Few Questions re disabled young lady and ?? + food intake costs

[dlg64]

Hi We have a young 21yr old client who would love to do a cruise (Australian based) but there are several questions i cannot find answers to on forums and advice sites.

1. She takes no oral food and has all nutrition via gastrostomy tube, so has formula supplied by medical company. Can passengers get a discount on their cruise price if the food component is definitely not going to be used??

2. She has some pretty active "spasm wriggle" moments and requires padded bedrails at night. Any chance cruise ships would have anything like this to supply or would we have to be inventive with chairs etc ??

3. She has an overnight continuous feed and at home use a tall metal pole to hang machine and feed from but cannot bring this onto ship.... is there some place could place a hook or something to hang feed off ??

4. Worried about if there is a limit to the degree of disability that a ship will accept, they dont ask when booking so hopefully you wont get denied boarding on presentation or if you have to have medical review before boarding from ships team. Yes we have a medical clearence from her DR this end but i would hate for her to be embarrased and refused boarding.??

Thanks in advance for any advice or directions to where to find answers....

[idkanything]

Hi We have a young 21yr old client who would love to do a cruise (Australian based) but there are several questions i cannot find answers to on forums and advice sites.

1. She takes no oral food and has all nutrition via gastrostomy tube, so has formula supplied by medical company. Can passengers get a discount on their cruise price if the food component is definitely not going to be used??

2. She has some pretty active "spasm wriggle" moments and requires padded bedrails at night. Any chance cruise ships would have anything like this to supply or would we have to be inventive with chairs etc ??

3. She has an overnight continuous feed and at home use a tall metal pole to hang machine and feed from but cannot bring this onto ship.... is there some place could place a hook or something to hang feed off ??

4. Worried about if there is a limit to the degree of disability that a ship will accept, they dont ask when booking so hopefully you wont get denied boarding on presentation or if you have to have medical review before boarding from ships team. Yes we have a medical clearence from her DR this end but i would hate for her to be embarrased and refused boarding.??

Thanks in advance for any advice or directions to where to find answers....

 

I'm sorry that I can't answer your questions, but my daughter (25 years old) also takes all her food via tube, and does not eat at all anymore. However, she does not use the overnight method, we feed her four times a day. We did take her on a cruise once so far (3 more booked) and didn't have any issues with her being allowed on the ship. It never occurred to me to ask if we'd get a discount, my guess is they won't, but hey, if I'm wrong, and you do get one, let us know!

 

She also uses a wheelchair full time. We had to take her hoyer lift on the ship to get her in and out of bed/toilet etc, its a pretty big piece of medical equipment, and we didn't have any issues bringing that on the ship. I see you said she wouldn't be able to bring her pole on board with her (it's not portable?), but perhaps she can bring a pole that is portable, like the IV poles used in hospitals? Alternatively, the walls are metal, so maybe you can get a heavy duty magnet hook to hang on the wall, I don't know how heavy the nightly bag is, so I'd probably test it overnight at home on the fridge first. :)

 

I can't help with bed rails, but I have seen portable rails online at medical supply houses, maybe a couple of those would work? I would think that may work to bring with her?

 

Good luck, and let us know how it works out!

Edited April 24, 2016 by idkanything

[GeezerCouple]

Check with the cruise line (or compare several) at the "special needs" department (these have a variety of names) - NOT regular reservations.

 

The following is for USA-based cruises, but I'm assuming (I hope not incorrectly) that any large cruise line would have similar arrangements near any large metro area ports (??).

 

They'll have one or two vendors who can arrange for rental equipment to be waiting for you in your cabin when you arrive, and it will magically disappear after your cruise.

 

They have full hospital beds, hoyer lifts, wheelchairs, lift recliners, scooters, walkers... etc.

Make sure that the medical supply vendor understands exactly what type of bed situation is needed.

 

I doubt you'll get a discount due to the food issue, but for everything else, they've probably seen it before.

 

Do a search here... there have been a few others with severe tube feeding issues that needed special planning and attention.

 

For the nutrition supplies, I'd recommend shipping ahead and making SURE that the hotel you'll stay at the night before HAS IT ALL before you head out.

And find an alternate local source just in case.

 

This is a good time to arrange travel insurance.

If the insureds are okay to travel the day the insurance is started AND if it's started within 14-21 days of initial deposit (there are a few other choices if one misses the deadline), then pre-existing conditions ARE covered.

To be safe, get a letter from the doctor on the very date you start the insurance stating the patient IS okay to take this particular trip.

Then if there's a claim, there's no quarrel about "condition on day insurance was started".

 

Good luck, and have a great time.

[xxoocruiser]

1. She takes no oral food and has all nutrition via gastrostomy tube, so has formula supplied by medical company. Can passengers get a discount on their cruise price if the food component is definitely not going to be used??

Probably not . FYI the portion of the cruise fare for food is actually the smallest part of the overall cost person. It's posted somewhere on the RCCL CC Forum that mass market cruise lines budget is somewhere around $6.00 pp per day (maybe even less)

 

2. She has some pretty active "spasm wriggle" moments and requires padded bedrails at night. Any chance cruise ships would have anything like this to supply or would we have to be inventive with chairs etc ?? [/Quote]

 

You'd have to contact the Special Needs Dept. of the cruise line to see if rails could be provided. Generally speaking most cruise lines will only provide a shower stool, sharps container and or medical refrigerator . It's up to the passenger to bring or rent what is required for use during the cruise. If renting you'd have to use the cruise lines approved rental provider. You would be responsible for making arrangement directly with the rental provider as rental cannot be done through the cruise line.

 

3. She has an overnight continuous feed and at home use a tall metal pole to hang machine and feed from but cannot bring this onto ship.... is there some place could place a hook or something to hang feed off ??

Perhaps connecting a heavy duty 3M removable hook on the wall by the bed would work.

 

4. Worried about if there is a limit to the degree of disability that a ship will accept, they dont ask when booking so hopefully you wont get denied boarding on presentation or if you have to have medical review before boarding from ships team. Yes we have a medical clearence from her DR this end but i would hate for her to be embarrased and refused boarding.??

 

Being that the cruise ship would be embarking from an Australian port whether or not the cruise line has the legal right to inquire about the degree of disability depends on if Australia has any privacy laws in place. With that stated generally speaking regardless of the port of embarkation cruise lines will not inquire as to degree of disability. Rather the cruise line is concerned that the family clearly understands its "FIT TO TRAVEL POLICY" and that the family NOT the cruise line is responsible for the daily care of the individual . All cruise lines have a "Fit to Travel Policy". Here's the link to RCCL's which is pretty much standard within the cruise industry.

Edited April 24, 2016 by xxoocruiser

[Splinter]

If a hospital type bed would make her care easier (which could have rails) you can rent one from one of the companies that provide medical equipment for cruise ships. Check with the cruise line to see which one(s) they allow. That might also be able to be supplied with a on-bed IV pole for the tube feeding.

 

I would second the recommendation to get trip insurance the day you purchase your tickets. This is critical, because if you delay, anything related to a "pre-existing condition" may not be covered.

 

You are not going to get any discount due to not eating the food provided on the ship.

 

I assume you are requesting a wheelchair accessible cabin. Does she need a lift and bathing or toileting equipment as well? What is provided for the shower by most cruise ships is not going to be helpful for someone with a lot of spasms or poor balance, so you may need to advise them to bring their own or rent from the company mentioned above as well.

[dlg64]

Thanks for all the suggestions folks very helpful. Now just to find a cruise that leaves from our home port (so she can bring all her own hoists commode etc) that doesn't already have all the accessible cabins already booked !! We're an isloated lil town over here in Auz and not many ships come our way...not for short cruises anyway.

[GUT2407]

Email the lines special needs they should have the answers.