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I'm trying to surprise my mom with a cruise to Hawaii. The last time we all went on a cruise together she was on oxygen but only at night. So, she had arranged for an oxygen concentrator to be in her cabin. Now, she is on oxygen full time. At home she has a tank that she uses at night and is able to fill her "away from home" portable tank off of that big tank. The concentrator that she had on the ship before is not one that she can fill her portable tank. Does anyone have any information on how this is done? Does the cruise line provide the concentrator and then a portable tank too? I would like to find the answers out without having to tell her that I am checking it out. THanks.

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I'm trying to surprise my mom with a cruise to Hawaii. The last time we all went on a cruise together she was on oxygen but only at night. So' date=' she had arranged for an oxygen concentrator to be in her cabin. Now, she is on oxygen full time. At home she has a tank that she uses at night and is able to fill her "away from home" portable tank off of that big tank. The concentrator that she had on the ship before is not one that she can fill her portable tank. Does anyone have any information on how this is done? Does the cruise line provide the concentrator and then a portable tank too? I would like to find the answers out without having to tell her that I am checking it out. THanks.[/quote']

 

You need to call Princess and discuss it with them.

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The cruise line will not provide any medical equipment. She will have to rent it. There are a couple of companies that you can contact for information. I suggest you call Princess to make sure the type of oxygen equipment she needs will be allowed and for the company contact info.

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Yes, Princess and Royal Caribbean allow you to order your own liquid oxygen and concentrator from one of the vendors mentioned in an earlier post. You don't really need to call the cruiselines and ask, though you could if you wanted to. You do have to complete and send in paperwork to the cruiseline telling them what you are bringing - the forms are on their websites.

 

I've sailed both cruiselines in the past 6 months and ordered liquid ox, the portable "away from home" unit to fill from the tank, and the electrical concentrator. Approx $500 a week, or maybe a little less.

 

Of the two vendors, I prefer cruiseshipassist. I've used them both.

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First of all, check the airline requirements. They are pretty strict. I'm renting a portable POC that I will use for the entire trip. Delta's website has complete detailed information and I would assume the other airlines do also. Your mother is going to be thrilled.



 

 

Betty

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Hi Everyone -

 

We just returned from the Gem and this was the first cruise that DH needed oxygen for.

 

We took his Sequel Eclipse III for the room and it worked out lovely (managed to plug it in and had a long enough canula that he could "roam" freely).

 

He used his Respironics Evergo for "out-and-about" use on the ship and shore. On the ship, to avoid carrying it, he put in in the basket of his rollator. For on-shore use, he put it by his feet on the scooter.

 

The nice thing with the concentrators is there isn't anything to do but charge them.

 

While there was extra stuff to carry for me (the additional batteries and chargers and canulas), it was well worth every bit!

 

Have a super day!

 

Heidi & Bob

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  • 3 weeks later...

DH now needs oxygen and we noticed there were portable concentrators for travel that you could purchase. Can you bring these on board the ship? Has anyone had experience with these? This is new for us and we are checking our all options.

 

Thanks for any information.

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DH now needs oxygen and we noticed there were portable concentrators for travel that you could purchase. Can you bring these on board the ship? Has anyone had experience with these? This is new for us and we are checking our all options.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Yes you can bring portable concentrators on the ship, make sure you have enough batteries to keep it recharged at all times. We drive to the port but if you are flying, you also need enough batteries to cover flying time, layover time, etc.

 

If you have an oxygen supplier for home use, they may be able to lend/rent you a concentrator for vacation. Or you can rent a concentrator from carevacations.com - they service cruise ships.

 

My husband brings his own Sequal III concentrator but we also rent liquid oxygen from carevacations.com for use on the ship (the liquid oxygen canisters are smaller than the Portable Oxygen Concentrator and easier to manage --- and they are also a back up system, we wouldn't want to be on the cruise and have the Sequal fail and have to get off the ship and get to a hospital) as he uses O2 24/7.

 

We've done this several times, let me know if you have any questions.

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DH now needs oxygen and we noticed there were portable concentrators for travel that you could purchase. Can you bring these on board the ship? Has anyone had experience with these? This is new for us and we are checking our all options.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

 

Yes, my dad has one and he is bringing it on his first cruise this Thanksgiving. My stepmom also uses oxygen but does not have a POC. She spoke to her doctor about it and he said he would order one for her to take on the trip.

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Thank you so much for this information. We will check about the rental from our oxygen supplier for home use and also with the doctor. Are there units that you can plug into a car battery too? How long does a battery last? Did you purchase your Sequal III?

 

Thanks again.

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Sailaway --- there are different types of Portable Oxygen Concentrators (POCs) depending on how many liters of O2 you need and if you can use it by pulse or steady dosing. My husband has sleep apnea also and uses a cpap machine and for that he needs 3 liters of steady (not pulse) oxygen so his only choice is the Sequal III which is one of the bigger bulkier POCs. If your husband uses less oxygen per minute and can use a pulse dose he can get a smaller unit with batteries that last longer. If you Google, there are a number of websites that will tell you the details about the various POCs depending on his needs. I'd say we get maybe 2 hours out of a battery.

 

Here's the deal with the car ---- as long as we keep the Sequal plugged into the cig liter, it runs off the lighter and the battery does not drain. BUT when he gets out of the car to eat, stretch legs, etc., and the POC battery then drains a bit, the car WILL NOT recharge the battery. I hope that makes sense. We have 2 extra batteries and charge them all up in the hotel at night when we take a road trip. This is just too much to deal with on an airplane (plus his mobility scooter) so we just don't go anywhere that we cannot drive or sail.

 

My husband gets his healthcare from the Veterans Administration and they provide the Sequal for his use.

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Thank you so much for this information. We will check about the rental from our oxygen supplier for home use and also with the doctor. Are there units that you can plug into a car battery too? How long does a battery last? Did you purchase your Sequal III?

 

Thanks again.

 

Hi Sailaway -

 

My DH uses O2 full time. He can use pulse when out and about (though does not at home - but that's only because the "big" unit our medical will pay for does not have that option). We have the Respironics Evergo for pulse use. It can be a bit heavy (we have the "travel" pack - that includes around 6 to 8 hours at 2 - 3 litre pulse flow) plus we have 2 additional batteries (and a desk-top charger and a car charger). There are lighter models (less battery life included - just have more batteries available would solve it).

 

We also take the Sequal Eclipse III. This we use in the cabin (though it is on a "cart" and could be taken anywhere on the ship or port). We have 3 batteries for this (though, we keep it plugged in while in the cabin - just use the associated charger to keep batteries full - this model also has, as another poster mentioned, the car charger).

 

My DH really had some issues with the tanks (a "guy" thing I think really). So, he carries the Evergo (google it - it looks like a video camera bag), so it's not really noticable. Sometimes, on the ship, he'll use his rollator (so he doesn't have to carry the Evergo :rolleyes:).

 

When he used the scooter (Pride Go Go - Rental) in Nassau, he just put the Evergo by his feet and I kept the 2 extra batteries in my backpack ("just in case" we needed them - as well as 2 rain ponchos to use to cover him and the scooter in case of a shower).

 

While the logistics of having all this (and packing) was a bit overwhelming for me at first - this cruise we just completed was our very best one to date. DH was mobile the entire time, didn't tire out and we had so much fun. Now that I know the drill, I can't wait to "pack" for September!

 

Happy cruising! :)

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I have been traveling with a POC for several years and have enjoyed the freedom they give me. At first we "rented" through our home care provider but found we were spending as much in a year on rentals as the cost of our own unit. About 3 years ago we purchased the EverGo Freedom Bundle from an on-line vendor as it was approved for air-line travel and looked much like a camera bag. With both batteries in it the weight is about 10 lbs. and set at 2lpm on pulse they lasted over 8 hours. I always plugged it in in the room to re-charge the batteries. This past spring my doctor told me to use continuous flow for overnight use so upgraded to the new Simply Go by Respironics. As of today that model is not yet air line approved. :( It is lighter weight, has continuous flow as well as pulse and a sleep mode, all of which run much quieter than the older model. Down side is it only carries 1 internal battery so run time is less.

We have cruised with Princess, RCI, NCL, & Carnival and all have been super about my needs. I just make sure I list my O2 when booking the cruise and send in the paperwork so it is on file. Princess recently told me to just give their "special needs" desk the booking numbers and they would put a copy of my form already on file into that cruises file. Didn't have to resend the information...:)

Although both our units come with the car chargers I must say I haven't used them so far. Another good thing to keep in mind is if you are flying you will need to be by the window and the airline can NOT charge you a premium fee for that as it is an FAA regulation (guess so no one is hung up on the cannula tubbing :eek:).

Hope all your cruises are as wonderful as ours have been!

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Thank you all again for the information. DH is going to the Medical Supply place tomorrow to look at all the available units. He will want to get something that he can use on a 30-day cruise. Have any of you been on long trips like that with your portable units? All of this is new to us so we certainly appreciate your willingness to share this important information!!

 

Did you take oxygen tanks as well on your trips or cruises? Or just the portable unit with xtra batteries...?

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Thank you all again for the information. DH is going to the Medical Supply place tomorrow to look at all the available units. He will want to get something that he can use on a 30-day cruise. Have any of you been on long trips like that with your portable units? All of this is new to us so we certainly appreciate your willingness to share this important information!!

 

Did you take oxygen tanks as well on your trips or cruises? Or just the portable unit with xtra batteries...?

 

There's an overwhelming amount of information out there. DH spent the time to research and loves what we bought. (He spent DAYS - like the round-the-clock days - researching and reading - he was too incapacitated at the time to go to any supply store.)

 

So far, we have not been away longer than a week (until later this year); however, we do not carry tanks with us. With keeping the two units we have charged and all extra batteries for same charged (which we do keep that way all the time in case of power outages at home as well), we have around 36 hours of battery life (more if DH lowers the use and "sits" so he can take breaks as allowed with monitoring). We figure if we're out of power for an extended period of time, the ship's infirmary would be where he would wind up anyway from the stress of no A/C, no elevators, etc.

 

Hope your DH finds a unit(s) that will work out great for him! :)

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Sailaway, we took a 10 day cruise followed by a roadtrip thru the USA and DH used his Sequal III for 7 weeks total. As I probably mentioned above, we always rent a 100# canister of liquid oxygen too for the cabin (the type that you refill the portable units from). We rent the liquid as a backup to the Sequal in the event that it would fail at sea. If the Sequal fails on a road trip in the USA, he'd likely end up in the ER someplace until we could get a replacement. But at sea --- you are kind of stuck. Also, along with the 100# canister, we rent an electric oxygen concentrator that he uses during the night or while in the cabin. It helps us to save on the Sequal's battery use. It's sort of a package deal from the supplier --- the liquid plus the electric concentrator.

 

We have no experience whatsoever with those big green iron oxygen tanks that you tote around with you so I cannot comment on those. BUT --- I will say that the 100# canisters do tend to leak off over time and I am not sure that they would last 30 days even if you rarely used them.

 

We had the best success renting liquid oxygen from carevacations.com. DH owns his own Sequal.

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bjboothman and Frick & Frack.......thank you so much for the additional information. DH researched and went to the Medical Supply store here....he decided on the Eclipse III, which is AC-DC & battery. Bought 3-extra batteries, but may still purchase one more as we do not know exactly how long the battery will last.

 

We are planning a 3-week road RV trip to the National Parks (Tetons, Yellowstone & Glacier) so will be utilizing this new POC. We still are deciding on what other type unit to take -- oxygen tanks? or smaller portable unit for day touring. Later this year we have a 7-day cruise, then a 30-day one... We want to be sure we have the right stuff to ensure DH is adequately taken care of!!! (plus have an emergency back-up).

 

Travel is our passion and want to see all that we can (within reason of course)..

 

As all of this is new to us, forgive us if we are asking silly questions. We don't know what the 100# unit is. Is this something you order and have on the cruise ship? Do we need to notify the cruise line about our equipment?

 

Thanks again for the info.

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Sail -- the 100# unit is a huge canister of oxygen, if your husband gets oxygen service at home, that is possibly what he gets, an oxygen company brings a truck to our house and refills it every other week. Then my DH fills his portable oxygen "thermos" for lack of a better word from the 100# canister and takes it shopping etc with him, a fill only lasts maybe 3 hours. That is what we rent on the ship as a back up to the sequal eclilpse III. Here's a link to it: http://carevacations.com/cruiseshipassist/respiratory-equipment/liquid-oxygen-packages/

 

 

 

 

Regarding Sequal eclipse III, If money is no object, you might be interested in this: http://sequal.com/assets/File/Eclipse%20Featured%20Accessories-PulseOxRx-September%2010.pdf

 

See the item marked desktop charger. We have one of those as well because you can only recharge one battery at a time using the Sequal and it does take hours to recharge. The desktop charger allows you to recharge another battery -- we leave it in the hotel room or cabin to charge a battery while we are out and about using the Sequal. I don't know what they cost.

 

I don't know how much oxygen your husband uses and how much breathing difficulty he has, but will your national park trips take you into high altitudes? We traveled thru some mountainous regions of New Mexico and the altitude really made it difficult for my DH to breathe, even with the oxygen. Though maybe you already live at a higher altitude than we do. By the way, your trips sound fantastic. Enjoy!!

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Sail -- the 100# unit is a huge canister of oxygen, if your husband gets oxygen service at home, that is possibly what he gets, an oxygen company brings a truck to our house and refills it every other week. Then my DH fills his portable oxygen "thermos" for lack of a better word from the 100# canister and takes it shopping etc with him, a fill only lasts maybe 3 hours. That is what we rent on the ship as a back up to the sequal eclilpse III. Here's a link to it: http://carevacations.com/cruiseshipassist/respiratory-equipment/liquid-oxygen-packages/

 

 

 

 

Regarding Sequal eclipse III, If money is no object, you might be interested in this: http://sequal.com/assets/File/Eclipse%20Featured%20Accessories-PulseOxRx-September%2010.pdf

 

See the item marked desktop charger. We have one of those as well because you can only recharge one battery at a time using the Sequal and it does take hours to recharge. The desktop charger allows you to recharge another battery -- we leave it in the hotel room or cabin to charge a battery while we are out and about using the Sequal. I don't know what they cost.

 

I don't know how much oxygen your husband uses and how much breathing difficulty he has, but will your national park trips take you into high altitudes? We traveled thru some mountainous regions of New Mexico and the altitude really made it difficult for my DH to breathe, even with the oxygen. Though maybe you already live at a higher altitude than we do. By the way, your trips sound fantastic. Enjoy!!

 

Thanks again.. We did purchase the extra battery and charger so we have 3 batteries total.

 

We are taking a short week-end trip to our nearby mountains (6500 ft) to see how DH aclimates to the altitude so we can make final decision about the National Park trip that we have planned. He uses 2 liter/pulse during the day.

 

We have checked the link on CareVacations on the oxygen cylinders. Do they deliver just the individual cylinders too. That is the type his vendor delivers for home use.

 

Has anyone had any experience with the Life Choice POC that only weighs 5 lbs?

 

I may attempt to email you later to ask some more specific questions if that is okay...

 

Thanks again,

Carol

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Here --- http://carevacations.com/cruiseshipassist/respiratory-equipment/cylinders/ looks like they do rent cylinders, but as we have never done that, I have no idea of the details.

 

 

Don't know anything about the Lifechoice POC, one of our issues is that DH has sleep apnea and needs a 3 lpm oxygen flow - continuous - with his cpap when he sleeps, so the Sequal is the only option for us. And even when he is awake, the Lifechoice only puts out 3 lpm pulse and when DH walks, he sometimes needs more than 3. I sure wish he could use a smaller unit than the Sequal.

 

Carol, feel free to email me anytime.

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Here --- http://carevacations.com/cruiseshipassist/respiratory-equipment/cylinders/ looks like they do rent cylinders, but as we have never done that, I have no idea of the details.

 

 

Don't know anything about the Lifechoice POC, one of our issues is that DH has sleep apnea and needs a 3 lpm oxygen flow - continuous - with his cpap when he sleeps, so the Sequal is the only option for us. And even when he is awake, the Lifechoice only puts out 3 lpm pulse and when DH walks, he sometimes needs more than 3. I sure wish he could use a smaller unit than the Sequal.

 

Carol, feel free to email me anytime.

 

 

Joyce,

You have mail....

 

Carol

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bjboothman and Frick & Frack.......thank you so much for the additional information. DH researched and went to the Medical Supply store here....he decided on the Eclipse III, which is AC-DC & battery. Bought 3-extra batteries, but may still purchase one more as we do not know exactly how long the battery will last.

 

We are planning a 3-week road RV trip to the National Parks (Tetons, Yellowstone & Glacier) so will be utilizing this new POC. We still are deciding on what other type unit to take -- oxygen tanks? or smaller portable unit for day touring. Later this year we have a 7-day cruise, then a 30-day one... We want to be sure we have the right stuff to ensure DH is adequately taken care of!!! (plus have an emergency back-up).

 

Travel is our passion and want to see all that we can (within reason of course)..

 

As all of this is new to us, forgive us if we are asking silly questions. We don't know what the 100# unit is. Is this something you order and have on the cruise ship? Do we need to notify the cruise line about our equipment?

 

Thanks again for the info.

 

Just FYI - my DH uses the Respironics Evergo for be out and around. I don't know the weight on it (it's all over the net though). We have it with 2 internal batteries plus 2 extra. For him - he uses from 2lpm to 3lpm. This item is pulse only though. It's like a video camera bag and he's comfortable carrying it around (though, for longer expeditions, we use the rollator and put the unit in the seat basket;) I think at the 3lpm pulse, with all batteries, he's good for 12 or more hours at a time.

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  • 1 month later...
I have been traveling with a POC for several years and have enjoyed the freedom they give me. At first we "rented" through our home care provider but found we were spending as much in a year on rentals as the cost of our own unit. About 3 years ago we purchased the EverGo Freedom Bundle from an on-line vendor as it was approved for air-line travel and looked much like a camera bag. With both batteries in it the weight is about 10 lbs. and set at 2lpm on pulse they lasted over 8 hours. I always plugged it in in the room to re-charge the batteries. This past spring my doctor told me to use continuous flow for overnight use so upgraded to the new Simply Go by Respironics. As of today that model is not yet air line approved. :( It is lighter weight, has continuous flow as well as pulse and a sleep mode, all of which run much quieter than the older model. Down side is it only carries 1 internal battery so run time is less.

We have cruised with Princess, RCI, NCL, & Carnival and all have been super about my needs. I just make sure I list my O2 when booking the cruise and send in the paperwork so it is on file. Princess recently told me to just give their "special needs" desk the booking numbers and they would put a copy of my form already on file into that cruises file. Didn't have to resend the information...:)

Although both our units come with the car chargers I must say I haven't used them so far. Another good thing to keep in mind is if you are flying you will need to be by the window and the airline can NOT charge you a premium fee for that as it is an FAA regulation (guess so no one is hung up on the cannula tubbing :eek:).

Hope all your cruises are as wonderful as ours have been!

 

Do you use this only for travel or is it for home use too. DH has just started using O2 and we are just learning. I checked the price of the Simple Go and it is cheaper than a years rental (no insurance).

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Do you use this only for travel or is it for home use too. DH has just started using O2 and we are just learning. I checked the price of the Simple Go and it is cheaper than a years rental (no insurance).

 

As I write this I'm sitting in a condo at Park City UT on vacation with my family. I brought BOTH my EverGo for out and about because it has longer battery life and the newer SimplyGo because it has continuous flow which I must have at night. The elevation is a challenge but so far it has worked well. I do need to use a higher setting here (2) than when I'm home in AZ at a much lower elevation. I use these POCs as my ONLY source of O2 and my Dr. has no problem with my condition, but it would depend on your DHs needs.

My criticism of the SimpleGo is it isn't as user friendly as the older EverGo model and has a MUCH SHORTER battery time for use outside the home. I got mine through OxiMed.com. Another thing about the SimplyGo is so far it hasn't been approved by FAA/TSA for air travel use, but the EverGo has.

If you need other questions answered or just want to chat you can find my email in my profile. I wish you well and many happy travels :D

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