TravelingBeyondBoundaries

I'm super excited for this cruise! I'm going with my brother and my daughter. We love smaller ships and hoping Jewel gives that experience. It will be our first cruise in Europe and can't wait to go above the Arctic Circle.

Since my initial posts I have done 3 cruises with my daughter. She has also since been diagnosed with autism in addition to her Down syndrome. The first cruise actually had the Autism on the Seas group on there and it was really cool to see. I highly recommend going on one of their cruises if you can. I'm now hosting group cruises and we have multiple special needs in our group but it's on a different cruise line because we had better experiences with them than Royal. It's not specifically directed at special needs cruising but since that's who I work a lot with that's what naturally I end up booking into my groups.

Thanks, I'll pass lol

We got it for Norway (July 2024). Often it's included for Europe and sometimes Alaska but never for popular destinations like Caribbean.

Is the Solo Cruisers Meetup usually people who are single looking to hookup or people just looking to hang out? I've always cruised with my brother or a friend but I'm taking my first cruise with just my daughter (5 years old but has special needs so is like traveling with a baby) and wondering if it's worth my time to attend.

This is exactly what I think I'm looking for, thanks! Also glad to hear they had fun activities on the boardwalk for families as well. Thanks everyone so much! I will definitely be checking with staff but sounds like there are enough activities for us to do together that we should be good. Can't wait!

Thanks so much. I've been looking at past cruise compasses to see what's available but I'll have to find an AO one. She'll be 5 but she's the size of a 2 year old and has only been walking for less than a year. Developmentally she's about 12-18 months old. I know she will enjoy the baby splash zone (4 out of 5 cruises we have booked right now have one) but sitting there all day isn't the way I want to spend my cruise lol. She loves music so I know we will be listening to that a lot throughout the ship. She's too small for many activities like the rock climbing wall and not sure she can do mini putt. If they had enough staff for very close supervision I would be ok with leaving her for 30 minutes to do one activity but I guess that will depend on staffing and other children. My daughter has zero safety awareness and will just wander without an adult directing her. She's non verbal and puts everything into her mouth. Any kind of craft she needs an adult directly with her to make sure she doesn't eat everything and help with the tasks. We go to library programs frequently and she goes to preschool, she enjoys a lot of different activities but she needs an adult close for her safety and to actually participate.

Thanks. The autism program is insanely expensive and limited. That makes sense though, just sucks that my daughter misses out. Hopefully they will have family activities she can do.

My daughter has special needs, Royal's special needs service said they can give her a potty training exception but that they don't have additional staff to help her. Unfortunately she needs close adult supervision so I'm not comfortable leaving her there alone with the group. Does anyone have experience with a parent being able to attend with their child? I really don't want her to miss out on the kids activities. I do plan on going to AO during their registration event to ask but wondering in advance. Thanks!

Thanks everyone! I actually found a travel restraint called a RideSafer vest that is legal in all states. My daughter is large enough for that so even though it's pricey it's worth having in order to be able to take an Uber. Thanks for all the suggestions, can't wait for our adventure!

Thanks but she's only 30 lbs (even though she's 5). There is one in Canada called the mifold which is also certified for the US that folds very small but I don't think she will be heavy enough for it. I'll be happy when she is though lol

No, she doesn't need one for the flight.

Unfortunately Uber doesn't have car seats in LA

My daughter and I will be sailing from LA and I'm looking for pre-cruise hotel suggestions. Is it better to stay near the port? Or maybe by the airport? I'm a little nervous traveling alone there. What's the best option for getting to/from the hotel? My daughter is small and needs a car seat. I was sad to find out that Royal no longer offers pre-cruise packages and miss the convenience of them just taking care of me lol. Do they still offer shuttles from/to the airport? Thanks!

She can actually sit for a long time. She eats orally and only gets liquid via tube so she's usually happy to sit for an hour or more at restaurants.

My daughter has a feeding tube (gtube) and she will be going on her first cruise in July. I've always preferred the buffet pre child because of its speed and convenience. With my daughter life has slowed down and I'm wondering if maybe the dining room is the better option for us now. Anyone with feeding tube experience been to both the dining room and buffet and can give some insight to what it's like? She is gravity fed, not a pump. Thanks!

Thanks. We never really cared so much about the cost as the convenience of being taken care of. Now we are traveling with my daughter who has special and medical needs, plus is tiny and would need a car seat without being on a transfer bus, so I was hoping there was still a way to do it through the cruise line.

Back in the day of my last cruises we booked a pre-cruise hotel with transfers through the cruise line. We had very limited choices for hotels but it made things easier for us. Now I see that Royal is partnered with Priceline for the hotels. It's nice to have more options but now how do we get to and from the hotel and port/airport? Do we need to figure that out on our own? Does Royal offer a separate transfer that we can add on? Thanks.

Thanks so much! I'll try to be patient until then

Does anyone know roughly Royal's schedule for posting summer 2024 cruises? Thanks!

Thanks! My daughter doesn't usually have many behaviour issues and her disability is quite visible. Our biggest issue is usually people thinking she is much younger than she is and therefore treat her as a baby. Currently she is almost 4 but developmentally (cognitive and physical) only about 12 months and she's the size of an 18 month old. I will definitely get the letter though because there are some accommodations that might be helpful as well as giving them a heads up of her feeding needs (restrictions plus feeding tube).

How walkable is Nassau? I've always done cruise line excursions but we are thinking of just walking around in Nassau instead. My daughter has limited mobility but I can wear/carry or use a stroller. Are the sidewalks easy to navigate with a stroller? Bumpy cobblestone is fine lol more worried about it being extremely uneven. Are there lots of stairs around? We are considering walking to Fort Charlotte. Is that something that might be doable? Maybe taxi or other transportation instead? We will have 4 adults plus one toddler size child. Thanks.

When I last went in 2015 I could get soy milk at the buffet where the juices are and easily at the dining room as well. I'm not sure about others though. I will say it was a million times easier than past cruises with another line.

Might be but it's not even available for when my work allows me to have time off, nor do they have the itineraries we are looking for.

What should the note have in it? Just her diagnosis?