Unreasonable Request??

[jo-v]

CPAP machine required for sleep apnea condition. It is recommended by physician that machine is cleaned with distilled water. In the past Norwegian has always accomodated 2 one gallon containers of distilled water for this at no charge. This past time we cruised with Norwegian, request was denied and we were advised that we were welcome to bring our own bottles of water on board. As airlines are not permitting travel with liquids and we were flying into NYC, this presented a problem, not too mention the weight and inconvenience of dragging the water along with you. I even offered to pay for them to arrange the water and was told by travel agent that ship advises that all the water on the ship is distilled and we could take it from the tap

which is in the bathroom. As this machine is used to assist breathing and is going into your lungs, I don't know about you but taking water from bathroom tap seems a bit unsanitary to me and I don't care how well you clean.

Even offering to pay, request was denied. Norwegian always accomodated this request free of charge the 4 times we sailed with them in the past but this time it was a problem. Last year, we were first told no and then upon writing to Manager, I was apologized to and told that this should never have been a problem to begin with. Again, this past cruise we took, it was a problem. Upon calling Norwegian myself after the travel agent was told no, I relayed what I was told by their Manager last cruise and was still told no. I didn't persue further - final payment had been made - I didn't have it in me to go through the letter writing and telephone calls, etc I had to before, especially since last time I was advised that it should not have been a problem. Marriott Hotel in NYC accomodated the water request with no hassle and no charge so we went in a night early to eliminate the difficulty in searching for where to purchase and getting around after we landed being unfamiliar with NYC.

We travel 3 to 4 times per year and have never had a cruiseline, hotel, or resort unwilling to accomodate this or charge for it, except for Norwegian.

This is important enough to us that we will not be considering Norwegian in the future -- Reasonable??

[2inTul]

How often does this machine have to be cleaned? My grandmother has a CPAP machine and travels all the time with it. I have never heard of this problem.

 

It takes two gallons of distilled water to clean it? That must be some dirty machine.

 

By the way the tap water on a cruise ship is probably cleaner than most bottles of water you can buy, distilled or otherwise.

 

Unreasonable? That's up to you, but I would say…….perhaps, a little.

[bulgargirl]

How often does this machine have to be cleaned? My grandmother has a CPAP machine and travels all the time with it. I have never heard of this problem.

 

It takes two gallons of distilled water to clean it? That must be some dirty machine.

 

By the way the tap water on a cruise ship is probably cleaner than most bottles of water you can buy, distilled or otherwise.

 

Unreasonable? That's up to you, but I would say…….perhaps, a little.

 

I think that might be the teensiest bit harsh. :rolleyes: If my doctor told me to do something with a machine and that it was necessary for me to breath properly, I would do it. If he's offering to pay or arrange for the bottles of water AND Norwegian has always accommodated him in the past, why not now??? It's not that difficult for him either. Why is it more unreasonable to want distilled water than it is to tell a person with a medical condition use tap --- we don't care what your doctor says????

 

By the way, the liability alone should be enough to scare them. If they tell him they WON'T accommodate his disability AND that the water in the tap is good enough --- and he gets sick from the tap water???? It would have just been easier to let him arrange the darn bottled water.

[seattle2000]

This is important enough to us that we will not be considering Norwegian in the future -- Reasonable??

 

When I had my CPAP, I only used distilled water in the humidifier, no exceptions, because that water went directly into my lungs. For cleaning though, I'd add a couple of drops of bleach to the tap water, along with soap, to clean out the tubing and mask every night.

 

Before you drop NCL from your list, you may want to check out some sleep apnea forums for travel suggestions first. I found a a lot of wonderful tips on boards that my doctors simply were not able to offer me (not having to live the the *&*&% thing every night). My favorite is sleepnet.org, but there are many others out there as well.

 

Best of luck.

[EileenN]

I have travelled on the NCL Dawn several times and used the bathroom tap water as we have been told the the desalinazation (?) of the water makes it better than most bottled distilled water. If there were chemical residue or minerals in the water, it would have left a film on the humidifier container and it did not. It was totally clear as was the water. I do not hesitate to recommend both, as a bipap user and a member of the sleep apnea board, that using the water should not present a problem and instead would be a relief not having to carry gallons of water on board. Hope this helps.

[2inTul]

I think that might be the teensiest bit harsh. :rolleyes: If my doctor told me to do something with a machine and that it was necessary for me to breath properly, I would do it. If he's offering to pay or arrange for the bottles of water AND Norwegian has always accommodated him in the past, why not now??? It's not that difficult for him either. Why is it more unreasonable to want distilled water than it is to tell a person with a medical condition use tap --- we don't care what your doctor says????

 

By the way, the liability alone should be enough to scare them. If they tell him they WON'T accommodate his disability AND that the water in the tap is good enough --- and he gets sick from the tap water???? It would have just been easier to let him arrange the darn bottled water.

 

I’m sorry you felt my response was harsh. It certainly wasn’t meant to be.

 

As I believe I stated I am familiar, I thought, with CPAP machines. I was simply asking a question, to which I have not received a response. I was trying to determine if the OP was going a bit overboard (pardon the pun) on the cleaning. That’s all.

 

Regardless, I feel for the OP to "not be considering Norwegian in the future” because they don’t want to use tap water might be a little over the top.

 

JMO

[bulgargirl]

I’m sorry you felt my response was harsh. It certainly wasn’t meant to be.

 

As I believe I stated I am familiar, I thought, with CPAP machines. I was simply asking a question, to which I have not received a response. I was trying to determine if the OP was going a bit overboard (pardon the pun) on the cleaning. That’s all.

 

Regardless, I feel for the OP to "not be considering Norwegian in the future” because they don’t want to use tap water might be a little over the top.

 

JMO

 

Point taken. I just thought, hey -- if that's what your doctor is telling you to do, and they've done it for you before. I'd probably be upset too. Mostly, because the people who are telling me the water is fine (the customer service reps) most likely have not consulted a doctor before veryifying that.

 

But tone of voice is so hard to tell in the posts darn it! Sorry if I sounded like I was jumping all over you!!!!!! :p

[mikedw]

Having been in the submarine service in the US Navy and having to learn all about how water is distilled from seawater, I can pretty much assure you, the tap water on a ship is several times cleaner then whatever you might buy.

 

Michael Wasiljov

Hagerstown, MD

[seahorse]

If you still don`t want to use the water from the ship. I suggest that you contact www.wellwhishers.com and have them deliver the water. I know that they will fill any request:)

[cusyl]

I also use a Cpap machine. Clean the machine well before you leave home. Then use the tap water from the ship or the large bottles of water that are for sale on the ship. The tap water on ships are very safe and I have never had a respiratory problem from using it.

[electricron]

I also use a CPAP machine. For your info: You are not breathing the water, if you did you would drown. You are breathing the water vapor.

 

By the way, no minerals in the water rises with the vapor. Evaporators is a common method used world wide to distill salt water. Desaltation plants use evaporators. Distill water usually is created by using evaporators.

 

And that's what your CPAP machine is using, creating water vapor by using evaporation. Even if the tap water aboard the ship isn't as clean as you wish, your CPAP evaporator will clean it more.

 

The best way to determine if there is minerals in your tap water is to look for residue left in your CPAP water container. If the container remains clear, there's no minerals in your tap water. I've sailed on many cruises and I have yet to find residue left in my BPAP water container. Which testifies how clean the tap water aboard cruise ships are.

 

If your worried about contaminating your BPAP water container, you can clean it daily with soap and water, or other anti bacteria commercial products.

 

Besides using evaporators to desalinate sea water, cruise ships use reverse osmosis process as well for the tap water. So the tap water aboard cruise ships is often cleaner than destilled water you can buy ashore.

 

But, if you must have bottled destilled water, you can stop and pick it up at any drug store between the airport and the ship. Ask the taxi driver, I'm willing to bet he will accomodiate. But it's been my experience the tap water aboard cruise ships are safe.

[garycarla]

The link to wellwishers was misspelled above. Try http://www.wellwishers.com I am not sure if NCL still works with these folks, call and find out.

 

If everyone says the water of the ship is cleaner than bottled distilled water, then??

 

How about buying bottled water on the ship. They sell that to everyone.

 

Also, you could buy water in the store when in NYC before you board the ship.

 

Somebody asked "what if you get sick using tap water..." I might ask, what if you get sick using "distilled water?"

 

Not sure why someone thinks the tap water in the bathroom is unsanitary? Gee, we all brush our teeth with this, take medicine and drink it.

 

You might want to do a search on CPAP on cruise critic to get more opinions.

[EileenN]

Be careful using "bottled water" purchased on board that is not labeled "distilled". Many of the water bottling companies include "vitamin and mineral enhanced" water. Even a few have chloride.

[dwrist]

CPAP machine required for sleep apnea condition. It is recommended by physician that machine is cleaned with distilled water. In the past Norwegian has always accomodated 2 one gallon containers of distilled water for this at no charge. This past time we cruised with Norwegian, request was denied and we were advised that we were welcome to bring our own bottles of water on board. As airlines are not permitting travel with liquids and we were flying into NYC, this presented a problem, not too mention the weight and inconvenience of dragging the water along with you. I even offered to pay for them to arrange the water and was told by travel agent that ship advises that all the water on the ship is distilled and we could take it from the tap

which is in the bathroom. As this machine is used to assist breathing and is going into your lungs, I don't know about you but taking water from bathroom tap seems a bit unsanitary to me and I don't care how well you clean.

Even offering to pay, request was denied. Norwegian always accomodated this request free of charge the 4 times we sailed with them in the past but this time it was a problem. Last year, we were first told no and then upon writing to Manager, I was apologized to and told that this should never have been a problem to begin with. Again, this past cruise we took, it was a problem. Upon calling Norwegian myself after the travel agent was told no, I relayed what I was told by their Manager last cruise and was still told no. I didn't persue further - final payment had been made - I didn't have it in me to go through the letter writing and telephone calls, etc I had to before, especially since last time I was advised that it should not have been a problem. Marriott Hotel in NYC accomodated the water request with no hassle and no charge so we went in a night early to eliminate the difficulty in searching for where to purchase and getting around after we landed being unfamiliar with NYC.

We travel 3 to 4 times per year and have never had a cruiseline, hotel, or resort unwilling to accomodate this or charge for it, except for Norwegian.

This is important enough to us that we will not be considering Norwegian in the future -- Reasonable??

 

Talk to your physician again. Show him/her this thread and see what he/she says. I have friends that use CPAP and have traveled on ship(NCL) and had no problems. But that is not you or your doctor. See your Physician and ask their advice.

[Saskdan]

I, too was a bit confused about the "cleaning" of the machine, until I realised that you probably have a humidifier attached. I do not see any problem with cleaning my mask etc with the ships tapwater. By the way how did you travel with your machine ,ie did you put it in a carry-on, or in your suitcase? I'll be travelling next month and was wondering about this. I am also taking a letter from our local hospital explaining what this contraption is.

[laughoutloud]

By the way how did you travel with your machine ,ie did you put it in a carry-on, or in your suitcase? I'll be travelling next month and was wondering about this. I am also taking a letter from our local hospital explaining what this contraption is.

 

The letter is a very good idea. We traveled to Europe with a nebulizer & airport security scrutinized us every-which-way. (Guess they don't see many of them?) We took it as a carry-on because we didn't want it to get lost or damaged. Just be prepared for the once-over...

[Brownies52]

My husband uses a BiPAP and packs it in his checked bag, against my advice(He doesn't take a carry-on). It always arrives in one piece, but his luggage is always searched. As with anything important; and difficult and expensive to replace, I would put it in your carry-on and have a letter from the physician or the instruction papers for the machine to explain to security what it is. While traveling, he doesn't take the humidifier, thus doesn't have to worry about finding water on our trips. Never has complained about his nostrils being dried out in the morning. Most of our vacations are about a month long,also. We were instructed to use hot water with vinegar for cleaning, and only do so about once a month.

[jo-v]

I, too was a bit confused about the "cleaning" of the machine, until I realised that you probably have a humidifier attached. I do not see any problem with cleaning my mask etc with the ships tapwater. By the way how did you travel with your machine ,ie did you put it in a carry-on, or in your suitcase? I'll be travelling next month and was wondering about this. I am also taking a letter from our local hospital explaining what this contraption is.

 

Travelled with CPAP in carry-on bag (the small ones on wheels). Didn't carry letter and we travel often however we always let the security people know that there is a CPAP inside the machine beforehand and they seem to appreciate that and many seem to know what it is anyway. As far as the water goes, physician advised specifically to use "steamed distilled water" and to take all precautions which we have been doing, which includes not using any other type of bottled water or otherwise. Thank you for your information and advice as to other ways to obtain. I think we will go with doctor's recommendations as we have in the past, however will run by him information obtained here.

My thoughts are that as we have always been accomodated with this request in the past, what has changed from a service point-of-view, especially when we were willing to pay and I had been advised previously by a Norwegian Manager that this should never have been an issue. Thank you for the suggestions of where else we might get it though.

Thanks again!

[jo-v]

I, too was a bit confused about the "cleaning" of the machine, until I realised that you probably have a humidifier attached. I do not see any problem with cleaning my mask etc with the ships tapwater. By the way how did you travel with your machine ,ie did you put it in a carry-on, or in your suitcase? I'll be travelling next month and was wondering about this. I am also taking a letter from our local hospital explaining what this contraption is.

 

Travelled with CPAP in carry-on bag (the small ones on wheels). Didn't carry letter and we travel often however we always let the security people know that there is a CPAP inside the bag beforehand and they seem to appreciate that and many seem to know what it is anyway. As far as the water goes, physician advised specifically to use "steamed distilled water" and to take all precautions which we have been doing, which includes not using any other type of bottled water or otherwise. Thank you for your information and advice as to other ways to obtain. I think we will go with doctor's recommendations as we have in the past, however will run by him information obtained here.

My thoughts are that as we have always been accomodated with this request in the past, what has changed from a service point-of-view, especially when we were willing to pay and I had been advised previously by a Norwegian Manager that this should never have been an issue. Thank you for the suggestions of where else we might get it though.

Thanks again!

[snorklinbarb]

Hello,

Have no direct experience with this issue.

 

However, since you mention having written correspondence with a manager from a previous trip, how about contacting that individual again? Since he/she was helpful the first time, perhaps they could assist you again.

 

Good luck.

[CPT Trips]

I, too was a bit confused about the "cleaning" of the machine, until I realised that you probably have a humidifier attached. I do not see any problem with cleaning my mask etc with the ships tapwater. By the way how did you travel with your machine ,ie did you put it in a carry-on, or in your suitcase? I'll be travelling next month and was wondering about this. I am also taking a letter from our local hospital explaining what this contraption is.

 

I always carry on my cpap, medications and other important or valuable items. Security folks in the US and Canada know a cpap and a letter is unnecessary. Just be aware that the heightened security status seems to have them doing an explosives swab of the cpap bag. By the way your cpap is a medical device and doesn't count against your carry on allowence.

[jo-v]

Just an fyi follow-up. Booked a b2b for this spring and Princess had no problem whatsoever in accomodating for the distilled water - looks like they are getting our business from now on.