MouseGal

If it has a "twist-off" top, you may have a problem. It probably depends on the person making the inspection, and whether they care to look at the seals, or just say "No", based on the type of lid...

I understand that your husband's medical condition is no one else's business but from your original post you stated your husband needs a CPAP machine and a bottle of Oxygen. I was just wondering if you don't inform Carnival, that you are bring a CPAP machine and a bottle of Oxygen with you, will this invalidate your insurance?

Got it...no, I didn't think we could sail with O2 canisters without informing Carnival :)

I really just took their initial email in a "threatening" tone...it's easy to overreact at times.

I'm sure it will all be ok -- I mean, I'm reading threads on here where people are sailing while doing dialysis? And most cruiselines seem fine with that, as long as the customer accepts the risk...I do understand that it all about risk assessment for them :)

In any case, the clear to travel letter has been sent to Carnival, so I will assume we are good to go!

Duplicate

Having said that I am sure a lot of British passengers don’t have proper insurance and many seem unaware that they need it.

Agreed that having the right insurance is so important, and it's our responsibility to do the research and take care of that...I know that I need an insurance to be primary pay, and that will cover transportation if necessary. Lord willing, we will never need it!:)

Hi I have just read this thread for the first time.

 

But if you cruise without informing Carnival of your husbands medical condition won't this invalidate your insurance policy?

Our insurance is with GeoBlu, not Carnival, so I'm not sure why that would have any impact...does everyone with diabetes inform Carnival of that condition before they travel? With asthma? COPD? CHF? I could list a dozen or more "conditions" that could worsen and cause a "crisis" during any trip that would necessitate a visit to the hospital unexpectedly...most folks don't think of advertising these health conditions to the world ahead of time. They handle their business as necessary. Yes, I realize a lung transplant is a in a whole other category - I'm living that dream, thank you :)

6 months after his transplant, we were in Belize, on a cruise, and he was cave tubing...he would be appalled to think that Carnival considers him a risk at this late date!

Not that recent.

Interestingly enough, I send my original email to both "guest access" and "special needs" since I wasn't sure who I needed to contact. Guest Access was the email that requested the form be filled out. One day later, I received an email from Special Needs - paraphrasing, it says, "your booking has been noted with a medical/physical special requirement. Please review the next page. We look forward to seeing you on board"

The next page is just info about traveling with O2 - they do it all the time. Only one canister in the room (since some guests need more), instructions about boarding with the oxygen, etc.

Absolutely no big deal in this email, just, "hey, no problem, here's what you need to know...."

Ugh.

At this point, trust me, I'm wishing I would have said nothing at all...sigh.

I should have clarified that I am well aware “Medevac” is not a taxi service. We have cruised multiple times, before the transplant, with COPD, and after the transplant, with all the attendant concerns that brings. We are very careful. And yes, we always get travel insurance. That takes some extra research in our position, believe me!

I am not new. To cruising or to travel.

When I responded to the email, Carnival informed me that this was a new policy. No problem. We’ll get the clearance from the transplant team.

As several of you have pointed out, anyone can suffer an injury on board that requires medical service beyond the capabilities of the on-board medical staff - broken bones, illness, etc. Our situation requires our knowledge and care, first and foremost.

And Expatcruiser, I promise you, if you took a poll, the hundreds of people who travel with CPAP machines do not tell Carnival ahead of time, they just show up with it. Could they travel without it? Probably not. It would endanger their life to do so. But a CPAP is not the hazard that an O2 bottle is....

I guess my issue with the response was...I read these boards, and people in far worse condition that my husband travel on cruises regularly...do they not bother to inform the ship of anything beforehand? Just show up with the oxygen in tow, and assume they’re getting on board?

Background: my husband had a double lung transplant in April 2017. He has recovered fine, and we've cruised several times since then - most recently on the Carnival Splendor, Nov 2017.

Yesterday, I emailed Guest Access, to ask whether there is a fridge in the room that will keep his meds cold, and to notify them that we will have a small O2 bottle with us, which he uses with his CPAP when he's sleeping.

Not a big deal, right?

I got a call from Guest Access a few minutes ago, and the young lady stated that they would need a form filled out by his physician, stating that he is fit to travel. She emailed it to me, and it asks for his diagnosis, in detail, his meds, all medical equipment, any potential problems that might occur, and whether he is fit to sail.

Her email further states that "Once this information is received, we will forward it to our Medical Director for review and approval."

Excuse me? First of all, we wouldn't be making the trip if his transplant team hadn't given their approval. And I am well aware that the physician on board would not be able to do anything for him except MedEvac him to the closest major medical center in the US, if we had an emergency. Most hospitals in the US aren't equipped to deal with lung transplant patients.

We will have the form filled out, and send it in, however, I am now regretting having ever contacted them. (BTW, she assures me that the minibar fridge in the room will keep his insulin plenty cold, contrary to everything I've read on these boards...sigh)

Can't imagine showing up with an Inogen POC, or a bottle of O2 without letting someone know first, but...

Friends of mine were stranded in the Czech Republic for 3 weeks after 9/11, and were glad they didn't have to hassle with trying to get refills in a foreign country and paying out of pocket.

 

Roz

Oh, I can't even imagine.. I try not to even look at the totals anymore...some of these meds are 4k a month, one shot is 6k per shot, every two weeks. (I've been known to open the refrigerator door, and say, "Honey, we don't have any milk...but we do have $24,000 of medicine!" :rolleyes::loudcry: Thank heavens for insurance....there would be no paying out of pocket for us :)

I never knew meds could be so complicated! Taking cell phone photos of pill container labels, getting printouts from pharmacists, mobile apps, etc. :eek:

 

I just put my bottles of thyroid pills and cholesterol medicine, along with a hormone patch or two in a Ziploc bag and away I go.

 

Roz

I hope you never have to find out what it means to take 20 or more pills a day...but after a lung transplant, it is the difference between staying alive, and not. I'll deal with the traveling pharmacy, and keep my husband alive a little longer, thanks :D

One of the things others have mentioned is taking extra meds with them - we make sure that we have a month's supply at all times - many of the medications he takes would not be available overseas, and if they were, we could never afford to pay out of pocket for them. None of these are narcotics, and we've never been questioned by CBP or ship's personnel about any of them...

We will be on the Carnival Valor this time - since they all have children's clubs, I guess I thought it wouldn't make a difference (well, unless it was DCL, lol)... with my grandson, he seemed to like NCL and Carnival about the same, as far as I know (his mother may say differently)....

As far as the schedule goes, does that make a difference?

A little background - my kids were grown before we started cruising - the youngest was 16 on our first cruise. Since then, I've cruised with my grandson, and he has always loved the kid's clubs, on NCL and Carnival. Our last cruise, he was 12, and could check himself in and out, and he was happy...

Anyway, here is my question: in October, we are cruising with my stepdaughter (who has never cruised) and two grandchildren - barely 3, and 5. Can some of you more experience parents, PLEASE, give me a quick rundown on what embarkation day looks like for you? (I seem to remember that my daughter usually goes straight to the kid's club for something?) What do the kids do during sailaway? I mean, I can see them being interested for a few minutes, but we like to sit and watch for an hour or so...they'll be bored silly...what do you do with the kids? I just want to have recommendation ready :)

And what does a typical sea day look like for you?

One of our difficulties may be that the mom is *very* leery about leaving the kids anywhere...so any hints you have along those lines would be helpful too :)

Hubby is 18 months post-transplant (double lung), so the meds we travel with are extensive, and can be complicated. He has to use the pill planner box - leaving them all in the original bottles would be a nightmare, but we can travel with them in the bottles, and then I spend a quick 20 minutes dispensing into the pill planner once we're on board. Simple. And we have the extra in the bottles in case of emergency. And of course, the injectables require a sharps container (we usually just travel with a small plastic container of our own that can be labeled and disposed of).

I think it depends on the situation - and hopefully the OP has heard from their PVP by now. I have two cabins booked currently - we booked and needed to pay in full in less than 25 days (for those of you who are in the "just pay a little every month" club) - on day 21, when the final payment was due, both cabins were more than half paid off, I called my PVP - he gave me 3 additional days. I emailed him on the 3rd day, and got the extra days I needed to make it exactly 30 days from booking to final payment. I would send him flowers if I could :)

I am by no means saying Carnival is always understanding, but we had been making payments every week, and both cabins were more than half paid off. And in our case, my hubby had a double lung transplant last year...if anyone knows about tough finances, and needing every break, vacation, and peaceful interlude you can get...we're there! This will be our second cruise since the transplant, and we cannot wait!

I have looked on their webpage,and I've sent a FB message,and an email - while I'm waiting to hear back, does anyone happen to know the cost on Sergio's Tours 5 in 1 for adults and children under 5?

I was looking at a cove balcony for my daughters...read some reviews that talked about a "sewage" smell (on the Vista) -- can anyone comment on that? Otherwise, I think we may try one!

I've searched the boards, and I see several references to the FTTF lines and boarding at the Port of Miami...posters say that the line is hard to find, separate from the other boarding entrance, etc, etc....Can anyone describe, in some detail, what we're looking for when we arrive at the Port?

We did book a excision from a private company and I would never ever do it again. Please stay with the ship excusion. We were scared to death. It was just my husband and I. I thought we were going to be kidnapped.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience -- we book with private tour guides always, as I can't stand being part of the cattle call that is a ship's tour, and we've had incredible experiences! I do my research very, very carefully and thoroughly, and book with the best guides that I can find.

Would you care to share about your bad experience? Where, and what tour company?

bUU - I can't thank you enough for the link you posted...I was searching desperately for a policy that would work for us -- I didn't think of the insurance this time, just too much going on when I made the deposit, and then time got away from me...and hubby is less than a year out from a double lung transplant. I'm not silly enough to think we can travel without insurance at this point, but I couldn't find any that would work for our PEC...Nationwide's policy works...Lord willing, we won't need it at all :) But that's what insurance is for, right?

What did you use to take your pictures? :) They turned out so nicely!!

Room service is now $7.95, except for free continental breakfast in the morning, but again because you are in a suite, it is free for you all the time. There are some "special occasion" items on the room service menu that cost extra, but if you stick to the regular menu, it is free for you.

So my daughter and grandson, who are in an aft balcony, would have a charge for room service...

The summer promo included the Specialty Dining Package for Suite Guests for 4 nights, and it was my daughters Promo choice for her room, so we shouldn't have any charges for those restaurants, is that correct?

We booked our Thanksgiving cruise on the JADE, first time on NCL (all my previous cruises have been Carnival and Princess), and we got the Promo that included the Ultimate Beverage Package (as it was called then), Free Specialty Dining, 250 Minutes Internet and Prepaid Gratuities (we booked a PH Suite, so all of these are included) --- and THEN came all the changes, AND all I read about on this board are the ESCAPE and the GETAWAY...

HELP!!!

When I board next week, what exactly am I going to find on the JADE??? Are there now charges for room service?? (I keep seeing something about 7.95 for room service -- is this on every ship?) And the UBP now has gratuities added? And the specialty restaurants are a la carte now?

I just can't figure out from this board if these changes are fleet-wide, or if they only apply to specific ships....

We found there were enough things in the buffet that we could easily get by eating vegan. I think it would be tougher with an allergy like celiac. I have seen head waiters up in the buffet during lunch time so they would def be able to help with ingredients more than a random server. Some items are available in the kitchen at the buffet if you just ask, like soy milk. It isn't out on the counter but it is always available!

 

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

I guess my biggest concern with the buffet would be cross-contamination. Someone using the tongs from the bread to pick up fruit next to it, or a spoon from vegetables to dip something with a sauce. Unfortunately, most people don't think in terms of allergies when they're just enjoying the buffet. (And no reason why they should, really)

What do all of you people do on port days when there is no MDR lunch?

 

I don't have an allergy but I don't eat shellfish and MANY times I've had a waiter or the serving person in the buffet tell me that something has no shellfish, only to get to my seat and find (with my fork) that there IS shellfish.

Also had the same experience with meat, which I also don't eat.

 

People with Celiac's would get REALLY sick in this situation. :(

I always carry a packet or two of Justin's peanut butter with me, so if I can find a piece of fresh fruit, I'm good to go. I can make lunch out of that if I need to. We're doing a British Isles cruise this summer, and I know that port days may mean a "pub lunch" for hubby...probably won't have a lot of options for me. Definitely isn't worth losing a day of my trip because I couldn't wait a few hours to eat.