Help! Asperger 13 yr old & Internet

[Callalily6]

I booked a Disney Cruise for my 40th b day. It seemed like a good choice for my 5 yr old to my older teen (17), and aging parents. Basically, it looks like there's fun stuff for all of us, but I hit an unexpected snag...at least I think I did.

Long story short, my 13 yr old son has Aspergers. He uses gaming as a coping tool when he gets overloaded.

Example - we'd spend 1/2 a day at Magic Kingdom and then he'd unwind playing Rocket League, Minecraft, or ARK for an hour. Then, we'd go back out, and then again that night he'd unwind again for an hour or so. It's worked very well at Disney World.

I've never been on a cruise before. I thought we could buy internet packages and it looks like we can. The main question is - IS IT FAST ENOUGH TO GAME? And then all that stuff about PING? Not the Mulan version.

We are sailing on the Disney Wonder from Galveston in Jan. I purchased a 2-Bedroom Suite with Verandah. Not sure if having a suite helps or not so I mentioned it.

Any tips on Internet or traveling with Aspergers teens would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much!

 

[Aanna]

Hullo =)

Rocket League and Minecraft can both be played offline, too. In Rocket League you can still play seasons and exhibition matches. For Minecraft, he can still have his own worlds, just not visit other servers/realms. Not sure about ARK.

Would he be okay with that? He'd still have access to his comfort games, just not the interacting-with-others parts.

There are also oodles of no-internet-required games out there that you might introduce him to before the cruise. I'm sitting here quizzing the DH, but he'd need to know more about what your son likes to give recommendations.

 

[minorthr]

Since its satellite based I would say its not ideal for gaming but latency is the least of your problems as you'd burn through the data pretty fast was well. Minecraft you could probably play the other two I don't think would work very well over satellite internet.

 

[belac]

I believe the suites have internet packages included check with DCL on exactly what you suite includes.

 

[cmph]

I can't help with the internet speed issues on board, as we're just going on our first later this year, but I'm guessing you are going to Key West? We're on the Wonder out of Galveston over New Year's, so I'm assuming it's the same itinerary (could be wrong). You can work in a long gaming break there. Yup, this is something that's already occurred to me - the benefit of having a US port - so I figured I would point that out before you plan a lengthy excursion for that day. I know that doesn't help with your son's daily breaks though, so hopefully someone else has more answers for you.

 

[BigredNole]

Internet packages would cost a ton for gaming. The amount of graphics would be huge. I think you would chew through 1GB faster than you think. I would find offline games that can accommodate the need.

 

[Jennifer777]

I agree that the internet packages would cost you a fortune for gaming. My 13 year old has Aspergers and also uses gaming as a release. We did not let him play online though while we cruised. We prepared him for this ahead of time. He played offline. He did surprisingly well! He did require lots of quiet breaks and down time each day so we let him have an hour or two alone in the room when he got overwhelmed. He used the TV a lot and that almost seemed to replace his gaming down time while on the ship. I think the reason this worked for us was because we had time to prepare him to somewhat unplug for a week. If he hadn't been able to prepare himself for this and we boarded the ship only to find out the internet wasn't going to work for him he (and us) would have been miserable all week.

 

[undertheradar]

I booked a Disney Cruise for my 40th b day. It seemed like a good choice for my 5 yr old to my older teen (17), and aging parents. Basically, it looks like there's fun stuff for all of us, but I hit an unexpected snag...at least I think I did.

Long story short, my 13 yr old son has Aspergers. He uses gaming as a coping tool when he gets overloaded.

Example - we'd spend 1/2 a day at Magic Kingdom and then he'd unwind playing Rocket League, Minecraft, or ARK for an hour. Then, we'd go back out, and then again that night he'd unwind again for an hour or so. It's worked very well at Disney World.

I've never been on a cruise before. I thought we could buy internet packages and it looks like we can. The main question is - IS IT FAST ENOUGH TO GAME? And then all that stuff about PING? Not the Mulan version.

We are sailing on the Disney Wonder from Galveston in Jan. I purchased a 2-Bedroom Suite with Verandah. Not sure if having a suite helps or not so I mentioned it.

Any tips on Internet or traveling with Aspergers teens would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Since you are in a 2 bedroom suite, your internet will be included. Now as for the speed, I would look for alternative games. Ship's internet is very slow.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Since you are in a 2 bedroom suite, your internet will be included. Now as for the speed, I would look for alternative games. Ship's internet is very slow.

I thought concierge suites received a limited amount of internet included with the room, maybe 150MB?

 

[undertheradar]

I thought concierge suites received a limited amount of internet included with the room, maybe 150MB?

We were in a Royal on the Wonder last December and all of our internet charges were covered. The same would hold for a 2 bedroom. The 1 bedroom(Cat T) and Cat V receive a limited internet allowance.

 

[Bree]

I have cruised twice with my 13yo Aspie son when he was just shy of 11yo and again when he was 12yo. It is such a different ballgame than going to the parks and we find it a much more enjoyable experience. We cruised in regular verandah rooms so DS didn't have internet access for gaming. He played some offline games on his phone at times, but usually used the video game systems in Edge.

As for other tips.....

Since you are sailing concierge you will have a private lounge area before boarding. That will help tremendously because the port area can get crowded and loud.

Let him have down time in a quiet stateroom to recharge. Even though cruising for us is laid back experience my DS needs some alone time to decompress from being with other people and let his brain rest.

The dining rooms can be LOUD. I allow my DS to bring earbuds or even skip dinner and order room service to the room while he watches a movie. I feel because he has to "play the social game" so much at school, church, friends, family, etc. that he deserves some time to just turn himself off. If that means he doesn't eat dinner with me it is no big deal. We eat dinner as a family nearly every night at home LOL!!!

 

[hanscarlet]

My ASD DD is only 8 but what we have tried to do in the past is bring loaded apps and games that don't need the internet... it has gotten harder as she's grown older where the first few days she's really demanded youtube... eventually once we got her in her routine on the ship of no internet but just regular stored game apps she was fine. The ship is very different than the parks, so much to do but also so much ability to follow a routine... when we mixed our routine with enough activities and down time, the only time she'd play with her tablet was during down time in the stateroom and I let her use it at dinner because I don't want her flipping out and disturbing other passengers. Can you perhaps negotiate with your son about certain times during the day when he can play his games so as to make the internet package more affordable? I think you'll find he'll adjust to the routine of the ship pretty well.

 

[undertheradar]

OP, since you are sailing from Galveston, be prepared that there is not a concierge lounge area in the terminal. DCL will restrict 2 rows of seating and that is where concierge passengers wait.

Here's hoping that a concierge lounge is one of the changes taking place during the upcoming dry dock.

 

[kaseyC]

We were in a Royal on the Wonder last December and all of our internet charges were covered. The same would hold for a 2 bedroom. The 1 bedroom(Cat T) and Cat V receive a limited internet allowance.

No, that's not correct. The Cat. S-2 bedroom which is only on the Classic ships receives the same internet package as the Cat T and V. Only the Royal gets unlimited internet.

 

[undertheradar]

No, that's not correct. The Cat. S-2 bedroom which is only on the Classic ships receives the same internet package as the Cat T and V. Only the Royal gets unlimited internet.

Not what we have been told by DCL concierge. We have been told that we will receive the unlimited internet and in suite Palo, just like the Royal.

 

[kaseyC]

Not what we have been told by DCL concierge. We have been told that we will receive the unlimited internet and in suite Palo, just like the Royal.

Oh ok, they must have changed it since we last sailed in a Cat. S. We had the Palo perk but our internet was not unlimited. Good to know they've improved the perks for the Cat. S.

 

[Dug720]

I echo those saying look into offline games or if his games can be played in an offline mode. Shippernet is nowhere near like internet on land - trying to FaceTime is horrid for example (I have pictures of the places and positions my sister has had to get in to try to get the signal to hold), so I cannot imagine trying to play any games on it.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would start working on playing those games without connection.

OP, since you are sailing from Galveston, be prepared that there is not a concierge lounge area in the terminal. DCL will restrict 2 rows of seating and that is where concierge passengers wait.

Good info!

Even if going out of PC I was iffy on the description of the concierge experience in the terminal. You have to go through the entire place just to get to concierge checkin. And the lounge is glass and as far as I recall has no ceiling, so it's not really private. I felt like a goldfish sitting in there and disliked it.

 

[Bree]

OP, since you are sailing from Galveston, be prepared that there is not a concierge lounge area in the terminal. DCL will restrict 2 rows of seating and that is where concierge passengers wait.

Here's hoping that a concierge lounge is one of the changes taking place during the upcoming dry dock.

I did not know that! You learn something new everyday. Even the glass separation at PC would have been a blessing for my son. I'm booking a late PAT for March so we can get through a somewhat empty terminal.

 

[Dug720]

Even if going out of PC I was iffy on the description of the concierge experience in the terminal. You have to go through the entire place just to get to concierge checkin. And the lounge is glass and as far as I recall has no ceiling, so it's not really private. I felt like a goldfish sitting in there and disliked it.

I did not know that! You learn something new everyday. Even the glass separation at PC would have been a blessing for my son. I'm booking a late PAT for March so we can get through a somewhat empty terminal.

True it has no ceiling, but - unless it has changed since February 2015 - it is frosted glass and taller than anyone I ever saw stand next to it. There is a small ribbon of clear running through the frosted glass, but the time we were in there I don't remember people peering in through the clear glass.