Pacific Dawn 3 night cruise with kids questions

I haven't cruised for a long time. I have 2 high need kids that I'm taking on their first cruise hence why we are doing a short sampler cruise. I felt like crying after posting in another group and getting judged about taking the kids. They are aged 6 & 8. The younger child has high functioning autism. He attends a regular school. He he has poor social skills and can get overwhelmed around crowds, noise & unfamiliar places. I want recommendations on how to avoid the noise and crowds whilst boarding. Do they give you a set boarding time? Can we leave the terminal and go for a quiet walk or something?

The older child had a parent lost a sea. I didn't know this when I booked. He has strange ideas about jumping in the ocean and finding his Father. He doesn't always think clearly and mixes reality with fantasy. He's afraid the ship will sink. I hope he'll be okay once he's on-board. I don't know if he's seen a ship before.

I can't remember how child friendly the decks are. I remember large windows providing shelter to an open deck area. I figure that should be a safe place to relax on deck. Surely I'm not the only person worried a child might climb a railing? What outdoor areas do you consider safe with kids?

What are the theme nights on a 3 night cruise? Do we need to pack anything special?

The 8 year old will be fine in the kids club assuming he can't sign himself out. I believe the 6 year old may find it difficult. Is there any way for them to contact me if he is distressed? It would be nice to have a little me time but if it's not advised, I won't do it.

Good on you, Being the mother of a disabled child I understand your situation. I haven't been on the Dawn for 2 years but hopefully I can give you some hints.

Just as an idea could you take them to Portside a couple of times pre cruise to see how they react and to give them an idea what goes on.

Ask for boarding assistance using cruise control. You do get to to pick your time so you might be better later when it may not be so busy.

Go to reception explain your situation and hopefully they will give you a quieter area to muster.

If you would like to eat at the Waterfront again have a chat to the Front of house staff who might be able to give you a quieter table.

If the Pantry you could always get their food and take it back to the room of find a quieter place to sit.

Take some activities that can be done in the room, DVDs, IPads etc if that is their thing. Advise your room stewards of your situation.

I honestly don't think Kids Club would be suitable for the younger one and maybe not the older one either.

If you contained their activities to say the pool area and the Dome you should be fairly safe but play it be ear.

You won't be the only one on board with special needs children.

Hopefully you have a nice time, Good Luck!

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Good on you, Being the mother of a disabled child I understand your situation. I haven't been on the Dawn for 2 years but hopefully I can give you some hints.

 

Just as an idea could you take them to Portside a couple of times pre cruise to see how they react and to give them an idea what goes on.

 

Ask for boarding assistance using cruise control. You do get to to pick your time so you might be better later when it may not be so busy.

 

Go to reception explain your situation and hopefully they will give you a quieter area to muster.

 

If you would like to eat at the Waterfront again have a chat to the Front of house staff who might be able to give you a quieter table.

If the Pantry you could always get their food and take it back to the room of find a quieter place to sit.

 

Take some activities that can be done in the room, DVDs, IPads etc if that is their thing. Advise your room stewards of your situation.

 

I honestly don't think Kids Club would be suitable for the younger one and maybe not the older one either.

 

If you contained their activities to say the pool area and the Dome you should be fairly safe but play it be ear.

 

You won't be the only one on board with special needs children.

Hopefully you have a nice time, Good Luck!

 

 

 

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Agree with above. We got off the Pacific Dawn on the 16th March - after the re-fit. The Dome would not be an option now - it gets utilised a lot more now. The Splash Pool on Deck 12 would be about the only place, or perhaps on Deck 7 outside. Although the railings on Deck 7 and Deck 14 are open and would not be very safe if the child has issues. The Kids club can get very crowded and could also pose a problem if they do not like crowds.

Hi MAF101,

we have cruised about 5 times with our 6 granddaughter who has high functioning autism with noise and crowd issues and are amazed at how much she loves it.

Embarkation day is a bit fraught at check in time, but several times the check in staff have noticed and let us go straight through after check in into the security area to start boarding without waiting for our group number to be called. You could always ask for help at this point.

In regard to kids club, be aware that the Pacific aria and Pacific Eden only have tiny facilities which hold maximum 30 kids and it is hard to get a spot unless you queue early for the session. The Pacific Dawn has a great sized area, although I haven't seen it since the new fit out. I will be checking it out in 2 days time 😀 on our Airlie Beach cruise. 8 year olds would not be allowed to sign out themselves and the set up is very secure.

With dinner, the main restaurant does an early dining session at about 5.15 with a good kids menu, selections changed daily. We spoke to the head waiter after a not so good experience doing this and he offered to send my selection up to our cabin by room service. So I ordered every night at 5.15 and it appeared about 20 minutes later. This time we though we might take the delivered meals to somewhere quiet outside as in room dining does make the cabin smelly.

The pool area is quite enclosed for your railing concerns, but is far too noisy for our granddaughter with blaring recorded music constantly and yelling kids in the noisy pool. We avoid that area when possible although we hope the new splash deck water play area will be suitable for her as she loves running about under a hose at home.

I think you can only give it a go and a 3 day cruise is a great way to try. We always find our granddaughter sleeps so much better aboard being lulled by the ships rocking, it is worth going for that feature alone 😀

Good luck