Autism on the Seas - by chance, anyone used them?

[Guest]

It does sound great. I hope it works well for you, please come back and update for the benefit of others here.

[akv2010]

Just thought I would update this - change of plans but... we have actually booked and are sailing on the Disney Fantasy on 19th October 2013 and Autism on the Seas are going to be onboard, as we booked via our Timeshare company we are paying $100 each to join the group and we can join in with all they do.

When we get back I'll give a full report into our experience with them. I know it is a long while yet but we are so excited - no doubt the weeks will tick by. I ordered my brochure today so I can at least look at the pictures.

And VA just emailed me regarding our lack of Special Assistance last month and they are upgrading our next flight to PE for free as way of apology for what happened. I am just happy they apologised for what happened though and did not gloss over it or lie about it, they were honest about why it happened.

[BarryandCaron]

That's great news about your flight upgrade.

The weeks will soon go until your holiday. I'll be very interested what you have to report back. Is it just for children?

Caron

[akv2010]

Originally Posted by BarryandCaron

That's great news about your flight upgrade.

The weeks will soon go until your holiday. I'll be very interested what you have to report back. Is it just for children?

Caron

See more...

Thanks Caron, we do not get friends or family help here and I am so looking forward to having a break.

No, it is for adults and children and, although it is called Autism on the Seas, they accept people with all disabilities. Here is the section about Adults: alumnicruises/Autism/...ith_Autism.htm

You are right though, the time will fly and by them it means DD will be in Y6 and not long after will move up to secondary school which will be a big thing for us too.

[oohoohmonkey]

Originally Posted by akv2010

Just thought I would update this - change of plans but... we have actually booked and are sailing on the Disney Fantasy on 19th October 2013 and Autism on the Seas are going to be onboard, as we booked via our Timeshare company we are paying $100 each to join the group and we can join in with all they do.

And VA just emailed me regarding our lack of Special Assistance last month and they are upgrading our next flight to PE for free as way of apology for what happened. I am just happy they apologised for what happened though and did not gloss over it or lie about it, they were honest about why it happened.

See more...

That's really exciting having Disney Fantasy booked. We did Disney Magic med cruise last year with 2 kids on spectrum (too much for hubbie on a ship so he stayed at home), took my Mum, sister and partner who all helped. Will be checking out that website link, many thanks for posting it.

Can I ask, if you don't mind, how VA let you down? We had a bad experience on a flight with them in 2010. Our seats were occupied when we boarded, and we had been put in two sets of two. DS melted down full on, lasted for 2 hours, was nightmare. They sent 2 teddies by way of apology and a letter. All has been ok since, hoping they'd improved.

[akv2010]

Hi Monkey, no I do not mind saying.

I had called Special Assistance months in advance and asked to be seated in the quiet cabin with DS, I know it is not guaranteed but we did twilight check in and got there at 12pm (flight at 1pm next day) so we could all sit somewhere quiet and be able to get off quick. Now as ALL know that people can be moved before they check in so when they said they had NO other seats to put us in which is crap to be honest, even another family told us at the airport THEY had been moved from their allocated seats at the airport. OLCI had not opened yet so they were more than able to move people so we was able to sit somewhere quiet in the plane.

Then she gave us our tickets and told us where we was sitting and we realised that we had been split up and I said that we was travelling with SA and she said we wasn't. This was while she was labelling our son's disability buggy. Then we asked if there was somewhere quite for us to sit instead and she sighed and tapped into the computer and handed us tickets and then she told us seat numbers and I realised that she had split us up. The seat numbers escape me because I was just so annoyed.

When I said no, these were not acceptable I needed help with DS, she told me she could not offer me anymore help and referred us to the red phone at customer services. It was there that we got put back together but at the back of the plane instead - behind the galley where they do the food and drinks!

We asked if they would allocate us seating for on the way home so we was sitting together and they said no and we was split up on the way home when we checked in (and I know they can allocate seats this was as they always have in the past).

The list was endless really, being stuck on the plane with the kids constantly vomiting because they so stressed by everything going on around them (DD has sensory issues too). The worst thing was because we had always been seated quiet place before I did not have their ear defenders with me to drown out the sound. DS cannot filter out noise and it must have been horrendous for him. We were in the busiest part of the plane - and ditto for the return journey - DS had been sick on his clothes and on my trainers and the plane landed and we was stuck there for ages with handfuls of sick bags and clothes with sick on - the loos were down the plane so we could not get to those to get rid of the bags - and we ended up being the last off so you can imagine the queue in immigration. After an hour of being in the queue with 2 kids still throwing up someone going back and forth in the bit behind, told the immigration staff and they let us through the line. The other people on board/in the queue were offering us their tissues, water and wipes and then more sick bags as we was running out.

VA were very thorough and apologetic in their reply and it turned out that they had a record of my calling for SA requests but the person taking the call put the information in the wrong box so the information did not get given to the ground or air crew so we never got any SA or seating allowances. And all of this came about from that. I said I was appaulled by their attitude in asking what his disability was as we clearly had a disability buggy with us (although I appreciate now that it could have meant he needed wheelchair help).

I told them that I'd never fly VA again if this was the service they were now offering with SA as we had always been loyal to them but this was well beyond my levels of expectation! And they have offered us the upgrades as an apology (and to make sure we fly with them I guess), I also sent them some information from Autism on the Seas that explains to airlines how they can make flying easier for people with Autism and they said that they would pass it onto passenger health. So who knows... maybe it will make life easier for people with disabilities to fly for the future.

But in all honestly, I do not think we will ever travel VA Economy again. Ever, ever, ever. And that is the truth as I was physically and emotionally exhausted when we reached our destination and it really is not worth the hassle all of this caused. I cannot put him through an economy flight ever again, he had a massive meltdown and was so ill and stressed that it ruined the first few days for all of us. And it has left me saying that we will never fly economy with him again it was that bad.

The thing I noticed was that they have started selling off the seats that are nearer the exits and those that are in the quiet bit of the plane as I saw the little covers over the seats that said 'pay extra to sit here' - if they had told me we could sit there for a few extra ££ I'd have happily paid to get through the flight easier, but they never said anything just stuck us in a busy seat at the back of the plane. To me it seems they were more after more money now than helping vunerable people fly and have a comfortable journey.

[oohoohmonkey]

Hi AKV2010, Sounds a complete nightmare, and you were really let down. I think if they don't have it all smooth and arranged before you get there, it is just awful as we know with ASD any sense that there's an issue is picked up by our kids, and the rest is hard to fix then. I don't know how you coped with the vomiting and everything. You deserve a medal! We have avoided VA since 2010 because of our experience and it was not anywhere as bad as yours, and they had noted our SA (no problems on way out but plane was empty), but on return the ground staff had made the mistake and the cabin crew couldn't do enough to help me. Albeit to calm the other passengers in front of us because little guy was kicking, screaming, shaking and banging his head for 2 hours. It's all coming back to me now, swearing I would never fly with them! However I have booked with them again. I've been promised by SA they will give us the bulk head but who knows! Thanks for sharing your info, really appreciate.

[akv2010]

No worries, it feels a bit of a distant memory now - albeit a bad one!

To be honest, I came home and just wanted to forget about it and then I started reading on here how great people thought the SA offered, was, and I was getting more and more annoyed and hit of an email to them. They had looked into the booking as there was a couple of things that happened that I had not told them about, so I knew they had been thorough in looking into it. And all credit to them, they were honest about it and admitted they were in the wrong. I was a bit stunned with this to be honest as I was not expecting it at all, just excuses and blaming us, but that never happened so credit, where credit is due.

Funny enough, we was so determined that we was never flying economy again, we just exchanged clubcard vouchers for all of us to have enough for a miles & money upgrade to PE when we fly next time - so now we get to fly PE the next 2 times at least.

[akv2010]

Just thought I would post an little piece from the latest Royal Caribbean blog about AotS: royalcaribbeanblog/20...amilies-autism

[DIBBadmin]

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