Thinking about a Cruise/ child w/ special needs... Help..

[JDSNY10]

Hi Everyone,

I am coming to the boards because I need honesty and cruise experience.. Please help with my questions, if you can...

I am thinking about taking my family on their first cruise, since none of us have been on one, I don't know what to expect and would like any information I can get. I have 3 children (under the age of 8) and one of them is severely autistic. Loud Sounds scare him, crowds over whelm him and he is very picky with food. Our last Disney World trip had it's ups and downs.. when usually he is great there, he didn't really enjoy himself as much as he normally does. There was a lot of time spent back at the hotel for him to just enjoy pool and snacks.

So my question to all is how loud can a Disney Cruise become? Is there places that I can take breaks at besides a room if it does become overwhelming and how accommodating are the choices for food?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.. I am looking for help before I start this journey..

Thanks so much, J

 

[Weedy]

I don't have a special needs child but this is what I see:

Disney is great with Special Needs Children.
I suggest going on one of the smaller ships (Magic or Wonder) The Dream and Fantasy have 4000+ people the Magic and Wonder 2000. It really makes a difference in the dining rooms and just moving around the ships.
The nice thing about being on a ship is that you are just steps away from your cabin if he gets overwelmed.
The shows can be loud. I've seen lots of kids with ear protection on to help this. Also all the seats are great so you can sit in the back and still see the show but be able to exit if needed.
Disney is great with special request for food.
You will rotate through the 3 restaurants for dinner. You can request to be put by the front door so you can leave if needed. But the dining rooms are noisy. On the ships there is a restaurant called Cabanas (on the Wonder=Beachblanket) that is a buffet during the day but does a sitdown dinner a night. It is not open the 1st or last night of the cruise. This may be a better option. It is a bit quieter and the service tends to be a little faster.

 

[turtle27]

I think it depends on the cruise, off-season, or high season. On the off season cruises, it is possible to find quiet areas on the higher decks and around the ship, but nothing is ever guaranteed. Your room will be the only place where you will be able to control the noise. The pool, if the weather is nice, will probably be crowded, but not sure if it gets too noisy. Food will not be an issue, depending on what your child eats, the CM's will be helpful and there is always something to eat, be it chicken strips, pizza, pretzels now, uncrustables from room service.

 

[minorthr]

Take a look at this http://autismontheseas.com

Heard a lot of good things about them they were recommended by a local autism group. We are taking our first cruise with them Sept 19th with our son who will be 13.

 

[Hundredacre]

Hi Everyone,

I am coming to the boards because I need honesty and cruise experience.. Please help with my questions, if you can...

I am thinking about taking my family on their first cruise, since none of us have been on one, I don't know what to expect and would like any information I can get. I have 3 children (under the age of 8) and one of them is severely autistic. Loud Sounds scare him, crowds over whelm him and he is very picky with food. Our last Disney World trip had it's ups and downs.. when usually he is great there, he didn't really enjoy himself as much as he normally does. There was a lot of time spent back at the hotel for him to just enjoy pool and snacks.

So my question to all is how loud can a Disney Cruise become? Is there places that I can take breaks at besides a room if it does become overwhelming and how accommodating are the choices for food?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.. I am looking for help before I start this journey..

Thanks so much, J

We have a child who was very, very difficult when he was young. (Changed a lot for the better as he's gotten older so we can do a lot more now). A lot of similar issues. We did not find cruising with dcl easier or harder than every day life with him- if that makes sense. We still had to avoid crowds with him (no pirate deck party, for example) and he did enjoy watching disney cartoons in the cabin (so you might want a veranda if you will be "stuck" in there with him). But even though you are on a ship there are lots of calmer places and lots of food choices. Unfortunately the pools are crazy except for off times. We generally avoided the pool deck area completely except to pop up for a particular food item or to take a walk on the top deck above the pool in the morning or evening. And when he was younger not much kid club time for him at all. Just did not work for him then.

 

[Hundredacre]

Wanted to add that the first time we took him to wdw was very difficult (more than dcl) because we did not properly think it through. Stayed at a hotel with bus service to magic kingdom. Very crowded time of year. Whoa. Big mistake. Thought we would get kicked out of the entire "world" because of his breakdowns on the bus (and in the bus line). Just unbelievable. Next time: grand floridian. Went at time with low crowd levels. No problems at all.

 

[Weedy]

Tips to avoid the crowds.
Don't get to the port terminal until after 12:30. The way there won't be a line to board. Also they announce your name when you board this may be to loud for him. You can ask them not to. But if someone is boarding at the same time they will announce that family
If you go to the main dining rooms you will be assigned a time. Don't do until 5-10 minutes after. That way you will be able to walk right in and sit down.
Request a table for just your family. Cruise lines sometimes sit families together.
Ask your server if you can order your meals the night before. This will speed up your service.
If you want to use the pools you will need to go 1st thing in the morning or at night during dinner.

 

[Hundredacre]

Definitely agree on not getting to the port terminal until after 12:30. And do not try to get off at any ports right away. Also be leisurely getting off on the last day. Try to take your luggage with you when you get off (does not matter for getting on). Sometimes luggage pick up area at port is frenetic.

 

[lanejudy]

Hi @JDSNY10 -- I responded to your post on the disABILITIES Forum

 

[lanejudy]

Take a look at this http://autismontheseas.com

Heard a lot of good things about them they were recommended by a local autism group. We are taking our first cruise with them Sept 19th with our son who will be 13.

I'm glad you are finding them helpful for your family's needs.

People should be aware that much of what this organization offers as "services" is either not available on DCL or can be easily arranged for directly by you without need for a TA. I recognize some people like to have a TA assist with plans, just wanted to make sure readers are aware it's not required.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[ChristineNJ]

We've done four cruises on Disney with our autistic daughter and generally had a wonderful time every time.

The staff was very accommodating as far as foods go. On our first cruise the head server realized that she had some issues and offered to get any special foods we needed. Fortunately as long as they were able to keep the supply of chicken nuggets and fries coming, we didn't have to take him up on it.

By far our biggest issue is the lifeboat drill. She hates crowds, she's hates standing and waiting, she's horribly heat sensitive (and for some reason we always wind up on the side of the ship in the sun) and it's probably the worst 15 minutes of our cruise. I usually go check in early and explain the situation and then have my husband bring her down at the last possible minute. Several times they've dismissed us an minute or two early just because they could see she was getting worked up and it let us get away before the crowds.

As far as quiet areas on the ship, during the day a lot of the adult clubs are pretty quiet so if you want to be somewhere other then your room, you can hang there with a book. In fact on our last cruise it was so crazy on the pool deck before they let us into our rooms that my husband took her down to the sports bar to sit in the cool and quiet while he did some work and she played on her iPad. It turns out that was where the Cruise Director was going to be filming his segment on the next day's port. He wound up interviewing her about her favorite things on the ship and then let her tell a knock knock joke. He was super sweet with her.

I would recommend one of the smaller ships. We've sailed on both the Wonder & the Dream and I definitely prefer the smaller size of the Wonder.

 

[scootch]

Deck 4 on the Fantasy and Dream is usually a fairly quiet place too.

 

[WDWJonasGirl]

I'm a 20 year old with autism so I can help. For the drill, DEFINITLEY bring headphones because the alarm is loud. Definitley talk to your serving staff about food and if there's any special things (like sauce) he would like. Like everyone else said, I would reccomend waiting to get to the port until at least 12:30 to avoid crowds

 

[JDSNY10]

Thank you so very much everyone.. You have been so helpful and I appreciate all the advise that was given... From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you again and again.

 

[tinkerone]

if your looking for a quiet place to go out of the sun during the days don't discount the club/bar areas. children are allowed in there during the day and they are a cool place to go and get out of the heat without having to resort to your room. most people are on deck at the pools or on excursions. they really are nice places to go to read a book, have a quiet chat or just relax away from the crowds for a bit.

 

[minorthr]

I'm glad you are finding them helpful for your family's needs.

People should be aware that much of what this organization offers as "services" is either not available on DCL or can be easily arranged for directly by you without need for a TA. I recognize some people like to have a TA assist with plans, just wanted to make sure readers are aware it's not required.

Enjoy your cruise!

I'm not sure how helpful they are yet. The services they offer on board such as respite care and private muster drill is what really interested us in them. Your post kind of gives me the impression there are somethings I need to know about them. If there are I'd really like to know before I get on the cruise.

 

[Jennifer777]

I agree with the other suggestions here and think you'll be surprised at how well he'll do. I found there were plenty of quiet places on the ship, even on sea days on both the Magic and the Fantasy. I really didn't notice one seem more crowded than the other even though both were booked full. Our son has Aspergers and has panic attacks in crowds, hates loud noises and does not like to be touched. WDW was very challenging for him and he really didn't have any fun there. The cruise was much less stressful for him and he had a good time. I agree with the previous posters about arriving at the port later to avoid the initial crowds. Avoid the pool deck in the afternoon. If he likes to swim, stay on the ship when it's in port and the pool area will be a lot less busy. It was pretty quiet at night for us too. Bring ear plugs or cover his ears if he'll let you when the alarm is sounded during the emergency drill. Most importantly, if you do book, ask the reservations agent for the phone number for their special services department. It's a dedicated team they have for guests with special needs. They can make some special requests and put notes in your child's file and can also let you know what to expect. They made sure we had a private table (as opposed to sharing a table with another family) in a more quiet area of the main dining rooms and put notes in our son's file for the kids club so the CMs would know he doesn't like to be touched. We made sure to schedule lots of breaks and just kept a close eye on him to watch for signs that he was getting overwhelmed. It's now one of his favorite vacations.

 

[lanejudy]

I'm not sure how helpful they are yet. The services they offer on board such as respite care and private muster drill is what really interested us in them. Your post kind of gives me the impression there are somethings I need to know about them. If there are I'd really like to know before I get on the cruise.

I suggest you contact them directly to ask what services will be available to your child/your family on the specific cruise you have booked. More services are available if you book one of their specific cruises with their AotS staff onboard. They will not be able to accompany your child into the kids' club spaces except during Open House times.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[minorthr]

Yea that's what we did the sept 19th cruise is staffed by them.

 

[Lisa Garcia]

Im a first time cruiser and both my children have ASD. I did call Disney special services hotline and they talked to me for over 1/2 hour. I would give them a call (have your cruise # handy) and talk to them with your concerns (made me feel better). And thanks for the above tip. I will check out autism on the seas!

https://wdpromedia.disney.go.com/me...ith-disabilities/DCL Information for ASD.pdf