Cruising with Service Dog and Special Needs Child

[denas]

Hey everyone. We recently sailed our third Disney Cruise on the Dream, August 17, 4 night to Bahamas. We are a military family and were able to take advantage of the great military rates offered. We had booked 2 connecting verandah rooms on Deck 9. I wanted to post about our experience because a lot of the questions I had weren’t answered here.

There is a forum on cruising with a service dog on cruise critic that has tons of information, but only one poster with DCL experience and he doesn’t have a child in the kids programs. I figured my experiences would be helpful to other cruisers with special needs children, service dogs, or both!!

We did not have a handicap accessible room (but wish we had been able to get one – more on that later).

We are a family of 5. DH and I and three children Luke (12), Annemarie (8) and Jake (4). Jake has a seizure disorder, autism spectrum diagnosis, developmental delay/cognitive disability, and mobility issues. This was our first time sailing with Jake’s Service Dog, Blink. We sailed when Jake was about 10 months before he started having seizures on DCL. We sailed last year on Carnival and brought along a nanny to help us with Jake. So this was a first for us with Jake’s current diagnosis and no additional adult help!

Jake can walk, but can’t do stairs and has poor strength, coordination and endurance so we have a Swifty Push Chair that we use with him. For those not familiar, it looks like a giant stroller, but it has more orthopedic support and is designed for elementary aged children. It comes through a medical supply company with a prescription.

We were late seating. We have sailed twice before, each time when our older children were 4. We had main seating but found that the shows were so late that our kids fell asleep. Because it is summer vacation and our older kids are used to eating a little later, Jake has a feeding tube and doesn’t eat much anyway, and we really wanted to enjoy the shows we opted for the late seating. It worked great for the older kids – really liked the dine-and-play. Jake had problems, but we later realized it was related to the lights. Once we put his sunshade on his chair, he slept during dinner allowing us to enjoy it. I liked late seating and would do it again next time!! We required our kids to go with us to the shows or another family activity, stay until 9:15 and then we didn’t see them again until later.

We didn’t have any food allergies or issues to deal with. We bring food for Jake everywhere we go anyway since there is very little he will eat and we have one medication we can’t give through the feeding tube and have to give with food. Can’t provide any help to anyone regarding food sensitivities/intolerance/allergies or special diets!!

 

[denas]

Some General Comments:

Expect some funny moments with the dog and the characters. Blink was not at all sure about Mickey and Minnie, but after a couple of days had them down pat. She barked at Goofy every time – mostly because the two time she saw him he came up from behind and it startled her. In the theater during the Golden Mickeys, there are monkey characters that come up in the aisles. We were in the back row in the lower section. Of course the “monkey” had no idea a dog was there and Blink was mostly asleep under a chair until the monkey came up behind “her boy”. She jumped up and probably scared the heck out of the “monkey”! She was pretty nervous too.

Even a small pushchair won’t fit through the cabin doors and the doors are HEAVY. It was a challenge to get Jake in, collapse the push chair and carry it in. And our Swifty chair is one of the lightest and most collapsible out there (although it still weighs about 30 pounds and has steel frame). If you have a heavier chair, you will need a handicap accessible room. We won’t sail again without a handicap accessible room.

They use strobe lights during the muster drill. Don’t remember noticing this before, but with a child with a seizure disorder, we definitely noticed as I was afraid it would trigger a seizure. Wait in your room until after the sirens have completed and the lights go off. Disney did not offer any alternative to the muster drill (Carnival let us sit in a quiet area away from the general chaos and had someone give our information to the muster person and made sure we know where to go). Jake was hysterical during the drill after the loud noises and strobe lights. DH walked out with him because no one around us could hear and he was kicking and thrashing so much and the area was so tight he was really disrupting everyone. A few minutes later a CM came and got the rest of the family and told us we were excused and helped us get an elevator ahead of the crush.

I am going to break this down a little and post topics to make it easier for someone doing a search to find the info! Please feel free to ask questions.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

You might also consider posting this info on the disABILITIES forum. Many people start there when looking for information.

 

[denas]

We drove down 2 days prior and stayed at the Hampton Inn. We usually stay at Marriott properties. I was glad that Hilton actually has a place to check that you will be bringing a service dog on the reservation request. I usually include it in the comments on Marriott. We didn't get any grief when checking into the hotel. While our dog is allowed everywhere, the only place we ever seem to have problems is at hotels. We completely avoid the smaller hotels/non-chains for this reason. We had a top floor room which had a great view and had been remodeled. Only issue was we were supposed to have 2 beds and a sleeper sofa but there was no sleeper sofa and the hotel claimed they were full when we went to the room and called down. They brought up a roll-away which didn't really fit in the room at all and we had to climb over it to get to the bathroom. We had chosen the Hampton Inn specifically because it had the two beds and the sleeper sofa so a little disappointed with them in this regard.

I have never stayed in Cocoa Beach before. It is not the most convenient place to find a restaurant to accommodate a family of 5 with one in a wheelchair and a dog – especially in the rain. The first night it poured and we drove around a while looking for a place that we could eat. We gave up and ended up back in the hotel with delivered pizza. The second night we headed to Grills which was much better. I think that there are more restaurant options closer to the port rather than the beach that are accommodating. I was trying to avoid eating at the same chains they have at home but if you are there longer, you might not have any choice!

Hampton Inn was a very short 100 yard walk down a private path to the beach with a man renting umbrellas at the end. Our son walked and was carried for most of the path. Don’t remember that it was particularly wheelchair friendly and obviously without a beach wheelchair the beach might not be doable depending upon your mobility. We brought a Grand Trunk Parasheet Beach Blanket with us for the beach and Castaway Cay. I would recommend this. It gave us a place to put both Blink and Jake out of the sand and it was cooler than the sand so more comfortable to lay on. It also packed up light and tiny. We needed shade so paid $16 for the umbrella. Worked out great. Faucets for rinsing feet and showers right inside the pool area on the walk back made clean-up easy.

 

[denas]

We had been in email and phone contact with Disney Special Services about our paperwork numerous times. I had even received both phone and email confirmation that Disney had all of our paperwork. I brought copies of everything for myself, but didn’t bring 2 copies. When we checked in, we were flagged because of the dog and a supervisor said we would need to be escorted on ship to turn in our paperwork. Not sure what happens to all of the paperwork you send in, because you need to give it to them again when you get to guest services. While we were given a boarding number, we were told we would need to wait and the supervisor would escort us on the ship and to guest services.

The supervisor did come and get us and it turned out to be great because she bypassed the line, taking us through the concierge entrance. She then took us to the front of the line, waited while we got our family photo, then right on the ship. And straight to guest services where she waited with us until she had verified we turned in our paperwork. I think if we hadn’t had a copy she would have politely escorted us right back off the ship!!!

I had only brought one copy for us as we had already sent everything in to Disney so was a little frustrated when they required me to hand in our only copy. We did get it back after Castaway Cay, but lesson learned, bring multiple copies of your paperwork!! Who knows what they do with the paperwork you send them.

 

[Dug720]

The "strobe light" during Muster is actually an alert light for guests who are hearing impaired.

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

Some General Comments:

Expect some funny moments with the dog and the characters. Blink was not at all sure about Mickey and Minnie, but after a couple of days had them down pat. She barked at Goofy every time – mostly because the two time she saw him he came up from behind and it startled her. In the theater during the Golden Mickeys, there are monkey characters that come up in the aisles. We were in the back row in the lower section. Of course the “monkey” had no idea a dog was there and Blink was mostly asleep under a chair until the monkey came up behind “her boy”. She jumped up and probably scared the heck out of the “monkey”! She was pretty nervous too.

Even a small pushchair won’t fit through the cabin doors and the doors are HEAVY. It was a challenge to get Jake in, collapse the push chair and carry it in. And our Swifty chair is one of the lightest and most collapsible out there (although it still weighs about 30 pounds and has steel frame). If you have a heavier chair, you will need a handicap accessible room. We won’t sail again without a handicap accessible room.

They use strobe lights during the muster drill. Don’t remember noticing this before, but with a child with a seizure disorder, we definitely noticed as I was afraid it would trigger a seizure. Wait in your room until after the sirens have completed and the lights go off. Disney did not offer any alternative to the muster drill (Carnival let us sit in a quiet area away from the general chaos and had someone give our information to the muster person and made sure we know where to go). Jake was hysterical during the drill after the loud noises and strobe lights. DH walked out with him because no one around us could hear and he was kicking and thrashing so much and the area was so tight he was really disrupting everyone. A few minutes later a CM came and got the rest of the family and told us we were excused and helped us get an elevator ahead of the crush.

I am going to break this down a little and post topics to make it easier for someone doing a search to find the info! Please feel free to ask questions.

The strobe lights are not at a frequency that can cause an epileptic fit for those that that photo sensitive epilepsy so no need to worry about them!
The sirens are necessary for all pax onboard to hear so I'm not sure what they could have done to prevent Jake from hearing them thou?
It does sound like Carnival handled Jakes situation better than the disney cruise, have you sent them feedback?

Karen

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you very much for this thread and sharing your experiences!

The strobes -- as PP mentions, they are not at a frequency that is typically associated with seizures. Not to say it can't happen, but unlikely.

Next time, could he wear Peltor ear muffs to dampen or block out the noise?

Paperwork...I'm not sure, but it likely was shared with the various ports of call. Why DCL didn't have a copy, I can't say, as they would not have allowed you onboard -- even with paperwork -- if they didn't already have your reservation flagged for the service dog and having received the necessary documents. One can't simply show up for a cruise with a dog and turn in papers. It probably just made their situation easier for you to share your copy -- but I would have insisted on them making a photocopy at the time I handed it over. Glad it worked out!

Again, thanks for sharing!

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

Thank you very much for this thread and sharing your experiences!

The strobes -- as PP mentions, they are not at a frequency that is typically associated with seizures. Not to say it can't happen, but unlikely.

Next time, could he wear Peltor ear muffs to dampen or block out the noise?

Paperwork...I'm not sure, but it likely was shared with the various ports of call. Why DCL didn't have a copy, I can't say, as they would not have allowed you onboard -- even with paperwork -- if they didn't already have your reservation flagged for the service dog and having received the necessary documents. One can't simply show up for a cruise with a dog and turn in papers. It probably just made their situation easier for you to share your copy -- but I would have insisted on them making a photocopy at the time I handed it over. Glad it worked out!

Again, thanks for sharing!

As above!
If he is not comfortable wearing ear muffs, what about just soft ear plugs?

Karen

 

[bumbershoot]

The siren sounds are so hard for people with sensitivities. My little cousin has autism and it nearly sent him under the bed it was just soooo loud. His parents did warn him because they had cruised before but I sure wished he had had earplugs to put in before. Of course it is good practice for the "just in case" scenario, so hopefully the people who are bothered can get a little practice. OP the info you are giving is SO great, thank you.

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

The siren sounds are so hard for people with sensitivities. My little cousin has autism and it nearly sent him under the bed it was just soooo loud. His parents did warn him because they had cruised before but I sure wished he had had earplugs to put in before. Of course it is good practice for the "just in case" scenario, so hopefully the people who are bothered can get a little practice. OP the info you are giving is SO great, thank you.

bumbershoot,

please forgive me if I've read your post wrong! hugs!

If his parents had cruised before, even covering or putting your fingers in your ears will muffle the sound a lot?

One thing I will say is that got forbid that the worst should happen, like when the Magic had the funnel fire.
Are those of us that care for others able to cope with such a situation where someone is hysterical, thrashing around and kicking if they needed to be put into a life boat?
Those boats sure are cramed enclosed places!!
How would you deal with that situation?

There can be many flashing lights, loud noises on any ship in any space at any time.
Is an severely autistic child suited to cruising and the inherent risks involved with doing so?

Karen

 

[lanejudy]

I believe whether ANY individual is "suited to cruising" -- or many other types of vacations -- is really a very personalized and individual decision. One that does not necessary require a specific diagnosis.

Do I believe a person on the ASD spectrum can cruise? Absolutely. Do I believe every person on the ASD spectrum can cruise? Probably not, but that sentiment is not limited to any specific developmental diagnosis, rather is it how that individual can/will function in the cruising environment -- on the water, away from home, need for medications and/or medical care, etc.

I'm sure the parents in the above situation were well aware of their child's triggers and reactions, and did their best to instruct the child how to cope with a new, different, challenging situation. I'm certain such parents would never intentionally put their child into a situation that would be life-threatening, to the child or others, in the event of worst-case-scenarios. People who live with and deal with developmental delays on a daily basis are very much aware of the extra planning and teaching of coping mechanisms needed, and often spend months preparing themselves and the child for vacations.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

I'm sure the parents in the above situation were well aware of their child's triggers and reactions, and did their best to instruct the child how to cope with a new, different, challenging situation. I'm certain such parents would never intentionally put their child into a situation that would be life-threatening, to the child or others, in the event of worst-case-scenarios. People who live with and deal with developmental delays on a daily basis are very much aware of the extra planning and teaching of coping mechanisms needed, and often spend months preparing themselves and the child for vacations.

Enjoy your cruise!

However:

Jake was hysterical during the drill after the loud noises and strobe lights. DH walked out with him because no one around us could hear and he was kicking and thrashing so much and the area was so tight he was really disrupting everyone.

Sure doesn't sound like he is able to cope with being evacuated from a ship in the worst case scenario with out harming others or himself to me?

Karen

 

[CEGrant]

I just wanted to say, hats off to everyone who cruises under these circumstances. You truly are hero parents!

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

There does have to be a point where the welfare of others becomes more important than the enjoyment of the very few.
In these days of ADA "requirements" to respect every single thing someone can, cannot do, eat or not eat, see or not see, need to be curbed IMO.

The general population SHOULD and HAVE to respect the needs of others, adapt reasonably, and accommodate. That is just common sense and human.

When putting someone who could quite easily harm or endanger someone else just because of their disability comes in to play, sorry, as a nurse we can take extra precautions for unpredictable patients.
On a cruise ship in an evacuation, who is going to stop him hitting, kicking, biting someone else even before getting on the life boat?
If a child cannot cope with the before, during and after of the drill, then they should not sail IMO as they would be a danger to other PAX if the worst did happen.

Karen

 

[lanejudy]

OP has shared some very useful information, some of which I do not recall being covered here before. Let's not turn this thread into a parent-bashing, judgement of those whose abilities or disabilities we have no personal knowledge or experience. I for one am grateful the OP has made the effort to share her family's experiences and lessons learned. Please don't discourage others from sharing their own insightful information that might help another family prepare for, or decide whether to take, a cruise on DCL.

None of us is perfect. No one can absolutely plan and prepare for every situation we encounter in life, no matter how hard we may try.

 

[Twin Cruisers]

I am sorry but I have to say that I think that you are totally out of line Karen. Families that have children with disabilities should have just as much right to cruise as you and I do. There are many circumstances that can come into play in the event of a "real" emergency and how anyone reacts in those situations is very unpredictable. Just because someone can stand through a drill without interrupting others is no indication that the same person would not be pushing and shoving others out of the way while trying to save themselves if it was a real emergency. Emergencies don't always bring out the best in people and this is true for all, disability or not. I would like to think if a person with a disability needed help while boarding a lifeboat, wether they are upset or not, there would be people there to help them and their family, just as they would for a distraught man or women without a disability.

OP...THANK YOU for this fabulous information. I hope you had a great trip!

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

I am sorry but I have to say that I think that you are totally out of line Karen. Families that have children with disabilities should have just as much right to cruise as you and I do. There are many circumstances that can come into play in the event of a "real" emergency and how anyone reacts in those situations is very unpredictable. Just because someone can stand through a drill without interrupting others is no indication that the same person would not be pushing and shoving others out of the way while trying to save themselves if it was a real emergency. Emergencies don't always bring out the best in people and this is true for all, disability or not. I would like to think if a person with a disability needed help while boarding a lifeboat, wether they are upset or not, there would be people there to help them and their family, just as they would for a distraught man or women without a disability.

OP...THANK YOU for this fabulous information. I hope you had a great trip!

Have you been assaulted by someone who didn't know better or could not cope with the situation Twin Cruisers?

I have NOT said that families with disabilities should not cruise, I SAID families with members that cannot reasonably cope with an evacuation drill without having and extreme reaction will most likely not cope with a real life evacuation very well and could harm others.

Please do not twist my words or comments to suit your POV and make me seem bad.

How anyone of us may act in a real life evacuation is subject to opinion, but if someone is know to act in a certain way given certain conditions that trigger reactions, then maybe that is not the right place to put them in?

Karen

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

How about someone that posts that their son or daughter has not patience for lines. They get agitated, angry, tend to lash out hit and push or shove others around them because they do not understand waiting?

Karen

 

[CEGrant]

I am sorry but I have to say that I think that you are totally out of line Karen. Families that have children with disabilities should have just as much right to cruise as you and I do. There are many circumstances that can come into play in the event of a "real" emergency and how anyone reacts in those situations is very unpredictable. Just because someone can stand through a drill without interrupting others is no indication that the same person would not be pushing and shoving others out of the way while trying to save themselves if it was a real emergency. Emergencies don't always bring out the best in people and this is true for all, disability or not. I would like to think if a person with a disability needed help while boarding a lifeboat, wether they are upset or not, there would be people there to help them and their family, just as they would for a distraught man or women without a disability.

OP...THANK YOU for this fabulous information. I hope you had a great trip!

I agree 100%