Jenn Powell: Never Look Back Vacations

21/11/2024

This isn’t any vacation; this is Next Icon of Vacations. Star of the Seas has it all, from mind-blowing thrills, next level chill, bolder bonding, epic celebrations and wander lusting exploration. Sailing from Port Canaveral in summer 2025!

14/11/2024

You'll never want to Caribbean any other way🌺 Get away on a quick tropical escape that will ruin all others and discover why nothing comes close to Celebrity Cruises.

11/11/2024

Happy Veterans Day!

While in Magic Kingdom before our cruise, I just so happened to see the flag retirement for the day. The whole thing took about 5 minutes (unfortunately FB cuts the video to 60 seconds). It was special to be able to see, and I was also very happy that so many people stood around and watched with me. After, the Cast Members on Main Street applauded the veteran for their service as well.

10/11/2024

It’s Sensory Sunday again! Today, I’m going to talk about proprioception, the body’s sixth sense.

Proprioception is the sense of body position, movement and force. It’s an automatic process that allows the brain to know where the body is in space. It is essential for balance, walking, driving and sports. And trust me, my proprioception will take some time to reorient itself after the cruise and autotrain.

Some ways to help your proprioception:
Pushing or pulling heavy objects, like suitcases
Weighted blanket and vests
Giving your active child time and space to get their wiggles out
Using assistive devices like walkers and wheelchairs until their balance has returned

09/11/2024

With the Oasis class of ships, Royal Caribbean started making use of neighborhoods. One of the neighborhoods is called Central Park, which is where our room balcony is overlooking.

Central Park is where you can find some specialty dining options, like Chops Grille, Giovanni’s, and 150 Central Park. There are also a few bars, including Rising Tide. Rising Tide travels between the Royal Promenade and Central Park, with the trip taking 30 minutes. You can enter the bar at either of the floors. This area is full of fresh greenery, and it reminds you of walking through Central Park in New York.

I will say that I have really liked having a balcony overlooking it, as it has been quiet at night. It also is pretty with some of its lights.

07/11/2024

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06/11/2024

For those of us who are immunocompromised, or traveling with someone who is, Royal Caribbean has taken you into consideration on Wonder of the Seas. There are hand sanitizer stations in many popular areas, including the Promenade, the sports area, and of course the food areas.

They also have a bay of wash sinks upon entering the Windjammer. And the Washy Washy staff, remind you to washy washy your hands!

05/11/2024

I was so happy to see this sign this morning.

I am up in the Windjammer Marketplace for breakfast before training this morning. If you have ever been on a cruise, the Windjammer or breakfast buffet is a busy place and finding a table may be difficult, if not impossible on a very large ship. Instead, I was able to sit comfortably, near the entrance of the buffet, and have a lovely view of the Abyss slides, while I enjoyed a protein filled breakfast!

04/11/2024

Accessibility at Perfect Day at Cococay is pretty good from my perspective.

At each of the tram stops, there are a few beach wheelchairs and beach strollers available. They are free to use, but are first come, first serve. I will say I saw at least 2-3 at each tram stop we went to on our tour.

The walkways to the bathrooms are paved and there were a few accessible stalls in the larger bathrooms.

We stayed at Hideaway Beach, the area for 18+, and there is a beach and an infinity pool there. There was even an accessible cabana you could rent, that had a lift into their splash pool.

04/11/2024

Very thankful for the awesome people at Special Needs At Sea. They called me this morning while we were eating breakfast to verify our time of arrival, and ask what car we had so they could look out for us. The staff was waiting at the entrance to the terminal, so we had the scooter and rollator for our entire time through the embarkation process. The other company that was present was Scootaround, but I didn’t see any rollators with them.

03/11/2024

Another location, another handicapped accessible room to show you. This one is on Wonder of the Seas in the Central Park area.

My husband stated this is the largest bathroom he has ever seen on a cruise ship. And I love the little things they did for wheelchair/scooter users, like the automatic door, the lip ramp for entrance to balcony, the built in shower stool, and the pull down clothes closet rail.

03/11/2024

It’s Sensory Sunday today! And the sense I’m going to feature today is taste!

Taste aversion is a learned response to avoid foods or items after associating it with a negative response. For kids and adults with autism, the negative response can simply be change and the fact that foods may be prepared differently in different locations. And sometimes, as I noted last week, food aversion can be a combination of taste, touch, smell, and sight.

Some recommendations while traveling:
If you can, talk with your server or chef about food options and what substitutions you might be able to make
Bring some comfort foods or foods that you know will be accepted
Never force someone to eat something that they have a strong aversion to. They need to be the one who has ownership of their food and what they are willing to try.
If you have a more accepting child, you may be able to get away with a “No thank you” bite, just to see if it is something they would like.

One awesome tip: Sandals and Beaches offer a consultation with food staff upon check in if you have special dietary needs. And their butlers were very accommodating with my son when he was 2, bringing cookies and crackers regularly. And the servers on Royal Caribbean knew my son by name and brought his favorites with each dinner.

02/11/2024

We finally made it to Orlando and checked in at the Contemporary Resort! So, another handicapped room to show you.

Disney has a few different categories of accessible rooms. They have ones for hearing impaired, a Florida handicapped room (which just has some extra handrails and such), a roll in shower room, and this is a tub room.

I did want to mention that the beds are low, but the lip for the tub/shower is kinda high. There isn’t a big lip to go on the balcony, and we have a view of Magic Kingdom.

02/11/2024

For those of you who have not ridden the Autotrain, let me share some pictures of the handicapped accessible room.

The attendants can bring your meals to you in your room, and they flip down the top bunk for a bed. I will caution you that there is only one electrical outlet in the room, so please bring your surge protector if you need to use more than one thing.

01/11/2024

31/10/2024

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31/10/2024

Our family’s last cruise was July 2015 on Adventure of the Seas. I was pregnant with my daughter and my son was just short of being in the school age group for Adventure Ocean.

On Sunday, Mike and I (along with three other NLB travel agents) will be boarding Wonder of the Seas for a week. I am so excited to be able to learn more while on board, and also be able to enjoy the different ports. I’m also excited for inTENse, the show in the Aquatheater, and to see 365 Seasons on Ice. Oh, and I really want to try the zip line on board!

We will be visiting the following ports:
Perfect Day at CocoCay
Cozumel, Mexico
Roatan, Honduras
Puerta Costa Maya, Mexico

I will also try to focus on travelers with special needs and autism while on board. So, please, if you have any questions or concerns, let me know and I can ask.

28/10/2024

It’s Sensory Sunday (sorry, I totally missed yesterday).

The sense I’m going to feature today is touch. Touch involves more than just using your hands. It can be how things feel against you and around you. And sometimes, it can be connected with one of the other senses to cause issues, such as textures of foods, or the vibrations of a dental instrument.

Tactile sensitivity or craving can be difficult to manage in uncertain situations. But here are some ways to help:
Bring/buy clothing that is tagless, or you can cut off tags
Bring/buy at least one food that you know will have a similar texture each time (crackers)
Bring or inquire if the facility has fidget items that can be borrowed
Understand your child’s limits when it comes to touching different textures in museums
Try not to travel with new shoes, socks, or different types of clothing

As I said, there are certain venues that have fidgets available. KultureCity is one group that has supplied these bags to museums and zoos in my area. And another awesome tip is Royal Caribbean cruises have fidget bags that may be borrowed for the cruise. I am so excited to be sailing on a Royal Caribbean cruise starting next Sunday, so I can inquire more about sensory items that they may be able to provide