HummerMan3

Do they still offer the horticulture tour of Central Park on Oasis? If so, when? I looked through the more recent Cruise Compasses and didn't see it listed.

1. Typically they can not help kids in the restroom but its worth speaking to the AO staff directly about the exact needs and maybe they can help. Otherwise they will give you a cell phone and call you when/if he needs to use the restroom so that you can help with his pants/shorts.

2. While they can not provide 1:1 support they can help with things like this but you have to talk to the OA staff directly and go over his needs so they are fully aware. Their Autism on the Seas' Advisory Team has done autism awareness training (and although I know he is not on the spectrum things such as helping kiddos with transitions would be something they have been trained in). All youth staff is required to have a 4 year university degree in the related field AND they all have to have 3-4 years of qualified experience. I think they will be more than happy to help assist your kiddo in this area - just make it clear to the staff and they will do their best to help.

 

These issues will no impact him not being able to participate - the only thing is if he needed 1:1. They have a great staff (this is our 3rd cruise with them and we have 2 ASD kiddos). They also offer social stories you can get off the website, if that can help your little guy prepare for the vacation and they have a great Toy Lending Program which we always hit up on Day 1 cause the good kits go fast.

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. Alleviates some of my anxiety on the situation. He is fine in normal preschool settings without 1:1, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem for us. I heard about the lending program but not the vacation prep stories; I'll have to check those out. Again, thanks!

Thanks everyone!

We're several weeks out from cruising with our special needs 4 year old and had questions for those who may have had experience in this. Without delving too much into our specifics, he was born a micro-premie and has some delays as a result of that: trouble with fine and gross motor skills, some stereotyped behaviors, a short attention span, poor speech articulation. He's not autistic, and can hold conversations, has reasonably normal intellect, and engages with his peers.

We haven't yet reached out to RC's Special Needs program, but were hoping to allow him to participate in the Adventure Ocean kids club. The particular concerns I have are:

1. Although he is potty trained, he doesn't have the strength or dexterity to pull down/pull up his pants or rip toilet paper, though he does wipe himself.

2. He sometimes doesn't listen, particularly when transitioning to a new activity or if he is engrossed in his own thoughts. He can be redirected if the instructor is patient and repeats the request.

Otherwise, I think he would enjoy the program. I know that RC is one of the better cruise lines for kids with special needs, but do either of these issues preclude him from participating? We will of course discuss with RC, but wanted to see if there are any tips/recommendations prior to that.

122 days until my Oasis of the Seas adventure! I searched and haven't seen many recent threads on alternative MDR menus. Do they still have a "secret" curry menu available to those who ask? The regular menu doesn't seem to have anything to satisfy my palate. Also, on 7 night cruises, what night are the curries typically served in Windjammer?

Thanks in advance!

$1709 for Oasis ocean-view balcony x3 people ($81/person/night) coming up the week after Thanksgiving this year. Inclusive of taxes & fees, not gratuity.

Thanks all... Not trying to rustle any feathers or rehash something that'd been discussed ad nauseum previously. Just researching something that's important to us and I hadn't thought to do a search for previous discussions on the matter. Sincerely hoping that the next class of NCL ships moves the casino away from other public areas, as apart from the smoke issue, these ships look really fun!

Hi folks, I'm planning my next cruise (only my 4th ever, and my family's first!) for 2018. Looking predominantly at 7 day itineraries out of Port Canaveral, but also considering Miami if the price is right. Thus far my search has been limited to primarily RCCL Oasis-class and Carnival Breeze/Magic; the reason being that I had read a few reviews reporting a significant degree of smokiness in the public areas on the NCL Breakaway class ships. My family and I have an extreme aversion to cigarette smoke. But most of the reviews I read were written before NCL overhauled their smoking policy. I'm looking for insight into the degree of smokiness on either the Breakaway/Getaway class ships or the NCL Epic from anyone who's sailed on them recently. Thanks!

have you look at NCL either the getaway or escape we are doing the bliss on Nov.2018 but for my teenagers these ships are their favorite and the bliss will have go carts instead of a rope course and you can get free drinks and specialty dinning included with your fare.

I may have to look into Norwegian a little more. The Breakaway class looks great, but I read a lot of reviews that given the location of the casino, cigarette smoke pervades a lot of the public areas. Our family ABHORS smoke. Any thoughts on the smokiness level among these three classes of ships? (Oasis, Breeze, NCL Breakaway/Getaway?)

Although Oasis has more activities most of these your child can't do so there is no point in spending the extra $$. As a side note the sauna on the Breeze is not complimentary, and if your child is still in diapers/ pullups they will not be allowed into the kid programs on Oasis but will on Breezes as they will change them. One thing to remember is that kids aren't allowed in ANY pools/ slides/ hottubs on the Breeze whereas on oasis there is a diaper friends splash park. My overall choice would be Carnival but my signature may indicate why...

 

 

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I had read that over the past 2 years, RC has an "Autism-friendly" approach, allowing exceptions to the diaper rule for kids with special needs plus extra training on autism for the staff. I didn't know that Carnival allowed kids in diapers to participate in the kids programs, that is good to know going forward. Hopefully a non-issue as the kid has just started potty training this past week!

Thanks for all the feedback! At the moment, I'm leaning toward the Oasis, however, I think the wife prefers the ports of the Breeze. At least I have plenty of time to decide.

Even though I know almost nothing about Breeze, it's hard to imagine a ship with more dining options than Oasis class. What do you mean by "better alternative dining options"?

I'm a pretty picky eater. The counter-service Indian Tandoor place, Guy's Burgers, burrito bar, and Asian wok are much more appealing to me than what's on the menu at Giovanni's Table, Chops, Vintages, etc. But on the MDR menus for Carnival that I saw, there was not much at all that struck my fancy.

Royal Caribbean has been certified as "Autism Friendly." You can Google Royal Caribbean and autism and get more details but they provide extra services to families with children with autism that are included in the fare. Some ships also have special staff available that can cruise with you at an extra cost. This may be something that would be helpful for you and your wife and make the cruise more pleasurable for your son too.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&pnav=5&snav=2&faqId=5947&faqSubjectId=348&faqSubjectName=Luggage&faqType=faq

 

This is a small blurb from the FAQ's but there is more info out there if you Google it. Good luck and happy cruising!

Thanks! I actually just read about this this past weekend. I posted this same query in the Carnival sub-thread, so I'm interested to hear if Carnival has any similar program. My son's delays are a bit different than autism (more motor & speech issues, fewer social issues), so lack of autism-friendliness isn't necessary a deal-breaker, but it would probably go a long way toward helping him have a good time.

Thanks all! I am leaning toward the Oasis at the moment. We seem to have gotten a pretty decent deal with our booking ($820pp, ocean-view balcony, not including gratuity). I think that if a deal comes along to put the Breeze at $400 less than what I've booked the Oasis for, that would tip the scales in favor of the Breeze.

Regarding the crowds - we're not a huge fan of them, but I have heard crowds plague all big ships, so we'll do some advanced planning to minimize our exposure.

It'll be my wife & kid's first cruise, so I'm hoping they like cruising enough to give it another go on the ship that we didn't try the first time!

Hi folks, Just booked my 4th ever cruise for November 2018 on Oasis of the Seas! The fare is fully refundable at this point, so I'm researching between this ship and the Carnival Breeze. Any considerations to sway me one way or another? My wife and I will be 33, our son, 4 at the time of sailing. We are generally spend thrifts, so although overall price of the cruise isn't too great of a consideration for us, the VALUE is a high priority. Our dates are flexible, but we prefer to travel out of Port Canaveral unless there is an exceptional value to be had at Port Everglades or Miami. A 6-8 day itinerary and ocean-view balcony are also a must for us. In my research between the two ships so far, I've compiles a list of pros for both.

Carnival Breeze pros: Better ports, $250 cheaper, better alternative dining options, sauna included in the cruise fare.

Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas pros: Awesome ship activities (zip line, Flow Rider, ice skating, etc), better food options in the MDR, slightly better reviews overall.

Anything else you might add that I should consider? One final note, our son has special needs and would benefit from a kids' club staff that is knowledgeable in autism.

Thanks! :)

Hi folks! Just booked my 4th ever cruise for November 2018 on Oasis of the Seas. The fare is fully refundable at this point, so I'm researching between that ship and the Carnival Breeze. Any considerations to sway me one way or another? My wife and I will be 33, our son, 4 at the time of sailing. We are extreme spend thrifts, so although overall price of the cruise isn't too great of a consideration for us, the VALUE is our number one priority. Our dates are flexible, but we prefer to travel out of Port Canaveral unless there is an exceptional value to be had at Port Everglades or Miami. A 6-8 day itinerary and ocean-view balcony are also a must for us. In my research between the two ships so far, I've compiles a list of pros for both.

Carnival Breeze pros: Better ports, $250 cheaper, better alternative dining options, sauna included in the cruise fare.

Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas pros: Awesome ship activities (zip line, Flow Rider, ice skating, etc), better food options in the MDR, slightly better reviews overall.

Anything else you might add that I should consider? One final note, our son has special needs and would benefit from a kids' club staff that is knowledgeable in autism.

Thanks again, and BTW, this is my first post! :D