CruisingwithAutism

We sailed on the Disney Dream in January and are going on the Disney Magic in 4 days. We are also booked on the Carnival Dream this fall. We loved the Disney Dream but there's only 1 water slide (Aqua Duck) compared to the Waterworks on Carnival ships. The Sunshine also has tons of new dining venues (Hello, Guy's Burgers!) My daughter preferred the kids clubs on Carnival simply because there was a lot less kids and she actually got to know some of the counselors. Carnival has 10-12 vs. DCL's 45! Yes, there were characters on Disney but also very long lines for every one. And don't get me started on the number of screaming, over tired babies on the Disney Dream. Gah!!

-Kelly

Thanks for posting this! FTTF is sold out on my Oct. 26th booking, and it is starting to bum me out that every time I check, it says "Sold Out!"

Thanks for the glimmer of hope. I shall be more aggressive with stalking the Carnival website now!

We are excited to sail on the Magic in two weeks. Do you recall what movies were showing in the theater? And we are also curious what time the Pirate deck party/fireworks were? It was 10:30pm on the Dream and that was a little late for our kiddos. Just wondered if it's the same on all the DCL ships. Thanks in advance!P.S. I know what you mean about the nightlife, LOL! It's because you've sailed on a "Fun Ship" before! ;)

We have done a group cruise with Autism on the Seas and found their services to be very beneficial.The director (and his son) have left to pursue another business.

Our experience has been it depends on who is working in the kids' clubs, the number and mix of kids actually in the club, and the flavors of ice cream onboard. Seriously, that's how unpredictable it can be. We've had great counselors one night and clueless ones the next. As a family, we can't vouch for a particular cruise line until we see a consistent level of training for all their employees to at least understand the challenges of living with autism. Just praying those on the Disney Magic "get it".

Clearly, you won't get an unbiased opinion by posting on the Carnival forum. We have cruised on both lines. And both have their advantages. We were on the Carnival Dream in September and there were many kids onboard. We went on the Disney Dream just last week and it felt like just as many kids. Disney allows you to bring on as much alcohol as you'd like but oddly, there's much fewer drunk morons staggering around. No casino on DCL but they had Bingo and plenty of other live entertainment.Is Carnival cheaper? Heck yes. Is Disney worth it? You betcha!

And don't forget it's midnight eastern standard time! I live in central. ;)

I just completed the process for our upcoming Disney cruises. You can book excursions (they call port adventures), make dining reservations, book spa treatments and also get a "port arrival time". At 75 days out, we still got an 11:30am arrival time. It will ask for all the travel docs in your party as well as set up how you'll pay for your onboard expenses. So, have your credit card and docs handy so you can zip thru it all. Best thing: you don't pay for dining or excursions until the end of your cruise. That was a pleasant change from Carnival for us! Hope this helps!

There is an organization called Autism on the Seas. They are wonderful! They help families with various disabilities, both kids and adults. It's a group of professionals that sail on group cruises and offer respite to the family members throughout the cruise. They also dine together as a group, private muster drill, reserved seating at shows and private group functions. They sail on mulitple cruise lines and their schedule is on their website. They usually sail DCL once or twice per year.They were a lifesaver for us!

I'm starting to get a bit nervous about the spring break crowds. Can someone tell me their experiences, if any? I chose the Magic over the Dream specifically because it has less passengers. My kids are 2.5 and 4, but their schools follow the public school calendar, so it's a good week for us to travel. Is the chaos controlled or is it just madness?

Which sailing will you be on? We are on the Magic during our spring break, March 24-28. We have found Thanksgiving to be very crowded with kids (and generally crazy, with big families and little child supervision). We are hoping since spring break varies by school district, it will be better.

I would love to hear more about this!! We booked through AOS but I didn't book teh staff package. I'm al ittle nervous about what it will mean. CAn you tell me how it went? I have 3 kids, 2 with ASD -twins, age 4 at the time of cruise. Thanks!

If you didn't book with staff then you'll receive a PECS and social story email with some helpful cruise stuff. Also, AotS will contact the ship's special needs dept and notify them of your kiddos. This may include a private muster drill (if one adult in your party has sailed before), priority embarkation (depends on which cruise line how that will work) and they will work with you to accomodate any dietary restrictions they have. Which ship are you sailing on? I'm not sure of your kids' challenges but you're welcome to ask me or the staff at AotS if you have specific questions!

Thank you so much for the review! I really enjoyed the comments and pictures as we are planning on taking the Miracle for our first Alaskan cruise and it helped so much with our planning process. I'm also amazed that in most picture on the ship there are almost no people---just the ship. I know that takes patience to wait for folks to move out of the shot. Thanks again!

I was thinking the same thing! It looks empty. Did anyone ever use the pool? Are there still deck parties for sailaway? Sorry I didn't have a chance to look at the Fun Times. I just enjoyed going through your pictures.:)

We cruised last Thanksgiving with Autism on the Seas. We had an amazing time! Our ds is 6 and pretty severe. We especially loved the private muster drill, reserved seating for all the shows and our semi-private dining in the MDR. Also the priority embark and debarkation was fabulous. But being able to drop him off with the AotS staff in the kids room was really wonderful. Normally, dh and I tag team to do everything on board with our daughter. Blue skies and smooth sailing to you!