Private-ish area in port waiting area? Galveston

[crzycick]

My almost 5 year old is autistic with sensory issues. Sometimes he struggles with crowds and noises and sometimes his ability to cope amazes us. If he’s having a rough day during embarkation day, is there anywhere in the waiting area we could take him that might block some of the visual stimulation? We will have headphones to help with the noises but I’m more concerned about getting him out of the middle of a group of strangers. Is it all one large room? Are there pillars we can try to “hide” behind or corners we could easily retreat to? Will we get stuck in a line that we are unable to break away from (while dad stays in line?) With autism, the better I can prep him on what to expect, the better outcome we can hope for.

[Pops, Esq.]

I can't specifically recall any "private" rooms, but I wasn't really looking. I do recall a lot of nooks and crannies along the way -- between the initial check in and the large waiting room -- where you would be able to at least get a bit shielded from the masses. I will check with my SIL, who has an autistic child, as she has sailed out of Galveston and probably scoped out the area while there.

 

But, I think if you show up a couple of hours after the original boarding rush, you will probably be okay. Just DO NOT get there before boarding actually starts. Not check-in, but actual boarding. It gets very crowded and there are people in every available spot.

[Barsnikel]

There are 2 terminals in Galveston... what I would call the "original" terminal and the "overflow" terminal. The two are next to each other, but the overflow is pretty much just a big waiting room. The original does have a very few areas which are less crowded, but not by much.

 

I think the suggestion above has a lot of merit. If you come early, you'll have to wait with the crowd. But if you come at, say, 1PM.. a large majority of people will have already boarded, and you'll likely have no wait at all.

 

You might consider contacting Carnival's Special Needs desk.. there may be a waiting area in the terminal that we don't know about.

[gannk]

I would consider a few things, first being reaching out to your cruise line. They may have accommodations available for people who have different sensory needs. Second, I might think about arriving a little later than the big priority boarding rush. There should be fewer people in the terminal at that point, though you would contend with the possible sensory overload getting on the overwhelming ship once it is already pretty crowded.

Good luck! I hope it is smooth sailing for your son!

 

 

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[BallFour4]

There aren’t any areas for what you’d need. After 2 or so the terminal is usually empty.

 

 

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