I booked it!

Rhapsody of the Seas:

DateArrive TimePortDepart Time

17 April 2015Sydney - Australia18:30

18 April 2015Cruising

19 April 201507:00Brisbane - Australia17:00

20 April 2015Cruising

21 April 201507:00Airlie Beach - Qld - Australia16:00

22 April 201509:00Cairns - Australia18:00

23 April 2015Cruising

24 April 2015Cruising

25 April 201513:00Darwin - Australia

26 April 2015Darwin - Australia17:00

27 April 2015Cruising

28 April 2015Cruising

29 April 201507:00Komodo - Indonesia16:00

30 April 201509:00Benoa - Bali - Indonesia17:00

01 May 2015Cruising

02 May 2015Cruising

03 May 201506:00Singapore

Travelling my 5 yr old autistic son & myself.

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Rhapsody of the Seas:

 

DateArrive TimePortDepart Time

17 April 2015Sydney - Australia18:30

18 April 2015Cruising

19 April 201507:00Brisbane - Australia17:00

20 April 2015Cruising

21 April 201507:00Airlie Beach - Qld - Australia16:00

22 April 201509:00Cairns - Australia18:00

23 April 2015Cruising

24 April 2015Cruising

25 April 201513:00Darwin - Australia

26 April 2015Darwin - Australia17:00

27 April 2015Cruising

28 April 2015Cruising

29 April 201507:00Komodo - Indonesia16:00

30 April 201509:00Benoa - Bali - Indonesia17:00

01 May 2015Cruising

02 May 2015Cruising

03 May 201506:00Singapore

 

Travelling my 5 yr old autistic son & myself.

 

 

 

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Good for you, have an absolute brilliant time.:)

hope you have an excellent time we love rhapsody

Jacquie:D

Good on you, I suppose your hubby can meet you there after the kakoda track.:D

Good stuff I so hope you and your boy have the time of your lives.

One of the things that I love about cruising is being able to have one on one time with one you are with, so often interfered with at home by things like work and cleaning and cooking etc it is something you will both probably remember forever.

Good on you, I suppose your hubby can meet you there after the kakoda track.:D

He is very upset about the whole thing. Can't understand why we are doing this cruise whilst he is away. Oh well he can think of me drinking a cocktail whilst he walks through mud for 8 hours a day.

My son really loved the voyager, so I'm sure he will love rhapsody. Hoping not many kids on board so he can enjoy the kids club and I can have a little break. It's crazy taking an autistic 5 yr old on another cruise by myself but a learning curve for all of us.

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He is very upset about the whole thing. Can't understand why we are doing this cruise whilst he is away. Oh well he can think of me drinking a cocktail whilst he walks through mud for 8 hours a day.

 

My son really loved the voyager, so I'm sure he will love rhapsody. Hoping not many kids on board so he can enjoy the kids club and I can have a little break. It's crazy taking an autistic 5 yr old on another cruise by myself but a learning curve for all of us.

 

 

 

 

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I'd love to hear how kds club goes for him, my friend is holding off on a cruise because she's worried her how little one [about 6 I think] with autism will handle it all.

Double post, sorry. Grey nomading out west with poor internet connection!

I have read where Royal Caribbean was the first cruiseline to specifically cater for children with autism. Priority boarding, special movies, pagers etc. as well. Could be variable, depending on the ship but certainly a good way to start. Priority boarding with an autistic child (or any child) would be a great benefit. When taking our young grandchildren, their excitement level is so great and their patience so low to get aboard! Have a great cruise.

I have read where Royal Caribbean was the first cruiseline to cater for children with autism. Priority boarding, special movies, pagers etc. as well. Could be variable, depending on the ship but certainly a good way to start. Priority boarding with an autistic child (or any child) would be a great benefit. When taking our young grandchildren, their excitement level is so great and their patience so low to get aboard!

Thank you I wasn't aware of that and that is one of their concerns I'll pass it on.

I hope you and your son have a great time. With the kids club it's the best kind of holiday to have if its just one parent and a child I think, at least you'll be able to have some time to relax :)

He is very upset about the whole thing. Can't understand why we are doing this cruise whilst he is away. Oh well he can think of me drinking a cocktail whilst he walks through mud for 8 hours a day.

 

My son really loved the voyager, so I'm sure he will love rhapsody. Hoping not many kids on board so he can enjoy the kids club and I can have a little break. It's crazy taking an autistic 5 yr old on another cruise by myself but a learning curve for all of us.

 

 

 

 

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I am sure that he will love it and the whole experience, the only issue that I can see is getting him back off the ship.:D

I'd love to hear how kds club goes for him, my friend is holding off on a cruise because she's worried her how little one [about 6 I think] with autism will handle it all.

We did the pacific cruise on the voyager with our son when he was about to turn 5.

Priority boarding for kids with autism is brilliant.

The issue with the fiji cruises is that there is a lot of children in board and mums and dads tend to put the kids into childcare from morning to late at night. Great for them but it's first in gets the placement. We wondered why they even bothered. Taking their kids in the first place as they never got to spend time with them.

Our son has high needs ie 1 on 1 care. Even though I contacted royals special needs department prior to sailing & provided medical certificates ect I was not allowed to be in the kids club with him due to not having the appropriate working with kids checks ect.

My son hence could not go into a full club of 20 kids and 2 minders.

This time we are hoping for less kids on board. More chance he will be welcomed at kids club and they might have the staff to deal with him.

We found on our last cruise that we couldn't get babysitting ie we pay for it, due to all the other poor parents whom needed a break after their kids were in kids club all day.

This time I'm booking babysitting right from the start as there is only me. 1 hour a day when I can sit by the pool.

Royal also has a toy lending service which was brilliant. Hope they still have it.

The lighting on the ship can also hype a kid with autism up as can the food & drink. I'm going to be very careful with that this time. Plus take medication to stop the over stimulation.

Royal were great with the life boat drill. They moved us to the main dining room and placed us at a quiet corner rather than stand at the life boat in the crowds.

Travelling with a child with autism is very trying but our son loved the cruise that much, that I'm taking him again.

Tell your friend to prepare well and be aware that cruising with autism is different but do able.

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Sounds like you have done a lot of planning which will help so much more than having to do things on the fly.:D

That's a shame about not being able to attend the kids club last time, I hope you have better luck this time. Thanks again Esilef for a bit more info on what to ask for when I contact the special needs department of Carnival prior to my June cruise- I hadn't even thought about the safety drill..... To be honest I am more worried about my 2 year old than my other 2 (5 and 10) who are both diagnosed with an ASD! She (the 2 year old) is having some very impressive meltdowns and extremely rigid, repetitive and controlling behaviour, I suspect she will be diagnosed at some stage in the future, but it's not exactly clear cut yet (I am praying that she is just a toddler and will grow out of it :( ) Do you (or anyone else) know what the cruise lines are like with small children that don't have special needs (or at least are not diagnosed with anything!)? I worry that in the middle of the safety drill she will start screaming and I will have to leave.... Would that be allowed, or is it mandatory that you stay for it regardless of what the kids are doing?

The cruiselines are very good with all children. Explain to the special needs department about all of your concerns and ask if they can assist in anyway.

I am expecting huge meltdowns from my son as hubby won't be there and he loves daddy! He is on risperdril to help with remaining calm & minimising tantrums. If he gets too over it I might give him some prescribed ADHD medication.

A child whom is tired is a grumpy bugger. As is the mum. Try enforcing a sleep pattern on the cruise. Last time our son didn't sleep for the whole 10 nights. Overly tired and grumpy. Hoping medication and an inside cabin will help with this.

I'm also packing light. Last time envisioned the perfect family at black tie night and all the photos ect. This is not the case for us normally so won't be the case on a special night.

Carnival has laundry facilities making for lighter packing. Royal does not but you can pay $$$$ to have a bag of clothes washed.

I am going to buy a large back packing bag to take rather than a suite case. This way I will have my hands free to grab him whilst in transit.

Nappies as we are cruising in Australia I will but packets in port rather than cart a large box on board.

I find its best to prepare for the worst and then be able to handle situations as they arrive.

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With the safety drill we found being moved to a quieter location helped. If your daughter starts screaming it won't really matter. I'm really starting to get sick of people whom must make comments on my son And his behaviour. Yes it's not good but I am trying. A few have been getting comments back.

The safety drill is compulsory and you need to stay for all of it. I put my son in a stroller last time and he had to stay. The staff helped us during and they make it as short as possible plus there is a heap for kids to see during.

All kids were meant to wear a rubber bracelet with their life boat station but there was no way my son would but staff were good about this.

The shops were also an issue and we ended up buying all the m&m toys. This time I'm saying no and dealing with the tantrum.

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Your kids might be happy if you setup a routine for them whilst on the cruise. This way they know what they are going to be doing and when.

Make sure you find sometime for you and relax.

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Another thing to remember is travel sickness medication. Start your kids on it 2 days prior and 2 days into the cruise. We never got travel sickness but didn't want to risk finding out

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Royal Caribbean has just confirm they offer the following services:

Expedited embarkment & disembarkment

Menu options to carer for dietary requirements. Talk to the maître d regarding this.

Preordering off the dining room menu so that the child doesn't have to wait.

Autism friendly films & toy library

Phone pagers if child is in crèche

Occasional 1/1 care dependant on numbers if kids on board.

Waiver of toilet trained policy

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Another tip:

Look into travel door locks. They get placed into the door do that kids can't open the cabin door.

No escaping......

We purchased a walkabout travel door lock and now won't travel without it.

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Royal Caribbean has just confirm they offer the following services:

 

Expedited embarkment & disembarkment

Menu options to carer for dietary requirements. Talk to the maître d regarding this.

Preordering off the dining room menu so that the child doesn't have to wait.

Autism friendly films & toy library

Phone pagers if child is in crèche

Occasional 1/1 care dependant on numbers if kids on board.

Waiver of toilet trained policy

Sounds like they've got pretty much everything covered and if they are that thorough suspect they'll try and do anything else you need as well.