Dropping off medication in cabin

[Artemis908]

I have medication that needs to be refrigerated and I am wondering if I am going to be able to drop it off to the refrigerator when we board. We will be there early and I know cabins usually aren't ready when we board. I e-mailed RC Special Needs and even the concierge (we are staying in a suite), but no answers. Would we have any issues just going to the cabin to drop off medication and leaving?

[cruiseguy1016]

I have medication that needs to be refrigerated and I am wondering if I am going to be able to drop it off to the refrigerator when we board. We will be there early and I know cabins usually aren't ready when we board. I e-mailed RC Special Needs and even the concierge (we are staying in a suite), but no answers. Would we have any issues just going to the cabin to drop off medication and leaving?

 

The doors to the hallways leading to the cabins are locked so you will not be able to just walk to your cabin. You will have to find a way to keep it cold until the hallways are opened. Another thing, if your medication truly needs to be "refrigerated", you'll need to make arrangements to have a refrigerator delivered to your cabin. The things in the cabins that they call refrigerators are not actually refrigerators, they are more of a glorified cooler.

[cruisinfanatic]

I have medication that needs to be refrigerated and I am wondering if I am going to be able to drop it off to the refrigerator when we board. We will be there early and I know cabins usually aren't ready when we board. I e-mailed RC Special Needs and even the concierge (we are staying in a suite), but no answers. Would we have any issues just going to the cabin to drop off medication and leaving?

How are you getting to the pier with it? A couple hrs will make a difference? Bring collapsible cooler?

If it's insulin, 9 times out of 10 it doesn't need refrigeration anyway

Edited May 24, 2016 by cruisinfanatic

[knittinggirl]

I use a Frio Insulation Wallet that I got from Amazon.

[BillOh]

I don't have any real knowledge, but I will offer this. The suite concierges do tend to answer a lot of email messages in the final days before a cruise, so keep checking. I would also hope the fridges in the new ships generally do keep things cool enough. Good luck. Later boarding maybe in order?

[Artemis908]

How are you getting to the pier with it? A couple hrs will make a difference. Bring collapsible cooler?

If it's insulin, 9 times out of 10 it doesn't need refrigeration anyway

 

One is insulin, which I am not as much worried about because I have a travel pack for the pens that will keep them cool. I have another medication that can melt in heat and the only thing I can think of doing is bringing ice packs and packing them in. It should be able to last an hour or two, but I am concerned with the hot weather we are expected this weekend, it won't last longer than that.

 

We have a medical refrigerator waiting for us in our cabin, so I had planned ahead for that.

[cruisenfever]

The doors to the hallways leading to the cabins are locked so you will not be able to just walk to your cabin. You will have to find a way to keep it cold until the hallways are opened. Another thing, if your medication truly needs to be "refrigerated", you'll need to make arrangements to have a refrigerator delivered to your cabin. The things in the cabins that they call refrigerators are not actually refrigerators, they are more of a glorified cooler.

Not true. The doors leading to the hallways are not locked. You can open them up with no problem, though they are heavy.

 

The refrigerators on Anthem keep things very cold.

 

One is insulin, which I am not as much worried about because I have a travel pack for the pens that will keep them cool. I have another medication that can melt in heat and the only thing I can think of doing is bringing ice packs and packing them in. It should be able to last an hour or two, but I am concerned with the hot weather we are expected this weekend, it won't last longer than that.

 

We have a medical refrigerator waiting for us in our cabin, so I had planned ahead for that.

The refrigerators on Anthem keep things very cold. We were on board for 34 days and my husband, who is also on insulin, had no problem keeping the unopened bottles cold. You will not need a special medical refrigerator.

 

We just emptied out what was in the refrigerator and they took it away. We put a note on the front stating why only our things were in there. Never encountered a problem nor a charge.

Edited May 24, 2016 by cruisenfever

[Missus Makkem]

The doors to the hallways leading to the cabins are locked so you will not be able to just walk to your cabin. You will have to find a way to keep it cold until the hallways are opened. Another thing, if your medication truly needs to be "refrigerated", you'll need to make arrangements to have a refrigerator delivered to your cabin. The things in the cabins that they call refrigerators are not actually refrigerators, they are more of a glorified cooler.

 

They are not locked but are they watertight doors kept closed to stop people from entering before the rooms are ready.

If you are a back to back traveller you have access thro these doors which just pull open.

There is usually a member of staff standing guard but after explaining to them your need they will let you have access to your room for a drop off of meds I am sure.

[cruisegirl1]

One is insulin, which I am not as much worried about because I have a travel pack for the pens that will keep them cool. I have another medication that can melt in heat and the only thing I can think of doing is bringing ice packs and packing them in. It should be able to last an hour or two, but I am concerned with the hot weather we are expected this weekend, it won't last longer than that.

 

We have a medical refrigerator waiting for us in our cabin, so I had planned ahead for that.

 

A few options:

 

If you are traveling in the night prior, you may consider remaining in the (air conditioned) hotel till late morning, then, perhaps by the time you board, the cabins will be ready.

 

Or, a cooler with ice should hold the chill for more than an hour or two especially if you remain out of the sun/heat and spend the time inside the ship.

 

Be prepared for the medical fridge NOT to be in the cabin upon your arrival. If that is the ( unfortunate ) case, there will be plenty of ice for you to keep the medication properly chilled. I am glad you made arrangements so as to not rely on the standard cabin chillers for proper medication storage.

 

Hope all goes well

Enjoy

M

Edited May 24, 2016 by cruisegirl1

[chengkp75]

They are not locked but are they watertight doors kept closed to stop people from entering before the rooms are ready.

If you are a back to back traveller you have access thro these doors which just pull open.

There is usually a member of staff standing guard but after explaining to them your need they will let you have access to your room for a drop off of meds I am sure.

 

They are not watertight doors. They are fire screen doors. There is no need for watertight doors inside the ship, above the waterline.

[libertybelle41]

You might contact medical on board. Maybe they can store it for you until you have access to your cabin.

[TBone2K]

You did the right thing to start with contacting special needs. However they aren't the speediest people. I would call, make sure you get through to someone who can actually get the word out to the ship and get them to email you something confirming they did it so you can show it on-board if something isn't right.

 

All that said and done, if it were me I would still prepare an cold pack or whatever you need to carry the meds around yourself, just in case.

[Doug S]

The ice packs like those used in shipping meds or meats can last much more than a few hours. Find a small well insulated pouch of some kind and the bit of extra time if you cannot get into your room right away should not be an issue. Another option is to go to medical, which is open early. I believe they can store it until you have stateroom access.

[Hotel CA]

You might contact medical on board. Maybe they can store it for you until you have access to your cabin.

 

excellent advice (allowing time for fridge delivery if one is to be) --also you can pack meds in dry ice which will last a long time if properly insulated with newspaper

[sadie8]

I always contact special needs and request a medical refrigerator and 9 times out of 10 it's not there when we get to our cabin. Our last cruise it was actually in the room and I was thrilled that they finally followed through until I later realized it was broken.

 

I would plan on bringing my medication on board in a small insulated pack with enough ice to last several hours.

[cb at sea]

Once you are ON the ship, you'll be in air-conditioning...the small cooler should work just fine.

[flczr]

Look into a YETI bag. They are durable and will keep ice cold for days.

[CanadaDeb]

I have medication that needs to be kept between 2-8C and have a special bag that the maker of the drug gave me, but when it's for a long time, I pack empty Ziploc bags and ask for ice cubes to replace the melted ice packs...maybe you could try that?

 

On my previous cruises I have found the medical fridge to not be in the cabin when we arrived but delivered shortly after I asked for it. But even after a couple of hours of having it plugged in, it wasn't very cold.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

[Surfguyxxx]

You might contact medical on board. Maybe they can store it for you until you have access to your cabin.

 

Excellent idea. Working in a hospital, it's the safest way of ensuring the meds will stay protected. I like the ice pack idea but will it go through security? They might think it's vodka in the carriers :confused::eek::rolleyes:

[gaylemh]

Like Patty said, the fridge on Anthem keeps thing very cold, not like on other ships. I like my water bottles ice cold and on Anthem I didn't need to keep them on ice.

[sross6019]

Good luck. Recently on Allure and had no colder refrig. Had requested one months in advance from special needs dept. Informed thy didnt have any once got on board.Told they could take meds and keep it cold until I needed it. Asked for ice to try to keep it cool. Took a day and a half asking 4 different people before we even got ice (asked for ice 2x per day) from steward as soon as we boarded. Had to keep meds in zip lock bag in ice and changed ice numerous times during the day.

[Missus Makkem]

They are not watertight doors. They are fire screen doors. There is no need for watertight doors inside the ship, above the waterline.

 

Oh pardon me for getting the terminology wrong, so nice to be corrected by one who knows.

So I can now argue with the guard outside the door.

Thanks for keeping us all informed as you do so often.:rolleyes: