20th Anniversary Vacation - need opinion

[TheIncredibles!]

Probably not the best forum for this but I am hoping some here have had a previous experience etc.

Next year is our 20th Anniversary. We were thinking instead of the usual Disney Trip (We are DVC members) we'd go on a cruise. We have 3 kids that will be 18, 15 and 13 at the time of the cruise. Our oldest is Cognitively Impaired, has sensory issues, hyptonia, small for his age. (He's a little taller than my youngest son who is now 11(he is currently 17) but weighs about 20 lbs less at 71 lbs)

We have been on several cruises but never with the kids. I priced our cruises for Thanksgiving 2016 and was very excited - until I started thinking about day to day activities. At 18 years old my oldest is too old for any teen clubs or activities. So when my other two would be having fun in the clubs etc our oldest will have to be with us and we will have to entertain him. No finding a deck chair and having a drink and relaxing or reading. We will have to find fun things to do with him the entire time and there would be no time for ourselves unless we left all three kids in the cabin and went off on our own. I am not sure I'd even be comfortable pulling my younger ones from the clubs and allowing them to just wander around on their own either.

I have read on some places where 18 year olds were allowed in the teen/kid clubs but other posts that have said they were not allowed. Some have said if they have not graduated yet etc (My son will be a senior that year as we held him back in Pre-k Disabled for an extra year) For obvious reasons he cannot entertain himself and bringing a friend and allowing them go to off by themselves like you could with a neurotypical 18yo is also not an option

I am sad. We can always just go back to Disney but I wanted something different and special to celebrate our anniversary. The kids want to go on a cruise. We can afford to go on a cruise but when you start thinking about it - how much of a great vacation would it be for every single one of us?!?

Just wondering if anybody else has had a similar situation or has other ideas that maybe I am not thinking of.

 

[gap2368]

I do not know if you could have an older helper like some one in college that is doing a degree in syc. or something similar go with you. It would coast more but you could just say you would pay 75% of the cruse and that the parosn would have to be with your son for X amount of time while at sea and things like that. also have you tried to call the cruse line and ask if your son would be able to use the teen room since he has disabilities

 

[lanejudy]

Unfortunately for your situation, DCL is VERY strict on the upper age limits at the kids clubs. At 18 yrs old, your son is considered an adult and will not be allowed into the kids space on a regular basis. However, he is allowed into any of the kids clubs (any age space) when it is designated "open house" times -- and those typically occur for at least one hour per day in each space. Depending on his interest, and maybe his brothers' interest/ability to accompany him, he could do an hour at Vibe with your 15 yr old, and another hour at Edge with your 13 yr old. Or all 3 boys could be together during those "open house" times. He can even attend "open house" at the Club/Lab if those activities are of more interest to him.

I'll also point out that at your sons' ages (all of them), they won't be signed-in to "secure" programming. Some of the Edge and Vibe activities actually occur outside the actual boundaries of the designated space (Edge/Vibe). So they are likely to spend some time "out and about" with the friends they make during the cruise. Just wanted to prepare you for that since you've indicated you wouldn't be comfortable with the younger ones "wandering" the ship on their own.

There are many activities for all ages that are not part of the kids' programming as well. Maybe your boys could attend a movie together and give the parents a couple of free hours. Or the sports deck or arcade or another of the many programs offered onboard. I suggest you check out the Navigators on the DisneyCruiseLineBlog to see the types of activities and if there might be things your sons could do together outside of the designated Edge/Vibe programming. And you may decide to spend some family time on port excursions as well. Assuming your younger sons are willing to spend a little time with their brother -- and I don't mean to imply dumping fulltime babysitting duties on them -- I do think there are plenty of activities for a 13 yr old, 15 yr old, and 18 yr old to do together for a couple of hours.

Happy anniversary and enjoy your cruise!