First timer in very early planning stages - need help!

[fairgame84]

Just come back from a tricky week in Spain with 13yo DS (ASD and mental health issues). I'm not quite ready to give up taking him on holiday so i'm thinking a cruise might tick the boxes for him.

I'm looking at saving up and going in 2020. At the moment i really like the look of a Disney Cruise but it's really expensive.
We will go for a Norwegian Fjords or Scandinavia/Russia cruise; basically anywhere that isn't as hot as DS doesn't do heat.
We have to go in August as I work in a school and ideally a 7 day cruise.

1. Are Disney cruises worth the money?
2. DS wont do kids clubs or anything like that but absolutely loves swimming and pool slides. Disney ticks that box but the other option is Serenade of the Seas with RCI but i can't tell if the pool is very exciting?
3. When is the best time to book if i want to go in August 2020?
4. What sort of money do i need to put aside for excursions? Or can i do my own thing when we get to port? Would i be able to get a taxi from the port into the city like you can at an airport? (sorry if that's a stupid question).
5. Are the ships expensive if you want to buy things on board?
6. Would £1000 be enough spending money for a week's cruise to cover spending on land etc?

I'm sure i'll think of more daft questions to add.

Disney cruises are amazing but as you say pricey. You are best booking as soon as they come out as the prices can increase. Roomwise we book an inside cabin as we spend so little time in the room.
Pools are great but can get busy.
A lot of the European ports are really easy to do yourself. Some you can walk into towns, others grab a bus or taxi. We very rarely do the ship excursions.
On a Disney cruise all your soft drinks and tea and coffee are included so we spend very little onboard. It’s just a bit of pocket money for exploring and lunch in port.
And there are so many activities on the ship I’m sure DS will find something he loves.

Have you looked at NCL? Their newer ships have brilliant slides and water parks. They also have freedom dining as standard so no set times or table sharing and more relaxed clothing rules in the dining room. Plus they have a lot of options for dining so you will be able to avoid busy times.

I would look at each port do it on your own (except maybe somewhere like St Petersburg). There can be a lot of cattle-herding with ships tours which might not be good with ASD.

You might find visiting a travel agent helpful: most have cruise experts.

Drinks are expensive but with all inclusive you don’t have to worry. Things like bingo are also expensive but you don’t have to do that. They may also offer expensive ice creams and cakes, but you can get virtually the same options in the buffet restaurant so you don’t need too pay. Also specificality coffees etc are expensive, but you don’t need them. Things like films, entertainment and activities are usually free, with some paid for options (NCL charge for bowling and the cirque du soleil, but most other things are free).

Thanks both of you.
I did look briefly at NCL but didn't see the water slides on their ships so I will have a proper look on the laptop. Their dining sounds better, I was a bit surprised to see that Disney do 2 sittings in the rotational dining rather than you go and eat when hungry.
The herding is something that DS hates, he doesn't do guided tours either so I'm glad that it's an option to do our own thing (except in Russia).
I wouldn't begrudge paying for a few extras on the NCL due the saving of not going with Disney.
I had a really good look at the Disney cruise and using next year's prices as a guide, worked out that I would need around £6k for a week! That's with a window room as I'm worried I might feel claustrophobic in an inside room.
Whoever I end up going with it will be a case of saving as much as I can and then seeing what is available in August 2020.

Me and my sister spent over a grand on board an 11 day cruse. The shop on board was stupidly expensive.

We've done Scandinavia and Russia on Serenade of the Seas with an autistic young teen. The pool isn't very exciting, just a small straight pool and one with a small slude for younger kids. Mine spent quite a lot of his time on the sports court playing football etc, sometimes on his own, sometimes as part of teen club activities. Also a lot of time on the mini-golf.

My DS doesn't like herding either, but you can pick and choose excursions carefully, he was fine on an outdoor guided tour in St Petersburg, we did one in Helsinki but it was dropoffs from a bus (with sightseeing and commentary while on the bus). The other cities we did our own thing, but you have to be very careful about getting back to the ship on time (Tallinn is walking distance, Stockholm we used the bus and there were a LOT of cruise passengers at the bus stops heading back all at the same time).

Dining is two sittings, you either choose one for the whole cruise or have My Time which has more flexibility but is still broadly two sittings. You can use the buffet instead but if you've had breakfast and lunch there already you might not fancy it. Dress code is relaxed, even on formal evenings its not very formal.

Costwise we had drink packages (included as a special offer, we booked in Jan for Aug the same year) so our onboard bills were very low, we didn't buy anything much in the shops. If your DS is always on a phone or similar be warned Wifi is eye-wateringly expensive.

NCL getaway does Northern Europe: it’s a brilliant new ship with loads of facilities. We always manage to get balcony rooms on NCL as they have so many.

They also have great guest services and special assistance on board to help families with any extra needs which may be a help.

We have never really spent any money onboard other than a game or two of bowling. We don’t use the internet on board (it’s too expensive) but they give you free WiFi for 60 minutes now.

I have just got back from a fjords cruise with ds who is 8 and autistic. His 4th cruise and he loves it. The bonus is we can always easily get back to the cabin to escape!

We went with p and o who are amazing and we get priority boarding and disembarkation which makes things much easier! They also cater for his food issues well (chips waiting when we walked into the restaurant)

We decided against going on any excursions as he wouldn’t cope with the amount of time off ship and people. We just walked around each of the little towns which was lovely and in one we went on a land train trip.

Be careful going too far without it being an official trip though - the ship doesn’t wait, we did leave a group behind at the first port because they didn’t get back in time and they had a slot they had to leave in.

With p and o 2020 cruises will go on sale next month and we will book then. Kids places do tend to sell out early as they are limited to how many they can carry in each age group

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful.

RC are very supportive of people with special needs and disabilities too, they have a form for you to notify them of any particular needs (you get emails telling you about this after you have booked, even if you haven't enquired or mentioned it). DS was very well supported in the kids clubs when he was younger, he didn't really need any extra support this time round (he's fine with queues and although he has food issues there is enough choice on board with the regular menus that he was always able to find enough to eat). The only thing that really stressed him out this time was the compulsory evacuation drill before sailing, but you are given reminders all afternoon about when it will be so we kept him with us, it is very orderly and well organised. I found out through chatting to a crew member that there was going to be a crew only drill in port one day (lifeboats down etc) so I would ask about that again next time too to make sure he was off ship when it took place. We have always found that nothing is too much trouble for the crew onboard, so many travellers have disabilities and they are very used to it.

I have just come home from a southern Norwegian cruise with Disney, and I went on a fjords cruise with them 2 years ago!

Having travelled with Disney, I think I would struggle to go with anyone else. They're expensive, but the best. Absolutely brilliant - but then spoils you for any other companies.

So in answer to question 1 IMO yes without question. The crew are brilliant, every single passenger is made to feel special.

1. Pools and slides - the Goofy pool on the Magic is not huge, but it's ok. There are two slides, one's a big but gentle water slide, the other is a floor drops away, goes over the side of the ship huge thing!

1. To go in August 2020 you'll need to book in February/ March next year. Disney prices only go up - unlike other cruise companies they don't do discounts or offers and, for example, our next cruise has increased by £1000 since I booked it 6 months ago. However the really good thing is that you pay a 10% deposit, which is FULLY REFUNDABLE up until 4 months before you go. So if you change your mind, or can't go, you call them and get a full deposit refund.

1. If you're doing the fjords, I wouldn't necessarily do Disney excursions unless there's something particularly gripping you want to do. Most of the time the ship sails right into town, and you can just mooch about to your leisure. If it rocks outside of town they usually lay on a complimentary shuttle bus to take you in. Excursions start at around £70 per person so not cheap.

1. With Disney, most things are included. All soft drinks, ice creams etc are. The only things you pay for are posh coffees (standard coffee is included), alcohol, and dining in the adults only restaurant. DH had a few beers and it was around $6 a time. We didn't use the adult restaurant as Disney do rotational dining - they have 3 themed restaurants (often with a show in there) and your waiters travel with you each night to your designated restaurant. That's particularly good for picky eaters, as they get to know your likes and dislikes! Shows, cinema, clubs, everything else is included.

1. We barely spent anything on land, but our bill from the stateroom was £500, which included tips for four of us, DH's beer, gifts from the gift shop and a 20 professional photo package.

There were loads of kids with different needs on board, and Disney were really good with all of them. There are the kids clubs - if he'll be 15 in 2020 then he could go in Vibe - I understand from DD2 that most of the lads in Vibe spent their time playing video games!

Any other questions please ask!

Ooh, just seen your comment about the two evening meal sittings - it actually works very well as it's opposite the shows, but there is one restaurant (that's the buffet during the day) that you can turn up at any time to. There's also various other eateries like the salad bar, pizzeria, burger bar etc that are open.

The big plus for me with Disney is that everything stops at night and restarts in the morning, so everyone goes to bed, there's no drunken shouting down corridors etc and it's easy to get my teens to come back to the room!

I’ve never done a Disney cruise, but I understand they are fantastic. I met a family on a NCl cruise who said sailing with NCL was a 3 1/2 to 4 star experience, Disney was a 5 star plus.

That’s said, to me, it’s not worth paying over double the cost. NCL offers everything I want at much less cost. The ships and staff are lovely, lots of extras are included (alcoholic and soft drinks, service charges, limited WiFi) so its easy to budget.

The larger ships (Getaway, Breakaway etc) offer masses to do for kids - the water slides are fantastic, there’s mini golf, sports courts, wall climbing, ropes courses etc. My three teens found so much to keep them occupied, that they never even made it to the teen club.

Only you can decide if a Disney cruise is worth it to you. I’d rather have a second cruise with the cost saved by sailing a cheaper line!

I’m with you there Budgiegirl! Two NCL cruises vs one Disney - it’s no contest for me. Plus I would rather 4 and relaxed dining options than 5 set dining :)

Plus I would rather 4 and relaxed dining options than 5 set dining

Me too, I like the flexibility that NCL gives you. We do usually book one or two restaurants in advance, but often we’ll just show up at the restaurant. Occasionally there’s been a short wait fir a table (ten minutes or so, but usually we’ve been seated straight away,

In addition to the main dining rooms and the buffet, many of the NCL ships have a ‘pub’ style bar/restaurant as well, this was my children’s favourite place to have dinner - they did a great fish and chips!

We did a Disney one last Christmas.

I loved it.

My stepdaughter was enthralled by Disney. She participated in some of the activities.

We often had our dinner together at one of the child friendly restaurants onboard. I bought something in the gift shop.

Everything was included in the price. We played in the pools and saw one or two shows. After the children were sleeping we played bingo watched movies and sipped wine too.

Have a good look at the website. It should definitely tell you everything you need to know.