Has anyone been on a cruise with their disabled child?

[samkj]

We are looking at a cruise next year (not Disney because that costs much, much more) but we are unsure what facilities they have for severely handicap children. She would probably have a great time just hanging out in the kids room(she is 8, and her sister and brother, 7 and 5 would also be in the kids room), but I wasn't sure if the staff would be comfortable with that, if she doesn't have someone with her. I may look into convincing my mom to come so DH and I can have some time together, but she took the same cruise we are looking at last November, so I'm not sure that will happen. I have an email out right now to a travel agent that specializes in accessible travel, but I would appreciate any tips you have.

Amy

 

[Michigan]

We cruise all the time I have 2 physically disabled daughters they both have spina bifida and use wheelchairs. The only bad thing about cruising is if you need a wheelchair accessible cabin they mostly only have 2 beds so I have to have my father travel with us so he can stay in one cabin with one of the girls. We sail on Princess and the kids programs have been great for them.

We are going on another cruise on February 25th

Not that we're excited or anything

 

[samkj]

My parents go on Princess cruises all the time! I was looking at Royal Carribean because of price, but Princess has the same itineray cruise, so we can go with that one instead.

 

[Michigan]

Do you need a wheelchair accessible cabin?

 

[samkj]

I don't think so, but a bathtub would be nice. Macy is in a wheelchair, however since she can't move the chair on her own, plus she's in a small pediatric chair I *think* a regular cabin would be ok.

I do need a refrigerator for her special diet and access to a microwave for heating her food. My parents said Princess does have refrigerators in their cabins. RC only has them in their large suites.

 

[Michigan]

You would need a wheelchair accessible cabins because the doors are only 25 inches wide.

Where do you want to sail to?

Cindy

 

[samkj]

Her chair is only 20 inches at the widest point, so it would be a tight squeeze, but managable(I think???). The cruise is out of Los Angeles to Mexico, in Feb 2007.

 

[Michigan]

You might be able to do it with 2 mini suites and have some of the kids in your parents mini suite. Or there is the family suit that sleeps 8 but you pay full fare for the first 5 that has 2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms and a living room.

 

[samkj]

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[michelle9343]

samkj
We went on the Wonder in Nov . It was a MAW trip. I was not able to leave my DD in the kids club because she needs 1on1 . It was a wonderful trip we will be going on the Magic this Nov9(that tells you how GREAT it was). We do not have anyone to babysit for us while at home , so we are really use to having our DD with us all of the time. My DH and I took turns watching her if we wanted to do an Adult only thing. The ship has so many activities to do has a family our 10 yr old enjoyed spending the time with us instead of the clubs. We did have a handicap room but will be staying in a regular room this trip. Only Cat 6 handi rooms will accom. a family of 4. So we will transfer our DD out of her chair before we enter the room. On the Bahamas it was really hard to get around with her chair. We would skip that port next time. CC was wonderful. We brought her chair and had no problem. The walking paths bring you pretty close to the water. We did the sting ray encounter and my DD loved it.Any question just ask or PM me.

 

[Tracyee]

I have a severely disabled son and we cruised Carnival with him. CArnival was great. They had no problems with him attending the kids club, which he did with his then 4 year old sister. My son was almost 6 at the time. They give parents a pager and will page you with any issues. We were paged only once and by the time we made it back to the kids club, the staff had figured out that he was whining becase he had a dirty diaper and they had changed him and he was fine. Now, we timed his visits so that we took care of his feedings (via tube) and used the center mostly in the evenings so mom and dad could do the adult shows, dancing , casino, etc... We also never left either child on the ship while in port. My son, loved the cruise and just smiled and laughed whenever we were on deck or in the dining room.

Now having cruised without the kids on Royal Caribbean and having researched them so far as to talk to the child care director, Royal Carribean will not allow your child to go into the kids program if they are wearing diapers. Period. It doesn't matter if you don't want them to change her diaper, she just isn't permitted to go. It also won't matter if you have an aide for your child with them. No diapers, period.

Having learned that Princess will accept the kids better, I will be looking into that line as well.

If you need anymore information, please let me know.

 

[samkj]

Thank you Tracy! I will definitely stay away from RC due to the diaper issue! I would never expect them to change my daughter, but she still needs diapers. Carnival and Princess both have cruises departing around the same day, so I will go with one of those.

 

[loadsapixiedust]

We cruised a few years ago now with P&O and they were just great with our severely disabled wheelchair using DS. We were able to leave him with the childrens club staff and they looked after him really well, including him in all the activities and even creating a special part for him in the last night show they put on for the parents.

He had a fantastic time and we were able to really relax on holiday for the first time in years and enjoy some quality time together as a couple. There was the option for kids to eat earlier then stay in the kids clubroom while the grown-ups dined.

We managed fine in a regular stateroom with a double bed and a sofa bed, we had plenty of room in the day with the sofa folded, not so much at night with the bed out. We were out of our cabin a lot anyway.

Go ahead and enjoy the cruise experience, it was one of the most kid friendly holidays we had, next to WDW of course.

 

[dclfun]

Which cruiseline is P&O? I know there are reviews of cruiselines as far as w/c accessiblity goes and for adults, but I haven't read much about the kids clubs and special needs children/inclusion, etc. As this is such an important issue for the whole family, it would be nice to know.---Kathy

 

[loadsapixiedust]

P&O are a cruise company based in the UK, sister company to Princess, I believe.

 

[samkj]

I know there are reviews of cruiselines as far as w/c accessiblity goes and for adults, but I haven't read much about the kids clubs and special needs children/inclusion, etc. As this is such an important issue for the whole family, it would be nice to know.---Kathy

Kathy thats why I enrolled in a travel program, so I can specialize in travel for families with disabled children. Planning a vacation is hard enough without having to worry about whether your child will be able to participate in everything or not.

Thanks again everyone for your responses. We'll most likely be going with Princess cruises, for our trip.