Cruise with kids

[Blackhairblackheart]

DH has never been abroad, i havent since i was a teen and 2 DC obviously haven't either.

I would love to all go abroad but both kiddos are ND, even asda with the pair of them ends up being difficult, im ND too and struggle terribly with anxiety so the thought of navigating an airport with them in tow would be nothing short of a nightmare.

Ive had a look at cruises from Southampton and they look okay! Seems to be a simple way of introducing all of us to travelling abroad that would, in my mind, be less stressful.

Has anyone been on a cruise, with out without kids, would you rate or recommend it or is it a terrible idea?

Have you considered the ferry or tunnel to France? Self catering or campsite?
If they can't cope with a trip to Asda then a cruise could well be overwhelming.
How would you cope in a small cabin ?
Busy restaurants, different foods it all sounds a bit much.

I have a 16 year old ds and he might cope now but wouldn't have when he was younger.

I've been on a cruise with kids and had a great time, but they do tend to be a bit crowded with lots going on and lots of noise so I'm not sure a cruise would be the best way to travel in your situation. Embarkation at Southampton is a breeze compared to flying though, really easy, we parked the car and were on the ship within half an hour!

@Blackhairblackheart

Depending or where you live I recommend flying from a small regional airport. Its easy to book assistance to guide you through and help you board first.

I’d consider a mini cruise first to test it out are you anywhere near Newcastle? I took the dc to Amsterdam for the day. Not massive amount of kids stuff but they enjoyed being on the water and having a steak dinner (prebooked) then off the boat I think we had nearly 10 hours. Then back aboard for a Dutch picnic, it was generally fun and not busy or noisy. Upgrade to nicer cabin if you can and there’s a fancier restaurant with table service for breakfast.

https://autismontheseas.com/
Have you had a look at this, OP?

I love cruises but they are busy - even the smaller ones will have a couple of thousand passengers crammed onto a ship, is this something they can cope with. They would need to be able to queue up for the restaurant and wait to he served, or queue up in the buffet. The kids club will cater for them to an extent but they can't offer extra support or a separate area - you know your children, what do they need?

I'd suggest for a first trip away taking the overnight ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre and booking a holiday park in Normandy, not too far to drive - beaches are lovely and if they are interested in history there's lots of historical sites and museums, my nd dd loved the museums as a kid. Lots of the parks have half board packages to avoid the cooking thing, or try out local restaurants, my DD's loved mussels and chips as kids.

Some really good suggestions there for me to explore- thank you. I hadnt thought about how busy it would be, one tends to get overwhelmed by noise, as do i and the other is 100mph and is hard to keep hold of, impulse control etc but i think they could be difficulties no matter where we go

I suggest you have a look at Travelblogjamie and Cruise with Ben and David on you tube. We have a son with autism and we’ve been thinking about booking a cruise and these videos have been really good in showing the reality of cruising. There are good and bad points! The main thing that has ended up putting us off for now is that our son needs a lot of gadget / iPad downtime and the wifi on board is shockingly awful generally and I think he’d get very fed up not being able to relax properly (he’s 11). Some of the ships also look very, very busy - I think to make it work for us we’d have to spend a lot extra to eat in the speciality restaurants which adds a lot onto the cost. The blogs are really helpful in showing it all.

I've been on two cruises with autistic DD. She was about 10 for the first and 16 for the second. She liked them. (I bought the Wi-Fi package). Plenty of structured activities like shows for her to enjoy and a cabin to regularly retreat to. The second was particularly good because she was very depressed at the time and it was a struggle to get her out of the house/her room. On the cruise I couldn't get her off the ship but, after 24 hours or so, she was happy to leave the cabin and watch things. Big step forward.

Hey
We have cruised twice with 3 kids.
The first time we were a bit apprehensive what to expect but the boys loved it so much they asked to do another one.
We went on Anthem of the Seas. The ship is amazing. The staff are wonderful.
Went from Southampton. Car park to having a drink on board was about 20 mins.

Thanks for sharing, its made me think it may well be worth a shot, maybe a short one to test the waters but i think it should work and certainly more so than flying. Food for thought and a discussion with DH!