WHEN Victoria Berrey took a cruise with her mother and sister three years ago, she returned to her home in Santa Clarita, Calif., with one regret: She’d never be able to do a trip like it with her own children, both of whom have autism. “I worried about the confined quarters and the need for the boys to sit still in the dining room,” said Mrs. Berrey, whose older son, Miles, now 12, is on a restricted diet, and whose younger boy, Mathew, 8, has difficulty with any disruptions in routine. “Where would I take Mathew if something happened and he started yelling? What if one of them fell overboard?”
But last March Mrs. Berrey and her sons did enjoy a cruise, a three-day sail on a Royal Caribbean liner with special arrangements for people who have autism. At boarding, the 11 families who had booked the Autism on the Seas package through Alumni Cruises didn’t have to wait in line, and they were able to do the muster call in a private conference room rather than crowd on deck with the thousands of other passengers.