Over the counter meds

[YensidCA]

What sort of over the counter medications are available onboard. My wife has heard that there is very little if not any available. 

Examples:

• After sun lotion
• Allergy (Benedryl)
• Lip Balm
• Lubricating Eye drops
• Aspirin/Advil
• Tums

[RichYak]

Bring whatever you think you might need. I usually stop at a convenience/drug store the day before or morning of embarkation to stock up on whatever I didn't want to carry on the plane.

Edited December 21, 2022 by RichYak

[WestLakeGirl]

13 minutes ago, YensidCA said:

What sort of over the counter medications are available onboard. My wife has heard that there is very little if not any available. 

Examples:

• After sun lotion

probably not

• Allergy (Benedryl)
• yes, but quite expensive
• Lip Balm
• usually
• Lubricating Eye drops
• Rarely
• Aspirin/Advil
• usually
• Tums
• usually

The shops get a random selection of items. You can’t count on anything Being there from one cruise to another.  Bring what you think you will need.

[stellarose]

just know they will charge you a ton.  I had to get my DD tampons (sorry) and they charged me at Customer service like 10 bucks for 3. 

[dlh015]

My goodness, don't even *think* of trusting the ship to have any of those.

 

On one cruise, my DW forgot to bring some ibuprofen and ended up needing some...on the 2nd day of a 21 day cruise. I snagged the last bottle at a premium cost...and the pickings were slim to non-existent for most other items...

 

Buy it and bring it...

[stellarose]

best hack - dollar store meds- trust me... you will thank me later.  I make each cabin (as we had two on the Mardi Gras) a bag. inside are bandaids , diarrhea meds, cold med night, cold med day,  tylonol, etc . all from dollar store.  saves a ton of money in the gift shop if you need the meds.   I got this hack off of cruise tips TV on you tube. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by stellarose

[kathynorth]

On my last cruise they didn't have any meds or sunscreen out on display. You needed to ask the cashier if they had any on hand. They did have cold meds, etc, The med center has meclazine and they may have other light weight meds like ibuprofen, but no guarantee. As others have said, pack what you "might" need and bring with you. I've had to purchase OTC meds in port and they tend to be very expensive, plus you don't always know their source even though packaging may look familiar. 

[twincheryl]

43 minutes ago, stellarose said:

best hack - dollar store meds- trust me... you will thank me later.  I make each cabin (as we had two on the Mardi Gras) a bag. inside are bandaids , diarrhea meds, cold med night, cold med day,  tylonol, etc . all from dollar store.  saves a ton of money in the gift shop if you need the meds.   I got this hack off of cruise tips TV on you tube. 

Agree... always bring a small bag with the "might need" items.  If you travel a lot it's easy to tear a strip off each of the bubble pack meds for each person.  Buy some of the tiny 2 inch zip top baggies at the craft store for the others.  Write on the outside what it is and the exp date.  Mine all fit in a little 4 inch square zipper pouch.  Don't need too many... just enough to get to a port where someone can get off and purchase some at normal prices.

 

Dollar store is the absolute best for cold meds and other things that you may not ever use.  I include Azo (in case of urinary tract issues), ibuprofen, night & day cold meds, pepto bismol or other stomach stuff, bandaids, Dramamine, Benadryl, etc.   Also, don't forget to pack an extra week of any meds you take daily, in case you get sick or can't travel for some reason.

[Jldevlin]

Also remember the shops are closed while in port. So lets say you sleep funny and wake up with a sore neck... you have a long day planned and the shop is already closed when you wake up.  Very difficult to explain to a clerk in Portofino that you want Robaxacet lol. So a little strip of that now goes in my emergency meds kit. You dont need a lot of any one thing...just enough to get you through until the store opens or you can get something in port.