Autisum/aspergers syndrome

[debnjoe1438]

For anyone who has taken children on a cruise with high autism/Asperger's syndrome? How did the child do with crowds, & anxiety. Does NCL offer any assistance for this? Any advice and/or tips would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[GeezerCouple]

For anyone who has taken children on a cruise with high autism/Asperger's syndrome? How did the child do with crowds, & anxiety. Does NCL offer any assistance for this? Any advice and/or tips would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

This is the right place for the NCL specific information about this.

 

But for more general "cruise" information, you might want to also post on the Disabled Cruise sub-forum:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

 

Good luck!

 

GC

[Staci0615]

My DD has HFA she has been on about 5 cruises various lines but 2 NCL since birth she is now 14. I just let the kids club know if they have an issue to call me and I listen to her if she wants to leave/ not participate in certain activities. If I see her getting anxious we usually return to the cabin for some quiet time but overall it has been fine for her and us.

 

 

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[Scoreboard2017]

We take our son with Autism on cruises. He is fairly non-verbal but pretty mellow and generally goes with the flow.

 

I emailed the access desk at NCL and we were able to get priority embarkation/disembarkation and tendering. They also offered a private muster drill in our room but we declined.

 

We never really felt that crowded on the ship. There are long lines to get on/off the ship but otherwise it was pretty good. I suppose the buffets are pretty busy as well and can be overwhelming. We did bring BOSE noise cancelling headphones for our son. Everyone seemed to know us by the end of the cruise because we were in the action most nights while he was wearing his headphones. Regardless, I generally felt like we could always get away from crowds if we had to.

 

Regarding the kids club - when we visited the kids club the first time they were very nice and happy to include our son in all the activities. We ultimately did not leave him there because they just weren't equipped to make sure he didn't just wander off. I'm not criticizing but there was no check in/check out, etc... that you would find if letting your kids spend the day at a day care or somewhere else that is focused on child care. We generally felt unsettled about leaving him in the kids club even if only for an hour or two.

 

Anyhow, that was our experience with a child on the spectrum.

 

We had a great time though and are going on our second NCL cruise in a few weeks out of Venice.

Edited July 27, 2018 by Scoreboard2017

[mercedes355]

I have two sons with HFA and we have been on 4 cruises now. We've cruised with NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. All of them have been very nice about priority embarkation and disembarkation. The kids club experience though is so much better with Royal Caribbean. They are the only cruiseline that all of their child care people have autism training. And they were engaging with the boys that they wanted to go back. None of my kids cared for the kids club on NCL so they only did it for a couple of hours the first sea day.

[kitkat343]

you can request a beeper so the kids club can always reach you if your child would like to leave. How old is your child? The younger clubs are secure with strict sign in/out procedures. You might want to contact the special needs dept to see if an older child can be placed in a secure room normally for younger kids. And best of luck.

[debnjoe1438]

This is the right place for the NCL specific information about this.

 

But for more general "cruise" information, you might want to also post on the Disabled Cruise sub-forum:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=190

 

Good luck!

 

GC

 

Thank you

[debnjoe1438]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.

[agargoyle]

call the cruise line directly. Some lines have a department to deal with those issues. My DIL always calls to see, especially for boarding with the most crowds, what the cruise line can do. They often have you wait in a quieter area. I cannot remember if it is NLC or RCL that has kids staff trained to deal with autism. My grandson is on the spectrum.

[debnjoe1438]

call the cruise line directly. Some lines have a department to deal with those issues. My DIL always calls to see, especially for boarding with the most crowds, what the cruise line can do. They often have you wait in a quieter area. I cannot remember if it is NLC or RCL that has kids staff trained to deal with autism. My grandson is on the spectrum.

 

Will do, thank you

[agargoyle]

I have two sons with HFA and we have been on 4 cruises now. We've cruised with NCL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. All of them have been very nice about priority embarkation and disembarkation. The kids club experience though is so much better with Royal Caribbean. They are the only cruiseline that all of their child care people have autism training. And they were engaging with the boys that they wanted to go back. None of my kids cared for the kids club on NCL so they only did it for a couple of hours the first sea day.

 

Thanks Mercedes355. Being Grandma and not having to make the calls I did forget which line it was with the autism trained staff. I now remember my grandson did like the RCL club better.

[descal13]

I have no firsthand experience with a child with HFA but I do have experience with NCL cruises. I can attest to the fact in my observation, the staff of NCL on every ship I have been on has been extraordinarily kind and giving to children and adults with all sorts of special needs. A group of 20 - 40-somethings which includes a friend’s daughter sails out of Boston on the Dawn each year. Some have autism and other challenges, and her daughter has Down’s syndrome. They have a ball, and I have seen the staff go out of their way to make sure their needs are met. I hope your family has a wonderful vacation, and your son has the time of his life. My nephew is now a grown adult with HFA/AS and as a teen he loved the Aquarium best. Bermuda is awesome. My family walked to the next beach from Horseshoe Bay and it was less crowded, fewer people splashing and making a racket so their son really loved it when he was a kid. The tourist board will send a free Visit Bermuda packet with a map, too. The website to request one is gotobermuda.com

[Pandot]

You have had many responses but I thought I would add my two cents.

 

I have 8 year old with high fcning ASD (and a ADHD thrown in). I called special needs at NCL and they arranged for us to have separate/priority embarkation/disembarkation. On the ship, we were allowed to stay in our room for muster (arranged for in advance) and had a opportunity to check out our muster station when it wasn't crazy. A kids club, they had us sign out a phone and they would call when he was done, overwhelmed or wanted to leave.

 

He loved his cruise (asked just the other day when we are going again) and I was very impressed with everyone's understanding and acceptance.

 

We boarded in NYC - they did an amazing job finding us a place out of the way, away from the crowds.

[RPCVcruiser]

Our daughter is recently diagnosed as HFA which is uncommonly late for a 15 yr old to be diagnosed. She has been on many NCL cruises (she would be gold if she was 18) and has handled the cruises quite well. Our last cruise was in a 2 bedroom family suite where she had her own space to decompress. She decided the first night that the teen club wasn’t for her and basically explored the ship on her own.

 

In a different trip, her cousin who is non specified has a similar room that allowed him to relax. For him, the staff figured out that he really liked milkshakes and several of the staff went way out of their way to help with food access/choices and keeping him floating in milkshakes.

 

All in all, the NCL staff did a pretty good job with their specific needs.

 

 

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[debnjoe1438]

Our daughter is recently diagnosed as HFA which is uncommonly late for a 15 yr old to be diagnosed. She has been on many NCL cruises (she would be gold if she was 18) and has handled the cruises quite well. Our last cruise was in a 2 bedroom family suite where she had her own space to decompress. She decided the first night that the teen club wasn’t for her and basically explored the ship on her own.

 

In a different trip, her cousin who is non specified has a similar room that allowed him to relax. For him, the staff figured out that he really liked milkshakes and several of the staff went way out of their way to help with food access/choices and keeping him floating in milkshakes.

 

All in all, the NCL staff did a pretty good job with their specific needs.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thank you