Cruisers with dementia?

I was curious whether anyone has done this before: taken my grandmother on several cruises before but sadly we are aware she is slowly losing her mental state. She still has several years before we have to put her in a home, but if she were to be diagnosed with dementia she would still be able to cruise right?? We are going on a short cruise out of Galveston and I would be with her 24/7. She doesn't have any special needs but I just wanted to make sure she would be able to go.

Thanks in advance y'all!

Probably should have mentioned, she's only 72 and has full mobility just can't stand extended periods of time.

We plan to travel with my father in law who has Alzheimer's and sounds like he's in the same state as your grandmother. We plan to have someone near him at all times. If you search the entire cruise critic boards, there a couple of helpful threads.

Just please make sure someone is with her all the time. When a person has dementia taking them out of their normal environment can make the problem worse and they can become a handful. Not sure exactly when, but there was a thread some years back on RCCL about an elderly couple. The wife had dementia and the husband left her on the ship alone. When he returned they were both debarked in Europe. Don't remember all the details, but she apparently left the cabin while he was off the ship and got into some sort of problems.

If the cruise is soon, she might be fine, especially if she's in early stages and is being treated. If the sailing is off in the future, things could change.

Are you her current 24/7 caregiver? Then you will be in the best position to assess the situation. If you aren't, there may be some questions to explore and be sure about.

I know from my own family that some people with dementia will wander, so I'd want to be sure she wasn't at that stage in case she got up in the night. If she went out on the balcony or left the room with a sound sleeper as a roommate, it could be disastrous.

You may be aware of this but some with Alzheimer's have symptoms like combativeness and "sun downing" where they have problems late in the day even when they are calm and happy earlier.

A friend of mine, who has been diagnosed with dementia, went on a cruise 15 months ago with no problems. he knows who he is, who his wife is, that they're on a ship, that he has a cabin, where on his person he has written his cabin number, etc. - there's little difference between a person with early dementia and a person who's a bit forgetful.

There's no legal bar to travelling with a diagnosis of dementia. It's just up to you to ensure that your grandmother is looked after to the extent she needs it. Even if she reaches the stage of needing 24-hour care in case she forgets who and where she is, it's still not necessarily a bar to cruising.

Just please make sure someone is with her all the time. When a person has dementia taking them out of their normal environment can make the problem worse and they can become a handful. Not sure exactly when, but there was a thread some years back on RCCL about an elderly couple. The wife had dementia and the husband left her on the ship alone. When he returned they were both debarked in Europe. Don't remember all the details, but she apparently left the cabin while he was off the ship and got into some sort of problems.

I believe this happened in Australia. EM

Just please make sure someone is with her all the time. When a person has dementia taking them out of their normal environment can make the problem worse and they can become a handful. Not sure exactly when, but there was a thread some years back on RCCL about an elderly couple. The wife had dementia and the husband left her on the ship alone. When he returned they were both debarked in Europe. Don't remember all the details, but she apparently left the cabin while he was off the ship and got into some sort of problems.

Here the story http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5640

Thanks y'all I really appreciate it. I think I'm gonna go ahead and book it for May. She is there just not 100% but she doesn't wander too often she just gets lost every once and a while. But I would be with her 24/7 and watching her all the time. We would have an interior cabin. Thank you guys so much for feedback

This is one situation that calls for a lanyard so that his/her cruise card is always visible. It can be very useful in ensuring his/her safe return, especially when ashore.

My mom is pretty far along in her dementia journey. Tomorrow we leave for the port where my sister and I will be taking her on a four night cruise. We did a five day this time last year, so we know what to expect. This trip is all about her. She will not remember it, but she will enjoy each moment at the time. And that is what we want for her. She will not be left alone at any time. That is the way it already is at home. The change of scene is great. She loves being around people, even though she cannot participate in conversation. Unfortunately, once someone reaches the stage she is at, visitors are few and far between.

My mom is pretty far along in her dementia journey. Tomorrow we leave for the port where my sister and I will be taking her on a four night cruise. We did a five day this time last year, so we know what to expect. This trip is all about her. She will not remember it, but she will enjoy each moment at the time. And that is what we want for her. She will not be left alone at any time. That is the way it already is at home. The change of scene is great. She loves being around people, even though she cannot participate in conversation. Unfortunately, once someone reaches the stage she is at, visitors are few and far between.

Good for you Lesal! And thanks for pointing out that people with dementia can still enjoy a cruise. For example, my mom really enjoyed the music even though I know there were times she forgot she was on a ship.

I was also her full time caregiver, so I also felt better taking her along instead of leaving her with others. I took good care of her and at the same time I got a change of scenery.

My 92 y/o Dad is leaving today with his 92 y/o gal-pal who serves as his caregiver at her home. She booked this cruise (7 day Mexican Riviera) because it did not require pre-cruise flights and she just wanted to get away for a week. My DH and I were already booked on another cruise which would conflict with this one - so we were unable to go along. I know that she has plans to keep his room card on a lanyard around his neck but now wonder if that is enough. Should the ship be advised in the event he should lose track of her and try to get off the ship at one of the ports? She has told me she plans to stay on the ship and not get off... but she has no support on this adventure.

Any ideas?

Brings back memories of the first time I knew my Father had dementia, on a cruise. Mother books cruise and tells me I need to go as facilitator. So I go. Dad leaves cabin and starts wandering ship, trying to enter various cabins with his pass key. I am paged to pick him up and told if he does it again we will be thrown off ship. So have a good chat with his caretaker and no key for your Father.She must be with him 24 hrs. a day.

Brings back memories of the first time I knew my Father had dementia, on a cruise. Mother books cruise and tells me I need to go as facilitator. So I go. Dad leaves cabin and starts wandering ship, trying to enter various cabins with his pass key. I am paged to pick him up and told if he does it again we will be thrown off ship. So have a good chat with his/her caretaker and NO PASS KEY for your Father?Mother.She must be with person 24 hrs. a day. NO balconies.

I am not sure if I should notify the ship or not at this point. She will not have any access to the outside world while on the ship, I am sure. If they get thrown off the ship in Mexico, it will not be pretty.

You are so very kind to give me your thoughts. I am very sure that it will only be a matter of months that Dad will be under my care exclusively and that will be stressful to him - to be away from her.

Since this is going to be an ongoing issue with us baby-boomers, I will keep checking in and saying how it all goes...

Thanks so much. They are not in a balcony.

My father's dementia has progressed steadily over the past few years and it is quite advanced. Over that time we have been on quite a few cruises. it has been a rewarding experience and far safer and easier than other forms of travel or holidays.

In our case, we would not dream of leaving my father on his own at any time. Everyone's dementia is different but nonetheless it can be a frightening and unsettling experience for someone with dementia to find themselves on their own in an unfamiliar setting.

So given that my father was always with my mother or myself, we have had no difficulties. My father does not speak or have any unusual behavioural tendencies. Some do and this would make it more difficult. In our case, it just required 24X7 supervision to make sure he was ok.

I found crew members especially waiters at meal times very understanding and helpful.

We have been on Cunard, Princess, P&O, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean so happy to share our experiences which on the whole have been very positive and given us many memory moments. It is not true that people with dementia don't remember hence don't enjoy such experiences. My father has enjoyed every cruise and often given him reason to be more alert and active.