Deaf Child on dcl

[scottishwee35]

Hi

We are going to Florida next year April and we booked 3 days disney wonder cruise on 6th April 06.

I wonder if anybody who have deaf children had been disney cruise? Did they enjoyed themselves?

As my daughter is 6 years old and have an cochlear implant. And I am thinking to put her in club and hopeful she will enjoy herself as she always mixed with hearing childrenand she love share with children. She is at primary one now and doing very well.

Can anyone tell me about deaf children on the cruise?

Thanks

Scottishwee35
Deborah Preston

 

[Talking Hands]

Hi

We are going to Florida next year April and we booked 3 days disney wonder cruise on 6th April 06.

I wonder if anybody who have deaf children had been disney cruise? Did they enjoyed themselves?

As my daughter is 6 years old and have an cochlear implant. And I am thinking to put her in club and hopeful she will enjoy herself as she always mixed with hearing childrenand she love share with children. She is at primary one now and doing very well.

Can anyone tell me about deaf children on the cruise?

Thanks

Scottishwee35
Deborah Preston

Although I haven't seen them I know from talking to some of the interpreters that they do cruise and apparently have fun. Since your daughter likes to mix with hearing kids she should have no problems. If she understands sign you might want to request interpters for the shows. It is ASL though not BSL but is very gestural.
Also in the parks they have ALD's specifically for those with cochlear implants so you might inquire if they are availableforthe shows and movies on board.

 

[JBirling]

Hello,

I know this was a very old thread, but I wanted to share my recent experience sailing with my 6 year old profoundly Deaf kiddo who only uses ASL for communications. We sailed on the Fantasy in January, 2017. We booked through Small World vacations several months in advance and requested interpreters right away. I also called DCL and confirmed independently that interpreters were scheduled for our cruise. When we arrived, there were two interpreters assigned on the ship, one male and one female. Aside from my family, there was one other family who needed their services as well. We met the interpreters on the first day during the emergency drill. The other family and mine were both scheduled for the early dinning which means the later showing would be interpreted. I am unsure if this is flexible or not. During dinner, the interpreters would sit at a table near ours in case there was any communication issues between the Deaf individual and the wait staff. They asked us ahead of time where our seat preference was for the nightly entertainment (we picked to the right and 2-3 rows back) and these seats were special reserved for us every night...which meant we didn't need to arrive 20-30 mins early to hold seats like everyone else did. We could coordinate through guest services each day after getting the Navigator which events we would like them to interpret for us. This included special events held in the kids club areas...they were not allowed to just be available in the kids club to help facilitate communication among staff or other kids and my daughter, but if...say, Peter Pan was leading a special something-or-other, they could interpret for that and then would have to leave when that event was over. Additionally, for the deck parties and Pirate Night, they interpreted those performances and had a large section in a very nice location all roped off for us to use. Very VIP.

Overall, we didn't use the interpreters for much outside of the nightly performances because it was hard for us to know ahead of time what exactly our young kiddos would want to do each day...but we were VERY pleased with the interpreters provided and the service and professionalism they had for our family.

 

[lanejudy]

@JBirling Thank you for sharing your recent experience! It should be helpful to others. Do you know if any of the CMs in the Club/Lab that cruise knew sign language? Sometimes one does, though I don't believe it's guaranteed.

I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

[JBirling]

There were a few people in the Club/Lab who were interested in learning ASL and had a few basic signs under their belt...but no one who was proficient in any way. My kiddo preferred to spend most of her time with us, anyways...maybe because of the language barrier...but most likely because in January where we are it has been non-stop rain all winter and we were in the Caribbean with the most perfect weather for non-stop swimming and playing in the reef...plus that detective agency. Man!