Would cruise lines store a lot of different types of medication?

[Treven]

Rule number one when I travel and when my patients did. DO NOT forget to take your medications with you. Always hand carry them and consider taking 2-3 extra days worth in the event of delays. Expecting the ship to stock the broad variety of meds that a full scale pharmacy does is very dicey.

I always think about what is replaceable and what is not. Medications are often quite variable and I would not count on a cruise line to have what you might need

Totally agree! When I'm packing for a cruise (or any trip for that matter), I always pack all my meds first, and they go in my carry-on, oblong with jewelry and electronic toys. Then I'll begin to pack my clothes. The point is to first pack the most important things (meds), then everything else. In addition, I have a list of all my meds & dosages as an Excel spreadsheet kept on my iPad. It gets updated any/every time my Dr makes any changes to whatever I take.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Treven

[cruzincurt]

Why type a list? Just ask your pharmacist for a "med history" (also referred to as a "back panel" by some pharmacies). The best versions of these have more identifying info than the original containers (including your ID, MD, med name/dose/description (or picture), etc.

BTW, if you are flying, TSA recommends but does not/cannot require that you use original containers.

 

Since I do all my refills online at Walgreens, I can just print the list from the webpage.

[flamomo]

I believe they only stock things would prescribe. So they are unlikely to have BP medicine.

 

 

Not true!!

 

I accidently packed a bottle of prescription BP/Cardiac med that only had about 10 days worth of the med in it, instead of the one with enough for my 30 day cruise on the Caribbean Princess a few months ago.

I went to the ship's medical center to see if they could somehow help me get enough medication to cover me till I got back home. Fortunately the med I was prescribed is one that they stock on the ship. So for the cost of seeing the ship's physician ($95) I was able to get an order for the med center's staff to dispense my med ($26 for a 30 day supply). It was worth every penny.

 

However, in chatting with the nurses in the med center, I learned that if a passenger needs a med that is not stocked on the ship, they can usually obtain it from a pharmacy in the next port.