How do you handle medication that needs to be refrigerated on a cruise?

[daljcl]

Sailing on AOS Jun 22, I am on new meds which need to be kept in refrigerator. Not sure if keeping on ice will work. Any suggestions.....

 

 

Thanks!

[Mr. Click]

Contact special needs now and let them know. Then follow up with your cabin attendant and guest relations as soon as you board the ship. Bring a small insulated bag with some ice to keep it cool while you travel to the port. Make sure your cabin attendant knows your medication schedule to he or she can make sure it is available to you when you need it. There is a mini-bar fridge in your cabin that may or may not keep things cold enough for our medication. You need to know the temps required for your meds and compare that to the real temps created by the mini. Don't risk your health by assuming anything.

[NCDisneyDad]

https://www.amazon.com/Gourmia-GMF600-Portable-Fridge-Cooler/dp/B00DQT2ZGE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1528504687&sr=8-8&keywords=medicine+refrigerator

[reallyhooked]

Contact special needs to request a fridge.

[lenquixote66]

Contact special needs now and let them know. Then follow up with your cabin attendant and guest relations as soon as you board the ship. Bring a small insulated bag with some ice to keep it cool while you travel to the port. Make sure your cabin attendant knows your medication schedule to he or she can make sure it is available to you when you need it. There is a mini-bar fridge in your cabin that may or may not keep things cold enough for our medication. You need to know the temps required for your meds and compare that to the real temps created by the mini. Don't risk your health by assuming anything.

 

 

 

 

What is the person supposed to do on route to the cruise ship ?

[reallyitsmema]

Sailing on AOS Jun 22, I am on new meds which need to be kept in refrigerator. Not sure if keeping on ice will work. Any suggestions.....

 

 

Thanks!

 

Which ship are you on, Allure, Anthem or Adventure? The refrigerators in the cabins on Anthem are very cold but not on the other two ships.

 

You can contact special needs and ask for a medical refrigerator to be in your cabin. You are supposed to notify them 90 days in advance, but they should be able to help you.

[gerif]

What is the person supposed to do on route to the cruise ship ?

Small insulated bag with freezer packs.

[PattyW]

If you contact special needs, they will make sure you have a refrigerator in your cabin if you don't already. the mini bar fridge has always worked well enough for us, but I've been told there are medical fridges that are actual refrigerators.

 

 

Some one asked about what do do en route to the ship - frio pouches work great to keep medicine cool on the go. The come in lots of sizes and shapes. They worked for us through the intense heat of a summer day at Disney World, so they will work anywhere!

[Mr. Click]

As others have said, small freezer bag with a cold pack or a freezeable bag. That minifridge from amazon may not pass muster with the cruise line. The might view it as a fire hazzard if it overheats.

[TX.Mameow&Papeow]

On the past 3 cruises special needs has furnished me with a smaller medical refrigerator that has worked very well. On our most recent we had a Grand Suite and I had to carry enough meds for 8 weeks because we were doing a TA and land travel in Europe. Although the medical fridge was smaller there was plenty of room in it.

 

I always carry a small insulated bag within my carry on with a frozen ice pack. It will stay frozen for a 10+ hour flight . Since we always come in at least 1 day early I put my meds in the hotel minibar and have the hotel restaurant refreeze the ice pack. I have never had a hotel that couldn't do this , even if they don't have a restaurant, most still have a bar. We have done this all over Europe. If you are going straight home after your cruise, you can request your cabin attendant or room service refreeze your ice pack for the trip home. If it's not frozen solid the airlines will not let it on the plane.

[mandaleigh]

I use Frio pouches while I am traveling and on Adventure of the Seas the in room fridge is really just a cool box and kept the insulin perfect.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Many refrigerated medication manufacturers offer a "travel" cooler for their meds....check with your pharmacy or the drug manufacturer.

[pcur]

We tried a few ways to transport my husband's insulin. Our issue was the number of bottles he needed to take with us due to our long trip (past 28 days). Two things worked great for him:

 

He used this on the airplane. It's an extra wide mouth insulated food jar with a vacuum lid. He packed it with blue ice packs that he placed unfrozen in the jar to mold them to the inside, and put in the freezer. Then, just before leaving he put the insulin bottles in it and screwed on the lid:

 

 

 

 

We brought the mini fridge shown below with us since we were on 3 cruises and not all 3 ships supplied fridges. It worked amazingly well, but you really need an electrical source, and not rely on the battery pack except for about 4 hours. If you have a short flight, then it will work great until you reach the ship or a rental car. It comes with a car charger, also.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Snow-Gear-Refrigerated-Refrigerator-Temperature/dp/B071SHM4H2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1528548489&sr=8-6&keywords=insulin+mini+cooler

 

It holds six bottles of insulin, and keeps the temperature constant. We set it to 4 degrees Celsius. We did put a note on the plug for the cabin attendants to not unplug it. There are several brands; ours was a Finlon.

 

[cruisenfever]

What is the person supposed to do on route to the cruise ship ?

My husband is diabetic and when we travel to the port he uses Frio Bags https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frio-Duo-Insulin-Cooling-Case/36442149?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227027254871&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=54269459471&wl4=pla-89212017431&wl5=9015295&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=36442149&wl13=&veh=sem

 

Prior to boarding we contact Special Needs and request a medical refrigerator. We have found that his refrigerator is a small unit that sits on the desk and keeps his insulin at the proper temperature.

 

We have never had a problem getting a medical refrigerator placed in our cabin.

[pcur]

My husband is diabetic and when we travel to the port he uses Frio Bags https://www.walmart.com/ip/Frio-Duo-Insulin-Cooling-Case/36442149?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227027254871&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=54269459471&wl4=pla-89212017431&wl5=9015295&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=36442149&wl13=&veh=sem

 

Prior to boarding we contact Special Needs and request a medical refrigerator. We have found that his refrigerator is a small unit that sits on the desk and keeps his insulin at the proper temperature.

 

We have never had a problem getting a medical refrigerator placed in our cabin.

 

Patti, it sounds a lot like the one we travel with now.

 

I guess we are just leary of having trouble again. His entire extended travel supply was frozen on the Rhapsody, and it took us over a month, one claim, and one appeal to get our insurance to reimburse us for the $1,200 out-of-network replacement cost. So, we will just take care of it ourselves from now on.

 

However, those Frio packs look like a better solution that his vacuum food thermos with blue ice. But, that was to carry a very large supply on the cross-country airplane trip.

[cruisenfever]

Patti, it sounds a lot like the one we travel with now.

 

I guess we are just leary of having trouble again. His entire extended travel supply was frozen on the Rhapsody, and it took us over a month, one claim, and one appeal to get our insurance to reimburse us for the $1,200 out-of-network replacement cost. So, we will just take care of it ourselves from now on.

 

However, those Frio packs look like a better solution that his vacuum food thermos with blue ice. But, that was to carry a very large supply on the cross-country airplane trip.

What a disaster for you. Luckily the doctor on board came through. I agree with you that insulin should never be left with anyone who is unfamiliar with how it should be stored.

 

My husband is on an insulin pump and must change his site every 3 days so the Frio Packs work well when traveling, especially if a site change is required during travel.

 

He used them when we flew over to Europe and they kept the insulin at the correct temp. Once at the hotel, we placed the insulin in the refrigerator in the room. When traveling to the ship, he just put the Frio bag in cold water for about 15 minutes prior to leaving the hotel and then it kept the insulin cold until we were on the ship.

[pcur]

What a disaster for you. Luckily the doctor on board came through. I agree with you that insulin should never be left with anyone who is unfamiliar with how it should be stored.

 

My husband is on an insulin pump and must change his site every 3 days so the Frio Packs work well when traveling, especially if a site change is required during travel.

 

He used them when we flew over to Europe and they kept the insulin at the correct temp. Once at the hotel, we placed the insulin in the refrigerator in the room. When traveling to the ship, he just put the Frio bag in cold water for about 15 minutes prior to leaving the hotel and then it kept the insulin cold until we were on the ship.

 

Good info to have. I'll tell my husband.

 

Yes, the doctor and Customer Service on the Rhapsody were AMAZING!!

 

By the way, we were talking to a waitress a while ago who is a lifetime diabetic, and she uses an Omnipod. Says it is life-changing.