dcl with disabilities?

[nancycels]

anyone here mentally disabled and been on a disney cruise? was wondering if there's
any particular assistance, or if it is not doable. dd and her fiance want to take a cruise
for their honeymoon, and while dd is used to flying and traveling to dis(and other places)
and handle money well, i'm a bit afraid of shore exscursions etc. any input wd be helpful!
i thought about trying to steer them to one of those all inclusive resorts, but this is what
they really want to do. thanks!! btw, she works, takes the bus/trolley/train, gets around
in philadelphia, and is pretty independent, but i wondered if there was anyone who wd
help them out if they had some questions when they were onboard. thanks all!

 

[mamajoan]

Wow Nancy this is a tough ? to answer. I have taken a 3 night cruise on the Magic. There are many castmates on the ship that would be available to answer your dd ?. There are also enough activities on the ship that they may not feel the need to do shore excursions. Nassau could be pretty scary. Castaway cay is fairly easy because the Magic is the only ship docked and the crew gives you several notices of its cast off time. Once they are aboard the ship, there is virtually no need for money except for alcoholic bev. and soda's in between meals.. Their meals are scheduled at rotating dining rooms. This all being said, only you really know your dd's ability to deal with new situations. You can always call DCL and ask lots of ??. IMHO, I don't know how much help they will be for you. They will be pleasant and will try hard, tho.
Congratulations and Best wishes on your dd marriage.
Joan

 

[teri]

I would definitely recommend contacting the DCL Medical Special Services Coordinator. I don't have the phone number, but the fax number is 407-566-7739. From what I have heard they are very can-do people there. Worth a shot!

 

[SueM in MN]

Good suggestions so far.
We haven't taken a cruise, but we have had a lot of foreign exchange students, so we have some experience with putting people into unfamiliar situations. Coming to a new place (even if they speak your language there) can be very disorienting. Keep in mind also that if they go on shore excursions, they are in a foreign country. If they have any problems on the shore, like not making it back to their ship in time to leave, they probably won't have a lot of avenues for help. The group excursions might work out really well though.
I'm pretty sure that they would do fine on the ship part of the tour, but I'd be concerned about the shore trips.
I hope everything works out for your DD since it sounds like this is her dream.

 

[nancycels]

i appreciate all the input... my dd is pretty independent(for instance she's away skiing w/girlfriends this weeked in the poconos) but not sure how her fiance wd make out if they got
seperated once onshore. will contact the medical info people and may just take a dry run
cruise of my own first to see things firsthand. I know the dis people are always very
accomodating when we are in the parks, but have no experience w/the cruise line! i think u may be right about Nassau, and i wd think they'd want to do castaway anyway. dd's pretty good with handling $$ but not sure about her fiance... maybe the best thing to do is put her in
charge of their finances!! lol, hate to do that to her fiance, but its a long ways away if they
need bailing out! wd hate to see them get stranded anywhere! dd has plenty of cash, she's been working and saving for years and cd get herself home if she had to(at least i think she cd! lol) and once she got to the parks she and her sister always take off on their own there so that wd be fine.. may just have to get them to set some limits for safety reasons! face it, they don't want mom along on the same ship when they are honeymooning!!! any cabin suggestions for honeymooners(who may spend a bit more time in their rooms than the ordinary cruisers?) u've all been great! she has awhile yet till the wedding so i have lots of time to plan!

 

[mamajoan]

Nancy, I imagine you have checked out the cruise board here at the dis. Before I went on our cruise I was lurking there everyday. On board the ship your dd will not need cash. You get a "credit card" Key to the world card which handles all purchases on the ship and on Castaway Cay. We put all of ours on individual lanyards.On the day that they disembark they can either pay their tab in cash , or leave it on the credit card. Prior to leaving you can get a list of all the activities on board as well as excursions. You can make reservations for some of these prior to boarding. Also there are maps and diagrams of the ship so you can accustom them to the layout before they leave. That helped us alot, however we did get turned around often, yet there was ALWAYS a friendly Castmate available. As for honeymooner's, all the cabins are very nice. If you think they would enjoy having a veranda that is something special. Also there are "treats" that you can order to be delivered on the day they leave. I am sure that they will be recognized as honeymooners if you inform DCL when you make your reservations. Btw, there might be a video of the cruise available from travel agents, that would be something nice to check out. ....
As you can tell I loved the cruise Your dtr would be a person I would like to meet someday, she seems very interesting, independent and full of life.
Joan
Also I think the idea of a "dry run" for yourself is a FABULOUS idea

 

[Alaska]

We took the 4 day cruise in 1999. Although we spent a little time in Nassau, in retrospect we felt that it really was not necessary to leave the ship. There are plenty of activities onboard during the times that the ship is in port and it was difficult for us to get around in Nassau. Our ds is extremely physically disabled, but not cognitively impaired and is just a child, so I can't speak first hand about the specific concerns you have. However, I would agree with the others that shore excursions in foreign ports might not be the best idea. However, Castaway Cay is pretty well regulated by DCL and is beautiful. Lunch is served in Castaway Cay, so they would not need any money to eat. Castaway Cay is beautiful and the visit there is a very relaxing experience.

I think they would find enough to do on the ship to keep them from feeling like they have missed out if they do not get off the ship in Nassau. Perhaps under the circumstances you could convince DCL to make an acception and allow them to make reservations for Palo's and the Spa in advance for the day the ship is in Nassau. I would expect that the fuss that will be made over them as newlyweds would far outshine any shore excursion in Nassau.

Everyone, please know that I am not knocking Nassau. I am just saying that perhaps in situations such as this and our situation with a child who is very physically disabled it may not be the best choice and there are plenty of fun activities onboard the ship while it is in port in Nassau. In fact, there is not enough time to take part in all the fun activities available.

 

[nancycels]

appreciate everyone's input!!