Bedside commode on ship?

[seattleslew]

Cruising with a leg cast will be hard enough. Do you know if Princess has any of these for passenger use? We will be in an accessible cabin so there's plenty of room, so crossing our fingers that they're available.

[Colo Cruiser]

Cruising with a leg cast will be hard enough. Do you know if Princess has any of these for passenger use? We will be in an accessible cabin so there's plenty of room, so crossing our fingers that they're available.

 

 

Have never heard of one onboard or seen one onboard.

[searoses]

Call the special needs desk....one of the companies that rents med equipment may have those....one less thing to worry about...

[Loonbeam]

I severely doubt they are standard for ship's stores (the med bay might have one or two for emergencies). If necessary, arranging rental in advance is probably best bet.

 

It also should be noted that the steward may not have the supplies or knowledge set for properly cleaning one.

[seattleslew]

Thanks. I had the same thought about the steward. I think the chance of this item being available is almost non-existent. I'll try the special needs desk, but I'm tempted to buy one in FLL and carry onboard. Problem is we won't have a car!

[Pam in CA]

There's a CVS on 17th Street not too far from the port. I'd call and order one for pick-up. A taxi can take you and either wait or you can go to the Embassy Suites nearby and get a taxi there back to the port.

[Reader0108598]

Cruising with a leg cast will be hard enough. Do you know if Princess has any of these for passenger use? We will be in an accessible cabin so there's plenty of room, so crossing our fingers that they're available.

 

 

My husband is in a cast right now .... I feel for you! (we are two months in about two to go :( )

 

He could not use crutches on land much less at sea...lol

 

Trial and error ..oh and a small medical supply store, the Knee Scooter is the way to go! :)

 

Hope you have a good time on your cruise!

 

 

Reader

Edited January 10, 2015 by Reader0108598

[Homosassa]

If one is so incapacitated that one can not make it the very short distance to the cabin bathroom, perhaps a cruise is not the proper vacation to take at this time.

 

How do you plan to use the toilet when out and about? Drop the trousers and let loose where ever you are?

 

I have been in a leg cast. Once you are up and out of bed, it should make no difference on the location of the toilet.

 

I would contact the special needs department and see if a bedside toilet is allowed on the ship.

[Essiesmom]

If one is so incapacitated that one can not make it the very short distance to the cabin bathroom, perhaps a cruise is not the proper vacation to take at this time.

 

How do you plan to use the toilet when out and about? Drop the trousers and let loose where ever you are?

 

I have been in a leg cast. Once you are up and out of bed, it should make no difference on the location of the toilet.

 

I would contact the special needs department and see if a bedside toilet is allowed on the ship.

 

I don't think you understand the cumbersome process of moving with crutches. A bedside commode would involve some leverage and turning. Going to the bathroom would involve finding the crutches, getting up using them, hopping to the bathroom, getting up the step into the bathroom, trying to turn around inside the small space, grabbing the door to close it, and probably some other motions I can't recall. If they have a suite, it is even longer trip.

OP, is you husband using a commode at home? EM

[partybarbie]

OP says that they are in a wheelchair accessible cabin. There's no step into the bathroom or the shower. I would estimate the bathroom to be 8x8 feet, plenty of room to get crutches in, and the toilet sits up higher and has the grab bars. You may not need the portable toilet

Edited January 10, 2015 by partybarbie

[JF - retired RRT]

I don't think you understand the cumbersome process of moving with crutches. A bedside commode would involve some leverage and turning. Going to the bathroom would involve finding the crutches, getting up using them, hopping to the bathroom, getting up the step into the bathroom, trying to turn around inside the small space, grabbing the door to close it, and probably some other motions I can't recall. EM

 

HC cabin doesn't have a step to access the bathroom;)

[seamanfs]

Personally I believe that asking a room steward to empty a commode every am is too much. He/She is not an aide in a medical institution. Just my own opinion....

[MarkSeattle]

Personally I believe that asking a room steward to empty a commode every am is too much. He/She is not an aide in a medical institution. Just my own opinion....

 

Have to agree with you and the other poster, if you can't make it into the HC restroom in your cabin, it probably is not the right time to take a cruise.

[EddieCruzer]

Have to agree with you and the other poster, if you can't make it into the HC restroom in your cabin, it probably is not the right time to take a cruise.

 

Ditto!

[cruisequeen4ever]

I feel sorry for the OP, but I do not think a room steward should be coming into contact with people's bodily waste each day. I know they clean the toilets, but this is more direct. I would be horrified to have a room steward who I knew was empting poop and then cleaning my stateroom!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[boone2]

It is definitely not the stewards job to clean a commode. As someone else pointed out if just going to bathroom is going to be a problem it may be as well to consider cruising when you are healed, who will you manage going to the bathroom when not in the cabin

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Loonbeam]

I did make the assumption that the passenger or cabinmate would handle emptying the commode into the regular facilities, with the steward (compensated appropriately) treating it like cleaning a toilet bowl perhaps.

 

If this is not the case, then this would not be an acceptable option for a cruise.

[deise17311]

Even emptying this into the toilet and asking the room steward to cleaning is absolutely not acceptable...have your roommate clean it...plus if you are that handicapped why should the cruise line be held liable if you fall etc and believe me they will be accused of some fault if you fell...

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[fishywood]

Having dealt with medical supply companies as a medical surrogate for family members, I am quite sure that the companies authorized to deliver to Princess ships would have commodes available as they are certainly essential supplies--#1 or #2 on the list.

 

But if planning to carry one on I would still contact the special needs department to have the request on the record. I can picture quite a conversation with the medical-form collector who would likely have you pulled aside for medical screening. Even with a cast and crutches I suggest having a letter from you doctor stating that your only issue is mobility and not incontinence.

[Treven]

I feel sorry for the OP, but I do not think a room steward should be coming into contact with people's bodily waste each day. I know they clean the toilets, but this is more direct. I would be horrified to have a room steward who I knew was empting poop and then cleaning my stateroom!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

On an earlier cruise I was having problems with leg ulcers that decided to leak/ooze. I had plenty of bandages and pads to dress the wounds. I requested , from my cabin steward, biological hazard bags, for my used bandages. Every day he would leave me a bright red plastic bag, and would replace it the next day. That was no different with him replacing my sharps container when it got full. I don't think I would expect the steward to do much more than that.

[cruzsnooze]

Commodes are only per person so would be disguarded ( not cleaned ) after use of this pax. Are you male or female? A male could use a small plastic disposabe urinal during the night assuming that was the issue and empty it in the morning. A female has a more sophisticated way of doing things that would make things more complicated.

[MJSailors]

When I read this post, I immediately felt sorry for the steward assigned to a cabin where a bedside commode would be allowed.

It is unfortunate that the OP is in a leg cast,but expecting a commode in the cabin is expecting too much - iMHO .

[elliair]

I feel sorry for the OP, but I do not think a room steward should be coming into contact with people's bodily waste each day. I know they clean the toilets, but this is more direct. I would be horrified to have a room steward who I knew was empting poop and then cleaning my stateroom!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Oh yes, I totally agree with you. I don't believe it's their duty to dump someone's bodily waste every morning in the toilet. I would also be totally embarassed to have my cabin steward do that. I agree with the others, if you can't make it to the bathroom on your own, maybe it isn't a good time for you to go cruising.

[Arlened236]

I just checked http://www.carevacations.com. They have bedside commode chairs to rent and they deliver directly to the ship. As someone that was in a cast for 15 months after being hit by a car several years ago, I know the problems using crutches. It might be difficult on board if there are rough seas. Do you have the use of a wheelchair? . As others have mentioned there is no step into the bathroom, but there is a ramp so that a wheelchair can access the toilet.bathroom easier. A w/c is much easier than crutches. Plus you can use it on the ship/shore. This can also be rented from. Carevacations.com

 

If you decide to go with the commode, I would bring a disposable toilet brush and bottle of Lysol to clean it. It is not the job of any crew member to help you with this task.

 

Also, have you considered the problem of showering? The new bath seat attached to the wall in an accessible cabin is very small, and might present a problem for you. If your cast is not waterproof bring a supply of plastic bags to cover it in the shower.

 

Let us know how it goes if you decide to cruise with your cast

Hope you heal quickly.

[seattleslew]

Every cruiser has a story and ours is a sad one. Three out of four of us (I'm the AB) have a terminal neuromuscular wasting disease (myotonic dystrophy --- like a very slow ALS). We discovered cruising in 2007 and have taken 22 cruises on Princess because that's how we could keep the kids safe and watch over them on their scooters, but still give them the independence they crave. We're down one daughter now, and this cruise is "bucket list" for the other one. We are going to do everything in our power to make this happen and be the best-ever cruise because it's probably our last one as a family. I don't need lectures about dumping out a commode because I am indeed rather civilized and do believe I could figure that part out. I'm just trying to make this happen in the easiest way I know how because, believe me, life is not easy for us right now. I'm willing to do what it takes to make this kid happy and that includes 24/7 trips to h/c restrooms onboard, so don't you worry about us. I simply wanted to know if anyone had ever seen one onboard.