Dialysis at sea

[wyntree6]

How much does it cost.  What ships has it?  How good is it and how much time does it take.

[TinkBellaMom]

So I don’t know the cost, but I know we were on the Harmony several years ago and a lady from our roll call used it for her husband.  She shared with me that they hadn’t been able to cruise for awhile until they discovered the program.  She was quite happy with the care he received.  You might try calling the disability number for RCCL, they will be more helpful.

[Merion_Mom]

1 hour ago, wyntree6 said:

How much does it cost.  What ships has it?  How good is it and how much time does it take.

 

special_needs@rccl.com

[Sunshine3601]

Does your husband do peritoneal or hemodialysis?     Prior to my DH getting a kidney transplant we did 2 cruises with him doing peritoneal dialysis.    Everyone at RCCL was great with all the supplies and coordinating the machine in our cabin.    That was on grandeur and serenade.

[1025cruise]

Dialysis at Sea is a travel agent that provides the services. You would need to book your cruise through them. I believe they bring equipment with them as necessary.

You might want to ask on the Disabled Cruisers forum.

[Mollycat]

We are going on a dialysis at sea cruise Jan 26th on the Allure.   My father-in-law is on dialysis and hasn’t been able to travel in three years - he is excited for the opportunity to travel.   We are going as a family, my in-laws had to book directly with Dialysis at Sea and my brother in-law and my husband and I were booked through RCL by our travel agent.  I’m not sure of the cost, but I know it is quite expensive.   There is apparently a nephrologist and 2 renal nurses on board for the sailing.   
 

My in laws are also sailing on a Dialysis at Sea with celebrity the week prior.   Google them and you can see available dates.

 

I may be of more help after we return in February.  

[nimiq]

1 hour ago, Mollycat said:

We are going on a dialysis at sea cruise Jan 26th on the Allure.   My father-in-law is on dialysis and hasn’t been able to travel in three years - he is excited for the opportunity to travel.   We are going as a family, my in-laws had to book directly with Dialysis at Sea and my brother in-law and my husband and I were booked through RCL by our travel agent.  I’m not sure of the cost, but I know it is quite expensive.   There is apparently a nephrologist and 2 renal nurses on board for the sailing.   
 

My in laws are also sailing on a Dialysis at Sea with celebrity the week prior.   Google them and you can see available dates.

 

I may be of more help after we return in February.  

Oh yes come back with a full report my father in law has stop cruising since but this might but a big smile on his face 🙂

 

thanks 

[karmacats]

Dialysis at Sea is their own company. They have a website with a schedule, and will also send brochures. They bring hemodialysis machines and staff onto many different royal and celebrity ships, so there are lots of itineraries to choose from. They are normal length dialysis sessions, so figure about 4 hrs including prep time, and are usually offered in 2 shifts, with the first being around 6 a.m. and the other later morning.

 

We took my mom on 3 of these cruises. They were fantastic, and my mom had a blast. The staff both for booking beforehand and for dialysis onboard were extremely professional. I cannot say enough good things.

 

However, they are very expensive. Medicare will not cover the dialysis sessions onboard, which as of last year were about $700 each. (Some supplemental or private insurances will cover them, but most do not.)  There is a minimum charge for 3 sessions, so even if you do a 5 night cruise that only has 2 sessions, you must pay for 3. Otherwise it's not worth it for the company. There are also admin charges, and mandatory travel insurance paid at time of initial booking. Overall, a good rule of thumb would be to presume a couple grand over the regular cabin price (for the fees, insurance, etc) plus the cost of dialysis.

 

Despite the price, these trips were some of the best times my mom had in her last years, and I'm so glad we got to take her on them.

Edited January 14, 2020 by karmacats

[Farts]

Can you just do PD in your own state room on a regular cruise?

[brillohead]

16 minutes ago, Farts said:

Can you just do PD in your own state room on a regular cruise?

Yep -- just bring your own gear....

[Kathy Cervoni]

Does anyone knows if we do home hemodialysis, if we can bring our own machine

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/27/2020 at 11:46 PM, Farts said:

Can you just do PD in your own state room on a regular cruise?

I was going to bring this up.  My daughter's first job out of nursing school was working with kidneys /dialysis.  She became certified to teach people to do their own dialysis in their own homes ... if you can do it in your own recliner in your living room, I don't see why you couldn't bring everything with you on board.  

[brillohead]

On 12/31/2023 at 6:50 PM, Kathy Cervoni said:

Does anyone knows if we do home hemodialysis, if we can bring our own machine

There is no restriction against it.  I would be prepared to bring your unit on board yourself, rather than leaving it with the porters, so there is no risk of damage.  And there is no way I would fly with a home machine, unless you have a way to enclose it in styrofoam padding for each flight -- airlines are brutal with all cargo, even gate-checked fragile items.

 

Also make sure you bring enough dialysate on board with you (carried yourself) to get you to the first port of call.  In case there is a delay getting your dialysate to you (like it gets flagged by security), or in the very rare case that it does not make it on the ship, you'll need something to get you through until you can get to a port where you can fly home. 

I would also plan on bringing your own biohazard bags for discarding your tubing and bags (you can pour the used dialysate down the toilet).  I'm sure they have biohazard bags on board for cleaning up puke and such, but it will be much easier if you just bring your own rather than trying to track them down on board.  

Calling or emailing the Special Needs department would be the best way to handle all of this.  Filling out the online form has iffy results, but if you can call and talk to someone (or email) and ask them to email you a confirmation (that you can show at port if anyone gives you any problems), you'll know for sure that you have the all-clear.

If you need further assistance, please contact our Access Department at special_needs@rccl.com or 866-592-7225.
 

[Kathy Cervoni]

On 1/4/2024 at 2:39 AM, brillohead said:

There is no restriction against it.  I would be prepared to bring your unit on board yourself, rather than leaving it with the porters, so there is no risk of damage.  And there is no way I would fly with a home machine, unless you have a way to enclose it in styrofoam padding for each flight -- airlines are brutal with all cargo, even gate-checked fragile items.

 

Also make sure you bring enough dialysate on board with you (carried yourself) to get you to the first port of call.  In case there is a delay getting your dialysate to you (like it gets flagged by security), or in the very rare case that it does not make it on the ship, you'll need something to get you through until you can get to a port where you can fly home. 

I would also plan on bringing your own biohazard bags for discarding your tubing and bags (you can pour the used dialysate down the toilet).  I'm sure they have biohazard bags on board for cleaning up puke and such, but it will be much easier if you just bring your own rather than trying to track them down on board.  

Calling or emailing the Special Needs department would be the best way to handle all of this.  Filling out the online form has iffy results, but if you can call and talk to someone (or email) and ask them to email you a confirmation (that you can show at port if anyone gives you any problems), you'll know for sure that you have the all-clear.

If you need further assistance, please contact our Access Department at special_needs@rccl.com or 866-592-7225.
 

Thank you so much for all this information, I'm actually calling to finally this because when I asked they told me I could not and dialysis had to be at their center, my nurse and doctor informed me this wasn't true so I'm calling again. Plus now with all the information you provided me I'm more relax and prepared... thank you so much

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, Kathy Cervoni said:

Thank you so much for all this information, I'm actually calling to finally this because when I asked they told me I could not and dialysis had to be at their center, my nurse and doctor informed me this wasn't true so I'm calling again. Plus now with all the information you provided me I'm more relax and prepared... thank you so much

 

You're very welcome!  If you look at the restricted item list, it doesn't list medical devices at all, so I don't see how they could restrict you from bringing your own.  I know people here have posted about doing IV infusions through a port or a PICC in the privacy of their stateroom -- I don't see how this would be any different!

[RedJessi]

On 12/31/2023 at 6:50 PM, Kathy Cervoni said:

Does anyone knows if we do home hemodialysis, if we can bring our own machine

I found this info and thought it might be helpful

 

We did three overnight treatments on the ship, and aside from the first night, they went perfectly. The first night, hubby's arm sweated and set off his enuresis (moisture) alarm. After that, I kept the room cooler at night, and we had no problems. A few notes:

• We do nocturnal HD, and it takes 50 liters of fluid. Because heater sets can only hold 5 bags (25 liters), I set an alarm, get up in the middle of the night, and swap out the bags to get the full treatment. If you do short daily HD, you won't run into that! We couldswitch to short daily during vacation, but nocturnal makes him feel better, and you pretty much want to feel good when on vacation.

• Sticking can be a little more difficult than at home, but that's to be expected any time you are not in the exact position you usually are.

• To get your weight can be tricky. The ship...it MOVES. And YOU will move too while trying to weigh. The biggest tip I have is to weigh yourself while in port when the ship is still. We were not able to get EXACT weights before two treatments, and you need to be aware of that. Most ships also have the old style manual scales in their spa/exercise area, and you can get a more accurate reading on those! (I just didn't think of that until we were done doing treatments.)

• If you do short daily, and have a balcony cabin, you can pretty likely set up dialysis on the balcony outside! There are worse things than cruising along in the Caribbean while dialyzing on your balcony. I WILL warn you to be certain you have enough shade to avoid a nasty little sunburn.

Edited January 17 by RedJessi

[goinmobile68]

My mother was on PD for several years & took her own equipment but arranged delivery of supplies to the vacation rental through her dialysis provider. (Liquids are HEAVY!) You might want to talk to your clinic, they probably have dealt w/this. I worked for a DME company at one point & we frequently coordinated oxygen delivery to travel destinations. Travel is possible with chronic conditions, although I'd be a little nervous relying on airline schedules with recent weather & damage delays. If you can drive to the port-GO for it!