Need some advice

[lovesplants]

My husband and I have enjoyed cruising once every year or every other.  During the covid restrictions on cruising,  my husband developed early-onset dementia and became incontinent.  At home, I use sheet protectors, depends, and other items for this condition.  Can anyone advise me about the steps I need to follow on a cruise to be clean and comfortable?  With the many senior citizens we've met on cruises, there must be others dealing successfully with this inconvenient condition.

[ColeThornton]

You may want to ask this on the Disabled Cruiser Forum.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

 

 

Additionally, contact the Special Needs department for whatever cruise line it is that you are sailing on.  Their contact information will be available on each lines web site. 

[Essiesmom]

Here is a thread dealing with this from the Disabled forum:

 

 

[cb at sea]

Pull-up adult diapers will be the way to go...make sure you bring plenty.  And perhaps, bring large "chucks" for the bed.  The cruise lines do NOT provide this stuff, so it's up to you.

 

You also may want to speak with his doctor....some dementia patients don't do well outside of their "home" environment....they tend to get confused easily.

[RomanyUY]

On 7/21/2021 at 1:47 PM, cb at sea said:

You also may want to speak with his doctor....some dementia patients don't do well outside of their "home" environment....they tend to get confused easily.

He's not that far gone, yet. He's been cruising before and is looking forward to doing it again. I was hoping to do the cruises we had booked but COVID changed all our plans. We'll see how he is later this year.

[dobiemom]

On 7/21/2021 at 9:47 AM, cb at sea said:

Pull-up adult diapers will be the way to go...make sure you bring plenty.  And perhaps, bring large "chucks" for the bed.  The cruise lines do NOT provide this stuff, so it's up to you.

Yes, that’s what we brought, along with extra PJs/clothes (and be prepared to do laundry or send it out). And also trash bags or get them from your room steward right away. And have a conversation with the room steward so they know what’s going on. (They were very understanding… remember, they have parents, too.)

[Host Kat]

On 7/20/2021 at 3:59 PM, lovesplants said:

My husband and I have enjoyed cruising once every year or every other.  During the covid restrictions on cruising,  my husband developed early-onset dementia and became incontinent.  At home, I use sheet protectors, depends, and other items for this condition.  Can anyone advise me about the steps I need to follow on a cruise to be clean and comfortable?  With the many senior citizens we've met on cruises, there must be others dealing successfully with this inconvenient condition.

 

Howdy @lovesplants 

 

Welcome back to the  Critic message boards!   I see it has been a while since you posted on the boards.

 

Thank you for your new thread titled Need some advice on the Ask a Cruise Question forum. 👍  However, it is the forum for general questions regarding cruising.

 

To help you out, I have moved your thread to the Disabled Cruise Travel forum where it will be on topic. That is where your fellow Cruise Critic members with physical limitations share their advice & experiences. Be sure to browse through the thread titles on this forum and l👀k for titles of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you.

 

Be sure to use the Follow feature on this thread. That way you won't have to go l👀king to see if there are new posts here because they will come l👀king for you as notifications!  If you need more info on how to do it, please see How to: Follow Topics & Forums (Subscribed Threads/Forums Info).

 

And don't forget, after your cruise be sure to submit your review for publication by Cruise Critic. Many cruisers will benefit from your experience! See How To: Submit a Member Review.

 

I hope this will be helpful and glad to have you back aboard the Cruise Critic message board! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat  

[Bloodgem]

I always strip the bed and place the wet bed sheet in the shower, when my Son's pad leaks.  

Doing this means the cabin steward does not have to be extra careful when checking to bed in the morning.  

[a4ofspades]

I just wanted to add that I recently discovered these (very similar to what hospitals use now), and they are really superior to chucks. Medline - MSC303625 Extrasorbs Drypad Underpads Air Permeable 30 x 36 inches (Pack of 25)

[Euby]

Any suggestions for disposal of the underwear?  Those trash cans in the bathrooms are pretty small and not airtight.  I'd like to make things as easy as possible for the room steward.

[Bloodgem]

2 hours ago, Euby said:

Any suggestions for disposal of the underwear?  Those trash cans in the bathrooms are pretty small and not airtight.  I'd like to make things as easy as possible for the room steward.

I take small and medium size bin/trash bags with us. The medium bag normally need to hold up to 3 nappies, as this is how many we can use in between room steward visits.

I place the used nappy in a small bag. Then place the small bag in the medium bag. The room steward takes the medium bag away each visit.

Yes the bathroom does smell but it's the price we are willing to pay to cruise.

If a nappy smells particularly vile instead of placing it in the medium bag I place the small bag in a nappy bin in one of the public bathrooms on the ship. 

  

[not in ks anymore]

On 8/5/2021 at 12:10 AM, Euby said:

Any suggestions for disposal of the underwear?  Those trash cans in the bathrooms are pretty small and not airtight.  I'd like to make things as easy as possible for the room steward.

I have used Heaven Scent hygiene bags that are made for incontinence products. They are scented like baby powder mildly, but enough to mask any smells. They have 2 sizes and I find the small one holds 2 adult pull-up briefs. I purchase them on Amazon but they may be available elsewhere also. They are thick enough to conceal the contents and no smell escapes, thus avoiding embarrassment.