Cruising with Service Dog and Special Needs Child

[Lilbunnyk]

Thank you for sharing your experiences of cruising with a service dog. I am a puppy raiser and currently raising a lab/golden mix to become a service dog through Canine Companions for Independence. I have a cruise planned in October but unfortanetley puppies in training are not allowed on Disney Cruise line so I can't bring him. I am however planning on taking him to Disneyland soon so he can get used to the rides and characters. I hope my dog will go to a great home like yours when he is done with his training.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Thankfully there are laws and policies that allow inclusion of all people, not just the people you (or others) think should be included. It's so easy for someone who has no experience with someone who is disabled to pass judgement.

Also, given vast experience in many emergency situations, I can assure you I have seen many average adults hitting, kicking AND yes biting to get to "safety". Having a disability should NEVER be a reason for exclusion.

To the OP, thank you for sharing your experience and don't be discouraged for sharing more.

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

 

[bumbershoot]

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

I'm actually not sure how you are reading it.

When they cruised before they were still in a bit of denial about his diagnosis. I don't think they even thought of earplugs. I do because of a Disneyland experience with my basically typical kid who was just totally overwhelmed one evening by the ambient sounds, and I had my sleep earplugs with me. Next time we all cruise together I'm going to have some fresh ones with me before the muster drill. Covering ears only helps so much!

I think the OP's little guy is still young and small. My cousin is older but all of these experiences help him for the future. He has made laps and bounds more recently. As I mentioned for our situation, the positive side of muster is that it is practice. Good experience just in case there's a non-drill reason for the sounds and strobes.

I would assume that people who would truly not be able to help control their loved ones in an emergency situation are going to self-select out of cruising. I don't think that anyone else has to wonder about the what ifs for other families.

 

[bumbershoot]

Leaps and bounds, not "laps". . I don't want to edit because on a mobile it erases paragraphs and I don't feel like editing that much lol.

 

[pjstevens]

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.

I just want to thank you for taking the time to write about your experience and sharing with others. I appreciate you sharing how things went with your service dog and your child. I love that these animals can help people with so many different disabilities. I certainly hope your trip was magical (minus the paperwork issue but glad to point out to always have extra copies).

 

[DisneyKarenCruiser]

Well thank you for your comments.

Karen

 

[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!

Saying someone can stand through a drill without talking but might kick or hit someone during a real evacuation is a lot different to a child that HAS kicked, thrashed about and disrupted the drill.
How is that fair on him to put that though it?
How is that fair to others around him?
Given his response to the overwhelming noise, lights and crowding, how is it responsible to put him in that situation where he could harm himself, his carers or others?
I'm fully supportive of the rights of disabled people to have full unrestricted access and reasonable accommodation to what abled body people can, as long as they do not pose any additional threat, danger or unreasonable decrement to the enjoyment of others.

Karen

Knowing what that persons triggers or alarms are is key and knowing how they will react is key.
Exposing them to them afterwards is not only risking everyone else's safety, but selfish of the OP.
Seeing him react like that should have been their trigger to say no he cannot cope, we need to leave the cruise.

 

[Disney_Princess83]

Exposing them to them afterwards is not only risking everyone else's safety, but selfish of the OP.
Seeing him react like that should have been their trigger to say no he cannot cope, we need to leave the cruise.

You're suggesting a parent taking their son on a Disney Cruise is selfish? Clearly you have no understanding of someone who is disabled of their family. I'm so pleased there are policies and laws in place to protect these people from people who share your beliefs.

 

[alaskanabbott]

I have 6 kids, one with special needs. (That's him in the wheelchair in my profile pic). I think the OP is offering some good advice here for people cruising with a guide dog. I'm a bit more concerned that the guide dog isn't ready to cruise than the child. He shouldn't be barking at characters or startled easily by them, but that's not my worry. Parents of special needs children try our best for them to live a life and enjoy the things that other children get to enjoy. I'm not sure Karen is opposed to that. I know there are many situations my son would love to be in, that are impossible because it would either be dangerous for him or others. I am hoping and it seems, this mother knows herself and her son well enough not to put him in that type of situation. Yes there are laws for inclusion, and I appreciate those laws, but sometimes us parents of special kids can get a bit entitled, and not realize it. Case in point, WDW. Can my son wait in line like everyone else? I guess, it is harder, and we may or may not actually make it the whole wait, but he technically could. Do we get a GAC card so it's easier? Heck yes!
I think DCL may not have seemed as easy as Carnival for the muster drill? Sounds easier, but in an emergency wouldn't you rather be prepared for how your child would actually behave? Now the OP knows, and I'm not sure his kicking and screaming will be hard for anyone else in an actual emergency but her, and she thinks it's fine.

 

[lanejudy]

Again, let's bring this thread back around to the original topic -- helpful information about cruising with a service dog and a special needs child. Please, no more debate about disability rights and the parents' decision to cruise.

 

[jjgarv]

I have 6 kids, one with special needs. (That's him in the wheelchair in my profile pic). I think the OP is offering some good advice here for people cruising with a guide dog. I'm a bit more concerned that the guide dog isn't ready to cruise than the child. He shouldn't be barking at characters or startled easily by them, but that's not my worry. Parents of special needs children try our best for them to live a life and enjoy the things that other children get to enjoy. I'm not sure Karen is opposed to that. I know there are many situations my son would love to be in, that are impossible because it would either be dangerous for him or others. I am hoping and it seems, this mother knows herself and her son well enough not to put him in that type of situation. Yes there are laws for inclusion, and I appreciate those laws, but sometimes us parents of special kids can get a bit entitled, and not realize it. Case in point, WDW. Can my son wait in line like everyone else? I guess, it is harder, and we may or may not actually make it the whole wait, but he technically could. Do we get a GAC card so it's easier? Heck yes!
I think DCL may not have seemed as easy as Carnival for the muster drill? Sounds easier, but in an emergency wouldn't you rather be prepared for how your child would actually behave? Now the OP knows, and I'm not sure his kicking and screaming will be hard for anyone else in an actual emergency but her, and she thinks it's fine.

Your insight and honesty is refreshing! Thank you for a 'balanced' perspective!

 

[Dawg91]

I have 6 kids, one with special needs. (That's him in the wheelchair in my profile pic). I think the OP is offering some good advice here for people cruising with a guide dog. I'm a bit more concerned that the guide dog isn't ready to cruise than the child. He shouldn't be barking at characters or startled easily by them, but that's not my worry. Parents of special needs children try our best for them to live a life and enjoy the things that other children get to enjoy. I'm not sure Karen is opposed to that. I know there are many situations my son would love to be in, that are impossible because it would either be dangerous for him or others. I am hoping and it seems, this mother knows herself and her son well enough not to put him in that type of situation. Yes there are laws for inclusion, and I appreciate those laws, but sometimes us parents of special kids can get a bit entitled, and not realize it. Case in point, WDW. Can my son wait in line like everyone else? I guess, it is harder, and we may or may not actually make it the whole wait, but he technically could. Do we get a GAC card so it's easier? Heck yes! I think DCL may not have seemed as easy as Carnival for the muster drill? Sounds easier, but in an emergency wouldn't you rather be prepared for how your child would actually behave? Now the OP knows, and I'm not sure his kicking and screaming will be hard for anyone else in an actual emergency but her, and she thinks it's fine.

Possibly the dog is a service dog to alert to seizures. I don't know if a dog trained for that type of service would be as stoic when startled as the typical guide dog assisting vision impaired as "guide dog" implies. Interestingly, a wheelchair cruiser who has a service dog for physical assistance has posted quite a bit of information here including videos of his dog "off duty" playing with Pluto.

I hope the OP is not discouraged by the debate and continues with her posting!!

 

[TAK]

I hope no one is discouraged by the debate. I have no stake in this topic and no real opinion or experience with the matters at hand, but it's been an informative and interesting discussion, imho. But that's just my philosophy in general -- not specific to this topic -- there are always dissenting opinions, but as long as they're respectfully stated, personally, I think everyone benefits from hearing them. YMMV.