Carnival Pride 7/3 with Autism on the Seas

[denas]

So I have finally caught up with being home and wanted to do a review of our 7/3 sailing on the Carnival Pride. This was the second time we have done this as part of a group with staff from Autism on the Seas(AOTS). Last year we did an RCCL cruise and I posted a review with some of the things that make an AOTS cruise different/easier in my experience. I have three kiddos ages 14, 10 and 6. This was their sixth cruise overall. Previously we have done 3 Disney, 1 RCCL and 1 Carnival. I'll offer a little commentary on my thoughts on pluses and minuses for sailing these lines as well. My oldest kids are typical, however my youngest has multiple disabilities including seizures, an intellectual disability and autism. He uses a wheelchair for seating support (he doesn't have enough core strength to sit well in chairs) as well as distance walking. We also have a service dog who sailed with us before but didn't come on this trip.

 

Autism on the Seas serves as a special needs cruise travel agency. They offer staffed group cruises (about 40 or so a year) on RCCL, Disney, Carnival, NCL and Celebrity. They started only with RCCL and this still makes up the majority of their cruises, but many families with kids with special needs can't fly so they offer cruises at most ports. They have been adding more Carnival and NCL cruises over the past couple of years. Disney usually has 3-4 a year and is not a popular choice with AOTS families.

 

With a staffed cruise, the agency provides 1 trained adult (usually a special ed teacher or therapist or someone who works in the field) for every 3 kids. They provide separate priority embarkation and disembarkation, private muster drill, staff assisted events throughout the cruise, staffed respite in a conference room where parents can leave their children to go to shows or have a drink or whatever, and reserved seating during shows and at the buffets where they provide assistance. Kids with austism or other neurological disabilities often have challenging behaviors which makes vacationing difficult and the kids clubs are not an option for most kids.

There are also usually a couple of group beach excursions planned where the staff will assist parents.

 

Some kids require more support than the 1-3 ratio so the agency provides the option of proviging a 1-1 support person. This is what we did this time for my son (he has 1-1 support 24 hours a day at school and home).

 

Prior to discovering AOTS, we have tried cruising on our own, hiring and bringing on board our own nanny, bringing family.

 

On to the review......

[pusywillow]

I can't wait to read this. It sounds like a good concept and a great organization.

[momonthego17]

Looking forward to your review. Thanks for posting!

[denas]

Embarkation....

 

We live in Northern Virginia and this was our first time sailing out of Baltimore. It is AWESOME to wake up and have breakfast at home, load the car, and drive ONE HOUR to the port. We started out more relaxed and rested than ever before so maybe that is why this cruise was so great???!!!!

 

We were told by AOTS to arrive to port at 11:15. I received an email from Carnival telling me to arrive at 11:30. We drove in the port parking lot around 11:20 and sat...and sat.....and sat. There are three lines where they stage cars for parking. GO TO THE LINE ON THE RIGHT. We didn't. They always started with this line and let around 50-60 cars go. Then 3 from the other two lines. Then wait. Then repeat. We spent 45 minutes waiting to park.

 

Baggage drop off is great. Then there are three lines to pay for parking with no lines telling you that some are cash only and others accept credit cards. We ended up in a cash only line (we had the cash but hadn't planned on using it for parking). All accessible parking was completely full.

 

Finally parked and headed to the terminal. The AOTS staff greats you outside the door and escorts through embarkation. Unfortunately, no one from the cruise line was also there directing traffic so the staff was stuck with lots of angry people who had suites or FTTF wondering where they were supposed to go.

 

When we have cruised before, we have always been told we would get priority embarkation. On our last Carnival, I had a letter from them that I was supposed to show at the port. No one from the port seemed to know what it was for and didn't initially honor it. On Disney, we were escorted on the ship, BUT it was because they wanted to make sure we turned in our service dog paperwork. With AOTS on RCCL, they didn't account for the wheelchair my little guy uses so we were escorted to a priority security line, but they made my son leave his chair and made us collapse the chair and try and put it through the scanners. This time, it all worked GREAT. No one made my son leave his chair and they patted him down very respectfully. AOTS had a separate area for us to wait in at the terminal and then took us up to a priority line to check in. There were 10 families in our group and we were all ready to go just after they boarded suites so we were escorted on the ship together at that time.

 

Pediasure - my little guy is tube fed and we brought his pediasure. It comes in cans (prescription). It showed up on the scanner and the security just asked if it was pediasure and we said yes - no problems. I know I have seen the question on pediasure on these boards before so thought I would address.

 

Elevator - with entering on deck one at Baltimore, I was really worried about getting elevators. This is always an issue on a cruise ship for us. It was NO ISSUE at embarkation (actually it was only an issue once the entire cruise).

 

After we got on the ship, we headed up to the buffet. Shortly after arriving, they had blocked off an area for our group to use for morning and lunch buffet times throughout the cruise. On RCCL they had us in on of the specialty restuarants that was adjacent to the buffet. Carnival put us in a back corridor towards the entrance to Serentiy. I liked this much better since we still felt like part of the buffet crowd.

 

Overall, embarkation with AOTS is tons easier than even having a suite or FTTF. This is one area that I have found a noticeable difference using them versus doing it on your own.

[Clarea]

Very interesting concept, looking forward to this review.

Edited July 18, 2016 by clarea

[denas]

Ship decor/layout.....

 

So I loved the decor on the ship. I thought it was fun. I don't think a cruise ship should look like a land motel and this one definitely didn't. I liked that there were so many interesting spaces to hang out.

 

The ship was completely full (this was 4th of July week so a popular cruise time for families), but there were no crowds.

 

Ship layout for a child in a wheelchair and a child with ASD can be tricky. Sounds and overstimulation can overload the senses of people with autism. When we sailed on the Carnival Liberty, the ship was LOUD. Everywhere. We loved the cruise but decided there wasn't sufficient outdoor space to get away from the annoying DJ. When we sailed the Liberty of the Seas, it was a real pain with a wheelchair. The Royal Promenade means that there are only elevators forward and aft - none midship. Add the ice rinks and other theaters and there were so many dead ends or areas where you needed to ride an elevator up to get down. We once left our cabin 15 minutes prior to our reserved time for the ice show and missed the first 15 minutes of the show because we couldn't get elevators and had to cross and ride up and down several times. Plus the piped in music in the Royal Promenade was like being in a shopping mall - my little guy was not a fan. Disney is VERY CROWDED. It is difficult to navigate a wheelchair because there are so many excited kids who aren't paying any attention.

 

The Pride layout has to be the best of any ship we have sailed. Lots of quiet places. Lots of places to enjoy music at a nice level, lots of outdoor space to walk. And TONS of elevators. Seriously. Our usual cruise rule is that only the one adult with the yougest in the wheelchair rides the elevator - other kids and adult take the stairs everywhere. So many elevators that arrived promptly and empty meant we broke this cruise rule a lot because there were no crowds waiting for elevators or difficulty getting on with a wheelchair. My little guy was a huge fan of the outdoor promenade on deck 3 and the sunset garden area. I also liked that the pool layout meant that there were tons of areas away from the DJ (although the decibel level was fine compared to the Carnival Liberty)

 

Stateroom. We had stateroom 7301 which is a premium balcony. This is one area where we may not be able to sail Carnival much longer - a complete lack of accessible rooms that can accommodate more than 2 people. RCCL, Disney and NCL all have so many more options. The Pride literally has one room (an Ocean Suite) that can accommodate 4. Even the new Dream Class ships have only 6 rooms and all are insides with obstructed views. I called one week after bookings opened and it was already booked.

 

However, the premium balcony worked because there is an entry area. We would push the front wheels of his chair in then make a sharp turn and sort of wiggle the chair around. It stored perfectly in a space between the wall and the vanity and we didn't have to collapse it. Our chair measures 25.5 inches across the rear wheels.

 

The room was AWESOME. Tons of space. However the lights were really strange. We had "mood lighting" over the main vanity area and another weird storage area across the room. It took us two days to find the switch to turn one light off. They were dimmer lights. Also the entire area above the bed was mirrored. Funny.

 

Balcony had two chairs, a lounge chair and a table. Lifeboats were strait below us.

 

We had ordered a Dr. Seuss package for my little guy. I debated about it because wasn't sure he would like much of it, but the one thing I thought he would enjoy was the little metal lunchpail. It was in the room when we arrived. I showed it to him and he did grab the little pail. We went out to check out the balcony and within seconds he tossed the pail overboard. Fortunately it landed on the lifeboat below. I reported it both to our room steward and guest services since I was afraid it would blow off and hit someone or interfere with the lifeboats. It sat there until we arrived in Grand Turk and then someone must have retrieved it. I never got it back. It also made me realize that my idea that we would pay all the extra for the huge balcony so he could play outside and I could sit and watch was wasted. No toys on the balcony for us!!

[denas]

Muster Drill...

 

Our best experience with a muster drill was actually a previous Carnival cruise that we went on without AOTS. We had made arrangements with the special needs department and when I got onboard I went to guest services. They noted that we were exempt from the regular muster drill and gave us some info and an alternate location to check in. It took just a few minutes with no wait and we stayed in our room for the main drill.

 

AOTS offers a private muster drill which in theory sounds great but in practice I think is worse than the regular muster drill. Our first AOTS had 23 families and 13 staff. The conference room for our private muster drill was louder than a regular muster drill. Plus they had us arrive about 30 minutes before the muster drill started and there was a lot of time spent introducing other families, etc. It was awful for my little guy. This time, we again were told to be at the conference room at 3:30. The ship muster drill was supposed to be at 4, but ended up not happenning until maybe 4:45? Anyway, I would have just preferred to spend the 5 minutes at the regular drill or had an exemption for my little guy to remain in our room as has happened before. Many families on AOTS cruises haven't ever cruised before so I think they are more nervous about the muster drill.

 

But our worst experience still remains Disney. They would not let us have an exemption from the muster (special needs promised one ahead of time but on the ship they wouldn't grant it). We failed to realize that there are strobe lights that go in addition to the sound. Strobes can trigger seizures which is what happened. Plus we had our seizure alert dog who barked (as she is supposed to) during the seizure. After a seizure kids are very confused and extremely irritable. So the seizure/barking/post-seizure screaming caused Disney to send someone who said on second thought we didn't need to be there and escort us out of the muster drill (no one in the room could hear any instructions above the racket we were making). It is still not the best for accommodations to be publicly escorted out of a drill either.

[cincicruisers]

Thank you for taking the time to share your review.

[uprivermama]

Thank you for posting this review! We saw an AOTS group on the Miracle's July 2nd sailing, and I was so curious as to what this was. I have a nephew with autism, and I know there are just so many variables the average cruiser doesn't even think about that would be impossible for those with autism. If you are comfortable sharing, can you provide information about how the agency charges for their services? No specifics, of course! Thanks again!

[denas]

Thank you for posting this review! We saw an AOTS group on the Miracle's July 2nd sailing, and I was so curious as to what this was. I have a nephew with autism, and I know there are just so many variables the average cruiser doesn't even think about that would be impossible for those with autism. If you are comfortable sharing, can you provide information about how the agency charges for their services? No specifics, of course! Thanks again!

 

The agency is a regular travel agency so they get a commission on the sales and book as a group so get some discount for the cost of some of the staff. Families are charged a per person/per day fee (somewhere between 20-25 dollars). When you get your itinerary charge, it is built in (for example if the cruise fair is 1319 pp for an 8 day cruise, the AOTS invoice will have 1499 with a 180 pp service fee built in and then the traditional port taxes itemized separately). For most families, it is generally significantly cheaper than bringing a trained special education person onboard with you! For larger families, however, the cost can be a little unfair. If you are a single parent with one child, you are contributing significantly less to the pot that pays for the staff than a large family like us, but both families are getting the same service (one adult for every three kids). Plus large families like us are booking two cabins which means we are also helping the agency get closer to a "free" individual than a family only booking one cabin. For us, it is actually a little pricier than bringing on our own person. However, after discussing with my kids and husband, we decided to bear the cost for at least our next cruise because we like being part of a group. Public opinion of a child "acting up" when you are on your own can be harsh. However, put a group of people together with staff in bright orange shirts proclaiming "autism on the seas staff" and all the families in bright orange lanyards and suddenly everyone smiles and says how wonderful it is that there is a group to help us bring our kids on a cruise and tolerance is totally different. It also helps that we have private areas for meals and a separate area for shows so our kids aren't disturbing others as much!

[denas]

Food.

 

We loved the food. We really liked the food on our last Carnival cruise as well which is why we switched back. I know food is subjective, but my younger kids hated the food on RCCL. In fact, on our last RCCL cruise a number of the AOTS families booked a 9 night Anthem of the Seas cruise. My daughter at first wanted to go because the cruise was so long and sounded fun. But at one point she told me she couldn't do 9 nights on RCCL because she would starve.

 

Besides really preferring the food, I like the way food is laid out on Carnival. With three kids and two adults, everyone ALWAYS wants something different for lunch. On Carnival, you can easily get a table on the lido deck and send everyone to their respective options (Guys, burritos, deli, salad bar) and all be back easily to eat in 5 minutes. On all three Disney ships, the food was all on the pool deck but the lines were VERY LONG. I would end up having to eat chicken nuggets because one child wanted them and after waiting in a long line, I didn't have the energy to deal with another. Even the Disney Dream had long lines.

 

On RCCL they put a lot of the optional eating areas several decks down in the promenade. And the Johnny Rockets is a pay restaurant. Having one kid want pizza and another grilled cheese was impossible. Also, the "early morning" continental breakfast and coffee was only available in the promenade. I like having my morning coffee outside looking at the ocean not in the indoor mall. My little guy couldn't tolerate the sound in the promenade so it meant one of us had to sit on the pool deck and one had to run down 5 decks to get coffee and cereal. It was really not a layout that worked for us.

 

I found several choices I liked each night and everything we ordered was cooked well. I really liked the omelet station in the morning (never a wait) and the breakfast burritos were fabulous.

[denas]

AOTS staff and dining....

 

As I mentioned before, we get staff assistance during all meals. At the buffets, they will sit with a child while you go and get food. During dinner meals, they will help walk a cranky child out of the dining room or try and entertain them so you can enjoy your meal. Table manners aren't usually so great with our special needs kiddos. It is nice to sit with a group who doesn't even blink at whatever is happening at your table because their kids have their own issues. It also allows us families to socialize together with other understanding parents. We discussed handicap parking at schools in our county, specific therapies, when/how they managed to potty train their kids, specific respite programs, etc. These are things that none of my friends can typically relate to! It really helped because most of the parents live near us (5 of the 10 families are all in northern virginia and we are all in the same school district).

[RiotAct]

Embarkation....

 

We live in Northern Virginia and this was our first time sailing out of Baltimore. It is AWESOME to wake up and have breakfast at home, load the car, and drive ONE HOUR to the port. We started out more relaxed and rested than ever before so maybe that is why this cruise was so great???!!!!

 

One hour from NoVA to Baltimore? Did you leave at 2 AM and drive 85 mph the entire way? :p

Edited July 19, 2016 by RiotAct

[skywalkr2]

There was a large group of specially abled folks last time we were on board the pride. I could tell that the group had a wonderful time. I think the Pride... prides itself on helping all people.

[Ms. Fun Bunch]

I was on this cruise and must say I was very impressed with your group, the parents, the kids and the staff all seemed to be enjoying the cruise.

[tsutton]

Thanks for sharing your review!!

[monogrammedbelle]

Thank you so much for sharing your review - it makes me so happy to hear that you had great experiences! One of the things I really appreciate about cruising is how accessible it can be for adults and children with disabilities. Even though accessibility is not something I have to take into consideration at this time, it is something that is important to me as an educator working with children. I will be saving your review to share with families who have similar needs.

 

I've heard about Autism on the Seas but have never taken a cruise where they were participating. The opportunities they offer to children and families resonate with me deeply. Again, it brings me a lot of joy to read this review - thanks, again, for sharing!!