Electrical outlets for hospital bed

[george2000]

On an earlier cruise on NCL Pearl we rented a hospital bed for my husband who has MS and it made the cruise a lot easier for us. We just did a 5 day on RCCL Jewel of the Seas out of Tampa. When I called Special Needs at Sea to check on renting a bed, they told me that they would have to order a bed and train their employee there on how to put it together since they had never rented hospital beds in Tampa before. I just had a feeling that there were going to be problems with the setup and we opted not to rent a bed. Anyway while checking out the room to see if the hospital bed would have worked, I noticed there were only 2 electrical outlets in the cabin and they were both by the vanity and mirror. We were in a WC accessible room, but there were no outlets near where the bed would have gone. We're planning to do a 10 day on Vision of the Seas and will absolutely have to have a hospital bed for that cruise. But now I'm concerned that there won't be an outlet that they will be able to plug the bed into. Has anyone ever experienced renting a bed and then not being able to place it near a outlet?

[jackretired]

Fill out the RCI GUEST SPECIAL NEEDS FORM requesting an extension cord for the bed.

 

RCI also states:

For more information call our Access Department at (866) 592-7225 (voice), fax (954) 628-9622, send an e-mail to special_needs@rccl.com, or have your local travel agent or International Representative contact us.

[WEELYNCRUZER]

Special needs at Sea would have done a great job. When you travel bring a 3 plug adapter and an extension cord. You might want to google certified accessible travel expert. They have plenty of info in regards to everything pertaining to w/c travel including accessible tours not offered by the cruise lines.

[Splinter]

Whom are you obtaining the hospital bed from? Are you sure it is a full electric bed and not a manual crank? Many used for home care are manual only.

 

We take an extension cord, but talk to the Special Needs dept. Many cruise lines have started confiscating extension cords and power strips when you go through security due to people abusing the use of all sorts of electronic/electrical appliances/devices in their cabin.

[george2000]

Last time we rented one from Special Needs at Sea for a cruise on NCL Pearl. It was fully electric and since the boat was relatively new, we had plenty of outlets in the cabin. But on the older boats outlets are few and far between. In the future, I'll just carry the extension cord on and maybe even get a doctor's note saying it's for the bed.

[bjboothman]

RCI will provide a long extension cord (like 25 feet) - they gave them to us for our cpap machines (we both use them). RCI is one of the lines that will confiscate cords and because it's a safety issue, I wouldn't count on a note from the doctor ensuring that the cord is UL tested and safe. Just get the free cord from RCI.

[pappagene]

RCI will provide a long extension cord (like 25 feet) - they gave them to us for our cpap machines (we both use them). RCI is one of the lines that will confiscate cords and because it's a safety issue, I wouldn't count on a note from the doctor ensuring that the cord is UL tested and safe. Just get the free cord from RCI.

 

I have never had a problem with extension cords, except once. I was call to the "naughty room" about one I packed in my checked luggage. I explained that it was for 2 CPAP machines and they passed it through. I would leave all lables & stickers on the cord showing that it is compliant if it is ever questioned. The ships only have so many extension cords for passengers and when they run out, they are out. The only way I would give up mine would be if they exchanged it right there. I even brought one on the Spirit which I use in Europe & Asia on the 220v service there, because they have a 220v outlet and I didn't have to tie up the few 110v outlets they had. Our CPAP's will work on about any voltage just by plugging them in.

 

Gene