CPAP Cruise or Conference

OceanGoingGal, I brought my own power strip that had a 4' long cord. My Travel Agent had asked Carnival and they said I could use bottled water...I though bottled water would be free in the stateroom but was surprised that it cost $4.95 for a 1.5 liter bottle! So I used bottled water.

I got achest cold on the second last day and after a long debate on this forum, I would be afraid to blame bottled water ! It may have been more related to the fact that I forgot to bring my inhaler for my asthma and I was having some symptoms and I think with the AC and heat outside that the constriction of my bronchials allowed some fluid to fill in my lungs.

Anyways it would be fun to have all these hoseheads on a ship. Could you imagine the talk amongst the room stewards! There are theme cruises and it would be fun to here from experts in a Sleep Apnea on a theme cruise for hose heads....but few here are interested.

I love this forum and Cruisecritics.com. Real blast talking about cruises and dreaming of your next cruise. My wife and I are thinking of one for 2011 for our 30th wedding anniversary and perhaps renewing our vows. We are even kicking around the idea of buying new Tazanite rings in St. Thomas and then having the vows redone on board!

Fredman wrote:
Hand Sanitizers are apparently not effective in killing Noro Virus, but washing your hands does keep them clean so that if you transfer bugs to your face....where is Kopolov and the others we have quite a few scientific types here who are well informed on these issues.

Any sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is effective for noro. You have to use it right - lots of it, friction for 15 seconds and make sure it evaporates off. Sanitizers are not a replacement for handwashing - only an alternative. You'd be surprised on how many GROWN women I have seen exit the bathroom WITHOUT washing their hands! So disgusting -and we wonder how the virus spreads on the ships.

As for distilled water - very easy to arrange prior to boarding the ship - you have to contact the ship's medical or dietary coordinator - or whoever they have doing that task, and arrange it. THey may charge a nominal fee for the water, we have found in our past 3 cruises on Princess, that they did not charge for it. We have also used tap water in our HH - with no problems. While some of the ships water is bunkered, or taken in at port and stored, a majority of it is produced right on the ship by desalinating it and putting it through a reverse osmosis cycle. I don't know if this removes all of the minerals, but I know that we do drink it all of the time - and it tastes purer than my tap water at home. They do chlorinate the water to a degree to prevent pathogens from growing in it. WHile not ideal for longterm use in the humidifier tank (you may get deposits), I don't think it would hurt for a short time.

We have also asked for extension cords when we forgot them - and they have been great with that. Not only should you bring an extension cord, but a power strip - outlets are very limited in the cabins.

Thank you! I knew someone out there would have some good info. This will certainly be helpful for me the next cruise we take!

Yes, my son is a manager at a national chain restaurant and he confirms your observation about hand washing...how would he know?...Well it's easy to tell. The men's washroom, the staff have to continually add liquid soap to the dispenser on a daily basis. The women's washroom perhaps only once or twice per week!

What's with that! Moms are always the ones telling us to wash our hands and brush our teeth, take showers and wear clean underwear!!!

First time I've looked at this thread.

I've never been on a cruise, but from the stories I've heard they seem to promote illicit nocturnal activity. Here's a thought - all those tangled hoses. Here's another thought. If everyone goes to bed at around the same time, think of the power surge when all the machines are turned on. Will the ship stop in the water?

And the distilled water requirements. The ship will have to set up a still. Think I may come on this cruise, I can think of another use for the still.

Oh, and what a great sight in the morning - rows and rows of hoses hung out to dry.

Hey, this IS fun.

As for novovirus - I know nothing about it, but doesn't novo mean new. The majority of us are old so we probably won't be affected.

K

Well, it can be illicit, implicit or exquisite, or it can be nocturnal or in full daylight, or it can be activity or sedentary inactivity. For less than $100 a day, I'll still take it. I'm not sure what the subject is, but it sounds fun anyway.

OutaSync wrote:Fredman,

I'm so glad that you loved your cruise. People who have not been on one have no idea how much fun it is. And then there are those who wouldn't have fun anywhere. Did the cruiseline provide your distilled water and an extension cord? Wasn't it much easier than you thought it would be?
For those of you who are wondering about cost, I just saw a 12 night cruise for $488, leaving April 19, from New Orleans.

Oceangoinggal,

I dropped into your forum and looked around a little. You all seem to be such great friends, I'm almost afraid to join, lest I get addicted to yet another forum!!

Bev

Bev, Please know that you would be very welcome to join. The members would make you feel right at home. So come on in anytime. That goes for anyone else that wants to come in. [url]http://www.cruznutsplace.iforums,us[/url]

Laura

In my job I sleep away from home a lot. You might say I sleep around. Actually I work with developmentally disabled adults. They live in Supported Living Homes. There is a live in companion in each home. When they have their scheduled time off I go and take their places. So I carry a bottle of distilled water with me. I always have an extension cord in my case. It has come in handy several times.
Laura

So, somebody mentioned to me The Big Sleep Show in Dallas, TX this year....I looked at it, and started to get tempted...but decided its not really something I would actually go to, since its like $500+ in travel & accommodations. And, I know what if anything I would get out of it. It might be a bit more tempting if it was later in the year (since there'll be direct flights from Manhattan, KS to Dallas, TX starting August 25th).

Though later doesn't really work, since I already have 3 other trips on the horizon that half. Only the one at the end of this month for the first half of this year (Penguicon).

So, what happened to the talk of getting together in 2010?

The Dreamer.

TheDreamer wrote:So, somebody mentioned to me The Big Sleep Show in Dallas, TX this year....I looked at it, and started to get tempted...but decided its not really something I would actually go to, since its like $500+ in travel & accommodations. And, I know what if anything I would get out of it. It might be a bit more tempting if it was later in the year (since there'll be direct flights from Manhattan, KS to Dallas, TX starting August 25th).

Though later doesn't really work, since I already have 3 other trips on the horizon that half. Only the one at the end of this month for the first half of this year (Penguicon).

So, what happened to the talk of getting together in 2010?

The Dreamer.

It died.... There was a few people somewhat interested in a cruise and some had some interest in a conference but no real excitement to get it going.

There was a funny post in this thread about how funny it would be to have a bunch of hose heads connected to their CPAPs on a cruiseship...I will need to look it up again it was rather funny!

I would be up for either a conference or cruise but could only choose one,so I went with conference, thinking that might be less expensive for most people. I do hope this idea is revived and comes to something- one conference I went to,we all wore name tags with our board names in large letters and then our real names below so everyone could recognize each other easily. It worked out well. And I also think we'd be really fetching running around in PJs with our masks, hoses streaming out behind us!! ( but that sounds more like West L.A. )
~joan

I am still very much interested in doing a cruise with this group. I know I do not post a lot but I read and browse the forum a lot. I leave the technical advice to those in the know. Still a relative "newbie" to all this. I leave my settings alone and seem to be doing fine.
Sooooo if we decide to "get it together" and do a cruise. I will do anything in my power to help. I am not an agent but used to be. I do know several agents that are good at working with groups. I know that there are several agents within our own group. I wil step back and leave the arranging in their capable hands. I do offer any assistance I can.
Bev please do not be afraid to join the forum, we would love to have you. We are all good friends. We were all srangers once too. Most of us have come to my smaller group from a large one. As time went on we met at dinners that have been organised around Florida. Some of us met on group cruises organised from a larger website. When I started that forum the intent was to promote friendship, it works. I have nothing for sale there so I am not spamming when I invite anyone to come visit. We are just friendly people who are hopelessly addicted to cruising. There are also several c-pap user in the group so come on over and make yourself at home.

Laura

I would be willing to do a cruise or conference in 2010. Just get the 411 on it & i'll decide from there. May we bring our spouses with us or will it be just us that will factor into my decision

I think it would be great to have more of a conference (of course it could be floating). I would love to see at least some sort of representation from manufacturers like Resmed, Respironics, Devilbiss, etc. and maybe vendors like cpap.com - should companies like Apria be invited? Maybe bring a couple of people from insurance companies and some sleep docs. Can you imagine an organized conversation being started among those groups and us users? Maybe get enough of a conversation or voice from us to start the idea of bringing sanity to the whole process getting from diagnosis to effective treatment. Maybe discuss getting internet vendors set up on a direct relationship with insurance companies, maybe discuss setting up some way for docs and patients to stay abreast of the latest events. or even more important discuss ways to help the newly diagnosed become aware, responsible, compliant, informed, comfortable patients (maybe joining cpaptalk.com should be written into prescriptions). I really believe that if there was a group of us getting together we should strive to start some of this. Maybe this kind of thing could be helpful to cpap.com (any comments from Johnny?), maybe they could help in some way (I don't know that we could expect any serious underwriting but maybe a little).

Maybe take a page from field of dreams....build it and they will come.

Though I still think the idea of getting a CPAPtalk track/sessions/BoF into some other conference might be nice, though I guess it depends on what other conference we might all want to take over (or co-attend)?

The Dreamer.

A conference close to the midpoint of the USA, such as Kansas City would be nice. Two nights. Just wear our usernames on our name stickers. Then just music and intermingling the first night - maybe dancing. (if I still can at my age) Next day a couple of talks by a leading expert or two in the field. Then a banquet the second night, then turn on our cpaps and hopefully sleep enough to get back home the next day.
I would like that.