Has anyone sailed with a CPAP machine?

[jaja]

Thanks for all of the input. We did receive the form and will be sending them back today. They did say that the water will be provided at no charge, but that we should bring our own extension cord.

 

He would NEVER let anyone handle it by checking it anywhere. For those who check it while flying, it is always a risk it won't get to your destination. Since it is medical equipment, it does NOT count towards your carry on allotment on a flight. For ease of travel, just put on a tag that says "Medical Equipment." My husband has never had an issue getting that on board in addition to a personal item and carry on bag.

 

I will be sending in a form re: my rosemary allergy, it still just makes me nervous that I will have to explain it every night, as there is rosemary in a LOT of dishes and sauces. My last cruise, on RCCL, our waiter would give me the menu for the next night so I could make my selection and ensure it would not be made with rosemary. The NCL rep from the Access desk that emailed me, noted there was no guarantee for no cross contamination, which was not reassuring :(

 

Which ship are you sailing.....(as I said..my dh had fantastic dietician service on the Gem...

)

[jenfromjersey]

We will be on the New Years sailing on the Breakaway.

[jaja]

We will be on the New Years sailing on the Breakaway.

 

Have not sailed her...sorry...BUT..I can tell you that the onboard staff of NCL is more informative than the special needs dept...Meet the Maitre D on day one and explain your problem..ask if they have a designated dietician that handles special needs....

You really need to be proactive ..with thousands onboard..things can be hectic with dining... (the waiters should not be your prime source of info)

[jenfromjersey]

I will of course be proactive, this is my first NCL experience, so the lack of consistency with freestyle dining is what has me nervous. Fingers crossed it is all okay, but will pack plenty of Benedryl just in case.

[BayouDoc]

Another option is obtaining a Lithium battery pack. I have one which I use at home so that if there is a power failure the machine continues to work. The battery which I have is about the size of a book. I have used it when traveling and it will last for about 3 days before recharging. If you want to avoid any extensions, just recharge the battery near wherever the outlet is during the day every other day or so. Some airlines do NOT want Lithium battery packs in checked luggage as they could be a fire hazard. They are permitted in carry on bags though.

[calex]

I have never heard that. My CPAP has been checked 10-20 times I guess. Is it really sensitive to pressure when turned off?

 

I was actually told by my DME provider when I first got a CPAP ten years ago that it was not advisable to put a CPAP in checked baggage due to pressure issues in the baggage area on commercial aircraft. But, this may have applied to older CPAP machines. The newer machines seem to have a more durable sensor on the electronic circuit. But, I would agree with others that it is not the risk of having an airline lose your baggage especially since their limitability is limited to $3,400 per person domestically.

 

I did read that the TSA allows passengers to place their CPAP in a clear plastic bag when it is placed inside the screening tote which is very unsanitary since people place their shoes in the bin. Also, if Explosive Trace Detection test is required, the passenger can request the TSA agent to change their gloves and use a new swab for the test.

 

There is good information at: http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/02/traveling-with-cpap-machine.html

[NMLady]

Thanks everyone for all of the input. We only have our experience on RCI to compare with, I appreciate the help.

 

He will definitely carry it with him, he travels a lot of business and it is never out of his site on the plane. We will be driving to the port this time, as we are sailing on the Breakaway and as you can tell from my screen name, we are in NJ.

 

They have told us they will have the distilled water waiting in the cabin at no charge, I will just make sure he packs a long extension cord, as I believe our bed is by the balcony. On our honeymoon cruise, we just unplugged it each day when we woke up so I won't worry about packing duct tape to tape it down.

 

Thanks for being so welcoming to this forum :)

 

If the distilled water is not in your cabin, go to the front desk and ask about it.

Sometimes in the hassle of boarding day, it does not get delivered to the cabin.

This happened to us on the Star. When I went to the front desk she went in back and there was a gallon of distilled water with our cabin number on it.

She asked if I wanted it delivered, but since it was already 9pm I took it myself.

 

On NCL there is no charge for the previously ordered distilled water.

 

For your food allergies question, did you contact NCL "Special Needs" dept? That is who you need to contact.

[NMLady]

I suggest carrying on your machine as opposed to checking it with your luggage, just in case it goes missing. If you really require it to sleep, having it go missing on the ship may not be good.

 

That is what I would say too. On domestic flights since it is a medical device it can be carried on in addition to carryon and personal item.

 

On international flights some non-US based airlines require a Drs note in order for it not to count as additional carryon.

[NMLady]

...

I did read that the TSA allows passengers to place their CPAP in a clear plastic bag when it is placed inside the screening tote which is very unsanitary since people place their shoes in the bin. ...

 

In all of our flights I have never had to take the CPAP out of its case. I simply put the case in the airport bin, unzip the case and lay the top open so that the machine is exposed. I have done it on international flights from other countries as well as for TSA domestic flights.

[galleycook]

Thanks for all of the input. We did receive the form and will be sending them back today. They did say that the water will be provided at no charge, but that we should bring our own extension cord.

 

He would NEVER let anyone handle it by checking it anywhere. For those who check it while flying, it is always a risk it won't get to your destination. Since it is medical equipment, it does NOT count towards your carry on allotment on a flight. For ease of travel, just put on a tag that says "Medical Equipment." My husband has never had an issue getting that on board in addition to a personal item and carry on bag.

 

I will be sending in a form re: my rosemary allergy, it still just makes me nervous that I will have to explain it every night, as there is rosemary in a LOT of dishes and sauces. My last cruise, on RCCL, our waiter would give me the menu for the next night so I could make my selection and ensure it would not be made with rosemary. The NCL rep from the Access desk that emailed me, noted there was no guarantee for no cross contamination, which was not reassuring :(

 

They may be saying there is no guarantee for no cross contamination for "legal" reasons. I did a tour of the kitchens on the GEM and it appeared they were quite careful about preventing cross contamination of things like meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. Not the same, I know but they already appear to have the proper mind-set, I think they can probably handle your allergy to rosemary. Just my opinion based on what I saw for what it's worth.

[garycarla]

...I did read that the TSA allows passengers to place their CPAP in a clear plastic bag when it is placed inside the screening tote which is very unsanitary since people place their shoes in the bin. Also, if Explosive Trace Detection test is required, the passenger can request the TSA agent to change their gloves and use a new swab for the test.

 

There is good information at: http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/02/traveling-with-cpap-machine.html

 

As to being clean, etc. I take off the hose and power when putting it in my roll aboard bag.

 

And, then I only put the main machine in the bin. No big deal if it touches somebodies dirty shoes from before. (shoes by the way are the least of our worries). Also, if they want to check it out, they only have the machine to deal with vs the long hose, power cord, etc. that is still in my roll aboard.

\

[jenfromjersey]

They may be saying there is no guarantee for no cross contamination for "legal" reasons. I did a tour of the kitchens on the GEM and it appeared they were quite careful about preventing cross contamination of things like meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. Not the same, I know but they already appear to have the proper mind-set, I think they can probably handle your allergy to rosemary. Just my opinion based on what I saw for what it's worth.

 

This is good to hear, thanks for the input! It is always hard when you have an allergy that is not one of the "normal" ones.

 

Our forms were just sent off to the special needs department, now we just sit back and wait the almost 5 months until the cruise :)

[m-dfromjersey]

In all of our flights I have never had to take the CPAP out of its case. I simply put the case in the airport bin, unzip the case and lay the top open so that the machine is exposed. I have done it on international flights from other countries as well as for TSA domestic flights.

(I'm the OP's husband, in case the username wasn't a dead giveaway.)

 

I've been traveling with my CPAP for about 2.5 years. In my experience, there's no consistency from airport to airport regarding taking the CPAP unit out of the bag (and, in some cases, the rules have changed from one trip to another depending on which checkpoint I use and which TSA drones are on duty). Generally I'll try to get the attention of a TSO near the X-ray belt to find out how they expect to see the machine go through the scanner, but if I can't get someone's attention or the checkpoint is too busy I'll default to removing it from the bag. So far I've never had a request to swab the machine.

 

Echoing something my wife mentioned above, for those who fly with CPAP or BIPAP and are apprehensive about checking their machine (which, if you watch how baggage is handled, you would be), the Air Carrier Access Act allows medical devices, including respiration devices like CPAP, to fly in the cabin without affecting a traveler's standard carry-on allotment (meaning you can board with a roll-aboard, a computer bag AND your CPAP - in fact, I've done that 4 times in the last 2 weeks.)

 

As my wife mentioned, I made a luggage tag with "MEDICAL EQUIPMENT" printed in bold red letters before my first flight, anticipating an issue, but in general, flight attendants and gate agents recognize CPAP carrier bags and don't question them. (In fact, the only time I'm ever questioned is by the private guards directing traffic at the entrances to TSA checkpoints, but usually all I have to do it point to the tag and they let me by.

 

(For the record, I do let the machine leave my sight once I'm onboard - the machine goes in the overhead, not at my feet, since

A) I use the items in my briefcase in flight, whereas the CPAP stays in its bag, and

B) I don't want to take the risk of a spilled drink or...ahem...other stray fluid getting into the machine.

I know the bin isn't the cleanest environment, but it's got to be marginally cleaner than the floor of an airplane.)

 

As for our sailing on Breakaway, I've got a thin household extension cord with a flat plug that I'm planning on packing, and I'm debating throwing a roll of gaffe tape into my bag as well (although I've done my fair share of sound work in my day, so coiling up a cable hardly phases me). I don't usually carry the extension when I travel because the power supply for my machine (Phillips Respironics System One, for those keeping score at home) comes with a rather lengthy cord of its own.

Edited August 2, 2014 by m-dfromjersey