Banditswife

My husband recently became an oxygen user.  He doesn't need it 100% of the time, but quite a bit during the day.  I am trying to gather as much info as possible before we attempt to fly or cruise. He has a POC (portable oxygen concentrator) 3 rechargeable batteries that are good for 4-6 hrs each.  I know there is a bunch of documentation we will need to fly &/or cruise. We have an 8 day booked for Dec 2024 on Carnival & a 27 day booked on Holland for Feb 2025.

*should we order oxygen tank(s) to have on the ship as back up?

*it might be helpful to others to know who to contact for each cruise line.  My TA has been helpful with this for us.

*it would also be helpful to know what documentation will be needed

* I know that POC & batteries cannot be put into checked bags, do the airlines consider this our 1 carry on?

* his POC does make a slight noise: any pointers for not annoying people when on a plane or in a show.  

* I probably will have many questions as we get closer to our cruises

Looking for suggestions from those with experience.  Thanks in advance

Tagging onto this thread for information:  My husband recently became an oxygen user.  We have cruises booked with Carnival & Holland in the next year.  I have learned that NO oxygen tanks are allowed on airplanes, but the portable oxygen concentrator is.  I only checked Southwest, so other airlines may be different.  SW says he cannot charge the battery while in flight & he needs 150% of battery life for the duration of flight.

The cruise lines most likely all have different rules.  But the letter I got from Carnival says that only 1 tank is allowed to be kept in the cabin, any additional tanks will be stored for him.  There are companies that will deliver tanks to the ship for you, otherwise you must carry everything on yourself.  All this must be documented before you cruise & again at the cruise terminal & again at guest services once onboard.  

My husband has a "Zen-O lite" brand of POC, with 3 rechargeable batteries, ea lasting 4-6 hrs.  We are pretty sure this will be fine for airline, but not sure about the ships.  Still doing research...

He has said he will not go to the beach, it wouldn't be wise.  I am wondering if we will be extremely limited on shore ex.  My other concern is our HAL ship is an older ship with very few electrical outlets in the cabins, so we will need to figure that out before we go.

Has making the HIA reservations become easier?  Admittedly it has been a couple of years since I had HIA credits, but even though I made them by calling the telephone number, once on the ship none of those reservations were in their system.

As far as the freestyle machines go- at least they gave a variety of soda choices.  I wish they would stock more varieties at the bars on all ships.  

Good discussion- thanks.  We have booked a 27 day with the early booking bonus.  For our cruise we will spend most days on the ship-Amazon itinerary- where only 13 of the 27 days are actual port days.  

I am wondering if I can switch between electronic devices w/o incurring additional charges?  

And will we be allowed to order unopened cans/bottles of water to keep in our cabin or take onshore?  I know our particular ship-Zaandam-does not have mini fridges in regular cabins, so should we pack some type of cooler?

Thanks to all who give so much valuable information to these boards.

Agree that HMC has never been crowded when we've been there (4-5 times in the past year or so.)  There are plenty of empty loungers for all who disembark.  My biggest issue with stops at HMC is the length of time we've been there-usually a 2:30 PM last tender, if I remember correctly.  Because of the short time there, we have never rented a cabana.

Agree with Kazu to post on roll call.  Just thought I'd add: just off the Zaandam where Mahjong was offered on the daily program basically every day.  They had a designated place where everyone met to play, & I think most ships offer this as well.

Hope your boarding goes better than ours on 11/25. 

Have a great time, enjoy all your firsts.  We board Zaandam tomorrow, heading to airport in a few minutes.

13 hours ago, Naismith said:

I agree that the boarding times are not closely adhered at Ft. Lauderdale.  You should be fine.

 

But other ports (San Diego) are picky about boarding times, so I don't want anyone to think that it is fleetwide practice.  

Boarded in San Diego on Nov 25-yikes that was one horrible mess.  We waited a few hours after our scheduled check in time.

We sail on 12/19 from Ft Lauderdale/Port Everglades.  Our all aboard is also 2:30.  We got a 2 PM check in time.  Yikes, that would be cutting it close to sail away.  We plan on showing up at the terminal around 11:30 & see how it goes.  We either get to board earlier or we sit & wait.  I figure the ship won't leave us if we are sitting in the terminal.  P Everglades is usually pretty efficient in getting people on the ship.

6 hours ago, mightycruisequeen said:

 

WOW!  Never been a better time to be a teetotaler!🥰

But the price of soda has gone up too-LOL  I have started taking my own creamer, mix my own iced coffee.  

We've booked a few guarantees.  Last cruise , it was about 2 weeks ahead, next cruise it was 6 days ahead- we sail on Tuesday (12/19) & got our cabin # mid day last Wednesday (12/13.)  

Keep checking your navigator app or  their web site.  Ours appeared there 1st, never got the usual email from HAL or our TA.

27 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

 

I agree with FlaMariner- we book w/TA & have never seen that.  Nor could I find a place on the web pg to add my choice of bed configuration.  I have let my TA know how we want it though.  She has told me that on our last cruise there was a glitch in HAL's system that made all cabins a queen bed.

If your laundry hasn't come back within 48 hrs after your steward has taken it, ask them about it.  On our last cruise, ours got lost in delivery or something.  When I asked our cabin steward about it, it showed up within a few hours.

It doesn't always happen.  Sometimes the cabin stewards don't get the correct information.  If it isn't done as you want upon arriving to your cabin, your cabin steward can/will do it for you.  I wish HAL would put this on your booking & make it easy to designate yourself.  I have tried to find it on our bookings unsuccessfully.  Carnival's web site does have a place to designate your preference, but the info doesn't always get to the stewards.

We have booked these a few times, but have kept the guarantee inside or OV- depending on the offer.  Keep in mind that full fare is due at the time of booking.  We always add the insurance, making the cruise fare almost fully refundable.  Sometimes our location is great, sometimes not.  But we have enjoyed the cruise itself.

We cruise next week!!! for the holidays.  I bought window clings for the door last month on the K & they wouldn't stick, so I put them on the glass doors inside the cabin.  I bought more window clings for this next cruise & a cheap Christmas decoration with magnets just in case my window clings don't stay on the door again.

I was able to use the app on our recent K cruise, using an Android.  We have a cruise next week on Zaandam- the app doesn't show any of our pre booked/pd tours, but the web site does.  So hopefully they will populate correctly once on board.  I have printed documentation of our pre paid tours just in case.

I agree that the font they use is sometimes difficult to read on a small phone screen.

Admittedly I would not know the difference between Maritime or Caribbean lobster, nor would I know the difference between prime & choice beef.  What I do know is that I have ordered the included steak from MDR that was better than what I got from Pinnacle.  I don't eat seafood- so chicken, pork or beef are always my choice.  I have ordered many a steak in MDR, sometimes it is tender & good, other times not so tender.  Just luck of the draw I guess.  They had steak on lido a few times on our recent 10 day cruise- usually pretty good.

Another interesting discussion.  On the Zaandam's holiday cruise, we originally had a sea day & then Curacao the following day.  Our itinerary was changed to dock in Curacao at 8 PM on the originally scheduled sea day & then over night there until 11 PM on the originally scheduled port day.  I wondered why they chose to show up at 8 PM on what was a sea day.  My guess was that it had to do with costs of sailing vs docking.  But if they have to pay for 2-24 hr periods... there might be another reason.

We fly into FLL on Monday, should we be worried?  Our cruise is on Tues 12/19, staying at a hotel near airport.

Thank you chengkp75: this info helps a great deal when considering an Amazon or similar cruise.  It helps to be informed.

I recently asked them to swap out the fries on the steak for a baked potato, ended up with a shriveled up potato.  Doubt I will ask again.  From reading this thread, I will just ask for a vegetable replacement.

Just off the K last week.  We found the food ok-good in all areas.  It seems they have reduced the number of selections in the MDR, but lido had plenty of things to choose from.  I don't eat seafood, so sometimes had trouble finding something I liked.  But if seafood is your choice, then plenty of options.

I think the bars will fill a cup for you, & sparkling water has a cost attached unless you have the drink pkg, then it counts toward your limit.