Special Needs Child and Cruising

[SereneOne]

We have a toddler with multiple physical birth defects(VATER Association). She has a feeding tube although she can eat by mouth and has some bathroom issues. She will be four in October and is VERY smart and capable...advanced cognitively, takes dance, and beats up her almost 18yo over six feet brother soundly. LOL We would ideally like to take a family cruise on Disney but wonder if she would be allowed to participate in the children's activities. We would show up when it was time to tubefeed her, which takes about 15 minutes...and if she did happen to have a accident we could be paged and we would change her. Are we out of luck with Disney? Any of the cruise lines? She is having heart surgery next summer and we want to take her to Disney and on the cruise before. Any advice, please? Thank you!

 

 

Pic is of Meghan and me, Mommy!:D

[Mrsg324]

We have a toddler with multiple physical birth defects(VATER Association). She has a feeding tube although she can eat by mouth and has some bathroom issues. She will be four in October and is VERY smart and capable...advanced cognitively, takes dance, and beats up her almost 18yo over six feet brother soundly. LOL We would ideally like to take a family cruise on Disney but wonder if she would be allowed to participate in the children's activities. We would show up when it was time to tubefeed her, which takes about 15 minutes...and if she did happen to have a accident we could be paged and we would change her. Are we out of luck with Disney? Any of the cruise lines? She is having heart surgery next summer and we want to take her to Disney and on the cruise before. Any advice, please? Thank you!

 

 

Pic is of Meghan and me, Mommy!:D

 

 

My heart goes out to you. I don't know about Disney, I've only been on RCI without my daughter but have taken her on Carnival. Email the special needs department ahead of time, explain her situation to them. They were wonderful with my daughter. I even asked if they would provide me with a pager for her, they did without any questions asked.

 

I do highly suggest you start your communications now with what you are looking for. I have a thread that I moved to this board which is all on special needs children. There is a lot of advice in there.

 

She is adorable.

[SereneOne]

Thank you so much for responding!

 

 

Actually, after we looked at the prices....RCI is way more affordable, so much so that we could afford to go to Disney World for two nights and Island of Adventure for one for the price difference. (She loves Dr. SuessLand...rode Red Fish Blue Fish One Fish Two Fish, thirteen times in one day!) We want to go with RCI but they it says they have to be potty trained completely to participate in the 3 to 5 age range. There kid's program is three times a day, every three hours...she gets fed about every three hours so that works great and the odds of her having an accident would be less...she wears pullups and the cruise is nine months away...it is not a matter of training, just that her bowels get sluggish. She had tethered spinal cord surgery in May a couple years ago. I will contact their special needs department and hope for the best. I think on another thread, RCI has a "dont ask, don't tell" policy in these instances? We also would be taking her on shore excursions and would hire the in-room baby sitter for the evenings. So it would just be for sea days and in the evenings.

 

Nice to meet you!

 

Sheri

[Mrsg324]

I think she will be fine. She is one beautiful little girl. That is so cool that she loves Disney World so much.

I thought I would do the evening sitting also with my daughter but I only did it twice & it was for an hour each time.

[D&TTexasCruisers]

I am hearing that Carnival is good with the spcial needs kids and I sure hope so. I do want him with me to experience alot but I also want to have the opportunity to experience some things that he cant do.

[SereneOne]

Carnival will allow her to participate in their program and they have won for best children's program for 7 years in a row. We booked with Carnival for May 3rd to the Exotic West Carribbean and with the price difference we got a balcony. It looks like Carnival has everything for a family such as ours. Stuff for our teen, our toddler....us able to have family time and then couple time. I am so excited. :p

[lucigo]

I think you will be very happy with Carnival. I write a special needs letter ahead of time asking for the things that will make our cruise a little easier and they are very accomodating! Camp Carnival has been wonderful with our son and on each cruise they have been very knowlegable and helpful!

[SereneOne]

I think you will be very happy with Carnival. I write a special needs letter ahead of time asking for the things that will make our cruise a little easier and they are very accomodating! Camp Carnival has been wonderful with our son and on each cruise they have been very knowlegable and helpful!

 

 

Thank you! It is nice to hear comfirmation.:) The letter is a great idea, I will do that also.

[lucigo]

Thank you! It is nice to hear comfirmation.:) The letter is a great idea, I will do that also.

 

You can contact the special needs department, they will have a form for you to fill out, but don't be afraid to make up your own list and put "see attachment". Take your time and go through your day and imagine you are on a ship, what would you need that you might not have access to. Does she need help in the shower, they don't have tubs. Will a long wait to get on and/or off the ship be a problem? Ask for priority boarding or a wheelchair if needed. A short description of her condition for camp carnival I'm sure would be appreciated. With mine, autism is a big spectrum so I try to describe a little of what Ben is and isn't capable of, some of his favorite games, etc. Would you prefer to be in a more secluded area of the dining room? Or a booth as opposed to a chair? Don't be afraid to ask, the worst thing that can happen is they say sorry we can't do that.

 

Good luck!

[AJTWC]

I can't speak for the Disney Cruise Line, but I have been to Disney World multiple times with my multiply handicapped son, now 18, and they are most accomodating. We recently cruised on RCCL Explorer of the Seas, and they were very sensitive to my son's needs, right down to cutting his food for him at dinner! Regarding calling the cruise line accessibility department, it can't hurt. Be persisitent, though; don't accept "I don't know" as an answer. Insist that they give you one, even if it means they must call you back. And get the NAMES of everyone you speak with. Good luck.