Disney Cruise with autistic child - anyone use autism on the seas

[bullynj]

We have a 7 year old non-verbal autistic son and are considering doing a Disney Cruise this year, we have never cruised with him before - however we've been to WDW the last 3 years and he has no problems or issues with vacationing or airplanes, my bigger concern is the wait to get onto the ship - not knowing what to expect I wanted to get some feedback from families who have cruised with autistic children.


Also he loves the water, pools and slides - we are looking at the Fantasy are the pool and slide areas insanely busy?

Anyone used Autism on the seas?

 

[lanejudy]

I do not have first-hand experience with Autism on the Seas, but I wanted to mention that if you pick a port-arrival-time (PAT) of noon-ish then you should have very little wait time in the terminal before boarding. The earliest PAT is 11:00-11:30am, though they do sometimes allow entry as early as 10:30am. Boarding typically begins around 11:30 or 11:45am, and once the initial crowds disperse they will announce open boarding. The DCL transfers from WDW arrive around 1:30pm with another rush. But if you arrive around noon or so there shouldn't be too long a line for check-in and you may be able to walk right on the ship after getting your KTTW cards.

Cruise ship pools are notoriously small; DCL isn't much different in that area. However, the Fantasy does have a number of different "water" areas - the Mickey Pool (shallow) and Donald Pool (deeper but not big) as well as Nemo's Reef (water play area for young kids up to age 6 or 7) and also a new Aqua Lab that is not available on other ships. And of course the AquaDuck. I recommend using the pool/water play areas early in the day and leaving around lunch time; do something else in the afternoon; then the crowds disperse again around dinner and in the evenings. Also, depending on the cruise and ports of call, staying on the ship and using the pool areas while in port helps cut down on crowds.

The kids clubs are great and IMO work to accommodate children with special needs as long as the child does not require direct 1:1 at all times.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

been years since we cruised but at that time you could not use swim diapers, child had to be potty trained. do not know if this would be a problem for you.

 

[kylmac]

I have a friend who cruised with Disney and did an autistic specific cruise-she said it was great. They have special character greets, counselors are trained for the children, I think meals can be separate as well. I think they have a website. We have cruised with Disney many times always with our autistic son. Definately avoid the rush to get on board-we had problems in Vancouver for the Alaska cruise but a cast member was sympathetic and let us in the line as our son was having a delightful meltdown with all the crowds enjoying his yelling. I always speak with a manager and give as many details as possible to help the cast members in the kids clubs. Our son is verbal and will let the cast members know that he is ready to go back to our stateroom. We have been lucky to have a few cast members who have worked with autistic children prior to be being on the ship. There are usually 1 or 2 per cruise. I just time it so our son is not overstimulated before he goes into the kids clubs-lots of swimming early in the morning before the pools get crowded. He loves the AquaDuck-just get there before the crowds. Good luck!
Elizabeth

 

[lanejudy]

been years since we cruised but at that time you could not use swim diapers, child had to be potty trained. do not know if this would be a problem for you.

This is correct, and I believe it is a Health Department regulation not simply a DCL rule. Swim diapers are not allowed in pools on cruise ships; children must be potty trained to use the pool. That is also why DCL has built "water play" areas on the newer ships to provide an area for the young ones who can't enter the pool. A cruise ship pool must be drained, cleaned and refilled if a diaper-wearing child has an "accident" - thereby rendering the pool useless to all guests for quite a period of time.

Children also must be potty-trained to use the kids clubs - except the nursery of course. CMs are not allowed to assist with pottying in any manner, therefore the child must be able to handle clothing, sitting, wiping, re-dressing and handwashing by him/herself. There are reports of children allowed in the clubs wearing a pull-up if the parents agreed to return hourly, but it is the exception and not the rule; cruisers shouldn't expect that exception even for a special-needs child as it has been denied. Exceptions (for any reason) within the kids clubs can vary depending on the demographics of a particular cruise - how many kids of each age, etc.

 

[Midnightred]

I was wondering how mine would do with the movement?

Midnightred

 

[lanejudy]

I was wondering how mine would do with the movement?

Midnightred

You actually feel very little, if any, movement of the ship unless it is in rough waters. Some people are much more sensitive to the motion, but after the first evening (and I understand the ship crosses a jet stream pulling out of port) I couldn't tell when we were moving or stopped. And even that first evening it was such a vague feeling, not enough to feel "sea sick."

 

[AJKMOM]

What are, and how do I find out about "Autistic specific Cruises"/ I would love to take a cruise, but not with DS . Can't go without him, so....

 

[Princess Olivia]

Hi! We have also cruised many times with Disney. My two youngest are on the spectrum but they are only 2 and 3 so we've only done one cruise with them. The water areas are awesome. I was worried that our 3 year old would freak out over not being able to use the pool (not potty trained) but he was beyond thrilled with the water play areas. Plus, the 7 day Eastern ( like better than western) is just beautiful. The kids loved the beaches!

However, dh and I cruised out of NY this past June on the Magic for the 2 day to nowhere. It was the first time I saw Autism on the seas. They were amazing. I made it a point to go over and speak with the director and he said to go to the website. Specific cruises are chosen. They said it was their first time on DCL. I was surprised. All the kids had t-shirts and special activities. It was a well run program. I would love to do a DCL 7 day with them.

 

[lanejudy]

What are, and how do I find out about "Autistic specific Cruises"/ I would love to take a cruise, but not with DS . Can't go without him, so....

Actually, I'm not sure it's as much that the cruise is designated for those families impacted by autism, but rather that Autism on the Seas (which is an organization) will organize groups to go on a scheduled cruise. Did that come across right? The cruise will not be dedicated to autism - there will be passengers who have no connection to autism or a child/family member/etc with autism. But there likely will be large group of passengers who have this issue in common.

 

[su_A_ve]

My recommendations are the following:

* Port - even though you'll have a port arrival time, there will be big crowds, specially if you cruise on the bigger ships (Dream, Fantasy). However, as long as you arrive by your port arrival time (or after) you'll have no problem with just 'walking' to the ship. There will be a little line while you do customs and while they take the mandatory (there's ways to get around it I heard) welcome photo.

* Dinner - I would recommend late seating. Most prefer early dinner, and hence late seating is less crowded. You can request a table for just your family as well as any specific dietary needs. They'll do whatever it takes to please you.

* Weather - once you are in the ocean, lightning can be seen 'very well' even though it's far away.

* Schedule - The personal navigator will give you a list of what will be available the next day, including character meet and greet. There are usually lines but in the 5-10'

* Pool/slide/aquaduck - best time is to skip the broadway show - if you have late seating, this will be before dinner

* sail-away/pirate night - Avoid them, or go to the upper deck.

* Noises - other than the horn when leaving the ship or during the fireworks during pirate night, it's quiet...

 

[Midnightred]

We just have to go on one of those autism cruises! Let me know if anyone finds out anything.

Midnightred

 

[mommyrants]

I would love to do a cruise, but DS5 is profoundly autistic. I am terrified of him jumping off the ship. We cruised when DD was a toddler on Carnival. I know it would be difficult, but I also know DS will find a way if he becomes obsessed with something. Is this a realistic fear? or is it literally impossible for him to climb something and jump off?

 

[lanejudy]

I would love to do a cruise, but DS5 is profoundly autistic. I am terrified of him jumping off the ship. We cruised when DD was a toddler on Carnival. I know it would be difficult, but I also know DS will find a way if he becomes obsessed with something. Is this a realistic fear? or is it literally impossible for him to climb something and jump off?

While I won't say it's impossible, it would be very difficult on a DCL ship. First, I'd suggest not getting a verandah room - an interior or one with a port hole would be safest. Also, on all outdoor spaces (decks and verandahs) there is plexiglass on the INSIDE of the deck (the railing is on the outside) so no place to get a foothold for climbing. The pool deck actually has plexiglass from floor to ceiling so no jumping or accidentally falling from there. Other decks, you can easy control access - just don't go out on the promenade deck or the decks above the pool if you think it's that much of a risk, but again he'd have trouble climbing clear plexiglass that covers the inside of the railings.

 

[alumnicruises]

Check out Autism on the Seas FaceBook page to read quote and comments from guests who have cruised with them (just search for them on FaceBook)

Reviews and testimonials can be found on their website AutismontheSeas.|com

 

[babyberger]

We have used AotS (sailed a royal Caribbean not Disney) and I can't say enough great things about them!!!! It changed our cruising experience! They are amazing people whom truly "get it"! Our son is high functioning so we had a lot of concerns with the kids program and because of AotS the kids program managers knew all about our son before we even boarded the ship.

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