Our cruise with Carnival with special needs son

We traveled the week after Thanksgiving on the Valor with our ds, 9, who has issues similar to autism. We booked through Autism on the Seas. We had a great experience for the most part. Carnival customer service on the ship knew who we were right away. Seemed like everyone had memorized our stateroom number as they would mumble it under their breath when we said our name as they pulled up our file on their computers the first day.

The customer service staff showed us what to do in case of an emergency right away. We didn't need to go to muster at all and stayed in our room. Yvonne was awesome.

The Maitre'd, Ryan, was awesome. He picked out the perfect spot for us to have dinner. We had anytime dining but we since they had "reserved a table for us" (all night if we need too), we tried to go as close to 6 as we could, which worked out well for us as the kids went to Camp Carnival by 7 most nights. Our waiter, Calixto, and his two assistants were very attentive. DS decided he was going on a food strike and would only eat Peach Yogurt. They brought it to him every night with no questions asked. The table Ryan picked out was in a corner of the dining room, away from the kitchen, next to a window. This was perfect. DS sat in the corner whenever he became overwhelmed.

He loved Camp Carnival. Sanita, the director, knew we were coming. The only concern was that the communication with staff was a bit weak. Only the staff that were directly involved with him knew what to do/what was going on so one day I ordered yogurt for him (through customer service) for him to eat at the camp carnival dinner. When I asked the worker that morning, she insisted they couldn't do that. I shook my head (because I knew at this point that they could/would) and decided to call Sanita later. I didn't get to and when we got to Camp Carnival's dinner to drop him off, his two little yogurt containers were right there. He was having so much fun, that he apparently also ate a grilled cheese! We received a phone which they did use to call us on a couple of occasions. The activities were a lot of fun. He even begged to stay late and one night he did and had a blast. The counselors also held his hand during the "scavenger hunt" through the ship.

On one of the excursions they were able to set up a private tour for us instead of a massive group tour. That was a huge help too. They were only able to do that with one of our excursions though. The other one wasn't needed and it went well. I did this through customer service and they arranged it with shore excursions.

Embarkation was easy peasy. Debarkation was a little more difficult but easily surpassed.

As a reference, this was no Disney experience (they do an amazing job with special needs kids and making sure that everything is accessible) but it sure was close. :)

The one thing that I would really have liked to see would have been a quiet room or in-room babysitting at night so that we could have stayed late to watch the shows. The parties at night tend to get a little rowdy.

Feel free to ask any questions!

You might want to cross post this over on the Family Cruises board. EM

I am wondering how obvious it is that you are being treated differently. My son is 11and has mild Aspbergers and extreme sensory integration disorder. BUT he is almost 12 and he doesn't like for his struggles to be made a big deal of. For the muster which he wouldn't handle well, we are just going to tell him it's to help me as I have MS. your dining room set up sounds ideal for him, but again, is it made a big deal of? It's our goal for him to feel as regular as possible. Can you give me feedback on that?

Thanks!

Muster was the easiest to deal with. They just showed us around beforehand, like a tour, and then when the announcement when on, we went to our room.

Dinner was a bit harder. We learned on the third night to go in by the back door but that's because ds has a hard time waiting. For you, however, I would recommend doing a reserved dining but request a private table in the corner. (I went to the Maitre'd on my own while hubby swam with the kids before the first dinner) It won't be obvious this way. Let the staff know that you don't want him to know this is special and they won't mention it. When you go to the dining table, head to your table. I'd recommend the first seating as you can go in right away, at 5:45, before most people are even ready for dinner yet. It should be quieter. As soon as you are all seated, they will take your order since you won't have to wait for anyone else to get to the meal. If you time it right, you'll be able to get out of dinner before they do the "show" (it wasn't terribly loud but ds preferred not to be there and in the corner you won't be able to see it anyway unless you move).

For the kids activities, the only thing I noticed that made him "different" was that his name on his name tag was red instead of black like the other kids. However, there were other kids with "red" name tags. I believe they use red for anything that might be unusual, allergies or whatnot. None of the kids asked and he never even noticed.Not sure if name tags are even used for the older kids. The staff did not treat him any different from what I could see other than the things we asked them to do. I went to the kids playroom several times to just watch. It'll be a little different for your son since he'll be with the older kids. They have the ability to sign themselves out so that might be tough if you don't allow that, however, we met several kids over 8 who weren't allowed to sign themselves out anyway. BTW, by the second day, ds knew his way around the ship better than I did. At 9 I wouldn't have let him out of the room but by 12 I might have if he followed strict instructions and wasn't easily led.

I hope that helps.

Thanks Wendy. That has put my mind at ease. Good to hear from families in the same boat!

His brother is 10 so they will be in the same group. We figure if they are comfortable with it they might be allowed to sign out together and we'll just play it by ear.

We were on the Legend (awesome ship, easy to get around) Nov. 27th - Dec. 4th with our 2 sons, age 21 with Down syndrome and age 19 with Autism. I believe we were anchored next to you in Belize. Anyway, Carnival was the best with our sons! They are both too old for Camp Carnival, but we found plenty to do around the ship to keep them occupied. No need for Special Needs at Sea for us. The Special Needs Dept. at Carnival took care of everything. My youngest has severe food allergies, and every evening we looked over the menu for the next day and the chef made allergy free foods for him. Sometimes the chef even made him a special dessert off the menu. We had your time dining and were able to get a booth every night, which suits our family best. My sons were treated like kings and it seems every cre member knew their names. (I guess we're hard to forget). Anyway, we will be cruisng again with Carnival in the hopefully near future!

Great to hear! We will be taking our son with Down Syndrome on his first cruise in May. He will be 19 by then. He has been traveling with us since he was a baby...so I know he will be fine. It's just nice to hear your sons got a little bit of extra kind treatment :)

Traveling with four kids in April, my son has issues similar to autism. Already booked with carnival, spoke to the assistance department, and the only thing she offered was a HC cabin, which we don't require. How do I get other help? Skipping the muster? That would be an enormous help!

Traveling with four kids in April, my son has issues similar to autism. Already booked with carnival, spoke to the assistance department, and the only thing she offered was a HC cabin, which we don't require. How do I get other help? Skipping the muster? That would be an enormous help!

I would call the special needs department again and ask that they fax you "the form" to fill out. For our DS with Autism, we listed his food allergies along with helpful information on his behavior, such as "DS can pace and talk to himself." "DS might need help using the line at the Lido deck." "Crew are absolutely given permission to talk to DS if he is too loud or butting in front of people." "DS has a photographic memory and won't get lost ont he ship." I believe that once the crew gets to know your family after a day or two, your DS will be fine.

As to muster drill, DS with Autism wanted to go to the regular drill, while DH & other DS with Down syndrome stayed in the cabin as guest services had told us. Well, while we were waiting at muster station, DS started his sensory stuff like waving his pencil in the air and rocking back and forth. Crew member asked if it would be easier for us to wait in the library and get the muster talk in a private area. Yes! Before the actual drill, crew came around and asked our cabin number, how many disabled in the cabin, what help we might need, etc. So, there was a record of our cabin with disabled people in it.

I am looking into "autism on the seas" to get some help with this cruise. Unfortunately, I have already paid in full, so I was not able to sign up free. I believe they have a very low fee for their assistance. Ever use them before?

I am looking into "autism on the seas" to get some help with this cruise. Unfortunately, I have already paid in full, so I was not able to sign up free. I believe they have a very low fee for their assistance. Ever use them before?

We are traveling with Autism of the Seas on the Allure in 3 weeks. We have a DD age 12 with Autism and sensory issues. I will be happy to post a review once we return. They do provide respite times every evening in addition to various activities during the day that your disabled family member can attend. they have both children's and adult assistance available. The added fee was very minimal......around $70-80 additional total pp. :)

Traveling with four kids in April, my son has issues similar to autism. Already booked with carnival, spoke to the assistance department, and the only thing she offered was a HC cabin, which we don't require. How do I get other help? Skipping the muster? That would be an enormous help!

Wow this is weird. I recently booked and there were no cabins with a rollaway and didn't want DS8 on a bunk bed and was told we could not have a HC cabin. Interesting.

You have to know what to ask for with Carnival's special needs department. Call them back and tell them exactly what you want and they will provide. (special muster drill, no waiting in lines, handicapped boarding, quiet tablet at dinner, etc)

My 8-yo son with autism has been on 12 Carnival cruises, if you have any questions I'd be glad to help.

We have now taken 5 cruises with our DS and are planning our 6th for Christmas 2013.

All have been with Carnival. Our son has been diagnosed with PDD, Autism, CP, Hydracephalus, Diabetes, mute and is functioning at about a 2 year old level. He is now 34 years of age.

All of our cruises have far exceeded our expectations. On each cruise - we go first thing to Camp Carnival... Our son is too old to be in their care - but they allow us to select a toy or two for our son to keep with him during the cruise. We will usually drop in once or twice a day - just to see if he wants to exchange toys and they have all been absolutely amazing.

Our first cruise was tough - but it was totally our (DH and My) fault. We neglected to keep DS informed as to what was going on. At home, he eats dinner around 5:00 - 5:30pm... Here we are on our first cruise and we are making him put on "Church" clothes at 6pm and hadn't even fed him yet. He didn't know that we were just getting ready to go to dinner. We didn't explain to him what was happening.

He had a major meltdown in the hallway as we were on our way to the dining room and my DH and I ended up having to carry this 22 year old man back to the room, kicking and screaming. Our room attendant plus 2 others came immediatly and helped us to get him to the room. They unlocked the door for us and immediatly offered to get us some more assistance. One of the staff from Camp Carnival came down to our cabin with a selection of toys... and another cabin steward came in with a couple of cookies - which calmed him down right away.

From that day on - we explained everything to our son... and have never had another problem. He is not very interested in participating in excursions - but then again, neither is DH... so I will go off on my own or we will just walk the pier and stay close to the ship.

The first 2 muster drills were awful... but the last 3 have all been very easy. We have been directed to a quiet area and a staff member has come to give us a private overview of how to safely evacuate.

On all cruises... within 24 hours every staff member knew our names, our cabin #, our sons name and difficulties. He usually orders his meals off of the children's menu (gotta love those chicken nuggets and fries) and he is always treated royaly.

Another (funny) problem that we had on the 1st cruise is that our son learned very quickly (before we even left Port Canaveral) that if he held up his empty cup... Someone would come by and give him a full one. :D

We have made sure that the bar staff know that just because he raises his glass - doesn't mean that he is getting another soft drink or heaven forbid DOD... but he sure enjoyed it until mommy and daddy caught on. lol

He has slept on the cot... but for 3 of our cruises - he actually slept on the sofa and slept there so well - that we select our cabin so that he can have the sofa. On our last cruise we actually brought along my sister and her 18month old daughter - so that my sister could help care for our son (so my dh and I could have a night or two alone... We ended up with the baby in with us... and left the 2 snorers in the cabin beside us. It worked out so well. Taking along an attendant seriously limits how frequently we can cruise - but it is certainly worth the extra for us.

We have now taken 5 cruises with our DS and are planning our 6th for Christmas 2013.

.

Wow, Tracey, love hearing of your cruising success!! We all definitely live and learn, and with each cruise it gets easier as we learn what tools need to be packed in our magical bag of tricks.

My son has always picked on toy to be his companion on each cruise. Its always a small toy that he can carry with him pretty much 24/7. We have had everything from Thomas the Train to Lightning McQueen, to a marble. The problem with that of course is when your child who NEVER loses anything somehow loses their companion. Last cruise he left "tails" at dinner. They were going to save it for us until the next day. Yea right, we were back in 10 min. LOL

Then there was the time Yoshi fell into the elevator shaft. Luckily it was on the way to customs and we had a replacement toy in the van, and although he was devastated he didn't melt!!!

Our upcoming cruise is April 30. DS8's birthday is May 2nd, the day we are in Jamaica. We are going to spend the day doing his favorite activity of all time, playing minigolf on the sports deck....and the plan is to give him an iPad on his birthday, at dinner...if I can wait that long LOL :D

One other point that I wanted to mention. The more rocking that the ship does - the happier he becomes.

Even the Carnival staff will comment on it. Everyone else is staggering down the hallways and Rheal walks straight as an arrow. He stops his flapping and head shaking and just smiles and giggles. Too bad mommy gets seasick at this point and has to go crawl into bed.

LOL... the rule that we have at home is that if anyone gives Rheal a new toy (Christmas or Birthdays), they have to be prepared to purchase a 2nd one if he really likes it.

We buy the replacement before he actually loses the 1st one... just so that we can quickly whip out the replacement. We do the same thing with books. He becomes fixated on one book and will only look at that one book. Heaven forbid if a page becomes ripped or wrinkled... It goes into the recycle bin (for church or sheltered workshop yard sales) and miraculously a new copy is ready for him the next morning.

He demands so little... it is nice to know that we are finally breaking through and able to provide him with something that he truly wants.

One other point that I wanted to mention. The more rocking that the ship does - the happier he becomes.

 

Even the Carnival staff will comment on it. Everyone else is staggering down the hallways and Rheal walks straight as an arrow. He stops his flapping and head shaking and just smiles and giggles. Too bad mommy gets seasick at this point and has to go crawl into bed.

 

LOL... the rule that we have at home is that if anyone gives Rheal a new toy (Christmas or Birthdays), they have to be prepared to purchase a 2nd one if he really likes it.

 

We buy the replacement before he actually loses the 1st one... just so that we can quickly whip out the replacement. We do the same thing with books. He becomes fixated on one book and will only look at that one book. Heaven forbid if a page becomes ripped or wrinkled... It goes into the recycle bin (for church or sheltered workshop yard sales) and miraculously a new copy is ready for him the next morning.

 

He demands so little... it is nice to know that we are finally breaking through and able to provide him with something that he truly wants.

Agree 100% with the rough seas part. DS is much calmer and quieter the more the ships rocks. Last cruise we had 50 mph winds and he was in heaven! Actually, none of us got sick, but plenty of other people did.

Also agree 100% with the toy. DS is 20 yo, but we got him a Frosty the Snowman from Build a Bear Workshop several years ago (he has memorized every Frosty the Snowman cartoon ever made). Frosty goes on every vacation with us and has been to Las Vegas, California, on cruises, camping, Florida, Disney World, etc. I think he has outlasted some of our luggage. We have purchased 2 extra Frosty's off Ebay, because DS would absolutely die if Frosty was not going on a vacation with him. He does carry around a toy car all the time, too, but he is not as attached to them. If one breaks or he loses it, a new one will suffice. But, Frosty is an absolute must!

Well... We are booked once again.

It has been 4 years since our last cruise and another 21 months before we go... but at least the countdown has begun.

We have booked 2 cabins... One for DH and I and one for Rheal and a friend (attendant). We made sure that our cabin could accomodate 3 in case Rheal is having a tough time... he can bunk with us.

We can hardly wait!

Well... We are booked once again.

 

It has been 4 years since our last cruise and another 21 months before we go... but at least the countdown has begun.

 

We have booked 2 cabins... One for DH and I and one for Rheal and a friend (attendant). We made sure that our cabin could accomodate 3 in case Rheal is having a tough time... he can bunk with us.

 

We can hardly wait!

Congrats!!! I hope you have a wonderful time! Which ship/itinerary did you pick?

We are booked on the Legend for Christmas week 2013. DH and Dawn both work for a sheltered workshop (the one that our ds attends) and the only time that they can both get away is Christmas week.

We are so looking forward to the trip... even though it is still such a long way a way.

Happy Cruising everyone!

We are booked on the Legend for Christmas week 2013. DH and Dawn both work for a sheltered workshop (the one that our ds attends) and the only time that they can both get away is Christmas week.

 

We are so looking forward to the trip... even though it is still such a long way a way.

 

Happy Cruising everyone!

Thanks to everyone on this thread. We have sailed Celebrity 5x with DD

who is 34, deaf, cerebral palsy (uses a wheelchair) and developmentally disabled. We will be on the Splendor June 3 and these posts have helped with my anxiety over using a new cruise line.

Traveling with four kids in April, my son has issues similar to autism. Already booked with carnival, spoke to the assistance department, and the only thing she offered was a HC cabin, which we don't require. How do I get other help? Skipping the muster? That would be an enormous help!

contatct autism on the seas

I just wanted to add that if you prefer to go through Carnival special needs department (rather than a private company like autism on the seas) that you can get all of the same accommodations on your own by speaking directly with Carnival. Nothing against autism on the seas, a great service for those who prefer their assistance.

We just got off the Conquest this past Sunday. I had spoken with special needs beforehand regarding bringing our own frozen chicken nuggets, muster drill, and camp carnival. Embarkation isn't an issue as we are platinum. When we entered the ship for the first time our cards had been flagged to let us know to go to the service desk. When I got there she asked me about the food, and had someone come get it from me, assured me that one adult and my son could skip muster, and asked if there was anything else that I needed. The OP had mentioned not wanting to be embarrassed. My older daughter sat with my son on a couch and waited while I did all this, so he had no clue that we were even talking about him.

Thanks to everyone on this thread. We have sailed Celebrity 5x with DD

who is 34, deaf, cerebral palsy (uses a wheelchair) and developmentally disabled. We will be on the Splendor June 3 and these posts have helped with my anxiety over using a new cruise line.

We have taken our adopted son who is now 44 on 5 cruises over the years with Royal Caribbean. He is mentally disabled at a age of 6 or 7. The crew has always been great seeing to our needs. The only problem we have is we can't let him out of our sight or he throws a fit but acts fine as long as he can see us. He has always had major abandenment issues. People will stare because he looks so different but we just don't let that bother us. He loves cruising and loves all the food as long as he can tell what it is. He does fine in crowds as long as you explain things to him so he can understand.

My 8-yo son with autism has been on 12 Carnival cruises, if you have any questions I'd be glad to help.

Hi Luci, My husband and I have been on a few cruises several years ago before our daughter. She is 11 and has PDD-NOS and we are considering cruising with her. Would it be possible for me to email you for some advice?

Linda

Hi Luci, My husband and I have been on a few cruises several years ago before our daughter. She is 11 and has PDD-NOS and we are considering cruising with her. Would it be possible for me to email you for some advice?

Linda

Yes, definitely! You can email me at Lucigo at aol.com :)