Cruise ships

kathleen · Post by **kathleen** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:11 am

I'm going on the Celebrity Century in February. Any hints on dealing with CPAP either on airlines there or the cruise ship itself?

I'm planning on taking it carry on.

lawdognellie · Post by **lawdognellie** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:19 am

shouldn't be a problem on the ship. I took a Baltic cruise a few years ago and there were regular (U.S. style) plugs. There was also nightstand to set the machine on. I remember our luggage had to be set aside, but we could keep our carry on with us. Did go through an x-ray machine similar to an airport, but I don't remember it being a problem at all. If you're concerned call the cruise line and ask.

Sarah

BigGayBert · Post by **BigGayBert** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:23 am

kathleen wrote:I'm going on the Celebrity Century in February. Any hints on dealing with CPAP either on airlines there or the cruise ship itself?

Don't forget to bring an extension cord! Your stateroom may have only two outlets, and there may not be one near the bed. In the stateroom on a Royal Caribbean ship that I cruised on, the only outlet was way across the room from the bed.

Bon voyage!

P.S. If you happen to forget your extension cord, just go to the purser's desk. They will let you borrow one.

Perchancetodream · Post by **Perchancetodream** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:42 am

We were on the Celebrity Constellation in September, Dover to New Jersey. We had no problem carrying the machines on board the airplane as additional carryons.

The hotels in England and Scotland were most accomodating and provided us with necessary extension cords. Although most CPAP machines will be able to take 220, my power strip/surge protector couldn't! You will need an adaptor plug, but probably not a converter.

Once we got to our cabin on board the Constellation, we told our Room Steward that we would need assistance (there are no plugs near the head of the bed) with our machines. He immediately sent up an electrician to run a heavy duty line to the night stand. They seemed to understand that the machine was for medical use and were very helpful. The extension cord had a US outlet, but if we were using a European or British machine they would have accomodated that.

Susan

KansasRT · Post by **KansasRT** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:54 am

On most cruise lines I have been told that you can tell your room steward you need distilled water for your humidifier and they will have it brought to your room.

akanorthernlights · Post by **akanorthernlights** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 6:35 pm

Hi:

We just returned from a Mediterranean cruise on this very ship, about 3 weeks ago. I took along an adapter plug (like 2 round prongs) for my machine. I think the socket also accomodated the regular North American plug on your machine. Never thought of asking the steward for distilled water. We also spent a couple of days in Barcelona, so the adapter came in handy for the hotel. I had to unplug the lamp by my bed on the ship, to plug in the machine, and I put the machine on the nightstand.
Airport security seems quite familiar with the machine, in any airport I've been in, in the last year. Pickiest one is Buffalo.
My only glitch came on last day of our trip. We took a bus from downtown Barcelona to airport (lot cheaper than taxi). We got off at Terminal One of airport - but I left my machine on the bus! I literally ran my fastest hundred yard dash to Terminal Two, to retrieve the damn thing before he could take off for Terminal Three!! Nothing like a little early morning adrenalin rush! Made me realize how much I'm in love with my little night-time companion! (and my wife too!!!)
Sure you'll like the ship (although we got quarantined for last two days because of Norwalk Virus). Make sure you're always washing your hands, and you should be OK.
Best regards and bon voyage -

Steve.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:11 pm

I just completed a 10 day cruise through the Panama Canal on Holland America. My first trip with my CPAP. I called ahead and ordered a gallon of distilled water. When I got to my cabin, there was not one but two gallons of water and an extension cord for my CPAP.

You will have a wonderful time. Enjoy!

Bev

carlitguy · Post by **carlitguy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 7:37 pm

On the ship we were on in November in the Mediterranean there were both USA / Canada plugs as well as European. Have an extension cord and take a roll of black electric tape to attach your adapter to the end of the extension cord. I left my adapter in a wall plug in an hotel. Look at your XPAP and on the machine it will ikely say 110 to 220V. This means it will run OK in Europe. If it doesn't say this get back to us here. We just used regular bottled water in the humidifier for a month with absolutly no problems.
Also, when you leave your suitcases in the hall the last night, wrap one piece of black electric tape around the lock and the use a couple of more pieces over this. There is theft that occurs and it will frustrate a potential thief.
Dean in Canada

Jere · Post by **Jere** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:01 pm

Get one of those cheap power strips and an extension cord. The boat we were on (a Carnival boat the size of an office building) only put one outlet in each cabin. Otherwise, having/using/traveling with the CPAP was no biggie.

Actually, having a power strip is a good cruise tip regardless of whether one is traveling with CPAP, as we had to constantly switch our our phone, BB and computer chargers.

carlitguy · Post by **carlitguy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:08 pm

Instead of a cheap power strip, why not get a proper surge protector to protect your machine?
Dean in Canada

arfunk · Post by **arfunk** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:05 pm

A surge surpressor seems like a good idea, but if you are travelling to an area with 220V power it could backfire on you. Your equipment likely can handle 220V, so it is easiest to mark the strip as 220V (important, so you don't plug something that's only 120V into 220V!), put one adapter on its plug, and plug it directly into the 220V outlet. then you can plug 120/220V gear directly into the power strip with no problem.

This is what I had two televison crews do when travelling to Rome last month and it worked out quite well.

But we had to use cheap power strips, not surge surpressors. Surge circuitry for the USA's 120V should see 220V as a problem, and treat it as a surge to be surpressed. We tested a surge surpressor on 220V (using a transformer) and it did just that — surpressed the over-voltage, permanently (it will no longer pass any voltage).

So, while is may be counter-intuitive, surge surpressors are not the sort of ppwer strip to take if you might be using 220V.

Perchancetodream · Post by **Perchancetodream** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:19 pm

My American surge suppressor worked as designed while I was in England. The minute we plugged it in it detected the 220 volt current and went poof. Fortunately, the only thing on the other end was me and I dropped it.

I bought an extension cord/power strip from a nearby Boots and it worked fine for the rest of our trip.

Susan

Arizona-Willie · Post by **Arizona-Willie** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:34 pm

We took a Mexican Riviera cruise on Royal Caribbean in Nov - Dec and as everyone says, you need an extension cord. Only outlet was across the room. I also took an adapter so I could plug a light and the cpap in at the same time but the bedside light was hard wired into the wall and the adapter wasn't needed.

There were dual outlets ... American power and European power so that was no problem.

I just used regular water for the duration of the cruise and it was no problem. Ship water is r/o water anyway.

tangents · Post by **tangents** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 9:56 am

Whenever I travel with my CPAP, I pack a multi-outlet expension cord, a roll of 2" clear tape, some hair scrunchies, some string, and a large binder clip. Whatever the room layout is, these accessories allow me to plug in, cover the electrical cord for safety, and attach the hose to: lamp finials, picture frames, head boards, etc. When distilled water isn't available, I use bottled water that is purified (Dasani, Aquafina) rather than spring water.

Have a fabulous cruise! I'm jealous!

Cathy

Cruise ships

Cruise ships

Re: Cruise ships

Echoing prior comments :)