Cruising with a Special Needs son

Hi,

We want to take a cruise next year but we have a nineteen year old son who has severe developmental delay and walking difficulties so would like some advice as to which cruise lines etc are most accommodating to special needs. He uses a wheelchair for long distances but we figured he would probably cope without it on board ship so we'd leave it at home. Is this a good idea? Also he would have to share with us as he needs one-on-one care at all times, will this be possible? Or will one of us have to have a seperate cabin?

Thanks

Yes, I think this is an excellent idea. You need to work with a TA who can reserve a handicapped room for three. A cruise ship is very large and he will greatly appreciate having his wheelchair with him. It will be especially important to have it for any shore excursions you take. Not all accessible cabins have room for three so you will need to specify that. What is good about the accessible cabins is that there is no 3 to 5 inch step from the cabin up into the bathroom. The bathroom will have a roll in shower with seat, lots of grab bars and usually a handicapped height toilet (not always on this and if it is too low you can ask for a chair to go over the toilet). There will be enough room to turn the chair around in both the room and the bath. The door to the cabin will be wide enough to let the wheelchair enter. What is bad about the room is that the third bed will be a fold down from the wall or ceiling or a sofa bed. Also in rough seas the shower water can bypass the drain and wet down the whole bathroom.

google certified accessible travel specialist. that person can book you on the right ship. They usually don't charge if you book with them because the cruise line pays the commision. If you book thru the cruise line they keep the commision.

Welcome to cruising. Yes, do this. We have an 11-yr old son in a chair and on a ventilator. We leave Sunday for his fourth cruise. We will be on the new-ish (2008) Carnival Splendor 7-day Mexican Riviera out of Long Beach, CA. We also booked an April 2011 Royal Carribean Eastern Carribean cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL on the yet to be finished Allure of the Seas.

Here is what we've learned:

1. Accessible rooms for three are hard to come by and you have to get to them quickly. On the West Coast, only Carnival Splendor has these rooms (I think). On other ships/lines, you may need to get two cabins. On the East Coast, the ships are typically newer and you can more easily get a cabin for three.
   
2. Learn the ships. There is a difference between fully accessible and modified cabins.
   
3. Definitely take the chair. It is a long walk from the front to the back of the ship and you certainly need it off the ship. At dinner time, the walk ways get quite crowded and moving is slow. And don't expect able-bodied folks to give up the elevator for you, but be grateful when they do. If anything, take this to heart. Don't get frustrated because you are all on that ship together.
   
4. If you get motion sick, try to get a cabin in the middle of the ship. This may not be possible because accessible cabins are near the elevators.
   
5. Ports where you have to "tender" require you to sometimes walk up and down up to two flights of stairs and then you board a small boat that takes you to the pier.
   
6. There are often many other folks in chairs and scooters so for events with general admission like the shows, bingo, etc., get there early if you want to get the handicap seating.
   
7. When you talk to the agent about your dining assignment, make sure you tell them you have a chair and want a table, not a booth. If you still don't get what you need, you can speak to the Maitre' De. He has the power to change your dinner seating assignment. We have had to do this on two occassions and it's like getting a meeting with the Pope...you wait in line, kiss the ring, and say thank you at least three times. These are unwritten rules. :)
   
8. You may or may not be able to attend/participate in all the events on the ship. Make sure you read the daily flyer they give you each night and you can plan the next day.
   
9. Get to know your ship. There will be certain pools, eating places, and activities you prefer. The ship's website should have accessible route maps you can download.
   

This is a little start for you. Email if you have any questions. We are glad to share.

We have been cruising with our daughter Jenny for 15+ cruises, my gal Jen sounds a lot like your son. We have sailed on Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney with her and have enjoyed all of them and so has she. Each cruise line offers different things and different surroundings and I can say we all always have a good time.

Prior planning is key! No matter who you sail on contact their "special needs" department and advise them that you are sailing with your son and explain in detail what "special" things he may need. For example, the life boat drill, Jen HATES it so we always get permission to stay in the cabin with her during the drill while myself OR my husband attends the drill. Dinner - we need a small table closest to the door, it makes getting in and out easier and if Jen decides that dinner just isn't for her we can leave without to much trouble.

I will say that Disney in my opinion treats Jen the best. Their crew always pays extra attention to Jen when they see her. Their balcony cabins tend to be a tad larger too. The adult area on the Disney ships are great and they mean it when they say NO one under the age of 18 allowed. This allows Jen to float around and we don't have to worry about the kids jumping in the pool around her. Jen is very quiet (she's non-verbal) so she also does not bother the adults @ the pool :D

As I mentioned tellling the cruise line what you need is VERY important and I can not stress that enough.

Take your son, he will have the BEST time! When we pull up to the Port and Jen sees the ships she ALWAYS gets the biggest smile on her face! Cruising for Jen is like therapy it calms her like nothing else we do.

I see you are in the UK, and you haven't said where you are considering cruising, or what departure port you are considering. Does your son have a problem with flying? Do you need to be able to drive to the port? Princess has ships with accessible cabins that hold 3/4. I had a wonderful inside cabin on Diamond Princess (Grand Class) with sofabed for a third. Other Princess ships have similar cabins. You would just have to be sure that your third bed is a convertible couch and not a bunk. EM

Thank you for your replies! Yes, we are in the UK and to be honest have no idea about cruise lines, ports etc. We were considering a Carribean Cruise but are very open to suggestions. I guess the best thing to do is to go see a TA and discuss our needs properly. The wheelchair will be going with us too! I didn't know that Disney did cruises. We took Jamie to Orlando, last year, to see Mickey Mouse and he loved it. We were very well looked after by the staff in the Disney hotel so I will definitely be looking in to that.

Thank you for your replies! Yes, we are in the UK and to be honest have no idea about cruise lines, ports etc. We were considering a Carribean Cruise but are very open to suggestions. I guess the best thing to do is to go see a TA and discuss our needs properly. The wheelchair will be going with us too! I didn't know that Disney did cruises. We took Jamie to Orlando, last year, to see Mickey Mouse and he loved it. We were very well looked after by the staff in the Disney hotel so I will definitely be looking in to that.

Disney has 2 ships currently and will be adding a 3rd this year. The Disney Magic is in Europe as we speak cruising until September :D Check out their website http://www.disneycruiseline.com they do a great job! They pay a little extra attention to detail for the special needs of their guests and it make a huge difference!

Happy Sailing where ever it may be!

My Son also uses a chair part-time. on our last cruise on the Carnival Sensation I had no trouble fitting 3 in the cabin. had them put twin beds together (so I felt him if he got out of bed) and used an upper for my nephew. I folded the wheelchair at the door and easily stowed it against the wall. he used the chair a lot onboard but I made sure he got some walking time as well. The chair is really a must at port. I take a bike lock and chain along to secure the chair when the shops are too small to take it in. The biggest nightmare was the straw market in Nassau, almost impossible to roll thru, but too large to walk it. We easily found a cab large enough for 5 adults and 5 kids with room for the chair and small scooter. I have learned from this site that I could have asked for more assistance and plan to use all the good advice on our Oct. cruise. I hope you find the cruise that is just right for you! BTW Disney world is a WONDERFUL place for disabled Kids.

Yes, by all means, you should feel free to take him on a cruise. My adult sister (30) sounds a lot like him, and my mom and dad would take my sister and I on land holidays, but not cruising. Last year, my mom changed her mind, and we joined a family group of 10 in the Mediterranean for 12 nights on the Celebrity Summit. It was challenging and required a lot of research and planning, but we all had a great time.

Tips: consider a family suite. This will still allow you some privacy while still allowing you to be attentive to his needs on a one-on-one basis. The extra space for you will be an added bonus, but I don't know if all ships carry them and I think they get booked up early. Norwegian has them for our upcoming Hawaiian cruise and Celebrity did also. I think Disney and Royal Caribbean also have them.

Also, the ship staff are excellent and will help you getting him on and off the tenders even if they have to lift a person in his or her wheelchair as long as the seas are not too rough. Do get a strap (seatbelt) added on to the wheelchair if you don't have one on already (should be simple to modify).

I preferred private tours or doing things on our own in the Mediterranean and I will do the same or renting cars and driving ourselves for Hawaii. Booking a driver/guide in a smaller vehicle (up to 8) or doing things on your own seems easier than dealing with special needs on a large coach bus for 25-50 people. Unless you are nervous about getting back to your ship on time and taking the ship's tours, you should be fine doing your own research. I did not find that the excursions available from the ships are very accomodating to special needs as the tours are limited and you can't turn around an entire coach if just you are having a problem.

A lot of detailed, helpful information on ships and ports is available on CC if you just take some time to search and read. You may also want to check Trip Advisor for accessible vacation, hotel and tour options in your ports. Feel free to ask more detailed questions. I'm sure there are many who will be able to offer suggestions or advice.:)

We take our now 17 year old on cruises this September we are going on our 5th cruise and he loves them. He is very loud and and verbal but just doesnt say words other than HELLO and UH-UH when he wants to argue. He doesnt walk unassisted so we always take his wheelchair and they always allow us to board first with the VIP's to keep from having to fight the crowd because that is the only problem we have on a cruise is that most of the people act like they do not see a wheelchair and will step in front of you or whatever and almost fall on your child just to get where they want to go. Like the previous poster said you will probably have to learn to just be stern to get into the elevators you cannot just stand and wait your turn because people will just jump in ahead of you but if you just be stern and say hey we were here waiting ad it is now our turn you will be fine but if you keep standing there they will keep jumping in front of you we learned that by about the 2nd day of our first cruise. I have learned how to wait till the people that were there before us have gone and then the next one that comes and opens I jump in front of hte door and block it and dont let anyone on until my husband gets the wheelchair on and then I will let the others on and someotimes they get mad but that is just the way it is.

You will have a wonderful time on a cruise and your son will love it Zack loves the cruise and he loves being out on the balcony watching the water that is his favorite place to be. He loves the shows with all the colorful lights and everything we always try to get right down front because he canot see from far distances he is legally blind.

We have to have pureed food for Zack because he doesnt chew and they do an excellent job of making sure he has his food the way he needs it they have me to pick out what he wants to eat the next day and they have it ready for him when we get to the dining room.

We always go on Carnival and they have always done anything they can to help us.

If I can help answer any questions for you let me know I will be glad to help.

Definitely take a cruise! My son has a developmental delay as well which is called childhood disintegrative disorder, we just say autism as people know what is is. We have traveled with Autism on the Seas numerous times and has been fantastic. They have group cruises and will also help book individual cruise. They help with all developmental disabilities, not just autism.