Leave in one week, several questions: Traveling with disabled mom and scooter

[H2OH!]

Our cruise departs Sunday 12/12/10. Any and all help is appreciated!!

 

Mom uses a go-go elite traveler scooter and takes many medications.

 

The questions I have are:

 

1) Disembarkation: Do most of you hail a taxi or try and arranged for car service? Typically DH and I hail a cab but we are able body individuals and am worried about just hailing a taxi once off the ship. Please advise. We also planon hanging back till the ship gets pretty clear before heading off.

 

2) Disembarkation: If you arrange for a car service, do you call them when you are off the ship, how does this process work? I use car service all the time since I travel alot for work but am curious how difficult it is to find your car service with the lines and, at times, the chaos when getting off a ship?

 

3) Medications: Mom uses a weekly med planner for her medications. We plan on taking them with us in our carry on. I am reading conflicting information about having to be in original bottle. We plan on taking a list of the medications with Rx number and MD name for each. Is it really necessary to have the bottle? We will have the bottles for all narcotics. Mom is on ALOT of meds...one small suitcase full.

 

Please advise.

[kitty9]

1. I've done both. They each work very well, unless the taxis are those van types, which for me are impossible to climb into. If that's the case, we tell the taxi person to call for a regular sedan taxi. There are loads of taxis, and if you wait a bit, the lines are short.

 

2. I set up a time for the car service to be in the port area. Sometimes, security makes them wait in a holding area, so I just call the 800 number of the company, tell them where I am, and they show up within minutes. The time I set is usually 9:15.

 

3. From my experience, if you're flying, it's best to keep them in their original bottles. My parents take at least 20 meds a day, and my dad had huge problems with TSA agents because he had his meds in those days of the week containers. The agent inspected every pill and my dad nearly missed his flight. My mom always kept hers in the original bottles, and on one flight, the TSA agent pulled them out of her carry on and told her she was lucky she had them that way because they could have gone so far as throwing them away. Just recently, I saw an elderly woman have her pills dumped out on one of those filthy metal tables, and the TSA agent touching every pill. That was nasty to see.

[H2OH!]

1. I've done both. They each work very well, unless the taxis are those van types, which for me are impossible to climb into. If that's the case, we tell the taxi person to call for a regular sedan taxi. There are loads of taxis, and if you wait a bit, the lines are short.

 

2. I set up a time for the car service to be in the port area. Sometimes, security makes them wait in a holding area, so I just call the 800 number of the company, tell them where I am, and they show up within minutes. The time I set is usually 9:15.

 

3. From my experience, if you're flying, it's best to keep them in their original bottles. My parents take at least 20 meds a day, and my dad had huge problems with TSA agents because he had his meds in those days of the week containers. The agent inspected every pill and my dad nearly missed his flight. My mom always kept hers in the original bottles, and on one flight, the TSA agent pulled them out of her carry on and told her she was lucky she had them that way because they could have gone so far as throwing them away. Just recently, I saw an elderly woman have her pills dumped out on one of those filthy metal tables, and the TSA agent touching every pill. That was nasty to see.

 

Thanks Darcie!

 

As you can tell, I am getting nervous! I want it to be a fabulous vacation for her with no problems.

 

I even have care vacations as a backup in case we have a problem with her scooter.

[klauer]

Why would the TSA agents care about pills? They are not on the list of banned carry-on items. I would think that the majority of travelers bring some kind of non-liquid medication with them. Unless the agents were highly trained in phamaceuticals, I don't think that they could tell if the pills matched what was supposed to be in the bottle.

 

Are you maybe thinking of Customs agents?

[uppitycats]

Why would the TSA agents care about pills? They are not on the list of banned carry-on items. I would think that the majority of travelers bring some kind of non-liquid medication with them. Unless the agents were highly trained in phamaceuticals, I don't think that they could tell if the pills matched what was supposed to be in the bottle.

 

Are you maybe thinking of Customs agents?

 

I have been stopped and questioned by both customs agents and TSA agents. I understand what the written regulations are, as does Kitty..but I'm not about to stand there (or in my case, sit there) and argue with whoever is in charge -- tsa or customs -- about any meds I'm taking. I always keep them in their original presciption containers, prescriptions firmly attached, with a back-up copy of the scripts elsewhere in my luggage , in case anything gets lost, stolen, or otherwise "goes missing".

 

The very fact that agents aren't "highly trained in pharmaceuticals" means that sometimes they'll be particularly "curious" about all those pills, and make the passenger spill them out and identify them one by one.

 

I'm not about to miss my connections because a TSA agent...or customs agent..is bored and decides to give me a hard time.

[kitty9]

Why would the TSA agents care about pills? They are not on the list of banned carry-on items. I would think that the majority of travelers bring some kind of non-liquid medication with them. Unless the agents were highly trained in phamaceuticals, I don't think that they could tell if the pills matched what was supposed to be in the bottle.

 

Are you maybe thinking of Customs agents?

 

Believe me, I DO NOT confuse Customs and TSA. The TSA agents in many airports take liberties with their "power" and go beyond their scope. I do know the difference between going through security as US airports and going through Customs. Some TSA agents can be real nasty. Heck, one TSA agent opened my mom's wallet and asked her why she had so much cash. And the TSA people have asked me about my meds. These things may not be their business, but they have the habit of making everything their business.

[H2OH!]

Thank you all for your thoughts! I truly appreciate all the advice. :)

 

The plan is for her to take her meds (in their original bottle) with her in her carry-on. We are also going to pack the weekly minder thing in our suitcase that way, once we board, all she has to worry about is the pill minder thing and we can store the bottles in the suitcase under the bed. However, IF the suitcase got lost, we still have meds with us since the bottles will be our carryon. This should work perfectly and not have to worry about TSA at all.

 

She already has to be patted down since she has a knee replacement. To be held up due to her meds makes no sense.

[krisnme]

My DS takes multiple meds, TAKE THEM IN CARRY-ON!, if your bags are lost you will have problems. you will be ok with a list and Rx info. We ordered a car at our hotel when leaving for port and got his card and called while waiting for our disembark # to be called to give him approx time. then called while waiting for TSA check, final call when outside and he was there in less than 1 min. there was a long line to wait for regular cabs so it may be better to arrange for a car.

[katisdale]

I put my pills in a weekly minder BUT I also carry the prescription labels with me. Our pharmacist is nice enough to print the labels on a sheet. I have been asked about the pills, pulled out the sheet and it went easily from that point onward. This was in the US. I do however keep any "schedule" medications (like strong pain meds) in the original bottle. Blood pressure etc. pills go in the minder.

[H2OH!]

great ideas. thanks for sharing.

[donaldsc]

I have 1 bottle labeled "AM Pills" and one bottle labeled "PM Pills". I throw all the proper pills into the proper bottles all mixed up with no labels and put the 2 bottles in my rucksack. I have never had a problem ever. I did that once for a 70 day trip so the AM bottle had 280 pills in it.

 

DON

[uppitycats]

I have 1 bottle labeled "AM Pills" and one bottle labeled "PM Pills". I throw all the proper pills into the proper bottles all mixed up with no labels and put the 2 bottles in my rucksack. I have never had a problem ever. I did that once for a 70 day trip so the AM bottle had 280 pills in it.

 

DON

 

It only takes once, sitting at a table sorting through your meds, to learn that it really is best to have them properly sorted and labelled. But hey, take the risk if you want.