Poor handling of our special needs child

For the most part the trip was quite a lot of fun. However we had two issues on board that put a big damper on our experience. (I tried the guest service number 3 separate times and was on hold for over 15 minutes each time and never got through to a live person)

The first is small by comparison.... I am a vegetarian, and I had the hardest time getting pizza that was vegetarian. The person working the pizzeria tried a few different times to get me to order/eat the pepperoni pizza, and when I explained in the end that I was a vegetarian, he picked the pepperoni off in front of me - with his hands - and told me it was cheese pizza. Needless to say I skipped the pizza the rest of the trip.... 

The second issue was a much bigger deal to me and my wife. We took this cruise as a birthday gift for my daughter, Maria. She turned 7 on the trip, and has Epilepsy and Autism. She LOVED the cruise we took on Carnival a couple of years ago, so we wanted to give her a great experience for her birthday. 

Prior to boarding, I registered online for Camp Carnival, answered all the questions, and tried to explain her condition. When we got on the ship they asked us more questions to check our children in, and we explained at that time as well that Maria has Epilepsy and Autism. The person checking us in on the ship using a tablet took notes and assigned us a cell phone. So far so good, and we felt a bit more comfortable. The first time at camp (about an hour or so) she had a good time, no issues. The second time she went to camp I picked her up. As I am checking her out of camp, the employee (Sarah) said to me "Um, what is the best way to get your kid to listen?" Taken aback a bit I said "Well she has Autism so you tell me. But usually if you get down to her level and talk calmly she will listen". After some awkward silence while she finished checking us out, as we are turning to leave and work our way through the crowd of parents waiting to pick their children up (who mind you, heard the entire conversation) the employee hollers out "If she has special needs it should say on the paperwork and there weren't any notes". I couldn't believe I heard that, and even the other parents looked shocked.

I asked my 10 year old son who was in camp with Maria what happened and if she was misbehaving. He loves getting his sister in trouble if she misbehaves... his answer was "She got up once in the circle during the magic show, and at one point she went off to the back of the camp to play by herself, but that was it". Hardly what I expected to hear.

I went down to Guest Services to try and talk with someone. I told the person working what had happened (I unfortunately did not get her name but she was from Medellin, Colombia, the same place where my wife was born... it came up in our conversation), and she looked mortified. She apologized and asked if I wanted to speak to the Camp Manager. She kindly got the manager to come talk with me, and then I told the manager what had happened. She, too, looked mortified and apologized. She asked more questions on how to best accommodate Maria, and I told her that she doesn't need much of anything, but if she feels overwhelmed by noise or crowds, she will seek out a quiet place to play as it makes her more comfortable. The manager had listened to me, then said she would make more notes but she stated she did check Maria's information out before coming to talk with me and there were notes about her condition already recorded (So Sarah couldn't have been telling the truth).

While this had all been going on I heard another counselor yell "Maria sit on your bottom!" I instinctively looked up and Maria was sitting quietly in the circle... sitting on her feet, not her bottom. (It's a comforting position for her to sit in) But she was sitting quietly, not harming anyone, and sitting in the circle. Seemed a bit excessive to be yelling at her about that, no?

We skipped a day of camp despite Maria wanting to go, but then we took her back the following day. My wife was with me this time, and when she checked Maria in, Sarah was there to check Maria in again. My wife asked if it is ok for Maria to be in camp because if it was a problem we would just keep her with us instead. Sarah's response was "Yeah I know, I know you complained to my boss about me". The Camp manager stepped in at that point and finished checking her in. 

Maria is a sweet girl who has a milder form of Autism. And we told the camp manager a couple of different times we don't use her condition as an excuse. If she misbehaves, she gets disciplined by us, and we told the manager to not let Maria off the hook if she is disrespectful in any way, and to call us if there is any issue. (We never needed to be called)

For what we paid for the cruise, this attitude towards my family is not acceptable. Truthfully, it would never be ok to talk to a parent like that. And considering this was Maria's birthday trip, it ruined the rest of the trip for me. We didn't ask for anything over the top, just for her to be allowed to play quietly if she was overwhelmed. We didn't need a special escort for her, or any type of assistance that would be deemed unreasonable. To really top it off, the ship was a day early on all the cool things you do for birthdays, and not done on her birthday like we requested. 

I had been upset about it until I called guest services three times and never got to talk with a live person, and now I am far beyond upset. The family wants to keep the tradition of cruising Thanksgiving week for Maria's birthday celebration, but to be honest I am not sure I can go back on a Carnival cruise after this incident and the fact I can't seem to talk with a live person about our experience. (If I call the "book a cruise" number I bet I can get through to a live person immediately, though...)