DCL w/ Autism

[pilgrimr]

We have a son w/ autism and we recently went on a cruise w/ Disney. It was unexpected trip as we got a great deal on it. My wife works for travel industry so we found out about it on Thursday and left on Saturday for a 7 day cruise. Our son is 7 years old and is on the mild to moderate autism spectrum. He is also very limited in in verbal skills. I wanted to share some thoughts on the cruise and our experience.

We had been to WDW & DL many times so there was some ideas of what to expect. DW and I had also been on cruises before but never a DCL. We wanted to go for a long time and for research for our website.

First we had brought his little toys to play with for the airplane flight and the transportation to the port. The TV on the bus w/ the show about the cruise ship was also helpful. Getting on the ship was nice. We did not have to wait that long, but we got there around 2 and they were already boarding people.

The first thing we did was take him the the kids clubs. The Oceaneer club was open for registration and we talked to them about him and sister (who was 5). There are three different clubs for the kids. Normally my son and daughter would have been in two different clubs because of age, but they put it in the records that they could stay together. Now they did move the kids around the two different club based on the activities they had. The counselors at the clubs were very helpful and accommodating to our son. It turned out that he did not like the Lab so they allowed him to stay in the club for the most part. The manager even talked to us about what they could do to help him. He liked the club so much that club was one of the words he learned and would say. Now the club could get busy but it would fluctuate. On port days the were hardly anyone, were on sea days it was busy.

Another thing that I was really impressed with was the emergency drill that they have before they leave the port. We were concerned because we have done them on other ships and they can be long and crowded. We talked to the staff and they said that someone from the room will need to go, but they will also have info on the TV about it. We decided to just take them. It was really quick. It was the fastest drill we have ever been on. They do ask what room you are from to mark you off.

I have other thoughts that I will share later. I hope this is alright. Just wanted to share what we learned and hope that this will help someone wanting to go on a cruise.

 

[pilgrimr]

Continuation from earlier post.

Our son could not sit in the main theater or the smaller one that had the movies. For some of the major shows that they had on at night, they had it on the TV in the stateroom. This was nice for mom and dad so they can see and our son could entertain himself.

One major problem we had was at dinning. The first couple of nights was hard for him in the dinning room. A couple of dinning rooms were also very loud that did not help. We had asked for a place w/ a quieter area, but none was available. The staff was very helpful. What did help us was that we told them that the service needed to a little quicker. Mainly, when he was done, we needed to be done. The dinning staff was very accommodating. When it got close to the end and we had to go, they would box up the food for us. Had we booked long before, we would had requested a quieter area.

The ship staff was very helpful and accommodating when we asked for help.

They do have a lot of characters on board to meet. They post the time and places. For the popular ones try and get their a little bit early to beat the crowd.

The cruise was very nice and again the staff was unbelievable helpful. I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions just let me know.

 

[Blanche_Neige]

Thank you so much for posting this. We have booked a cruise for march 2011 on the Dream our first one.

I too had concerns regarding the drill. I often use videos of ride or various situation to prepar the kids before we do things but I was inable to find one regarding the DCL drill.


I'm also happy to hear that the CM at the clubs are great with our little ASD angels. Disney is really great for that, we have always been welcome and accepted it made our family feel "normal"... It is our happy place

 

[melissa37]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2011. My DS (8) sounds very similar to your son. I have been looking at a group called Autism on the Seas who work with several cruise lines including Disney.

I posted over on the Cruise forum and so far have hear some positive reviews on the services they provide.

Has anyone here worked with them?

 

[JACH1976]

Thanks for the report! We're booked on our first cruise in Aug/2011 on the Dream with DD(who will be 3) and DS (who will be 6, mild ASD) and are very excited/nervous. I've been wondering about the kids club and mealtimes (actually, wouldn't it be great to sit with another ASD family?)... With regards to the movies and the shows, do you think that noise-blocking headphones would help? We used them a couple of times during our last trip to WDW, and they seemed to help...

 

[Kay1]

Thanks for sharing your experience!

I am thinking about booking a cruise for 2011. My DS (8) sounds very similar to your son. I have been looking at a group called Autism on the Seas who work with several cruise lines including Disney.

I posted over on the Cruise forum and so far have hear some positive reviews on the services they provide.

Has anyone here worked with them?

No, but I've heard positive things and when I e-mailed them with specific questions, I received a prompt and friendly reply.

 

[khomer504]

Thanks so much for this report. We are cruising in October (just a 3 night) with our ASD son who will be 5... I'm very hopeful that he will do well in the kids clubs at least for short periods of time.