Old people help

[mikem15]

They are not sailing on NCL.

 

I guess I don't fully understand OP's question. If the grandparents are in such frail physical shape that they need assistance to move why would you leave them alone at all?

 

27 of you and ONE person can't be bothered to stay with them? They are your grandparents and in their 80s? Where does that put you in age? Adulthood yet?

 

There were/are so many other choices for a big family trip that would not involve taking them out of the country and abandoning them on a ship why the rest of you have 'fun'. Relying on care that may or may not be there.

 

The suggestion that crewmembers might take care of them is ludicrous.

 

I do hope they find a way to enjoy this trip. I know I wouldn't be able to knowing what a burden I was.

 

 

And your title for this thread is offensive.

 

 

I titled it this to get people to actually read it and not just pass by it. Sorry for offending you.

 

 

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[mikem15]

Carnival offers 2 movies on the in-cabin TV each day, and they start every 2 to 3 hours. Room service is available. Perhaps they would enjoy some quiet time that day. Just remember most everything is usually closed on the ship when the ship is docked in port. So the casino and shops will likely not be available. The pools are usually open though as are the buffet and other lunch venues.

 

 

 

The only other thing I can think of is Carnival offers babysitting services for a fee. Perhaps if you contact Carnival's special needs department you could inquire if they would extend this service to your grandparents. I think they charge $6.75 per hour per child plus gratuity. I have not heard of anyone doing this, but it can't hurt to ask. Email is specialneeds@carnival.com They might be able to offer you some advice.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy your family cruise!

 

 

Thank you! I'll do that.

 

 

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[Roz]

I didn't see anyone being nasty and arrogant. The OP asked a question, and said they were concerned if the grandparents needed to move or eat something. Without providing much else in the way of details, we are left to assume they have mobility issues and/or may become confused in unfamiliar surroundings.

 

Many people shared opinions and ideas, some of them based on personal experience with traveling with elderly relatives. What were we supposed to say?

 

Roz

[Foxinspace]

If your parents need 24/7 care why don't the 27 of you chip in and hire someone to care for them, maybe someone would do it just for the trip. That way you should all spent time with the parents, but also would have some free time to spend together and not have to worry about their care.

 

I have 2 thoughts.

 

1. Sit down with the group and ask nicely if someone would stay behind. Maybe the rest of the group could pay for a spa treatment the next day as a "thank-you" for helping out. It doesn't even need to be one of the "adults", one of the teens might be willing to help out.

 

2. If no one wants to step up on this maybe you could all split a care persons fare. An inside guaranteed cabin and a weeks salary split amoungst your whole family wouldn't be a horrible expense. Plus you'd have that person around for other times when you might need/want help on the trip, like boarding, the other ports, evenings when everyone wants to go see a show.

 

However you decide to handle it, have a great cruise, take lots of pictures!

[RuthlessBoss]

I have 2 thoughts.

 

1. Sit down with the group and ask nicely if someone would stay behind. Maybe the rest of the group could pay for a spa treatment the next day as a "thank-you" for helping out. It doesn't even need to be one of the "adults", one of the teens might be willing to help out.

 

2. If no one wants to step up on this maybe you could all split a care persons fare. An inside guaranteed cabin and a weeks salary split amoungst your whole family wouldn't be a horrible expense. Plus you'd have that person around for other times when you might need/want help on the trip, like boarding, the other ports, evenings when everyone wants to go see a show.

 

However you decide to handle it, have a great cruise, take lots of pictures!

 

I know they will handle it, after all, only the family knows what is needed physically and/or mentally. There are people who travel with cruisers for the chance to help and yet cruise too. I've thought about it, retired from the medical field yet can not afford to cruise anymore. I saw this on my last cruise with a very limited mobility gentleman.

[bumorgan]

Is the excursion all day or just 2-3 hours? That would also make a difference.

 

Enjoy your cruise! Sounds like fun for all.:)

 

Dan

[lyannea]

I would take the memories of spending a day on a cruise ship with my grandparents and getting their undivided attention over an excursion any day.

 

I know, and, apparently, no one of the 27 family members had this thought, or, maybe they did - though it was not mentioned by the OP as an option.

 

The only thing that was written was that they all wanted to go together, hm

[griz400]

what excursion are you doing, take them with you ....:) i am sure 25 people can take care of em on an excursion

Edited July 26, 2016 by griz400

[Jana60]

I know, and, apparently, no one of the 27 family members had this thought, or, maybe they did - though it was not mentioned by the OP as an option.

 

The only thing that was written was that they all wanted to go together, hm

 

I would think it would be really great for everybody to go together including the grandparents! Rent a couple of wheelchairs and have a nice day with the entire family. There will be other cruises for every other member of the family other than the two 80 year olds. This may be your last chance to have a family gathering with the entire family including these two people so I would take advantage of it while you can. So if you are all wanting to go ziplining or some other active tour you need to keep in mind that you can do that on a future Cruise but you won't be able to have those two people with you again ever.

Edited July 26, 2016 by Jana60

[Elaine5715]

The offensive statements were the suggestions that the OP should " get the crew to do it". The complete disrespect of what their responsibility is , the hours they work and disregard for both the consequences and the awkward situation you put them in by asking. Not to mention the suggestion that paying someone $5-6 an hour to provide elder care is either meant to be demeaning or is a total ignorance of what that service is worth.

[Elaine5715]

I titled it this to get people to actually read it and not just pass by it. Sorry for offending you.

 

 

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Because "Is There Onboard Assistance Available for Seniors?" wasn't available?

[jkspringtexas]

In June we took our 13 family members on a cruise celebrating our 50th anniversary. Of course, Mom who is 92 went along. She lives with us and is my responsibility with the help of a caregiver in the mornings (dementia). We had 2 rooms with a connecting inside door so we could make sure she was safe.

 

I'm not sure of your grandparent's medical abilities and circumstances, but cruising is such a wonderful experience with our elders, just a bit different. I have such fond memories of mom enjoying her room service orders for early coffee, working on her jigsaw puzzles and word search books and actually playing a slot machine with family members cheering her on - but most importantly being able to enjoy 4 generations of her family.

 

My best advice is to accept that this cruise will not be a "vacation" for you or whoever will be responsible for them, but an opportunity to enjoy cruising with your grandparents. To answer your question, we did not inquire about "adult companions" so I don't know if that service is offered onboard.

Edited July 27, 2016 by jkspringtexas

[Sparky2]

In June we took our 13 family members on a cruise celebrating our 50th anniversary. Of course, Mom who is 92 went along. She lives with us and is my responsibility with the help of a caregiver in the mornings (dementia). We had 2 rooms with a connecting inside door so we could make sure she was safe.

 

I'm not sure of your grandparent's medical abilities and circumstances, but cruising is such a wonderful experience with our elders, just a bit different. I have such fond memories of mom enjoying her room service orders for early coffee, working on her jigsaw puzzles and word search books and actually playing a slot machine with family members cheering her on - but most importantly being able to enjoy 4 generations of her family.

 

My best advice is to accept that this cruise will not be a "vacation" for you or whoever will be responsible for them, but an opportunity to enjoy cruising with your grandparents. To answer your question, we did not inquire about "adult companions" so I don't know if that service is offered onboard.

 

Excellent response.

[blondietink]

Both of my parents lived long lives and neither had any moderate to severe cognitive or physical limitations before they died (Dad at 91). However, I noticed that as my parents aged, they did not like to be in unfamiliar settings alone. We have a family cottage and spend a good part of the summers there and both of my parents could get confused on where they were if they woke up in the middle of the night. They also lost track of days/time when experiencing something new. If your grandparents are fine while at home, they might not be in an unfamiliar setting. Even the best of us sometimes have a problem finding our cabin on a large ship, or remembering which way to go to get to the Lido buffet. If it were my parents/grandparents, I would not feel comfortable leaving them on the ship by themselves.

[lindacat]

My parents always enjoyed cruising. When my father started having health problems, he still wanted to cruise and we often took family trips which included all the kids, wives, and grandkids.

 

When choosing excursions, if there was an excursion possible for him to enjoy we chose that excursion to do "all together", otherwise we split up based upon what excursions people wanted to do always leaving some family with my parents.

 

My father passed shortly after one of our family cruises, about five years ago. I can say that the memories we made at dinners and those times on the ship when we just focused on being a family together are the ones we still treasure whenever we get together. We never talk about the excursions we may have missed.

Edited July 27, 2016 by lindacat

[lostsoulcruiser]

I've never heard of anything like this but it's worth asking. In two weeks 27 of my family will leave on a cruise. My grandparents are in there 80s. There is one port where everyone wants to do the same excursion, is there any service that carnival has to take care of my grandparents while we all get off the ship? The other 3 ports my moms sisters are splitting up on staying on at each port but everyone wanted to do an excursion together. Just wanted to see if I had any options. Thank you!

 

 

Carnival has a section of their website dedicated to individuals with disabilities. While it may not be an exact match to your question, it could be a place to ask the question about hiring short term assistance. From the Carnival website:

 

"If you need general information about accessibility before you cruise, please call our Guest Access team at 1-800-438-6744 ext. 70025 or email specialneeds@carnival.com. If you have an ADA complaint, please email us at access@carnival.com."

Edited July 27, 2016 by lostsoulcruiser

[mikem15]

what excursion are you doing, take them with you ....:) i am sure 25 people can take care of em on an excursion

 

 

It's a catamaran, they can barely walk on cement let alone a boat, let alone a catamaran lol

 

 

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[mikem15]

Thank you everyone. I see a lot of people saying about being with them undivided and I agree with that, that's why the other 3 port days each family is taking a day to stay with them while the rest of the family goes of board. But since people are coming that normally don't vacation with us or vacation at all, we wanted to do one thing together. But since there is no option one person will stay on. No big deal. Just wanted to see if there was an option. Didn't need people degrading my family. I thought an 8 days cruise minus 5 hours was enough with everyone together. I want to thank those who were supportive though and actually gave good advice. Thank you.

 

 

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[SadieN]

It's a catamaran, they can barely walk on cement........ lol

 

 

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This concerns me. What type of cabin are they in? The step up into the bathroom is high.

 

 

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[jkspringtexas]

Mikem15, I also might suggest that you take/rent wheelchairs or scooters for them if they have the mobility issues you mention. We always take and use a wheelchair for mom even though she can walk perfectly well at home.

 

We do it for two reasons - first if it gets rocky, she is sitting down and won't fall. As she has gotten older, we don't use the scooter anymore because she is much too polite and it takes forever to get anywhere if she is "driving it". Second - and I know this sounds selfish - but we can get along at a quicker pace than if she is walking and will be right with me - no wandering off.

 

You might check with the tour company to see if your grand parents can be accommodated on that excursion - I would think they would be welcomed and can somehow get onboard with your group. Our son was a catamaran boat captain on Waikiki Beach and he always made sure that everyone, whatever their ability, could safely and comfortably get aboard. You will be amazed at how strong, helpful and caring crewmembers on tour boats can be!

 

Please post back and let us know how your cruise and excursion went. We all learn from other's experiences. Thank you for coming on here and asking for help - that's what CC is supposed to be about - just ignore those that make less than positive comments.

[DevCruise]

Thank you everyone. I see a lot of people saying about being with them undivided and I agree with that, that's why the other 3 port days each family is taking a day to stay with them while the rest of the family goes of board. But since people are coming that normally don't vacation with us or vacation at all, we wanted to do one thing together. But since there is no option one person will stay on. No big deal. Just wanted to see if there was an option. Didn't need people degrading my family. I thought an 8 days cruise minus 5 hours was enough with everyone together. I want to thank those who were supportive though and actually gave good advice. Thank you.

 

Is it possible to change the "everyone together" excursion to something like one of the bus tours? Then your parents could come along and it would actually be everyone together.

[Reader0108598]

Mikem15, I also might suggest that you take/rent wheelchairs or scooters for them if they have the mobility issues you mention. We always take and use a wheelchair for mom even though she can walk perfectly well at home.

 

We do it for two reasons - first if it gets rocky, she is sitting down and won't fall. As she has gotten older, we don't use the scooter anymore because she is much too polite and it takes forever to get anywhere if she is "driving it". Second - and I know this sounds selfish - but we can get along at a quicker pace than if she is walking and will be right with me - no wandering off.

 

You might check with the tour company to see if your grand parents can be accommodated on that excursion - I would think they would be welcomed and can somehow get onboard with your group. Our son was a catamaran boat captain on Waikiki Beach and he always made sure that everyone, whatever their ability, could safely and comfortably get aboard. You will be amazed at how strong, helpful and caring crewmembers on tour boats can be!

 

Please post back and let us know how your cruise and excursion went. We all learn from other's experiences. Thank you for coming on here and asking for help - that's what CC is supposed to be about - just ignore those that make less than positive comments.

 

 

 

You are right some tour boat operators go above and beyond! In St Marten we did a boat tour ,with a few stops. One stop was at a beautiful secluded beach ,we all went for a swim.

 

I was more than embarrassed ,at having trouble getting back on board ,with that little ladder, a few waves. The operator said" turn around "put his hands under my arms and bam, I was back onboard. Next stop I was not going to get off, but he insisted!

 

I had no trouble getting back on this stop and had a wonderful time.

,

 

Reader

Edited July 27, 2016 by Reader0108598

[mikem15]

This concerns me. What type of cabin are they in? The step up into the bathroom is high.

 

 

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They have a joining room attached to my parents and we made sure the balcony was one that opens as well.

 

 

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[Reader0108598]

They have a joining room attached to my parents and we made sure the balcony was one that opens as well.

 

 

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Hope your family has a wonderful time ! :)

[mikem15]

Hope your family has a wonderful time ! :)

 

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

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