Cheburashka
Momketeer
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2020
I could use some advice.
My son will be 17 when we sail our 3-night on the Dream in February, and I'm considering mentioning our cruise to his best friend's mother, to gauge whether she has any interest in them joining us on the cruise. I've never invited anyone along on a cruise before who I didn't pay for (we brought Grandma along once, on my dime). In this case, I don't really want to pay for them, partly because it would require a separate stateroom for 2 or 3 people (my son's friend and either his mother or both of his parents) and that's too much for me to comfortably afford. I could afford to pay for just the friend to come along and stay in our stateroom, but this boy hasn't been the most comfortable spending the night at our house (he's high functioning autistic and so is my son btw), so I'm not sure if that would really work for him. Here is a little background info about us:
My son has been suffering greatly for the past several months from an ear disorder that the doctors haven't yet been able to diagnose or treat (work in progress), and the only time I've seen him really happy lately is when he's with his best friend (tragic, as he used to be such a happy go lucky boy). He decided not to go on vacation during spring break because of this, and I've also cancelled our summer vacation plans as a result of his anxiety and depression related to his disorder. Next February will be our first trip (we're going no matter what), and I'd like for him to really enjoy it and find it special even if his ears are still causing problems, which I think he will if his best friend comes on this one. His friend still genuinely enjoys being with my son, too, and I'm sure he'd (& his mom, if she wanted to go) would really enjoy the Disney cruise.
Long backstory- sorry. Thoughts on if/how I should bring this up with his friend's mom? Pitfalls to avoid from those who have been there? I think it has the potential to be a very special and joyous trip for everyone involved, but I want to be careful in how I suggest it and not be rude or presumptuous in any way, especially since money is involved.
My son will be 17 when we sail our 3-night on the Dream in February, and I'm considering mentioning our cruise to his best friend's mother, to gauge whether she has any interest in them joining us on the cruise. I've never invited anyone along on a cruise before who I didn't pay for (we brought Grandma along once, on my dime). In this case, I don't really want to pay for them, partly because it would require a separate stateroom for 2 or 3 people (my son's friend and either his mother or both of his parents) and that's too much for me to comfortably afford. I could afford to pay for just the friend to come along and stay in our stateroom, but this boy hasn't been the most comfortable spending the night at our house (he's high functioning autistic and so is my son btw), so I'm not sure if that would really work for him. Here is a little background info about us:
- These boys are truly best friends and have been for more than 5 years
- I am on close terms with the friend's mother- we can talk about anything in our lives and have a warm, caring bond. largely due to the shared experiences of coping with our sons' disabilities
- The mother is a housewife with no other children and would have the time to go on a cruise if it didn't conflict with other plans
- The father is more distant but amiable, and he works full time so might or might not be able to go
- The family travels regularly, especially to Florida (family, beach, Disney World, Universal), but they've never been on a Disney cruise (I'm not sure if they've been on any cruise)
- Their whole family (and ours) is fully vaccinated, and they aren't nervous about going out and doing things with other people despite Covid
My son has been suffering greatly for the past several months from an ear disorder that the doctors haven't yet been able to diagnose or treat (work in progress), and the only time I've seen him really happy lately is when he's with his best friend (tragic, as he used to be such a happy go lucky boy). He decided not to go on vacation during spring break because of this, and I've also cancelled our summer vacation plans as a result of his anxiety and depression related to his disorder. Next February will be our first trip (we're going no matter what), and I'd like for him to really enjoy it and find it special even if his ears are still causing problems, which I think he will if his best friend comes on this one. His friend still genuinely enjoys being with my son, too, and I'm sure he'd (& his mom, if she wanted to go) would really enjoy the Disney cruise.
Long backstory- sorry. Thoughts on if/how I should bring this up with his friend's mom? Pitfalls to avoid from those who have been there? I think it has the potential to be a very special and joyous trip for everyone involved, but I want to be careful in how I suggest it and not be rude or presumptuous in any way, especially since money is involved.
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