What to expect

[N2Mischief]

We are going to be cruising with my 5 year old severely autistic grand daughter. My wonderful PVP arranged with special needs to have help with embarkation and with the safety drill. Has anyone experienced this and know exactly what it involves? I know the crowds will trigger her and the alarm for the safety drill will cause her a lot of distress.

 

The cruise is still over 500 days out! LOL so a lot can change with her between then and now. I am sure once she realizes there are pools on board she will be very happy! But since she has to receptive language there is no way to explain it to her ahead of time. Since she won't know what we are doing or where we are going this first cruise with her, embarkation may be difficult. I'm sure for cruise #2 someday, she will be much easier because she will know we are just going to have fun!

[xxoocruiser]

Suggest you also post on the Family Cruise Forum. In addition you should do a search on both the Family Cruiser Forum and the Disabled Cruise Forum using the key word " Autism" as much has been posted in the past on this very subject.

[heazer]

We took our 7yo AU son on a cruise last fall.

 

In the port of Jacksonville, we were already priority boarding because of our suite. Once we got our S&S cards, they directed us to the priority seating. It's rows upon rows of seats. Perfectly fine under normal circumstances.

 

I went back and asked one of the ladies at the priority desks about a different seating option. I explained that we were priority because of our booking, but that due to our son's autism we had been advised he would be seated elsewhere. She assured me we were in the right place, and I wasn't going to argue the point. After about another five minutes she came and got us from the priority seating and said she had been mistaken. She then directed us over to a smaller seating area in the corner that was a bridal party and a couple of folks in wheelchairs. That group pre-boarded before the rest of the passengers.

 

They do try and be helpful, just remember to be kind and patient if they don't seem to understand what you are asking for. You may need to be firm and make multiple requests. In our case, he was doing okay in the seating area so I wasn't going to push it unless he became disruptive to our neighbors.

 

If you are not priority already, I am under the impression you are supposed to tell virtually everyone you meet that you are looking for the assistance embarkation until you find the right person. lol We will be experiencing this in November in Miami.

 

If you can, they did suggest both times we get tp the port early. In both cases we have 4pm departures and they suggest 10:30ish arrival so they can process us. I would encourage you to attempt this. When we boarded the ship was quiet and there was no crowd. It allowed our son to acclimate on the ship for about 20 minutes before the music started in the lobby. The quiet and low crowd did help with that transition into a new environment.

 

Right away we went to Guest Services to inquire about the quiet/alternate muster drill. Since it was so early and quiet (and I am thinking low special needs population on board from what we saw later on) someone from guest services took us directly to our muster station and went over the procedure. She then gave our son his muster bracelet. Your GD will HAVE to wear this the ENTIRE cruise. It's a tyvek style bracelet....you know, paper that doesn't really tear well. If you think this will be a sensory issue for her, start working on it now. She can choose to wear it on her ankle if that would help. That would have been worse for our son!

 

After the muster the GS lady did request that one of us stay in our cabin with our child during the muster drill, but the other adult still go to experience the directions one more time and to get a sense of where to go.

 

Our steward did check our room and find us there, and was quite alarmed! lol I did explain the situation and show our son's muster bracelet already in place....so all was well.

 

You should also ask for alternate seating in the MDR if you think it will be an issue. The last cruise we were traveling with two other cabins, so we were just all together. I did request a table in a corner, against a wall, or against a window to lesson the stimulation. It helped to not be surrounded on four side by other diners. I also explained that this would allow our son to stand and pace by our table if he needed to. They were very accommodating in our requests, and stopped to check on the placement we had the first evening. This upcoming cruise I have requested we are at a table with just us three, with the same accommodations if possible. It's not that we mind eating with other people...but they may not appreciate dining with us! lol Some people would not appreciate an ipad, a couple of small figurines, constant humming and singing, and occasional pacing back and forth behind his chair!

 

One thing we did not anticipate the last time was our need for his headphones. We knew shows would be loud, but on some ships just walking from point A to point B can be very stimulating and overwhelming. We were able to hold our hands over his ears to walk through public areas....and I'm sure people wondered if we were that disgusted with the singing and trivia! lol Those headphones will also come in handy for the alarm bell during muster and even the loud doorbell dings when the Captain or Cruise Director make one of their announcements, and the ship horns if you are lucky (or unlucky?) enough to be in a ship horn battle in port! Sometimes the audio on the speakers is very distorted, and can be very uncomfortable for our kiddos if they are sensory avoiders in regards to loud/unexpected noises.

 

We tried the kids camp last fall. They were very sweet with him and encouraged him to stay. He hung out the first day, but wasn't fond of another kid (AU, go figure...they both probably wanted to run things) and didn't want to go back without us for activities. Regardless, they did give us a cell phone that was usable on the ship to call the kids club to check on him, call cabin rooms, etc....and allowed them to call us if he was there and needed us to come "rescue" him! It's a very kind thing they do, and makes us feel better about leaving him there to try it. The last thing we want is for him to have a meltdown that ruins the afternoon for the other kids and staff....so them being able to alert us he needs picked up was great!

 

You might be able to find a picture story online that you can either print out or show her. Also, even watching youtube videos of people's trips on your specific ship may help her know what to expect.

 

We've learned to go with the flow, and not overplan. We didn't do any planned excursions, except one at a quiet resort pool and beach area. It may be different for your family. I hope you have a great time, but I do think that everyone will try to do their best to help you along. Just remember that their best may not be your best....but they may be doing the best they know how to do for you!