick with Carnival.

[szubieta]

I just wanted to post this. I e-mailed Carnival about my son with Autism, since we will be sailing on Sunday. I also e-mailed RCCL because in December we will be traveling with 4 children with varying needs. The responses I received back couldn't have been more different.

 

Carnival called me personally to ask me a few questions. They are e-mailing the port with our expected arrival time and names. When we get there, we simply give our names to the porter when we hand over our luggage and we will be immediately escorted onto the ship. No standing in the long, crowded lines. My son and I will get a private muster drill in the stateroom, while DH takes our two daughters to the regular muster drill. I will show our son where the muster station is at some point that afternoon or evening. They wanted to know what DS functioning age was in case he needed to be in a different club than Circle C, which is his age group. Since they have video games in Circle C, I expect that he will go straight for those and we won't see him again except at dinner and bedtime. They asked if we needed a private table in an isolated or quiet part of the dining room. When I said I didn't think that would be necessary, the young man said that if it turned out to be needed I simply had to talk to the Maitre'D and they would arrange it for the rest of the cruise. He was just AWESOMELY HELPFUL.

 

RCCL was completely the opposite. They said we couldn't get priority boarding or onto the ship faster, without the crowds and long lines. And then for my other questions I was told to simply talk to guest services once we were on board and they would see if they could accommodate our requests. And this was sent in an e-mail. I don't know what sort of review or qualifications Autism on the Sea does to give the rating or recommendation that RCCL got from them, but it is so not deserved at all.

 

Carnival has my loyalty from now on. We may try a Disney cruise in another year or so. They are so much more expensive that I doubt we will, but other than that, we will stick with Carnival.

 

I receive the same response from Princess after letting them know when we would arrive and it wasn't their suggested time of 2:45p. I did explain that we can not board and rush my son straight to the muster drill, he needs time to adjust to the ship. I just asked for a quieter place to wait after we arrive at the port and if we can stay in the room till disembarkation too.

[Esilef]

My son is now high functioning but was moderate to severe when little. We never used social stories much but had friends with kids with autism that could not live without them. Hope it does help you.

 

 

 

Happy cruising!

 

 

You have given me hope that my 6 yr old can move into the high functioning area if autism & the now diagnosis may not stick for ever.

[chadnmelissa2009]

You have given me hope that my 6 yr old can move into the high functioning area if autism & the now diagnosis may not stick for ever.

 

There is definitely hope. I eat and breathe ABA. Youre raising a little genius, you have raise a little different than typical kids. Please follow science and stick with it.

[Esilef]

There is definitely hope. I eat and breathe ABA. Youre raising a little genius, you have raise a little different than typical kids. Please follow science and stick with it.

 

 

I wish we had done aba but are getting so much out of a special developmental school. You are right about following science so many people are so against it.

[Pebbles4444]

You have given me hope that my 6 yr old can move into the high functioning area if autism & the now diagnosis may not stick for ever.

 

When my son was diagnosed at almost 6 years old he was barely verbal and my expectations for him were extremely low as far as what I thought he would be able to accomplish or achieve. He is now 14, pretty well mainstreamed at school, and has no problem verbalizing what he wants or needs, although there is still some stuttering due to word recall issues. My suggestion is lots of intervention, speech therapy, OT, PT, whatever your child requires or could benefit from the most. And above all push your child to do as much as they are capable of. They can move into high functioning most times.

 

And if you are looking for a good cruise line to take your child on a cruise with, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CARNIVAL.

[Esilef]

When my son was diagnosed at almost 6 years old he was barely verbal and my expectations for him were extremely low as far as what I thought he would be able to accomplish or achieve. He is now 14, pretty well mainstreamed at school, and has no problem verbalizing what he wants or needs, although there is still some stuttering due to word recall issues. My suggestion is lots of intervention, speech therapy, OT, PT, whatever your child requires or could benefit from the most. And above all push your child to do as much as they are capable of. They can move into high functioning most times.

 

 

 

And if you are looking for a good cruise line to take your child on a cruise with, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND CARNIVAL.

 

 

Great advise thank you! You must be so proud of what your son has achieved.

 

Our son is in a special needs school as they can provide him with constant therapy. He has done very well since starting there last year at age 5. Agree that the more therapy the better

[denas]

My son (just turned 5) has autism, intellectual disability, seizure disorder. We sailed Carnival just before he turned 3. I have to say they were really accommodating. We did have contact with guest services ahead of time and they told us we would have expedited boarding. When we arrived, no one seemed to know anything about it. I was a little irritated waiting in line but eventually the same security person who didn't recognize our letter came back to get us he would take us to expedited boarding and it was fine after that point.

 

We were sent to a separate muster area. They knew all about us on board. We went to the kids clubs. We had brought a nanny with us and they had no problem with her attending with our son.

 

We were given a table near the entrance so we could get in/out easily and dinners came very quickly.

 

The ship in general was very loud which really upset our son and there wasn't a lot of quiet outdoor space that he was allowed to go in (only the adults-only area is quiet outside) - being outside calms him down unless there is blaring music and announcements!!

 

We sailed again last year when he was 4 on DCL (third Disney Cruise). We brought his service dog with us so that added an entire new complexity. While the staff at Disney was great at recognizing disabilities - they spoke directly to him and used his name even though he is non-verbal - and were familiar with service animals, DCL was not as accomodating. We got no special muster drill. The noise was terrible for the alarms but worse was the flashing strobes which trigger seizures. We showed up at the muster drill and my little guy was an absolute mess and I could not get him to stop screaming. They checked us in and then came and told us we didn't have to stay (which everyone around us much appreciated). Also, they would not allow him in the kids club because he needed his dog to go with him, I am his dog handler, and they wouldn't allow me to go in. This is a violation of the ADA, but is anyone really going to hire a lawyer and spend 15 years in court fighting???

 

We are cruising RCCL with Autism on the Seas this summer. Hopefully it will be a good experience!!

[Esilef]

I hope you all enjoy your cruise with rci.

 

Autism of the seas is meant to be very good.

[RockchalkFan]

I had a terrible experience with RC last June. They claimed to be autism friendly, but the reality couldn't have been further from the claims. My daughter is high functioning and doesn't cause a lot of problems nowadays unless you really lean on her or another kid pushes her buttons. She did alright on the cruise however, it wasn't due to anyone going out of their way to help her or due to anyone even knowing what autism or aspergers was. I notified the RCI well in advance. Talked with multiple people on the phone. Filled in form extra forms. Was told that everything would be taken care of and nothing was. No priority boarding. When I asked, they rolled their eyes and said they had no idea what I was talking about. Dining? Nope. I begged for an assigned table near a wall and I was told that I couldn't have an assigned table or an assigned time, I had to use the my time dining just like every one else, and if we didn't like it we could use the buffet. Kids club? The staff didn't even know what aspergers or autism WAS let alone how to deal with her. So they just let her play video games and watch tv the whole time she was in there.

Hmmm...just saw this. I could have written this! Only I just cruised August 2015, so a full year after you did! Sounds like nothing at all has changed. Other than I guess RCI went from Bronze to Silver certification in that time, right?

[kitkat343]

I'd also like to note that we had a lot of help from the front desk of NCL. My husband was temporarily disabled, and I was pregnant on a Baltic cruise, and we were traveling with a 3 year old, and the front desk was able to make accommodations to help us get on and off the ship during the cruise. I think families with disabilities should start with the special needs department before you sail, but if they aren't able to help you or you get on the ship and the accommodations you were promised aren't there, I think the front desk may be able to help you enjoy your vacation.

Edited September 29, 2015 by kitkat343

[bcsurvivor05]

So far carnival has been great. I have called several times to the special needs department and each time they pull up our booking and are able to see all of the notes from previous conversations. I had called the regular carnival number and was told by an agent that there would be no priority boarding and no special treatment. However I got very nervous and called back the special needs department. They apologized up-and-down and told me that everything was noted on our booking and when we check in they will be no problems. We leave in 50 days so I will let you all know when we get back what happened. They say that we will have priority boarding and will have our own muster drill. We are going with a group of 28 so special dining is not an option for us because we will all be together with our family.