Dialysis machine

[Billym1507]

Can anyone please tell me if there is a Dialysis machine on the Independence of the seas.I am hoping to surprise my family by taking them all on a cruise but my daughter in law is on this machine and I would not leave her behind.

Thanks for any help.

Billy.

[afzeluches123]

Can anyone please tell me if there is a Dialysis machine on the Independence of the seas.I am hoping to surprise my family by taking them all on a cruise but my daughter in law is on this machine and I would not leave her behind.

Thanks for any help.

Billy.

I would be very surprized if they do. Hemodyalisis is a very complicated process that needs super sterility, an intact lab and a whole staff dedicated to the patient, which I don't believe they have on a ship.

If she's on peritoneal dyalisis - which means she does the dyalisis at home and not via a machine that "cleans" her blood, she might be able to cruise with you.

Another option is maybe stopping at ports with decent medical accomodations where she can hop off - get her dyalisis (instead of doing a shore excursion) and come back to the ship. (probably can be done in a Europe cruise, less on caribbean ones) . Hemo-dyalisis patients usually have addresses of places they can do dyalisis around the world.

Again, these are my thoughts as a doctor. Maybe they do have a machine...

Edited February 9, 2014 by afzeluches123

[LHT28]

Check the Dialysis At sea program

A friend went on the Oasis & did hers 3 x in the week

[afzeluches123]

Check the Dialysis At sea program

A friend went on the Oasis & did hers 3 x in the week

Wow. Didn't know about that.

I guess it is possible to do a dyalisis at sea after all.

Sorry if I mislead anyone.

[Paulxyz2004]

AFAIK there is no dialysis onboard any RCI ship permanently. However as it has been pointed out it´s not totally impossible to organize a cruise with dialysis.

You will need to contact RCI about it and work with them to make it happen.

[LHT28]

Sorry I was not clear

you do need to book the cruise with Dialysis At Sea ..it is a bit more $$ but you have the medical personal there for you & everything is taken care of

 

Our friend booked the 2 of them with DAS then booked his family members via RCL for less $$

 

I do not think the cruise line will let you do your own treatments you must use the DIA program

[wantab cruiser]

Four years we cruised the Med on navigator,,my son was then on peritoneal dialysis and he brought his machine with him. The fluids required were delivered to the cruise terminal in Rome and were actually in the cabin when we got there!

Our only problem was with one flight where we had to pay excess baggage for the machine - medical equip is normally carried free - costs were refunded after letter from TA

[rosebud1g]

I would be very surprized if they do. Hemodyalisis is a very complicated process that needs super sterility, an intact lab and a whole staff dedicated to the patient, which I don't believe they have on a ship.

If she's on peritoneal dyalisis - which means she does the dyalisis at home and not via a machine that "cleans" her blood, she might be able to cruise with you.

Another option is maybe stopping at ports with decent medical accomodations where she can hop off - get her dyalisis (instead of doing a shore excursion) and come back to the ship. (probably can be done in a Europe cruise, less on caribbean ones) . Hemo-dyalisis patients usually have addresses of places they can do dyalisis around the world.

Again, these are my thoughts as a doctor. Maybe they do have a machine...

 

A RN friend of mine is a hemodialysis nurse and has had contracts with RC and worked on Oasis and Allure. There are two dialysis RN's and a Nephrologist on the sailing. The machines are delivered to the ship and the dialysis is given 3x that week early am. She was happy knowing these patients were able to cruise and receive the healthcare they needed.

[DaNana]

Medicare (which covers most dialysis patients) used to not pay for this type of service. This may be different with the Dialysis at Sea. That would be great for patients!:)

[Hstergo]

I would be very surprized if they do. Hemodyalisis is a very complicated process that needs super sterility, an intact lab and a whole staff dedicated to the patient, which I don't believe they have on a ship.

If she's on peritoneal dyalisis - which means she does the dyalisis at home and not via a machine that "cleans" her blood, she might be able to cruise with you.

Another option is maybe stopping at ports with decent medical accomodations where she can hop off - get her dyalisis (instead of doing a shore excursion) and come back to the ship. (probably can be done in a Europe cruise, less on caribbean ones) . Hemo-dyalisis patients usually have addresses of places they can do dyalisis around the world.

Again, these are my thoughts as a doctor. Maybe they do have a machine...

 

Doing it at when you reach a port sounds like a good idea ... but what happens if you miss that port? which can and does happen all the time.

[karmacats]

Medicare (which covers most dialysis patients) used to not pay for this type of service. This may be different with the Dialysis at Sea. That would be great for patients!:)

 

Nope, medicare will not pay. The quote that Dialysis at Sea gives you will include your cabin and the dialysis treatments, so you will know the costs upfront. I believe anyone in the cabin with the dialysis patient has to be booked through dialysis at sea, but other friends and family can book independently and you can just have your reservations linked so you end up at the same dinner table.

 

One of our cruises was a dialysis at sea cruise, which we didn't know about until we started talking to a woman by the pool and it turns out she's a dialysis nurse and was along for the program. I guess they work part of the time and get to relax the rest of the time. :) She was a full-time dialysis nurse and this was how she took her vacation.

 

My mom's on dialysis so i've looked into this quite a bit, but I still haven't convinced her to try cruising - she's worried about seasickness because she got sick on a catamaran once. ;)

[eel]

Before my wife had her kidney transplant she was doing peritoneal dialysis at home. We managed to do an Alaska cruise on Serenade out of Vancouver while she was on dialysis. Since Medicare would only deliver supplies in the US, we had them delivered to a hotel in Seattle. We then rented a mini-van and drove her 30 boxes of fluids and supplies across the border to Vancouver and brought it to the dock in two taxis. Royal Caribbean took it at the dock and it was delivered to our room. We transported her dialysis machine (which was fairly portable) on the airplane. Needless to say it was a logistical nightmare but in the end we were able to do it and had a fantastic time. We are very thankful for the kidney my wife received a few years back and now we cruise as often as we can while we both still have our health. In fact we are cruising later this week!

[cruisinfanatic]

Sorry I was not clear

you do need to book the cruise with Dialysis At Sea ..it is a bit more $$ but you have the medical personal there for you & everything is taken care of

 

Our friend booked the 2 of them with DAS then booked his family members via RCL for less $$

 

I do not think the cruise line will let you do your own treatments you must use the DIA program

It's not "a bit" more. It's a lot

[cruisinfanatic]

Can anyone please tell me if there is a Dialysis machine on the Independence of the seas.I am hoping to surprise my family by taking them all on a cruise but my daughter in law is on this machine and I would not leave her behind.

Thanks for any help.

Billy.

 

If daughter in law can administer themselves, there should be no problem bringing everything on board that she'll need.

If Dialysis At Sea is required, their cruise would have to be booked through them. They have medical personal that go on certain sailings to take care of many people that need the treatment. Cost ADDED to the cruise cost is around $300 per day give or take $25 depending on the cruise.

[retiredand happy]

Can anyone please tell me if there is a Dialysis machine on the Independence of the seas.I am hoping to surprise my family by taking them all on a cruise but my daughter in law is on this machine and I would not leave her behind.

Thanks for any help.

Billy.

 

I am sure that you have researched your cruise by now, but just in case you are looking for more options, I might be able to point you in the right direction. I travel with a friend who is on dialysis. I used Dialysis at Sea,1 time and then booked a 14 day riverboat trip on the Danube for the 2nd trip. The 3rd trip is this summer on a German ship for 3 weeks. There are several ship options available that offer dialysis on the ship. The German ships with dialysis are significantly less expensive than Dialysis at Sea and the medical care is excellent. I use a travel agent in London who specializes in dialysis travel. If you are still looking for more information let me know and we can communicate on email. If you have the same experience that I have had, your daughter in law will enjoy the trip and get great medical care.