TracyL

We are cruising on the Vista Jan. 2018 and it will be our first balcony cabin. I first chose an extended aft balcony and then was worried it would be too hot. I decided to change to a premium balcony (8461) so that we will get a breeze while sailing. If anyone has been in this cabin or one like it on a different ship, would you let me know what you think? I'm willing to spend a little more if necessary. One note, my husband has alzheimer's so while I love the look of the Havana balcony, I would be nervous that he might wander off if he was out there alone. Any help is very much appreciated.

2018 is way far into the future and as you say you can cancel up to time of final payment. It sounds nice but you must be realistic, if you want to do final cruise with your husband, I'd try to do it now - your chances of doing it is now rather than later. Bless your heart for caring and loving him. I know it must be difficult at times.

 

 

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We take a nice trip about once (sometimes twice) a year plus we have annual passes for Disneyland and go there several times a year. We have an Orlando trip planned for this coming December (we will be with family) so January 2018 is about right for the next trip.

I know the time will come when we will need to give these trips up, however, he has progressed fairly slowly to this point and I want for us to enjoy our retirement and the time we have left together as much as possible.

He still gets excited (even though he soon forgets) when I tell him we are taking a trip.

Our vacations are different than they use to be, however, they are still enjoyable just a little more work for me.

I appreciate your concern and your input.

I'm glad I found this thread, my husband has had alzheimer's for about 8 - 10 years, official diagnosis came about 7 years ago (he is 67 now), and while he isn't really bad yet, he is worse and I don't leave him alone anymore. We have a cruise booked for Jan 2018, however, I can cancel up until final payment so if he gets a lot worse before then we probably will cancel. I'm trying to work it out for some friends to go with us which would be very helpful. This will be our 5th cruise since he was diagnosed.

In all of those cruises we have only had one big issue, I'm a light sleeper but I somehow managed to sleep through him looking for the restroom and going out into the hall instead. I didn't know he was gone until I heard him banging on the door. He was wandering the ship at about 3 a.m. in his underwear. Fortunately, we were on the same deck as guest services so they gave him our cabin number and directions he was able to find his way back. I plan to take some type of door alarm on our next cruise.

Things I have figured out that help us:

No long cruises, we went on a one-way transit through the Panama Canal a few years ago and it was just too much for him.

He has anger issues at times, his doctor prescribed tranquilizers and I give him one each morning with his other meds (I may give him 2 each morning while we are cruising), I also give him one if he starts showing some agitation. He also using a sleeping aide to try to keep hallucinations under control (common problem with Alzheimer patients), I use to try to calm him down by telling him that we was dreaming, that just seemed to make him more agitated so I just try to wait him out now. I actually will have our beds separated because he has hurt me while sleeping several times. I started sleeping in one of the guest rooms because of that.

We used to love meeting new people in the dining room, however, we now choose a table for two so he is more comfortable.

Getting him to dress up is hard, so for the first time, this next cruise we will probably skip elegant nights (probably my biggest sacrifice).

He used to like to spend a lot of time in the cabin because he wouldn't give up his tv, he doesn't follow tv well anymore so I should be able to get him out most of the time.

Flying is getting harder each time, mostly going through security, so I plan to apply for TSA Pre check which will help tremendously if he doesn't need to take off shoes, belt, and everything out of his pockets. Restroom breaks are another issue, I can wait outside for him but then need to get him settled in a chair and tell him not to move, that has worked to this point but I will be looking for family restrooms if our friends don't join us.

I also order for him so I will talk to the waiter the first night also, hope we won't run into any problems there.

I plan to call Carnival customer service and see if they have any helpful suggestions. I like the idea of putting our cabin number in his pocket (he won't wear a lanyard) so will plan to do that.

I would love it if I could find a gps location system that would work on a ship but haven't found anything, can't imagine they have anything that would show the different decks.

Fortunately, he doesn't panic if we get separated, however, I do. He seems to think he is fine.

Hopefully this information may help other cruisers dealing with dementia patients.

I love my Marriott Chase VISA card. Staying at the JW Marriott in Orlando free before my cruise in July.

I agree, I love my Marriott Chase VISA card. You can also get $$ off cruises with the Marriott VISA points.