Travelling on the Getaway with a teenager with Austim

[stamper74]

Looking for experiences of those traveling with older children 14+ with Autism . How did your child find the teen program? My son is high functioning but has anxiety issues too.... does great it smaller groups ..just curious if the teen program is craziness or us it spaced out well and accommodates all children's needs for the most part. He enjoys gaming , listing to music, reading , loves the outdoors , can laugh and have fun and carry a great conversation but does way better in small groups with not a lot of loud noise for long periods of time Not looking for a drop off or daycare just a place he can relax for a bit and meet some kids his age .

Thx in advance .

Edited March 9, 2015 by stamper74

[cage keeper]

Our son is also high functioning. We did not cruise with him until he was 18 so we have no experience with the teen program but one thing we did was bring along his favorite game system and hooked it up to the tv in our cabin. Plus the hand held one. The games on the ship can get quite expensive so this way he could split it up. And have some down time in the cabin.

[stamper74]

@ cagekeeper. Great suggestions thank you . Do you think he has to pay to play the games on the Xbox and wii in the teen area ? We haven't traveller besides day trips for a few days with him since he was 7 so lots to figure out as your aware :)

[KeithJenner]

I can't answer your specific questions, but when are you travelling.

 

My understanding is that the Getaway can get really busy with kids during holiday times. I have read reports of 1,000+ kids onboard, so the timing will likely have an impact.

[stamper74]

@keithjenner… that's what I was thinking too… we ( adults Lol ) just returned from the a week on the Dawn but think the two kids may be a bit board with no water slides etc… though it is a much quieter ship and that does appeal to me . We are looking at the end of October 12 day cruise out of Miami… wonder with it being school time etc if it would be a little quieter with kids ..hmmm.

[asdjl]

The teen club is open throughout the day, but is very independent, not like Splash Academy. They do have organized activities but the kids can come and go as they please.

 

In my experience, it really depends on the other kids at the time of sailing. My 3 did not like the kids clubs (they were 8, 10, 13) My 8 didn't like it because she was in the little kids group (6-9) and felt there were a lot of 6 year olds. My 13 did not like it because, at our sailing, there were more 16/17 year olds, my 10 year old thought it was too chaotic. They all only went the first night and did not go back.

 

It is my one complaint of NCL, the other lines have a better breakdown (IMO) of the kids clubs, they do 6-8, 9-12, and 13-15, 16-17 or so. But again, on your sailing, the kids might be different. If I can find the teen activity sheet, I will post it

[cage keeper]

I don't know if there are any free game in the teen club. Can someone answer this? We have not yet sailed NCL, our first is in less than 2 weeks. No kids. Did take 2 12 YO's on Celebrity and couldn't get them out of the kids area.

[asdjl]

I don't think the gaming system was available the whole time it was open, just certain times

 

 

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[DrNora]

I don't know if there are any free game in the teen club. Can someone answer this? We have not yet sailed NCL, our first is in less than 2 weeks. No kids. Did take 2 12 YO's on Celebrity and couldn't get them out of the kids area.

 

There are free games in the teen club. I can't recall which systems.

It is very cool looking, but....

We traveled in summer and my kids went for 11minutes.

There were activities planned and then they would cancel at the last minute.

 

It was the least favorite teen club they have encountered

 

At the time they were 13,15 and 15.

We were highly underwhelmed

 

They did meet nice kids at ping pong, o'shehans and at the slides and at the pricey arcade.

 

Love love the ship, but my kids had more fun on their own than at the club....and, no, they didn't just wander around all day.

 

You may want to check in what week is Jersey week - a week in

October when most of Jersey's teen population sets sail! Can be very very crowded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Crusin6]

There are free games in the teen club. I can't recall which systems.

It is very cool looking, but....

We traveled in summer and my kids went for 11minutes.

There were activities planned and then they would cancel at the last minute.

 

It was the least favorite teen club they have encountered

 

At the time they were 13,15 and 15.

We were highly underwhelmed

 

They did meet nice kids at ping pong, o'shehans and at the slides and at the pricey arcade.

 

Love love the ship, but my kids had more fun on their own than at the club....and, no, they didn't just wander around all day.

 

You may want to check in what week is Jersey week - a week in

October when most of Jersey's teen population sets sail! Can be very very crowded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jersey week is actually the week with Election Day and Veterans Day It all depends on the calendar and when those phony sparsely attended teacher conventions are scheduled so the parents only take the kids out for 2 or 3 days

 

However the week with Columbus Day could also be considered a sort of makeshift jersey week. The parents only need to take the kids out for 4 days not 5

 

 

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[mjkacmom]

Jersey week is actually the week with Election Day and Veterans Day It all depends on the calendar and when those phony sparsely attended teacher conventions are scheduled so the parents only take the kids out for 2 or 3 days

 

However the week with Columbus Day could also be considered a sort of makeshift jersey week. The parents only need to take the kids out for 4 days not 5

 

 

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Jersey week is the first week in November. The breakaway sails this week, and there are over 1000 kids onboard. My teens loved the term club, at the very least hanging with their new group of friends. Ds16 really liked the head counselor.

[Mr Robberts]

Looking for experiences of those traveling with older children 14+ with Autism . How did your child find the teen program? My son is high functioning but has anxiety issues too.... does great it smaller groups ..just curious if the teen program is craziness or us it spaced out well and accommodates all children's needs for the most part. He enjoys gaming , listing to music, reading , loves the outdoors , can laugh and have fun and carry a great conversation but does way better in small groups with not a lot of loud noise for long periods of time Not looking for a drop off or daycare just a place he can relax for a bit and meet some kids his age .

Thx in advance .

 

 

 

 

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Please call NCL and speak to the special needs access officer they will guys you from priority embarkation to dinning they are great we sail with my autistic eleven year old

Edited March 9, 2015 by Mr Robberts

[Crusin6]

Jersey week is the first week in November. The breakaway sails this week, and there are over 1000 kids onboard. My teens loved the term club, at the very least hanging with their new group of friends. Ds16 really liked the head counselor.

 

 

Yes I know that. I was responding to a poster that said jersey week was in october

 

 

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[bjtravelnews]

I have a teen with high functioning autism She did not feel comfortable in the teen room and had problems with some of the noise and sometimes frenetic activities on the ship. Many of the teens on the ship were not nice. They were off on their own without parent supervision because they didn't like the teen club either. My daughter needs down time to decompress when she feels overwhelmed. I took along her iPad which was preloaded with several movies and she had her hand-held gaming system. She especially had difficulties in the evenings because many adults were partying and loud and teens were often roaming the ship.