Traveling with a Special Needs Child

I will be going on a Carnival cruise in November. Sadly it is not an Autism on the Seas cruise. Has anyone cruised with carnival with their special needs child before? I have but she was a baby at the time so I don't count it and things have change so much in the last 7 years as far as acceptance and education goes. Any advice?

There has been another couple of topics similar to this.

I'm travelling by myself with an autistic 6 year old.

Key points:

Contact the cruiseline to advise of needs prior to cruise

See if priority boarding is available ie no need to stand in a queue for ages.

Once on the ship advise kids club of additional needs. See if you can stay if your child won't be left alone.

Contact head waiter at the MDR to see if you can preorder dinner so your child is not waiting

Advise cruiseline of issues during muster drill ( they may move you to a quieter location)

Write a 1 page bio on your child for kids club

Set up a routine as soon as you are on the ship that will give your child security

Take items with you that your child requires ie weight blanket, chew toys

Don't over plan. Allow time for the child to have some down time.

Ensure you take all medication with you.

Expect some tears and tantrums.

Plan some you time!

when you are traveling with Autism at Sea..they take care of everything. You'll be fine! Enjoy the respite!

when you are traveling with Autism at Sea..they take care of everything. You'll be fine! Enjoy the respite!

OP is NOT traveling with Autism at Sea.

I am going on Carnival in August with my special needs child. It will be his first cruise. I emailed Carnival's guest services to ask them a few questions about check in, muster, boarding, dining, etc. They emailed me back and they had taken care of so many things for me that I actually started to cry. They reserved a quiet table in a corner by a window in the MDR for us (despite my saying I probably won't dine in the MDR b/c of his needs). She wanted us to have the option of dining there if we so chose. She told me to go right up to guest services as she has flagged my booking and they will walk us through everything. So yes, we will get priority boarding. We will get a quiet corner in the MDR if we need. We will get help during muster if needed.

Carnival may not be the official cruise line for Autism of the Seas (RCI is), but they have done nothing but bend over backwards thus far for my son. (as an FYI, I have heard nothing but great things about them from the special needs community. On the flip side-I have heard nothing but bad things about Norwegian from the special needs community).

I am looking forward to the cruise and am hoping that it will the first of many for my son to enjoy!

Carnival has been wonderful with my special needs child (the other lines as well - Princess, NCL, RCCL). The special needs departments are so helpful.

When dropping off at kids club I always remind the staff ("this is Kerry, she has trouble with_____ and loves to _____ and if there's any issue, please ______). We usually age down, but even when it's too wide an age gap and she stays in the age-appropriate group, she's always had a great time.

Best,

Mia

Who should I email about our daughter's needs? I tried to book Faster to the Fun, but it was sold out by the time we booked the cruise and now I'm feeling a little panicked. I have a 7 year old Aspie, so she's high functioning, but when she's off her routine, it can result in meltdowns.

Icare@carnival.com

Since you mentioned how much things have changed with acceptance lately which has made me grateful at times. My teenager was just recently diagnosed with sever anxiety to the point where he was transferred to a school that specifically deals with children with autism and other disorders.

Since your daughter is young I am happy to assume she has been getting all the help she has needed. My own case (and 5 month long fight with his school district) proved one very important lesson. There are some people out there who just will not believe no matter what and they are not worth your time or your daughters stress!

Definitely email the special needs department and they will be happy to help with everything like was said. In my case, even though we are 8 months out, my biggest concern is the muster drill at the moment. I don't want to have to give my son drugs he isn't used to just so he can get threw it. Frankly he is bigger than me and I don't know what they will do to him!

They happily allowed my request for a smaller/less crowded area we could go for muster. They also made suggestions that for us at least are not necessary but I can see the benefit of and I am sure you could find very helpful.

Oddly enough, my son has issues going grocery shopping or out to dinner for more than an hour, but on a cruise ship he is like a different person! Now to just see if my insurance will pay for "cruise" therapy for him.. I am sure his doctor will be happy to go along to!

Thank you so much everyone. You have made me feel a bit better. I called and they were very happy to help. We are 9 months out but I too need to know that I have all of my t's crossed and my i's dotted. Any other advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much everyone. You have made me feel a bit better. I called and they were very happy to help. We are 9 months out but I too need to know that I have all of my t's crossed and my i's dotted. Any other advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

We cruised last April with my granddaughter who is autistic. They let us have priority boarding, let her stay in the cabin for muster drill (with my DIL), and put us at a dining table in a corner by a window. All worked out well. This was on Royal Caribbean so hopefully for you Carnival will do the same. Enjoy your cruise.

Happy to hear things worked out with carnival.

Hope all goes well with your cruise

What is muster drill?

What is muster drill?

It's an emergency drill where you line near your life raft and they go through with you what will happen in the event of an emergency.

Cruise lines do this as per the law and take the drill very seriously.

Not attending is not an option but with a child with additional needs they will make this as easy as possible for you.

We were moved from our life boat location into the main dining room where it was quieter and less people.

Can be overwhelming for children.

We cruised last April with my granddaughter who is autistic. They let us have priority boarding, let her stay in the cabin for muster drill (with my DIL), and put us at a dining table in a corner by a window. All worked out well. This was on Royal Caribbean so hopefully for you Carnival will do the same. Enjoy your cruise.

I had a terrible experience with RC last June. They claimed to be autism friendly, but the reality couldn't have been further from the claims. My daughter is high functioning and doesn't cause a lot of problems nowadays unless you really lean on her or another kid pushes her buttons. She did alright on the cruise however, it wasn't due to anyone going out of their way to help her or due to anyone even knowing what autism or aspergers was. I notified the RCI well in advance. Talked with multiple people on the phone. Filled in form extra forms. Was told that everything would be taken care of and nothing was. No priority boarding. When I asked, they rolled their eyes and said they had no idea what I was talking about. Dining? Nope. I begged for an assigned table near a wall and I was told that I couldn't have an assigned table or an assigned time, I had to use the my time dining just like every one else, and if we didn't like it we could use the buffet. Kids club? The staff didn't even know what aspergers or autism WAS let alone how to deal with her. So they just let her play video games and watch tv the whole time she was in there.

We are going on NCL in June this year and I'm not sure if I should even bother notifying them in advance. I did so on a cruise line that claimed to have trained staff members and it was obvious they were clueless. I'm not sure what good it would do to tell them, I'm worried if anythign they'll tell us she cant go to the kids club or something.

I had a terrible experience with RC last June. They claimed to be autism friendly, but the reality couldn't have been further from the claims. My daughter is high functioning and doesn't cause a lot of problems nowadays unless you really lean on her or another kid pushes her buttons. She did alright on the cruise however, it wasn't due to anyone going out of their way to help her or due to anyone even knowing what autism or aspergers was. I notified the RCI well in advance. Talked with multiple people on the phone. Filled in form extra forms. Was told that everything would be taken care of and nothing was. No priority boarding. When I asked, they rolled their eyes and said they had no idea what I was talking about. Dining? Nope. I begged for an assigned table near a wall and I was told that I couldn't have an assigned table or an assigned time, I had to use the my time dining just like every one else, and if we didn't like it we could use the buffet. Kids club? The staff didn't even know what aspergers or autism WAS let alone how to deal with her. So they just let her play video games and watch tv the whole time she was in there.

 

We are going on NCL in June this year and I'm not sure if I should even bother notifying them in advance. I did so on a cruise line that claimed to have trained staff members and it was obvious they were clueless. I'm not sure what good it would do to tell them, I'm worried if anythign they'll tell us she cant go to the kids club or something.

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. But you don't have to do my time dining....that is optional. You had to have signed up for it. It would have been better to use traditional dining like we did and we had no trouble getting an assigned table by a window in the corner. I hope your next cruise turns out better you you.

It's an emergency drill where you line near your life raft and they go through with you what will happen in the event of an emergency.

 

Cruise lines do this as per the law and take the drill very seriously.

 

Not attending is not an option but with a child with additional needs they will make this as easy as possible for you.

 

We were moved from our life boat location into the main dining room where it was quieter and less people.

 

Can be overwhelming for children.

Not attending is an option. As I said my daughter-in-law and autistic granddaughter were allowed to stay in the cabin for muster drill. They were told to just watch it on TV.

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. But you don't have to do my time dining....that is optional. You had to have signed up for it. It would have been better to use traditional dining like we did and we had no trouble getting an assigned table by a window in the corner. I hope your next cruise turns out better you you.

Thats the thing. I signed up for traditional dining with the earliest possible seating. I confirmed it by phone for the reason that I wanted a corner (or wall) table and we needed to eat at the same time every day. When we checked in it was changed to my time. On our card it even said traditional with the time of our seating, but they had put a sticker over it that said "my time" I asked about it and was given an utter run around. I was very specific, again, that we needed the traditional dining because our daughter had autism. They did not care. They told me if we really needed to eat at the same time every day, we could call and make a reservation, every day, for my time. That didn't really work out as the time we wanted was often full and we regularly ended up in different locations. And after all that, they gave us crap when she had a hard time in the dining room one day. The staff literally acted like we were making it up to try to get accomodations.

I sent a letter to RCI afterwards letting them no of our experience and that I felt that their "bronze certification" or "Silver certification" was a load of hooey and that they should be utterly ashamed of their false claims.

edit: This was our first and last cruise with RCI. Never again. We did ok despite these issues, but what really frightened me was what might happen if a family with a more severely autistic child travelled with them based on their false advertising. What a miserable miserable vacation that would be. I'd rather travel on a line that makes no pretense or false claims just to get my business....

Thats the thing. I signed up for traditional dining with the earliest possible seating. I confirmed it by phone for the reason that I wanted a corner (or wall) table and we needed to eat at the same time every day. When we checked in it was changed to my time. On our card it even said traditional with the time of our seating, but they had put a sticker over it that said "my time" I asked about it and was given an utter run around. I was very specific, again, that we needed the traditional dining because our daughter had autism. They did not care. They told me if we really needed to eat at the same time every day, we could call and make a reservation, every day, for my time. That didn't really work out as the time we wanted was often full and we regularly ended up in different locations. And after all that, they gave us crap when she had a hard time in the dining room one day. The staff literally acted like we were making it up to try to get accomodations.

 

I sent a letter to RCI afterwards letting them no of our experience and that I felt that their "bronze certification" or "Silver certification" was a load of hooey and that they should be utterly ashamed of their false claims.

 

edit: This was our first and last cruise with RCI. Never again. We did ok despite these issues, but what really frightened me was what might happen if a family with a more severely autistic child travelled with them based on their false advertising. What a miserable miserable vacation that would be. I'd rather travel on a line that makes no pretense or false claims just to get my business....

Oh dear! I do hope your next trip is much more pleasant.

Not attending is an option. As I said my daughter-in-law and autistic granddaughter were allowed to stay in the cabin for muster drill. They were told to just watch it on TV.

This has to be pre-arranged though. They send staff to check the cabins to make sure everyone is in attendance and the crewmember who checks your cabin may not understand or be allowed to let you stay - they are charged with making sure everyone attends.

Best,

Mia

I

 

We are going on NCL in June this year and I'm not sure if I should even bother notifying them in advance. I did so on a cruise line that claimed to have trained staff members and it was obvious they were clueless. I'm not sure what good it would do to tell them, I'm worried if anythign they'll tell us she cant go to the kids club or something.

Of course it's up to you, but I'm not sure that's the best strategy. It's terrible that you had such a difficult experience, but if you check here, the overwhelming majority of our special needs kids have been handled wonderfully on cruises (including mine on our last RCCL cruise). If possible, having emails in hand just in case there was a breakdown in communication could be helpful. I will say, I've never had priority boarding because of special needs on any of the cruises we've done - that's something we just deal with, but meals and the kids club have always been outstanding with contact beforehand and an introduction to the kids club staff the first day and a reminder each time she's dropped off.

Best,

Mia

This has to be pre-arranged though. They send staff to check the cabins to make sure everyone is in attendance and the crewmember who checks your cabin may not understand or be allowed to let you stay - they are charged with making sure everyone attends.

 

Best' date='

Mia[/quote']

 

Yes, it was pre-arranged. Staff did come to their cabin but already knew that they were supposed to stay in there so I feel it was handled very well.

Thats the thing. I signed up for traditional dining with the earliest possible seating. I confirmed it by phone for the reason that I wanted a corner (or wall) table and we needed to eat at the same time every day. When we checked in it was changed to my time. On our card it even said traditional with the time of our seating, but they had put a sticker over it that said "my time" I asked about it and was given an utter run around. I was very specific, again, that we needed the traditional dining because our daughter had autism. They did not care. They told me if we really needed to eat at the same time every day, we could call and make a reservation, every day, for my time. That didn't really work out as the time we wanted was often full and we regularly ended up in different locations. And after all that, they gave us crap when she had a hard time in the dining room one day. The staff literally acted like we were making it up to try to get accomodations.

 

I sent a letter to RCI afterwards letting them no of our experience and that I felt that their "bronze certification" or "Silver certification" was a load of hooey and that they should be utterly ashamed of their false claims.

 

edit: This was our first and last cruise with RCI. Never again. We did ok despite these issues, but what really frightened me was what might happen if a family with a more severely autistic child travelled with them based on their false advertising. What a miserable miserable vacation that would be. I'd rather travel on a line that makes no pretense or false claims just to get my business....

I'm really sorry you had such a bad cruise with RCI. We had some issues with the cruise line as well. Based on this I have no real expectations of them.

Few issues:

Couldn't handle my child at kids club

I was not allowed to stay at kids club (this had been advised that I could)

Staff members telling me off for his behaviour ( I got screamed at at a port to control my child by a security guard....... He got screamed back at & then taken off & told off by a supervisor)

No babysitting was available.

I have spoken to RCI regarding my concerns this time and they have advised that they will do all they can to help me.

Yes their autism status does seem a bit like a marketing tool.

Not attending is an option. As I said my daughter-in-law and autistic granddaughter were allowed to stay in the cabin for muster drill. They were told to just watch it on TV.

That would be amazing! Will talk to guest relations once I get on board.

That would be amazing! Will talk to guest relations once I get on board.

We were on Royal Caribbean when they let them stay in the cabin for muster drill. I don't know if the other lines do the same. Also about the dining room.....we told our waiters on the first day that we wanted to hurry along and not linger over dinner. They were accommodating and this worked out well for us.