Muster drill & Autism

[ACJT]

What kind of accommodations will RCCL make for our son who is autistic during muster drill. Standing amongst a large group of people out on deck for a period of time would be very difficult for him. Not to mention disruptive for those around him.

 

 

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[dancinman66]

What kind of accommodations will RCCL make for our son who is autistic during muster drill. Standing amongst a large group of people out on deck for a period of time would be very difficult for him. Not to mention disruptive for those around him.

 

 

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Once boarded see the guest services and they will work something out to not upset

Him too much

They will be very obliging but still have to sort out a workable solution given the importance of it working in a real emergency

 

 

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[browneyedgirlnb]

I would call them directly & ask. I've seen groups of people sitting in the dining areas when I'm walking by those windows going to muster... so I assume there's some exceptions to it being "mandatory". They will need to account for you, so it would be best to discuss it with them. However, rehearsing what to do in an emergency might be good for your child to know for his own safety. You haven't mentioned his age, but my autistic nephew & a few of the adolescent autistic children I've had the pleasure of working with loved the concept of "rules". Perhaps with the introduction of "when the loud siren goes off, we have to follow the other people out to the deck & get in line". I would explain & or write down the various things that will occur so he could check them off. Just a suggestion. Hope you & he have a wonderful cruise!!

[njkruzer]

Rccl has been certified to autistic persons. Call the special needs department. They are prepared to help you.

[Valiamo]

You should have very little difficulties with your autistic son. Always an adventure with them and dealing with strange noises and different sights and sounds. Take a look at autismontheseas.com they have certified many of the RCL ships and there are special cruises for autistic indviduals. If this is the Freedom cruise you have upcoming, they are already Bronze certified by Autism on the seas.

 

Have a great time.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Valiamo
spelling

[ACJT]

Thanks for the advice / suggestions. Our son is 5 yrs old, he has excellent receptive language skill, but by in large doesn't have much expressive language. He needs to be kept busy as he also has ADHD. We do worry a bit if a cruise is a good choice for him?? We've become Disney faithfuls over the years as we've learned a routine that keeps him actively doing things he enjoys.

 

The muster drill is an obvious concern of ours as is also the at sea days. The splash pad area on the freedom looks pretty good. I hope / wonder if there's a good kids club that would offer him some active things to do??

 

 

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[ACJT]

Thanks for the advice / suggestions. Our son is 5 yrs old, he has excellent receptive language skill, but by in large doesn't have much expressive language. He needs to be kept busy as he also has ADHD. We do worry a bit if a cruise is a good choice for him?? We've become Disney faithfuls over the years as we've learned a routine that keeps him actively doing things he enjoys.

 

The muster drill is an obvious concern of ours as is also the at sea days. The splash pad area on the freedom looks pretty good. I hope / wonder if there's a good kids club that would offer him some active things to do??

 

 

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[cb at sea]

You will find that the kid's club on RCI is more stuctured than on Disney....that should work well for your son. A bit more "routine" than Disney!

[Marie51]

What kind of accommodations will RCCL make for our son who is autistic during muster drill. Standing amongst a large group of people out on deck for a period of time would be very difficult for him. Not to mention disruptive for those around him.

 

 

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Well we just did this recently. We went on a cruise in April with my 5 yr old granddaughter who is autistic. We called the special needs dept at RC and they said to go to Guest Services as soon as we board. At GS they said to just keep her in the cabin with one adult and watch the drill on TV. The rest of us had to go to the drill(there were 10 family members total).

Also we requested a table by a window so she could look out and this turned out to be helpful.

She actually had a great time on the cruise and did well at the pool & beach.

Good luck!

[palofmine]

my son is 13 and autistic. We have been going over what the drill will entale for a few weeks now. I just told him to stand like they do for fire drills in school, and he was fine.

[Bobal]

Take a look at post #17 on this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2078215&highlight=autistic where someone mentions provision which was made for their autistic granddaughter

[dacsmom]

What ship are you sailing? Some now have muster drill in lounges and not outside anymore.

[ACJT]

What ship are you sailing? Some now have muster drill in lounges and not outside anymore.

 

 

Freedom

 

 

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[Marie51]

Freedom

 

 

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When we were on Freedom some folks went outside and some were in the dining rooms for muster. I guess it just depends on your cabin.

[connes1]

If noise is a problem maybe noise canceling headphones and maybe bring a tablet or some sensory calming items (squeezes balls or play dough).

[Iaminspired]

My DD has autism (diagnosed last year at 16 1/2) and we sailed last December on Explorer of the Seas. We are sailing this coming December on Indy.

 

I contacted RCCL Special Needs in advance. They advised me to contact Guest Services when we boarded. I took a print out of that email with me and Guest Services did ask to see it before they would make the alternate arrangements. We met for the muster drill at Guess Services and had a private muster drill in one of the lounges there. DD was not allowed to wear noise cancelling headphones because she needed to hear the spiel. We accidentally sat under a red alarm bell, which was a problem, so watch where you sit.

 

We also arranged to sit at dinner table in a corner, beside a wall and a window. DD sat facing a window, but because of the time of year it was dark outside and the window acted like a large mirror reflecting all the people back at her (she also has Social Anxiety). She took a book to the table and left as soon as she finished eating (which our table mates seemed to find rude, but was what she needed). RCL also has an expedited dining option where children get their meals quickly and are picked up by Adventure Ocean staff. I spoke to our wait staff about her needs (our waiter did not understand the issues but at least knew there was a problem so was accommodating when when DD needed to arrange her shrimp in a certain way).

 

Far more challenging than the muster drill was boarding. I took advantage of Special Needs boarding. Whenever staff tried to steer us to traditional boarding I just said "Special Needs" and they showed us the way. By the time we reached the check in line, DD was well into panic attack. I started my interactions with staff by saying "I have an autistic child having a panic attack and we need to get through this quickly". Staff were very accommodating and quickly and easily directed us to where we needed to be. We had to wait for boarding (in the Special Needs area) and I spoke to the Boarding Captain about us getting us on the ship first. I asked for a 30 second head start and kept watching for signs they would begin boarding. Once we reached the ship, we waited at the bottom on the gangway until it was empty so we would not be standing over open water. Once we stepped on the ship I grabbed a crew member who got us in a half full elevator and sent us on our way quickly. We chose a quiet corner table in the Windjammer to have something to eat but left once it got busy.

 

The Group Coordinator was in touch with us during our trip to make sure we had everything we needed. She arranged for "last off" departure for us and waiting in a private lounge. Her staff was great at getting us off away from the crowds.

 

Getting on and off the ship at ports was much easier because there were fewer people and we picked less busy times.

 

I carry sensory toys and distraction items for my DD and we even hauled around her weighted blanket. I have no issues telling people we are special needs and what we need. A Custom's Officer even covered his badge because DD couldn't stop looking at it (it was shiny).

 

Here is a link to a posting on this topic on the Disabled Cruising board

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1902622

Just ignore all the uniformed flame posts. There are some good hints buried in there.

 

Good luck! I'm happy to answer any other questions you have! Have a GREAT CRUISE!:)

 

Colleen

[ACJT]

As far as your dinning request. Did you asked to be seated at your own exclusive table. I worry our son could disrupt other travelers ability to enjoy their meal.

 

 

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[cruisegirl1]

My DD has autism (diagnosed last year at 16 1/2) and we sailed last December on Explorer of the Seas. We are sailing this coming December on Indy.

 

I contacted RCCL Special Needs in advance. They advised me to contact Guest Services when we boarded. I took a print out of that email with me and Guest Services did ask to see it before they would make the alternate arrangements. We met for the muster drill at Guess Services and had a private muster drill in one of the lounges there. DD was not allowed to wear noise cancelling headphones because she needed to hear the spiel. We accidentally sat under a red alarm bell, which was a problem, so watch where you sit.

 

We also arranged to sit at dinner table in a corner, beside a wall and a window. DD sat facing a window, but because of the time of year it was dark outside and the window acted like a large mirror reflecting all the people back at her (she also has Social Anxiety). She took a book to the table and left as soon as she finished eating (which our table mates seemed to find rude, but was what she needed). RCL also has an expedited dining option where children get their meals quickly and are picked up by Adventure Ocean staff. I spoke to our wait staff about her needs (our waiter did not understand the issues but at least knew there was a problem so was accommodating when when DD needed to arrange her shrimp in a certain way).

 

Far more challenging than the muster drill was boarding. I took advantage of Special Needs boarding. Whenever staff tried to steer us to traditional boarding I just said "Special Needs" and they showed us the way. By the time we reached the check in line, DD was well into panic attack. I started my interactions with staff by saying "I have an autistic child having a panic attack and we need to get through this quickly". Staff were very accommodating and quickly and easily directed us to where we needed to be. We had to wait for boarding (in the Special Needs area) and I spoke to the Boarding Captain about us getting us on the ship first. I asked for a 30 second head start and kept watching for signs they would begin boarding. Once we reached the ship, we waited at the bottom on the gangway until it was empty so we would not be standing over open water. Once we stepped on the ship I grabbed a crew member who got us in a half full elevator and sent us on our way quickly. We chose a quiet corner table in the Windjammer to have something to eat but left once it got busy.

 

The Group Coordinator was in touch with us during our trip to make sure we had everything we needed. She arranged for "last off" departure for us and waiting in a private lounge. Her staff was great at getting us off away from the crowds.

 

Getting on and off the ship at ports was much easier because there were fewer people and we picked less busy times.

 

I carry sensory toys and distraction items for my DD and we even hauled around her weighted blanket. I have no issues telling people we are special needs and what we need. A Custom's Officer even covered his badge because DD couldn't stop looking at it (it was shiny).

 

Here is a link to a posting on this topic on the Disabled Cruising board

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1902622

Just ignore all the uniformed flame posts. There are some good hints buried in there.

 

Good luck! I'm happy to answer any other questions you have! Have a GREAT CRUISE!:)

 

Colleen

 

 

I am glad it all seemed to work our for you.

 

For future cruises perhaps a suggestion is to wait a bit at the pre-cruise hotel till after the boarding rush. That way there will be no dealing with crowds or the need to arrange that "30 second head start"

 

Same with the Windjammer. The crowds seem to disappear about one PM, after the cabins.

 

good luck

m

[momof3cruisers]

As far as your dinning request. Did you asked to be seated at your own exclusive table. I worry our son could disrupt other travelers ability to enjoy their meal.

 

 

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I would suggest calling their special needs department. I also like the suggestion of having them email you something to bring with you regarding the muster drill. I had been told to go to Guest Services when we boarded etc, but unfortunately, the people manning the line at GS on Allure seemed to have no idea what I was talking about and kept telling me that everyone had to go to the muster drill. It was a difficult situation. I did call RC after we got back just to let them know our experience and they seemed quite surprised. In the future, I would want to bring something in writing. I was very relieved that my son has made great amounts of progress in the last two years. If that had happened on our first cruise, I never would have gotten him back on a cruiseship again.

[Marie51]

As far as your dinning request. Did you asked to be seated at your own exclusive table. I worry our son could disrupt other travelers ability to enjoy their meal.

 

 

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We asked for a table by a window by ourselves.....there were 10 of us.....so getting a table just for us was not a problem. However my autistic granddaughter age 5 does not eat and is fed through a tube so I would not have wanted to be with others at the table for fear of causing an unpleasant experience for them. We are going in Nov on a Disney cruise and we have asked to be at a table by ourselves so I hope we get it.

[DaNana]

I would call them directly & ask. I've seen groups of people sitting in the dining areas when I'm walking by those windows going to muster... so I assume there's some exceptions to it being "mandatory".

 

Actually we have had our muster be a dining room. Definitely nice but a Muster none the less. We had to be present and listen to what they had to say! :eek:

[Iaminspired]

As far as your dinning request. Did you asked to be seated at your own exclusive table. I worry our son could disrupt other travelers ability to enjoy their meal.

 

 

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We actually requested a small table of 6 - 8 since the social interaction is good for DD. They try to match families with children with other families with children in the seating arrangements. This December we are travelling with friends and will probably be sitting just with them.

 

Some of DD's quirkiness definitely bothered our table mates. They seemed to interpret it as bad manners but slowly figured out it was something more and became accustomed to it. Because she is older and her social anxiety is so strong, she is pretty reserved during dinner. A young child can be far more disruptive at the dinner table and you may be more comfortable eating by yourselves.

 

Royal has a social story about cruising on their website (http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/product.do?pagename=onboard_prod_autism_friendly_ships). We also made one (actually her OT did) which included more specifics about driving to the ship, staying in a hotel, eating on the road plus elements about the cruise. It proved very helpful at easing her anxiety pre-cruise.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise! :)

[sergeant655]

If your son is sensitive to loud noise, you may want to bring earplugs or ear defender headsets like the ones airplane marshallers wear at the airport. the alarms on the freedom are the loudest i have heard. Having Autism my self i find it is easier for me to stand at the front of the crowd if your muster station is outside. if it is inside arrive early and you may find a seat. Let the crew in charge know about his autism and they will help make it easier You may also want to find out when the crew drill will take place. When I was on the freedom it took place in St Thomas.