Autistic boy's first cruise on CCL

This mini-review, my families experience, is for any families who are considering taking a cruise with an autistic child or otherwise special needs child

My nephew is almost 4. He is autistic. He does not speak but he does understand most of what is going on around him. He does not like loud noises, crowds or strangers. He makes only minimal eye contact. He will not eat any food other than sweet potatoes and squash. He will drink his vitamin and protein drinks which have to be prepared with almond milk in a blender several times a day.

We were not sure how he would react / function in the cruise environment but after much encouragement from the 10 family members who would also be on the cruise his parents were willing to give it a try. His mom said that she would remain in the cabin with him if he couldn't tolerate the crowds and noise. Worst case would be that they would have to disembark early and fly home.

I contacted CCL special needs department to discuss our concerns. They were wonderful. They listened and assured that all his needs would be taken care of. They didn't skip a beat as I listed our concerns. They said to bring whatever he needed and they would work with the family. I hung up feeling comfortable that they understood and that they were used to handling situations like this. This was not our only call to the special needs department, we made several, and every concern was handled smoothly.

My niece also placed a call to the Port itself to discuss concerns, in particular if there was a quiet area where the parents could take the child if he became overwhelmed with the crowds / noise in the terminal while waiting to embark and about bringing liquid vitamins etc through security. They were assured that someone would be in the terminal to help the family should problems arise. They were given the name of a person to contact when they arrived at the port who would assist them if necessary.

So here is what happened.

My family arrived at the port and as instructed they asked the port representative to contact the port agent to alert him of the families arrival.

Done.

Embarkation was quick and easy A CCL rep met them and escorted them through check in, onto the ship and to their cabin.

Later, a hospitality manager met with the family to go over my nephews food plan. The kitchen made sweet potatoes and squash for him every day.

And every day the kitchen manager delivered the food in the morning, picked up the dirty dishes and returned them cleaned and filled with his evening food later in the afternoon. The kitchen even blended his liquid meals. One of our concerns was how to keep the food cold since there was no refrigerator in the cabin. When the family arrived at the cabin a refrigerator was brought in for them to use. (Way to go Carnival!)

The special needs people even made arrangements for the family to attend a special private muster drill so that the child would not have to be put in an overwhelming situation.

CCL did an outstanding job. Someone from CCL kept contact with the family throughout the cruise to ask if everything was OK or if they needed something. CCL went above and beyond, in particular the kitchen manager.

And this is also what happened.

The family had almost no problems with my nephew dealing with crowds or noise. The one thing that he loves to do is swim so when he saw the pool he started smiling and ran to jump in. He didn't care that there were others around. He swam with his cousins and father for hours everyday. He did fine in the MDR. Even looking around at the people. When he would get bored with that he would watch movies on his IPad. He did great in the elevators, the atrium and almost anywhere the family went. It turned out to be a great experience for everyone.

Kudos to CCL. They did an outstanding job.

I am very glad to hear that CCL did such a wonderful job with your nephew and his family.:D

Glad to hear that CCL did a wonderful job with your family.

We've been cruising for about three years now with my son who has Asperger's (aka Autism Spectrum Disorder..stupid DSM IV or V or whichever danged number we're on now. LOL) and is it challenging? Yes. But somehow, he's more comfortable onboard ship than he is at home and things don't seem to bother him quite as much.

We were just talking today about our upcoming trip (which is this next week) and he said he can't wait to have some of CCL's awesome coleslaw, which is a favorite of his. He gets hotdogs in the MDR every night and we always order a double side of coleslaw for him.

Glad you had a great experience. Both my sons are disabled and in their 20's; one has Down syndrome and the other has Autism. Carnival has been outstanding with them and their needs. It is the one vacation that I as a mom can go on and give at least one of them some freedom. They both love everything when cruising from the MDR, Lido fun, shows, ports, etc. I love that somebody makes my bed everyday, cooks food for the food allergies and I actually get to relax a little.

Since we had such a great time on Carnival, we thought we would try Disney Cruise Line once when we saw a sale (very pricey otherwise). Well, we hated it. Way too much stimulation for both of them, way to much to do, very small areas on the ship, layout of the cabin was bad. It was just a horrible experience. So, we are back to Carnival with no regrets. At least we can say we tried another line. Is Carnival perfect? No, but it meets our needs and we are happy with it.

I would LOVE to try Disney, because we're huge fans of pretty much everything Disney.

If only they sailed from a port near us (TX) instead of way out in California. :( Oh well. Maybe some day.

I would LOVE to try Disney, because we're huge fans of pretty much everything Disney.

 

If only they sailed from a port near us (TX) instead of way out in California. :( Oh well. Maybe some day.

If you want to try Disney I would highly recommend you go before he turns 13. My son was 12 and absolutely loved the Oceaneers Club. They will not allow any kids over 12 into the club even with a disability.

It's probably not going to be possible..we'd have to fly or drive to California (neither of which DH is keen on, tbh).

We've been to WDW a couple times now and I'm campaigning HARD for a trip to Disneyland/California Adventure next summer so maybe if I could convince him to do that, then we could do a Disney cruise in combination with a visit to the parks.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! My son will be 7yo when we cruise next year and also has neuro diversity diagnoses. While not ASD, he has many similar traits to kiddos on the spectrum. I'm excited to be taking him on this trip but have also definitely had some reservations about how it will all work out. Your post really helped me feel less nervous about it.

I am curious about whether others have experience specifically with the kids club? My son is verbal, though has a speech impairment that makes him hard for others to understand. He's very social (hence the "other" non-ASD diagnoses), but does struggle at times with appropriate social interactions and melt downs from over stimulation. I'm just curious if there's even a chance hell be able to join the club activities?

Hi,

It is so nice to hear that you and you family had such a good experience. i love to hear when people go to that level of service.

Have you written to CCL to let them know of your experience?

Pete

So nice to hear of all the success stories!

We are also a special needs family, my older daughter (19) has ASD Aspergers and my younger daughter has severe anxiety and is recovering from a life threatening illness. We have done several cruises, all with Royal and they have also been fabulous!

As someone else mentioned, my ASD daughter is also happiest and most relaxed when we are on a cruise. She says it is the motion. She loves rough seas! She is able to handle more sensory issues at sea than she can on land.

Boarding and disembarking are always very challenging. We try to use Special Needs boarding (if it exists at the pier) and board early. My daughter also uses a weighted vest to help her. She loves the dining room and the wait staff learn to communicate with her (though she is very verbal, she will not talk to the wait staff but points at the menu items she wants.)

I'm so glad to read such supportive posts here! Sadly, there have been some autism bashing replies when parents are trying to find ways to make cruising work for their special needs children.

It's great so many cruise lines are so accommodating!

Great to here that your nephew loved cruising. The staff sound like they did everything they could to make it a great trip for you all. Well done to them.

My 6 yr old son has autism and he loves cruise ships. I find the smaller ships are better for him. The motion of the ocean calms him and if he needs a break he can run to the room.

He can't go to kids club as he wont cope with being away from me.

I might just add that if any autism group in the USA decides to ever charter a cruise ship for an autism/additional needs cruise then I would love to fly from Australia to join in. I believe that the USA is leading the way with autism research & tolerance.

Bit late to the party here, but I wanted to mention 2 things:

Luvs2beachit: Disney does sail from Galveston some months of the year.

Esilef: There is an organization called Autism on the Seas here in the US that organizes cruises for families with autism, check out their website for more info http://www.autismontheseas.com/.

Luci-

Any thoughts are suggestions about Carnival Fantasy? I see you have been on this ship 3 times. We are considering a June 2017 cruise with our daughter with Autism aboard the Fantasy out of New Orleans.

Thanks.

Linda

We just got back from our first cruise with Autism of the Seas last week. I can not say enough about the group. It was a wonderful experience and I am all ready thinking about booking my next cruise!

If you have any questions I can try to answer them for you.

We have used Autism on the Seas before as well. Loved them, start to finish. My son is 6 and on the spectrum, and has been on 4 cruises. We've used AOTS once and gone on our own the other times. The RC Adventure Ocean staff has been fabulous each time. We asked that he be placed in the 3-5 yr old group since that matches his developmental age and they were happy to accommodate us.

 

I am curious about whether others have experience specifically with the kids club? My son is verbal, though has a speech impairment that makes him hard for others to understand. He's very social (hence the "other" non-ASD diagnoses), but does struggle at times with appropriate social interactions and melt downs from over stimulation. I'm just curious if there's even a chance hell be able to join the club activities?

This sounds like my 10 year old exactly, although he gave an autism diagnosis, along with his 4 old little brother. I also was wondering about the eldest joining in club activities because I know if he sees something going on, he'll want to join. He's been made fun of before by other children due to his struggles with social interactions (he tends to stare a lot), and that hurts him because doesn't understand why. He has one on aides with him from the time he steps on the bus to coming home, and they advocate strongly for him. I FEAR (it's literally painful to think about) him not having back up if/when needed

Thank you all for the information you have given on here. I am the grandmother of an autistic 4 year old grandson. He is somewhat verbal and understands what is said to him. He is smart as a whip! He is normally very easy going but as with most kids, he has his moments. My daughter has been considering going on a family cruise but we have been worried about how it would be for him. These messages have been very encouraging and i plan to pass on the information to her.

We cruised with carnival this past November with my special needs daughter who is "intellectually disabled" . She is high functioning but does have some speech problems which does make it hard for some to understand her. The 2 times we cruised with her we

We're with family. This next time 48 days (but who is counting) we are going with autism on the seas. I can't wait to see how this goes. I have heard such amazing things about them.

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Great thread,great comments.

Thank-you for sharing.

:):):):)

Bit late to the party here, but I wanted to mention 2 things:

 

Luvs2beachit: Disney does sail from Galveston some months of the year.

 

Esilef: There is an organization called Autism on the Seas here in the US that organizes cruises for families with autism, check out their website for more info http://www.autismontheseas.com/.

Thanks for posting - this is the first time I heard about Autism on the seas. My last cruise with NCL, I saw a few special needs kids, and it is good to know that the cruise lines are responsive to the special needs population.:)

We cruised with carnival this past November with my special needs daughter who is "intellectually disabled" . She is high functioning but does have some speech problems which does make it hard for some to understand her. The 2 times we cruised with her we

We're with family. This next time 48 days (but who is counting) we are going with autism on the seas. I can't wait to see how this goes. I have heard such amazing things about them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I have nothing but good things to say about Autism on the Seas. From meeting you before check in, till assistance on disembarking they are there every step of the way. Their main goal is that you have a good vacation. We are booked on another one in April 2017. I hope you have a wonderful vacation.

We just got back from our first cruise with Autism of the Seas last week. I can not say enough about the group. It was a wonderful experience and I am all ready thinking about booking my next cruise!

 

If you have any questions I can try to answer them for you.

 

 

 

 

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Ma'am, How did you prepare your child for the cruise?

Well since I posted this we have been on our 2nd AOTS cruise and it was just as successful as

the first. We are planning on our third in March.

To answer your question. My son is an adult (24) who is nonverbal and who's just goes along

with us. The organization does have literature such as social stories to prepare for the trip. This does

work with some children but my son would not understand. I do show him the picture of the ship and he smiles but I don't think he gets it until he sees it in person.

But if you are considering AOTS you can contact there website. It may have this type of information for

you. If not you can call them and ask them any type of questions.