My family is set to sail on Oct 3. on the Glory. We are excited and a little anxious with our Son/ He does not do well in closed in crowed spaces. I have booked a suite to help speed the check in process( I hope) What else can I do to limit his time waiting with large groups of people? the last cruise I did was without him and the check-in was long,but the muster station drill would have been a nightmare with him had he been with us. What can I do to pre-arrange some alternative to the crowed space? Also does anyone know how well "walkie talkies" work on a ship? He likes to stay in his room some and thought this might be a good way to get a hold of us if he needed something.

Since he has just turned 18 he is no longer eligible for the camp programs. Any insight to what others have done will be most Grateful!

If you have not done so already call the guests with special requirements at

800-438-6744 extension 70025

Walkie talkies work fine.  We bring them with us when we travel with others. 

My 17 year old has Hyperlexia.  We find that letting his listen to his IPOD lessons the distractions and keeps him focused more on the music than the commotion. 

lisa

also read some of the other threads here on this section,  some other cruisers with autistic children have given a lot of very good info that might be helpful for you.  

ladybug:

Copy & paste the following: www.carnivalconnections.com/cruisetalk/forums/t/67084.aspx Autism of the Sea's is working with Carnival. There is an email address to ask questions. Happy Sailing!!

 I am traveling with my daughter 21 (she has Autism and a host of other issues) we are also traveling with another family and their son has Autism too.  We have contact Austism of the Sea and they have been WONDERFUL.  I have cruised with my daughter for years and we have had issues with check in and the muster drill.  You need to compelte the special requirement form, and attach a letter that describes all of your sons needs and issues.  Carnival will try to help any way they can BUT avoiding the lines at check will be next to impossible.  Once on board go directly to guest services, they can help arrange a special muster station for you.  Hope this helps. 

My son is 37 years old and Autistic.

When we went on our first cruise, the muster drill was very difficult for him. He has a hard time with changes in his routine.

The second cruise was much better. He had an idea of what to expect. So he was calmer during the drill.

Our third cruise was on the Fascination. There, the drill was held in the theater. Basically, they just explained what to do in the event that we had to use the lifeboats and how to use the life preservers.

Thank you so very much for your information. I had already booked my cruise before I heard about  Autism of the Sea's. So I just started working with Carnival instead. So far I have managed to alert them that I will need to do our Muster drill in private or some place less crowded. I also have asked for a beeper or walkie talkies.( i will rent ) mentioned that my Son needs snacks in the room, (so that I can pack them) and also asked to please sit us in the dinning room near the side of the resturant and not in the center. As far as boarding goes I went ahead and got a suite that way we can get priority boarding and give us a little more room for us to bring his ball so he can bounce. Hopefully this will all fall into place. I have spoken with Guest services and faxed my requests to Carnival. I also have a copy for my records and will bring on board with us. SO if there is any issues I have proof that they were notified of my requests.Do you think I have covered everything? Thanks again for your help!

We just got off the Glory last month.....it was my 17 year olds  31st Carnival Cruise.

He has Asperger's Syndrome.

We started cruising with him when there was nothing known about this disorder and we have had great success with Carnival.   They have worked with us at every step.

So far you have taken all the right steps....if I could add just a couple of things:

At 2PM, make sure you go and check about your dining placement with the Maitre D.

Every cruise we request a table for 4 and unfortunately, sometimes they get it right and sometimes they don't.   Our 17 year old will not eat with strangers at his table.  He will eat on Lido with strangers all around him....but NOT if they are at his table.  

Muster Drill... We go where they Muster the Wheel Chair folks.  It is usually quiet and not crowded.    I would go to the Purser's Desk and ask them WHERE the Glory is mustering the Disabled passengers before hand.  If you wait until the Muster Drill, you will probably run into a lot of "herding people" and not a lot of listening to your request.

Does Funship Freddie cause Panic Attacks?  This is our biggest challenge every cruise.  But we are in constant contact with the Cruise Directors and they provide us with Freddie's schedule.  We simply stay away from where Freddie is.

The good news is that your suite will come with VIP Check In and Port Canaveral does a WONDERFUL job of VIP Check In!!!  One of THE BEST we have ever experienced.

When we arrived about 12:30pm....there was a line out the door.  A BLUE line (regular passengers).  Right beside it was a RED line  (VIP) that was completely empty.  We walked straight to Security...who put us right through and then we went straight to check in in a nice little office.... and straight on the ship.

We left the hotel around 12:25am (Radisson) by taxi and were eating lunch on Lido before 1PM. 

I am not certain if Ryan will still the be CD for your October cruise.  He is WONDERFUL and will be more than happy to help in any way that he can. 

Since your son is 18, if you think he might want to go into the disco....I would make sure you have some kind of picture ID.  We just renewed our Passports and got the additional Passport card for DJ.... since he will be 18 the next time we sail.

Over the past 10+ years, we have basically gotten Carnival to do everything that Autism of the Seas offers.  It took  a little legwork on our part....but nothing we couldn't handle.

Hope you have a great cruise.

Thank you for all that Great information!

I would like to add that even though we had our cruise booked and paid for direct with Carnival I still contacted AutismoftheSeas and they have been very helpful and have helped us with getting info to Carnival.  We have sailed on Carnival many many times and our biggest issue is boarding.  ALL other cruise lines allow persons with disabilities priority boarding BUT Carnival does not.  We can not afford a suite so boarding can be an issue.  Austim of the Seas has helped with the VIP boarding and have advised me that Carnival will permit us to board via VIP which will be such a HUGE help!

I suggest using Austism of the Seas on your next cruise.  Yes you can do the leg work yourself but WHY if there is someone that is so well informed in all the steps.  They do NOT charge for their services so their prices would be the same as booking with Carnival I would assume.

 We cruise on the Glory July 25th......only 24days away.  I will let every know how our pre-boarding goes as it is my biggest worry.

I think Carnival needs to re-think how they handle board for persons with disabilites.

I  think I am just as excited as you are to hear how everything goes and what worked and what didn't. I did contact  Autism of the Seas and they advised me to transfer my booking over to them and then they would asist me. Since we are going with other family members and I had already done the leg work before I found out about them I was a little leary and didn't want to mess anything up. The one thing I have learned is that by filling out that Special accomdations form with my requests and faxing it to them and keeping a copy to show the pursers desk may help insure what I need. This was on advice from Carnival itself. So we will see.  Let me also hear on how your shore excursions went. I have a few more months to play with this, but your itineary is the same one we will be on.

Enjoy your trip and I will be thinking of you!

I will post with all my findings believe me!  Like I mentioned we have been cruising with my daughter for over 15 years and we always have a great time and everyone is always so nice.  My big issue with Carnival is NO pre-boarding. 

 My daughter LOVES to cruise it is her favoriate vacation which is why we return year after year and on a good year twice!