pregnancy concern

[Daised]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm hoping someone on here will be able to help with this.

 

We'd already booked and fully paid for a cruise in February on Freedom of the Seas when I found out I was pregnant.

 

I'll be under the 24week cut off limit when we return to port but the wording on the RCI website has me a bit worried. it specifically states that the Doctors note needs to say that I'm in good health, under 24 weeks and not having a high risk pregnancy.

 

my problem is my dad has T2 diabetes and I'm overweight so technically my pregnancy is high risk as there is a chance that I will develop gestantional diabetes later on in my pregnancy and as a result I'm under mixed care with the midwife and hospital.

 

my question is whether anyone else has been in a similar situation and what the outcome was... my consultant has told me this morning that there is absolutely no problem with me travelling to China for work in a few weeks and then going on holiday and cruising, but I'm concerned that I won't be able to get a letter saying that I'm not having a high risk pregnancy and therefore won't be able to go on the cruise.

 

this is our first holiday since we've been together (over 6 years) and we've been saving up for the last 3 years to be able to afford to go and I'll be so upset if we can't go :(

 

any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[JillyChill]

I did have gestational diabetes, and i was never considered right risk. If your doctor thinks you are fit to travel, i don't see why they want write a letter saying you are not high risk. Gd alone is not a high risk factor, and they also don't do the testing until around 28 weeks, so at that point (cruise time) you wont have gd. Iwould just ask your ob to word the letter so you can travel :)

[Host Faith]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I have a little one on the way, and DH and I cruised when I was 22 weeks along. Check out my Allure review in my signature so you can read about my experience. A cruise is the perfect getaway while you're pregnant. I loved it. :)

 

That being said, I'm overweight as well, and I was worried about gestational diabetes before I took the glucose test. My test was done after I got back from the cruise though. Luckily, the baby and I are healthy. At the time of the cruise, all my vitals and my progress was normal for my weight range, so my midwife was fine giving me the green light to cruise.

 

I would definitely talk with your midwife. I have one too, and shared my concerns with her. She cruises often as well and cruised while pregnant, and was happy to hear that DH and I were taking the time to get away. We had a good discussion and she eased the couple concerns I had. She's the best person to help you decide whether you should go or not. As long as everything looks fine at the time of the cruise in her eyes and you can go with little anxiety, you should be fine to go.

[leaveitallbehind]

I did have gestational diabetes, and i was never considered right risk. If your doctor thinks you are fit to travel, i don't see why they want write a letter saying you are not high risk. Gd alone is not a high risk factor, and they also don't do the testing until around 28 weeks, so at that point (cruise time) you wont have gd. Iwould just ask your ob to word the letter so you can travel :)

 

It is based on insurance guidelines and risk to the unborn baby (and mother) and their ability to properly care for any preganancy related emergency on board. It is not arbitrary, but policy.

 

To the OP, I would suggest a discussion with your doctor and if they believe it is not a high risk pregnancy then writing a letter to that effect should not be a problem (or needing special wording) and something they are likely familiar with.

 

The RCI guidelines (as you are aware) are pretty clear and straightforward: you cannot be at or entering your 24th week at anytime during the cruise, and you must have (in advance) a physicians letter indicating your week at the time of sailing, that you are in good health, and not at high risk.

 

Not judging, but you either are or are not at high risk, and why take a chance on anything if your doctor feels you are? And if you are not, then you can go with reassurance and enjoy the cruise.

[cruisnseas]

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Here is what Royal is going to want:

 

A letter from your OB stating

 

1. Your exact time in the pregnancy (how many weeks when you leave and when you return) and that you will NOT have reached 24 weeks prior to the ship returning to port.

 

2. You are not considered high risk in terms of this trip. If you have any high risk, they may deny you boarding out of concern for their ability to help in an emergency.

 

Please keep in mind that if there are health concerns, you should not go on this cruise. Ships are not set up to handle any sort of emergency. So listen to your doctor carefully. It would be sad to miss out on the vacation but it could be much worse. Travel to China might be far easier since there would be ready access to fully capable medical facilities. This is not the case onboard a ship.

[jc24cruiser]

Hi,

 

This is my first post on this forum...so please excuse any etiquette I don't follow.

 

I would say (pretty much the same as the other replies) that you need to go to your docs and ask whether they would class you as high risk in terms of this trip. If you are then call RCI and explain the circumstances and see if you can change onto a different cruise...im sure that there would be a small fee to do this, but not as much as losing the whole cruise. If not you could look into seeing if some one wants to buy the cruise from you...there would be a fee to do this (done that before, but its not a huge amount). If they say that you are not, then get them to write a letter in that wording and get it to RCI as soon as possible so that any issues can be raised and hopefully dealt with asap....the last thing you need right now is stress!

 

I went on my last cruise whilst pregnant, although I was in my first trimester. However it meant I had morning sickness on the moving ship to deal with. There are a few other things to consider....

* You would not be able to go in any of the jacuzzis (I was upset about that one!)

* You would need to check food wise what you can and can't eat, especially if it is foreign food that you are not familiar with. Would let your waiter know too.

* There will obviousely be different activities that the ship won't allow you to do, though imsure you wont fancy rock climbing, ice skating or surfing whenpregnant ;-)

* Find out how to say that you are pregnant and gestational diabetes in all the different languages of the countries you are visiting.

 

Hope it helps :)

[Daised]

thanks for the speedy replies guys,

 

as I mentioned in my first post, when I spoke to the consultant about it this morning she had absolutely no concerns about me going on either of the two trips.

 

I'm not stupid and of course I'm not going to put myself at undue risk just to go on holiday, all my blood tests have come back fine, my blood pressure is in the normal range, I've had no complications such as spotting or cramping, the baby is moving around and has a good heartbeat, my concern was the wording on the website which says you have to have a letter saying you're not having a high risk pregnancy, this, to me at least, is very different to having a doctors letter stating that you are fit and healthy to travel and that the doctor doesn't feel there is any increase risk by taking the cruise.

 

If the consultant had even hesitated about it or said well you should be OK or anything like that then I would be looking at cancelling\changing our holiday plans... but she didn't even think about it, just said no problem for you to go.

[leaveitallbehind]

thanks for the speedy replies guys,

 

as I mentioned in my first post, when I spoke to the consultant about it this morning she had absolutely no concerns about me going on either of the two trips.

 

I'm not stupid and of course I'm not going to put myself at undue risk just to go on holiday, all my blood tests have come back fine, my blood pressure is in the normal range, I've had no complications such as spotting or cramping, the baby is moving around and has a good heartbeat, my concern was the wording on the website which says you have to have a letter saying you're not having a high risk pregnancy, this, to me at least, is very different to having a doctors letter stating that you are fit and healthy to travel and that the doctor doesn't feel there is any increase risk by taking the cruise.

 

If the consultant had even hesitated about it or said well you should be OK or anything like that then I would be looking at cancelling\changing our holiday plans... but she didn't even think about it, just said no problem for you to go.

 

It is a matter of semantics perhaps but likely is different in RCI's perspective. There is a difference between "not any increase in risk" and "high risk pregnancy". High risk pregnancies fall into faily well defined categories and RCI's requirements with needing this statement to confirm that you are not a high risk pregancy is their policy. I believe your physician's letter would need to state that in those terms or RCI can (and very possibly will) deny boarding.

 

You may also want to check with RCI on this as well based on your discussion with your physician to verify what they want or will accept - don't just rely on our responses.

[cruisnseas]

The letter will need to state that you are not a high risk pregnancy. If it does not state that specifically, you risk denied boarding. And, heads up, Royal is strict that they don't tend to compensate you if you are denied due to violating their pregnancy policy. You'd be better canceling now and getting something back than being denied at the pier and getting nothing back.

 

Unless your doctor is comfortable writing a letter saying that you are not high risk.

[6rugrats]

Royal Caribbean's requirments to cruise while pregnant are here:

 

Royal Caribbean International cannot accept guests who will have entered their 24th week of pregnancy by the beginning of, or at any time during the cruise or cruisetour. A physician's "Fit to Travel" note is required prior to sailing, stating how far along (in weeks) your pregnancy will be at the beginning of the cruise and confirming that you are in good health and not experiencing a high-risk pregnancy. The "Fit to Travel" note should be faxed to the Access Department at 1-954-628-9622, 1-954-628-9622 . Please contact us at 1-866-592-7225 1-866-592-7225or at special_needs@rccl.com if you have already booked a cruise or cruisetour and do not meet this requirement.

 

If the letter states you are a "high risk" pregnancy, you will be denied boarding and lose all your money. I know most medical professionals in the US would consider you to have a "high risk" pregnancy, but I am not your provider. It's really up to what your health care provider says in the letter and how it's interpreted by RCI. As stated, the cruiseline does not have the facilities to deal with such a case, and I know you would not want to put yourself or your baby at risk.

 

As OP appears to be from the UK, and I know the rules regarding deposits/cancellations are them versus for US citizens, I am not sure she has the option to cancel now or change her cruise at no cost.

 

OP - perhaps your healthcare provider could provide this paperwork to RCI now, and you can see what they say?

[nwbearcat2011]

Defiantly talk to your doctor and ask what he/she plans to put in the letter. Since the doctor says that you are fine to travel to China, I would assume they are not counting you in the high risk officially, but we should not just assume. My doctor did not put me on high risk until after 24 weeks when the results came in and after the ultrasound was done. (Hormone levels were too high and they were worried about the placenta). Anything I did before the tests, I was considered not at risk. (This was 5 years ago.) Three years ago I cruised with my husband's family and none of us knew I was pregnant. If we would have known, we would not have been able to take our trip because she was full term and born only 20 days after we returned home from the cruise.

[flhokie]

I cruised at around 14/15 weeks pregnant (flying Trans Atlantic to sail Northern Europe). Because I was giving birth past my 35th birthday, I was "advanced maternal age." Technically, this made me a high risk pregnancy. On a side note, later on in my pregnancy I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, but was allowed to continue to travel for work through 34 weeks (the gd diagnosis did not have any impact on my doctor's direction about travel).

 

My doctor had no issues with my cruise trip and wrote a letter in advance stating my due date, that I was fit to travel and that I was experiencing no complications. I faxed this to Princess in advance and never heard another word (I called to make sure they got the letter & kept a copy with me throughout the trip).

 

Yes, I couldn't drink alcohol and couldn't use the hot tubs, but we still had a great vacation. I was aware when it came to food, but other than a few items, very little was completely off limits and it was pretty easy to find out about the food if I had any questions.

 

I did get experience nausea 1 night during very rough seas (along with most of the other passengers). I tried sea bands and Sprite. When that didn't work I took a 1/2 dramamine (per my doctor I could take 1/2 to 1 if needed). By morning I was fine.

[bearette]

It depends on what your doctors says and what you are comfortable with. I cruised at 20 weeks and technically I was a high risk pregnancy as I was pregnant with twins. My provider wrote the note out and said she wasn't going to include it in my letter but she wanted me to know that technically I was. As I hadn't had any issues up until that point she said I was fit to travel. I went and had a great vacation with no issues.

I did end up going into early labor at 30 weeks without ever having one sign of trouble until I woke up bleeding. I say this not to scare you but to inform you. More then likely you will be absolutely fine. The reason they cut the travel dates while pregnant at 24 weeks is before that the likelihood of saving a baby are slim. But if you go into labor after 24 weeks there is a greater chance they can save the baby. Now that you are informed you can make the decision you are comfortable with.

[carygirl]

I would ask your doctor if you are actually classified as "High Risk". I wouldn't assume your extra checks put you in that category. This term seems to have a broad definition.

 

To me at least a "High Risk" pregnancy means you should be on bed rest to prevent early labor or something to that effect. People in that state of course should not be on a cruise.