What is your longest consecutive Celebrity cruise (includes B2B)?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

Not an issue in the UK doctor happily issues prescription  meds for however long we need. House insurance is more difficult as "unoccupied" rules kick in after 60 days. Travel insurance which covers medical now becoming increasingly expensive due to age (upto a month is easy)  - do long trips while you are are young.

I know in Ontario, I can get a  prescription for a year worth of pills, and the pharmacy can give 3 months and be covered by most drug plan , so having enough drugs for 4 months shouldn’t be a problem 

if you going longer on the ship , probably best to call special service and ask for guidance 

[billc23]

11 hours ago, luv2ndhalf said:

Question…. When you sail for longer trips (world cruises for example), how do you fill medical prescriptions? We have sailed 24 days straight (b2b, same cabin) so have not had to deal with more than a month at a time. Just curious-

I'm in the US on traditional Medicare with a part D medication plan. The 90 day refills are available at the 75 day mark from my mail order provider, so after a while I have well over a 90 day supply at home. My plan offers an exception for one time early refill, so I can obtain a 180 day supply if needed. The other option I have used is to obtain a 90 day supply through my insurance and then do my next refill a few days later using GoodRx or similar company and just pay the out of pocket cost, which is usually fairly low and occasionally is less expensive than my insurance copay. If my refills are at zero I will ask my provider to provide me with an early refill because I will be traveling.

 

What I do works for me but can be somewhat stressful figuring out the details. I remember when I was first prescribed a long term medication and was given a 30 day supply with 11 refills. That was stressful because it required going to the pharmacy when I was down to my last few pills.

 

Class 2/3 medications provide other complicating factors that I have not had to deal with and some countries restrict the quantity of any medication you may want to travel with.

[TommyD3]

Another issue in the US is filing one's federal tax return. Most world cruises are during the first half of the year including April 15. One would have to have one's children get the mailed 1099 forms and either prepare their parents taxes for them or take the forms to the CPA. Another issue is jury duty. In Florida one can get a permanent exemption if over 70. If under 70 and on the Royal world cruise I don't think being away for 8+ months would fly !!!

[the penguins]

17 hours ago, billc23 said:

I'm in the US on traditional Medicare with a part D medication plan. The 90 day refills are available at the 75 day mark from my mail order provider, so after a while I have well over a 90 day supply at home. My plan offers an exception for one time early refill, so I can obtain a 180 day supply if needed. The other option I have used is to obtain a 90 day supply through my insurance and then do my next refill a few days later using GoodRx or similar company and just pay the out of pocket cost, which is usually fairly low and occasionally is less expensive than my insurance copay. If my refills are at zero I will ask my provider to provide me with an early refill because I will be traveling.

 

What I do works for me but can be somewhat stressful figuring out the details. I remember when I was first prescribed a long term medication and was given a 30 day supply with 11 refills. That was stressful because it required going to the pharmacy when I was down to my last few pills.

 

Class 2/3 medications provide other complicating factors that I have not had to deal with and some countries restrict the quantity of any medication you may want to travel with.

With regard to your last point. As you won't be visiting any country for more than a few days and any meds will be on the ship this wouldn't be an issue. 

[Honolulu Blue]

8 hours ago, TommyD3 said:

Another issue in the US is filing one's federal tax return. Most world cruises are during the first half of the year including April 15. One would have to have one's children get the mailed 1099 forms and either prepare their parents taxes for them or take the forms to the CPA. Another issue is jury duty. In Florida one can get a permanent exemption if over 70. If under 70 and on the Royal world cruise I don't think being away for 8+ months would fly !!!

You bring up a couple of interesting points. 

 

I'll take on jury duty first. I was summoned for jury duty earlier this year.  I had a pre booked cruise on the week they chose for me. I rescheduled, as was my right in Michigan, for a later date. The difficulty isn't in deferring jury duty, it's in finding out you've been summoned. This I don't have any advice for.

 

On filing taxes, it's a lot simpler than a hard and fast April 15 deadline. I would think that most U.S. residents on a world cruise have a CPA/EA/tax preparer with the data and the authority to file their return. Efiling makes things a lot easier these days. Also, anyone can file for an extension to file that 1040 for 6 months, to October 15. You'll have to pay your estimated taxes by April 15, but never mind. 🤑 And if you're due a refund, you don't ever have to file. Well, you have 3 years to file to get the refund, but if you don't care about the refund, the government is happy to keep your donation to the cause.

[chemmo]

Wow! Impressed by the travels of all. Longest we ever did was a TP…

 

After saying that we have done some long and amazing land tours finishing with a 7/10/12 night cruise…

[phoenix_dream]

On 8/7/2024 at 7:39 PM, luv2ndhalf said:

Question…. When you sail for longer trips (world cruises for example), how do you fill medical prescriptions? We have sailed 24 days straight (b2b, same cabin) so have not had to deal with more than a month at a time. Just curious-

Most insurance companies will authorize an earlier refill date if you contact them ahead of time and explain the circumstances.  Sometimes the pharmacist will call for you; sometimes you need to call yourself, depends on the pharmacy.  

[billc23]

6 hours ago, the penguins said:

With regard to your last point. As you won't be visiting any country for more than a few days and any meds will be on the ship this wouldn't be an issue. 

It depends... I usually stay one week or more in a country before embarking the ship and I will often book multiple cruises with a week or so on land in between. My trip to Japan in April 2025 will involve pre cruise land based touring and they are somewhat strict on their medication policies. 

[billc23]

12 hours ago, TommyD3 said:

Another issue in the US is filing one's federal tax return. Most world cruises are during the first half of the year including April 15. One would have to have one's children get the mailed 1099 forms and either prepare their parents taxes for them or take the forms to the CPA. Another issue is jury duty. In Florida one can get a permanent exemption if over 70. If under 70 and on the Royal world cruise I don't think being away for 8+ months would fly !!!

On US taxes, as long as you have paid in an adequate amount by April 15th getting a 6 month extension is simple and common - 10% to 15% of fillers do this. The new file by date becomes October 15th. I'm exempt from jury duty but that may be a problem for some depending on State law. 

 

Oops, I just saw this was already answered...

Edited August 9 by billc23
Someone already answered the question.

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

It depends... I usually stay one week or more in a country before embarking the ship and I will often book multiple cruises with a week or so on land in between. My trip to Japan in April 2025 will involve pre cruise land based touring and they are somewhat strict on their medication policies. 

Provided we are only discussing prescription meds there should be no issues. We just ensure that all the meds are in the original boxes I.e. boxes labelled with the patients name etc as collected from the pharmacy. We also have the paper prescriptions to match. As at the start of a trip we carry upwards of a pint of liquid morphine and several hundred slow release morphine/nerve blocker tablets we are regularly questioned by security officials but have never had any issues.

[billc23]

35 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Provided we are only discussing prescription meds there should be no issues. We just ensure that all the meds are in the original boxes I.e. boxes labelled with the patients name etc as collected from the pharmacy. We also have the paper prescriptions to match. As at the start of a trip we carry upwards of a pint of liquid morphine and several hundred slow release morphine/nerve blocker tablets we are regularly questioned by security officials but have never had any issues.

Let us agree to disagree on this. I review and follow the rules presented at the government websites, and, while I have never had my medications checked when entering various countries, I would rather not risk having an issue on my vacation. I plan to fill out the required forms in advance for my upcoming trip to Japan, rather than risk arrest even though that risk is low. 

 

From the US Embassy and Consulates in Japan: (Bolded part from the website - not me)

 

Decisions on which medications or prescription drugs can be brought into Japan are made solely by the Japanese Government and subject to control under Japan’s Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.  Many common medications and over-the-counter drugs in the United States are illegal in Japan.  It does not matter if you have a valid U.S. prescription for a medicine/drug which is illegal in Japan:  if you bring it with you, you risk arrest and detention by the Japanese authorities.  The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan do not maintain a comprehensive list of prohibited medications or ingredients. Comprehensive information is available only from the Japanese government and is subject to change without notice. 

[MamaFej]

Following the rules is very wise.

 

Japan Does. Not. Play.

 

 

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

Let us agree to disagree on this. I review and follow the rules presented at the government websites, and, while I have never had my medications checked when entering various countries, I would rather not risk having an issue on my vacation. I plan to fill out the required forms in advance for my upcoming trip to Japan, rather than risk arrest even though that risk is low. 

 

From the US Embassy and Consulates in Japan: (Bolded part from the website - not me)

 

Decisions on which medications or prescription drugs can be brought into Japan are made solely by the Japanese Government and subject to control under Japan’s Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.  Many common medications and over-the-counter drugs in the United States are illegal in Japan.  It does not matter if you have a valid U.S. prescription for a medicine/drug which is illegal in Japan:  if you bring it with you, you risk arrest and detention by the Japanese authorities.  The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Japan do not maintain a comprehensive list of prohibited medications or ingredients. Comprehensive information is available only from the Japanese government and is subject to change without notice. 

i am happy with that. The information here in the UK has some differences to that quoted above.

[Joker54]

On 8/9/2024 at 12:56 PM, the penguins said:

Provided we are only discussing prescription meds there should be no issues. We just ensure that all the meds are in the original boxes I.e. boxes labelled with the patients name etc as collected from the pharmacy. We also have the paper prescriptions to match. As at the start of a trip we carry upwards of a pint of liquid morphine and several hundred slow release morphine/nerve blocker tablets we are regularly questioned by security officials but have never had any issues.

Singapore and the Maldives are 2 additional countries that you may want to consider checking with. Singapore as a web page that you can search although you need to use the actual drug name vs the manufacturers name. You can also email them with your prescriptions and get confirmation that you are good to go, or get an exception granted. Not worth getting caned over. Maldives can be fairly unforgiving too

 

Cheers