Vacations were a thing of the past since our autistic son hates to leave the house, or when we have tried to travel, the hotel room. We decided to gamble on a cruise and crossed our fingers that our son's love of history would get him off the ship. We booked a Cove Balcony and set out with expectations of sitting on our balcony and watching Europe sail by. Well, the Cove Balcony was wonderful and we didn't want to leave. Private and quiet with a beautiful water level view. Our room was spotless and roomy, the beds very comfortable. We had left over drawer space after unpacking. If we had never left the room, we would have had a wonderful vacation.Boarding was a breeze. We booked through Autism on the Seas and they provided Carnival with our son's information including his quirks and limitations. We had priority board and were on board relaxing within minutes. Once on the ship we were given a cell phone to carry so that our son could reach us when we were out of the room. He never called but it gave us peace of mind to go to shows or get a drink at night while he watched a movie in the room. Carnival was more than happy to have our son participate in either of the teen clubs but he choose not to and was actually so worn out by sight seeing that he needed to crash in our room after dinner each night. We were assigned a table for four in the Southern Lights dining room by the window in the back. Watching the water and the sunsets provided us with a show each night which was followed by Ken the maitre d's song of the night and dancing by the staff. We loved it. Our server Bianca was fabulous and attentive as was the entire wait staff. Our son had a made to order dinner each night that Bianca tweaked the first few days until she came upon the perfect combination of chicken fingers, basmati rice and papadam. Not on the menu but always ready when we arrived. Our skinny son who has been loosing weight for the past year put on over five pounds during the cruise. A miracle! And the food was so good that we ended up canceling our reservation at the Steak House. We did do the Chef's table and had the meal of our lives. Wonderful wine and creative, gourmet courses made for a memorable experience. That night our son's dinner was brought to our room which made our night that much easier. For lunch, the Tandoori grill had Indian food better than anything available at home. We ate there every day when we were on the ship.We enjoyed the shows, particularly anything with the CD John Heald. Yes, we are huge fans of his. Faulty Towers, Extras and John. Love British "humour". The two main singers were very talented and the magic show had the expected glitz and tricks that still have us scratching our heads.All in all, the trip was what we dreamed of and more than we ever hoped for.