Sun Avoidance on Disney Cruise - Burn Injury Related

[Lucille1963]

Due to a recent, serious burn injury, our 2 year old son will need to avoid the sun. I considered canceling our trip, but our doctor said a family vacation would be good for us.

We do need to be extra vigilant regarding sun exposure to make sure he heals with as little scarring as possible.

He'll be in a compression garment, wearing a large hat (not looking forward to this battle ) and we'll be slathering on the sunscreen but I was hoping for any tips regarding planning activities, securing shady spots, and keeping him inside when required.

This will be our first Disney Cruise and we are really looking forward to doing it all, but of course his recovery is our first priority.

I wasn't sure if this should be on the DISabilities board or the Cruise board so I'm cross posting to start out. Hope that it is ok.

Thanks in advance for all of your thoughts and ideas,
Nicole

[karibritt01]

They have lots of kids and family activities throughout the day that are indoors. They also show Disney films in the theater. Topsiders has indoor dining area as well as outdoors, so you could eat breakfast and lunch there. There is also a covered area of tables/chairs around the pool for when you are on deck. They do have the pool open sometimes in the evenings if he is able to get wet any, which would keep him out of the sun but still let him swim.

So sorry that you are having to deal with that on your first cruise. I hope your son recovers well and quickly.

[tjbaggott]

Will he need to stay out of water? If not, the one thing I can suggest is a full body bathing suit. The toddlers I look after have these adorable bathing suits, that when on, you can only see their face, hands and feet. As the hat part of the suit did not allow sun onto even their faces, there wasn't much places to apply suncreen to.Picture below: This worked well for our summer days at the splash park.
I'd also recommend using a stroller with a good canopy for shade while on excursions, or just touring nearby the ship, in ports of call.
On Castaway Cay, There are shady spots further away from the water, with trees, umbrellas on the lounge chairs. You can keep him out of the sun here, and have him play in the sand with pails and shovels.
On the ship, no worries, lots of places to go, out of the sun.
I wish your son well in his recovery, and you too. I know as a parent myself, when our children hurt, we hurt, and with a 2 year old, I imagine you worry more than he does. Pixie dust to you and have a magical cruise!
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[Lucille1963]

karibritt01- Thanks for all the wonderful ideas! He is able to get wet.

I thought our big struggle on the cruise was going to be keeping him out of the big pool. He's nowhere near potty trained, but LOVES swimming. Normally he swims 3 times a week.

tjbaggott- Those kids are darling!! Thank you for the Pixie Dust, we need all we can get! He does have a couple of full body suits already (our local pool is cold in the winter!) Those suits look extra fancy, do you know what the brand name is? I'd like to find one with a super high spf rating.

Before the accident I was debating about bringing our good stroller. Now I know we definitely will, it has a HUGE canopy that covers nearly his whole body.

I have seen pictures of the umbrellas on Castaway Cay and they look wonderful. Does anyone know if it is possible to have priority access to one due to a medical condition. (OK, I realize that sounds kinda silly...bringing your kid to a beach when they need to avoid the sun but it was just a thought )

[tjbaggott]

Don't know if you can get a priority one, BUT I know of two things you can do to make sure you get one.
First, be at the stairs on deck one right where you will disembark from to go ashore, at least a half hour before going ashore time. This will allow you to be amongst the first people off the boat and have your choice of spots. You MIGHT even get to be the FIRST FAMILY onto the Island if you are first in line, and you have the Island to yourself for 10 or 15 minutes! We were that family a few weeks ago on the Wonder. The kids LOVED the attention, they got to be Special Security Officers, wore the Secruity Officer's hat, ect.. and later received a Magical Moments Certificate.
The other thing you can do is just make your way towards the farthest end of the Family Beach. Lots of Hammocks and shady areas there and very few people walk all the way there.
Another tip if you like this idea:
When we were there, my DS6 did not want to leave the beach at lunch time, so DH stayed with him while I and DD went to get our lunch at Cookies. I asked a CM there if we were allowed to take our food on trays down to the beach. He not only said YES (as long as we brought the trays and cutlery back), he helped me by carrying two trays to our place on the beach! (I ended up getting my sons and DH's lunch for them). It worked out great, DS was happy, and we still got to eat together.

The brand of the swim wear is NO ZONE. Their website is http://nozone.ca

[havaneselover]

Originally Posted by Lucille1963

karibritt01- Thanks for all the wonderful ideas! He is able to get wet.

I thought our big struggle on the cruise was going to be keeping him out of the big pool. He's nowhere near potty trained, but LOVES swimming. Normally he swims 3 times a week.

tjbaggott- Those kids are darling!! Thank you for the Pixie Dust, we need all we can get! He does have a couple of full body suits already (our local pool is cold in the winter!) Those suits look extra fancy, do you know what the brand name is? I'd like to find one with a super high spf rating.

Before the accident I was debating about bringing our good stroller. Now I know we definitely will, it has a HUGE canopy that covers nearly his whole body.

I have seen pictures of the umbrellas on Castaway Cay and they look wonderful. Does anyone know if it is possible to have priority access to one due to a medical condition. (OK, I realize that sounds kinda silly...bringing your kid to a beach when they need to avoid the sun but it was just a thought )

Definitely make sure the body suit has a high spf, but be careful because my son's dermatologist told me the chlorine breaks down the spf protection. There was one company (can't remember the name) that I believe sells sun protective clothing that have (or had as the FDA no longer approves sun protective clothing) FDA approval. I remember everything was very expensive, but you get what you pay for.

[Anj]

We use sunsuits for our kids, another brand is SurfDuck. We could have easily stayed indoors for our whole cruise, there were activities to do every hour it seemed. Our DD isn't PT'ed so we actually only ended up at the splash pad 2 or 3 times in the 7 day cruise.
At CC, we got off the ship 'late' and had no problem finding umbrella's with shade (we found 2 different locations to choose from and there were others available around us). I do think we may have been near the end of the family beach, we were located in front of the climbing structure in the water.

[smeecanada]

The NoZone body suits are great. They are a local company here and are a great product.

We've never had any problem getting an umbrella on the family beach and have usually come off the ship about 1/2 hour or so after ashore time.
Use plenty of sunscreen.

Enjoy your cruise.

[msmith07101]

There is so much to do inside the ship that you shouldn't need to be too concerned about the sun. As far as umbrellas on Castaway Cay, I found there to be plenty available and we were not the first off the ship. I really think that given your situation ,if you asked DCL they would take care of your needs to the best of their abilities. I am sure that with the suggestions of everyone here on the boards and working with DCL if need be, that you will have a fantastic cruise.

[mmouse37]

There are plenty of umbrellas at Castaway Cay as well as many chair/umbrella set ups under palm trees. You should have no problem finding shade at CC.

As mentioned, just be some of the first off the ship so you can have your choice of spots....

MJ

[karibritt01]

Have you thought to send in a medical needs sheet? I don't know if it would help or not, but it can't hurt to make DCL aware of your son's needs.

[Lucille1963]

Thanks again, Everyone!

It is good to know that so much takes place inside.

His effected area is one arm, chest and face. Thankfully, his face wasn't as badly injured and even 2 weeks after the incident you'd never know he was harmed. He is just an incredibly active kid, I want him to have as many options as possible as far as activities.

When I booked this cruise the idea was to spend the port days on the beaches. I'm still looking forward to CC, but I have written off the other port days.

He'll definitely be getting a new spf body suit, but because of his face we'll still be lurking in the shade.

I will look into the medical needs sheet. Is it available on the DCL site?

[RLP817]

Hi! I believe the form is available when you are completing your on line check in forms. Filling out this form will let them know of any restrictions your son will have and I'm sure they will do what they can to make sure you all have a an awesome vacation. Have a wonderful time and I wish your son a speedy recovery

[smeecanada]

Originally Posted by Lucille1963

He'll definitely be getting a new spf body suit, but because of his face we'll still be lurking in the shade.

There is also a spf hat available from NoZone. Quite a few of my friends had it for their kids. It has a fairly wide front brim and a flap on the back that will cover the neck portion. Bonus is that it's totally water proof (not sure waterproof is the word I'm looking for - but it's okay to get it soaked)

[wdwprincess03]

A good thing to do if he likes water that much, may be to go to the splash zone after the sun goes down.