Private-ish area in port waiting area? Breeze/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.

 

 

*cross posted in the gulf coast departures section.

[SadieN]

Arrive later rather than earlier to avoid most of the crowds. Maybe an hour or two after boarding starts.

 

 

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[poz222]

Plan to arrive the port AFTER 1 PM. The crowds are onboard and the terminal mostly empty... if you arrive before then, you will have crowds everywhere.

[JaxsMama]

As others have said, arrive later in the day to avoid crowds or maybe get FTTF to avoid lines and also get priority tenders if your ports have them.

 

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[Havingfun2010]

Have you looked at RCCL for your needs? If not, in the future, look at booking a RCCL cruise. You can google Autism at Sea, and see their program. They have two different levels. First level is your basic cruise, and the second level has "staff" that cares for them and the families while on board.

[springs741]

Galveston is my home port. I would like to offer the following suggestions:

 

While some suggest FTTF you will still have to wait in the terminal for boarding. A more economical idea would be to just arrive later as others have suggested. If you arrive to the port about 1:00, boarding will have begun more than an hour prior so the waiting area will have been emptied. By the time you board it will be 1:30 and rooms will be ready. This will be a chance for your little man to regroup and then you can grab a late lunch.

 

Be sure to heed any emails from Carnival. On our last cruise we got the email that they expected clearing the ship to take longer than usual and suggest delaying arrival by one hour. We arrived in the terminal at 11:30 and they had just begun boarding. All those that say don't worry about those emails found themselves waiting for an hour in a crowded terminal.

 

Enjoy your cruise and make lots of memories.

[cb at sea]

Call the "special needs" dept....and tell them of your son's sensory issues....and do arrive AFTER boarding has started, so there's less of a chance of waiting.

[poz222]

Autism at Sea also has select Carnival sailings... most during school summer break.

[Nevada Jen]

Also, dark sunglasses are helpful to my sensory guy in loud crowds.

[crzycick]

Our past cruises were before he was born so my priorities were different. Back then we were always some of the first to board and one thing we always noticed was how crowded lido got and impossible it was for people to find a place to sit, the food lines getting longer and longer, and it lasted for hours. We’re traveling with family and there will be 7 of us with my inlaws having very limited mobility (my MIL really should be in a wheelchair but is too embarrassed) so we were concerned about getting there later and not being able to find somewhere for them to sit comfortably. Are my concerns silly? I’m trying to juggle so many people’s concerns.

[crzycick]

Have you looked at RCCL for your needs? If not, in the future, look at booking a RCCL cruise. You can google Autism at Sea, and see their program. They have two different levels. First level is your basic cruise, and the second level has "staff" that cares for them and the families while on board.

 

 

We’ve always cruised Carnival so we hadn’t considered it. After booking it I realized autism of the seas prefers RCCL.

 

When I booked, autism of the seas website said I could transfer my booking anytime before final payment which was my intention. By the time I went to do that, Carnival changed things and no longer allowed that so I was stuck. There wasn’t a lot that autism of the seas could provide but there were some resources that they could have provided so I was really bummed about the changes.

[crzycick]

Also, dark sunglasses are helpful to my sensory guy in loud crowds.

 

I wish that would work for us, he just thinks they’re a toy :'). But we’ll have his tablet to move his attention away everything else and noise canceling headphones. I get a lot of dirty looks but they have no idea what I’m saving them from!

[crzycick]

We also just ordered a weighted compression vest. He uses one at school, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off and they say it has worked wonders for him. We bought it with the trip in mind.

[Havingfun2010]

We’ve always cruised Carnival so we hadn’t considered it. After booking it I realized autism of the seas prefers RCCL.

 

When I booked, autism of the seas website said I could transfer my booking anytime before final payment which was my intention. By the time I went to do that, Carnival changed things and no longer allowed that so I was stuck. There wasn’t a lot that autism of the seas could provide but there were some resources that they could have provided so I was really bummed about the changes.

 

Sorry to hear that, I saw them in action. Although I never had a need for that type of service, I was impressed on what we saw.

[teddyton]

We are sailing in February also out of Galveston, with my 6-year-old Autistic grandson that also has sensory issues. This is mostly Auditory. After speaking with his therapist and doing a little research online. I found some good information.

We have FTTF (this is mainly so the room is ready for a quiet spot) but also picked a later check in to not have to deal with large wait times. He also has a beanie that has built-in headphones. Netflix is our friend. I have emailed and spoken with guest services for a private muster area. I have emailed the Maître d to see if we could get a separate table as not to disturb other diners if he is up to the MDR. I have also been told by my PVP, that they will age Emmett down and not put him with the kids that are older and more socially adept. We also picked Feb. due to fewer kids being on board if that makes sense.

 

I hope this helps.