Question, Oxygen?

[casp]

My father-in-law will probably need oxygen on board, Can anyone help me out-where I can buy it from? Any suggestions?

 

thanks,

 

casp

[rjg41]

Contact your TA or Celebrity.

[shedy]

My mother and I are crusiing at the end of January and we just ordered oxygen for her. I believe the company was cruiseassist.com. I called Celebrity at 305-539-4492 and they gave me the name of two companies. We used cruise assist because I had seen favorable reports about them on this website. Not that I had seen unfavorable comments on the other, I just remembered the cruise assist name. We made arrangements for them to deliver the oxygen to the ship the day we embark. The contract says that they will set it up in the room and make sure all is working before they leave.The cost was 300 something for a 5 day cruise. They sent my mother an agreement to sign via email, they wanted to fax it but she does not have a fax machine so they agreed to an email. She also had to call her doctor's office and have them fax the company her oxygen prescription. All in all it was relatively simple, just an extra step in the plans.

 

Shedy

[judyfssw]

I believe Cruisecare and Cruiseassist are one and the same. We've used cruise care for my mom's two cruises. We were very please with them. She needed a concentrator plus oxygen tanks to take to the dining room and on excursions. The only problem was me estimating how many and which size tanks my mom would need. They also provide oxygen from the airport to the ship and back to the airport, if needed. I've found them very reliable.

[casp]

judyfsw, shedy, and rjg41,

 

thank you for the information, he goes to his doctor January 10th, hopefully he won't need it.

 

thanks,

casp

[MrsFixitCT]

My parents are in Florida, and mom has an oxygen machine that she only needs at nite to sleep with.

 

When they travel here to CT, dad calls the provider down there, and they, in turn, contact a company here that delivers the machine right to our door. This is all done at no additional cost over what he normally pays for it at home.

 

If you have a company you deal with at home for it, I would check with them..perhaps they have the same "reciprocal" agreement with one of the providers for the cruise ships, rather than incurring an additional expense...

[flashdog_1]

I think Cruisecare is the name for the insurance Celebrity offers for a fee. There may also be an oxygen providing company by the same name.

[casp]

MrsFixitCT,

 

My father-in-law is on oxygen at night, last year he didn't need it on the cruise but recently he had part of his lung removed. His supplier is Walgreens, that delivers at home. Thanks for the information I will give them a call on Monday.

 

Casp

[tcocktail]

I arranged for oxygen for my Father In San Juan. I don't remember the company but we used LinCare and they found the company for me. The company in San Juan was use to dealing with the oxygen and it waas there upon arrival at the ship. I will say My Father was on Liquid oxygen and and of course works out the best for the oxygen companies. I don't even know if they will go it if you are not on liquid. Best to check that out.

[Optifire]

Casp:

 

We recently took a cruise on the Voyager of the Seas with my sister who required oxygen 24/7. We were given the number of Care Vacation at 1-877-478-7827. However upon calling and giving them a list of the supplies that she would need, cylinders and concentrator, the total price they gave us totaled more then the cost of the cruise for her and her husband. Some insurance companies cover the delivery to the ship, but her insurance company would not. You should check with your insurance company to see if they will cover this for you. That would be great if they do and you would have no problems at all.

 

We called the Special Needs Department to find out if we could bring her oxygen equipment ourselves and they said yes. So that is what we did.

It was out of Bayonne NJ we departed and we gave the equipment to the baggage handlers at pier assistance who put it in a separate cage and they delivered it directly to the room for us. Everything arrived in perfect shape from the large tanks which held 10 hours, the smaller ones that held 5 hours, the concentrator, the bag which held her nebulizer and cpap machine. All went well and she was not burdened with the extra expense of getting it through a company. If we would have had to pay for the oxygen we would probably would have had to cancel the cruise as it was so expensive.

 

It is important for you to contact the Special Needs Department with the Cruise Line as they will want a copy of his Oxygen prescription from the doctor and he should carry one with him also at all times to help with customs depending on where you are going. They will also need to know the type of Oxygen he takes, how often he uses it and what exact type of cylinders and equipment he will be bringing aboard. If he has gets winded easily or has trouble walking, you may want to take a wheel chair for him as the ship only allows you to use a wheel chair for embarking and debarking. They do not have wheel chairs for you to use while on the ship. Even though, my sister does not usually use a wheel chair at home, we still were able to borrow one to take along with us and thank goodness we did. She used it 90 percent of the time and it really saved the trip. The Voyager was a large ship and there was alot of walking involved.

 

If you should decide to take your own oxygen aboard, be sure to make arrangements with the Guest Relations desk on the ship the day before dembarking to be certain they know that you will need assistance getting the oxygen from your room off the ship and to the pier. They will only take it to the luggage area, it will be your responseibility to get it to your car. However, we got a porter to help us at Bayonne, they only take it to the loading area, not to the parking lot. But you can pull your car right up to that area to load it. Yes, it was not as convenient as having it delivered to your room through the company, but it was worth saving hundreds of dollars to put up with a few minutes of work. It was a 5 day cruise and and it was last year and Cruise Vacation quoted me just for the concentrator alone was $295.00. She only took regular oxygen, not the liquid and for the large tanks that last 10 hours they quoted me at $125.00 each and the smaller bottles that last 5 hours were $49.95 each.

 

I must admit before the cruise that I was leary about how are we going to do this, but it really went well. And I am so glad we didnt cancel the cruise as this was her first cruise and also her last as she has since gone downhill and is very limited to her ventures. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and have a wonderful cruise.

[Guest Cookiegirl]

Optifire is correct. My husband uses oxygen occasionally because of chemo treatments. We learned from our doctor less than 2 weeks prior to our cruise last October that we'd need to take oxygen with us. We live in PA and were leaving from Bayonne. I was really concerned that we'd be canceling the cruise, but after talking with Celebrity's Special Needs Department, we found that we could bring our own oxygen from home, which is supplied by Apria. I spent at least 4 hours that first day juggling phone calls between Apria, Celebrity, and our doctor. I did alot of follow-up calling and had everything in writing and took it with us on the cruise. We had no problems whatsoever and Celebrity and Apria really made it all happen.

[sueclark]

We have cruised many times with my Aunt and Uncle - he requires oxygen. My Aunt handles all the pre-cruise ordering. They have never had a problem. She deals directly with the cruise line's Special Services department to get all their required forms and supplier requirements. And she follows up by verifying all arrangements several times prior to sailing.

 

They actually have more problems finding flights that will accept oxygen, than cruise related.

[casp]

Thank you to everyone who has helped me out regarding my dilemma. I really appreciate it.

 

Thanks again,

 

casp