Booked our 2nd Land/ Sea Cruise!

[tigger2on]

For those of you who missed my report I will give a quick update.
I have a non-verbal, non-mobile TBI daughter who is 4.5yrs old. We decided to take her to WDW and the cruise from May9-22, 2001. Due to a death in the family and having to fly overseas at the drop of a hat, we only had 2 days at WDW parks and a 3 day cruise. The parks were just okay due to the fact that we were all suffering from jetlag and emotional exhaustion.
The cruise, however was phenominal! Ryleigh was to my surprise accepted into the Oceaneer's Club without a care giver and had a blast. The staff loved her to death and the kids had no problems letting her be a part of the gang. i actually got time to myself which is very rare. (Note: each child is looked at and decided on an individual basis. Ryleigh is not hard to care for, is easily adaptable and is quite happy to just wtch the kids around her so she is very low-maintenance. i did however have to go change her and feed her if needed. They gave me a pager but I wasn't paged once!)
Anyhow, after all this planning (almost 4 yrs and such a disappointing trip) we were going to go to Disney for a long weekend but have decided that we'd do 3 days WDW parks, stay at the BC and do the 4-day cruise ( One day is completely at sea) next May. (9th-16th, 2002)
If anyone has any questions in regards to this, please feel free to ask. We stayed at the POly for the last one!

 

[teri]

Wow, it sounds like you had a great time! I am glad to hear such a good report!

 

[faeflora]

Hi,
I have a quick question, what did you think of the overall accessibility of the ship. The last cruise we did was on the Nordam after my diagnosis so I was just using crutches. If we chose to go on the Disney ships I will definitely be using my wheelchair. Any information would be wonderful.

I am sorry to hear about the death in your family and the adjustment to your first trip. I am so happy to hear that you daughter got to enjoy the Oceaneers Club.

Thanks for all the information....


41 days and counting till WDW

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the report. Sorry to hear about the unfortunate shortening of your trip.

 

[lynnie]

Hi I am so glad your trip went well. I do have a question or two. I also have a daughter who has a disability. She is autistic. I am going on the Disney Cruise July 8th and I am concerned. I have two sons also ages 9. 6 and Melissa is almost 8. If was wondering about the Oceaner Club. I would love to put my kids in it but I am worried about my daughter. She does not have alot of speech but she does need someone to stear her. What do you think. Lynnie

 

[tigger2on]

If you call the Disney Cruise Lines reservation line and ask to speak to "Joey" who is in charge of Special Services on the ships. She should be able to give you an idea. You may have to leave a message but she will get back to you.
You may have to stay with her depending on a few things.

1. It will be the choice of the staff if they will let her attended without a caregiver.
- Ryleigh is in a wheelchair and is non-verbal. She was also in the youngest group which seemed easier for them to control. All they ahd to do was push her around and stuff.

2. It may not be your child who ends up being the problem.
- The older kids get, the meaner they get. Ryleighwas quite "mothered" by the other children. Kids who don't understand the problem and are showing off might make her act up. See if there is anyway you can maybe talk to the kids quickly and explain the problem. if they understand, they might help out a bit.

3. Does she have sensory issues? Such as loud noises.
- I remember that the older Oceaneer's Lab was very noisy at times with kids screamin together at the top of their lungs.

4. the older kids do move around the ship quite a bit. Counsellors might not have the numbers to supervise when they are doing things outside of the room.

i know that others have taken their kids with Autism and had no problems at all. Call "joey" and ask her her opinion.

Good Luck and have a great trip.
If you have any other questions, just ask

Suzanne

 

[lynnie]

Thank you for your help i really appreciate it. Lynnie