Clusterphobic booked inside cabin - now what?

My mother-in-law is clusterphobic. Among the things that freak her out are the following: sitting in the back seat of a 2 door car, riding in a car without the airconditioning on, and she cannot visit crowded museums.

She has however booked an inside cabin on our Med. cruise in June, she has never cruised before and does not know what to expect. I have tried to explain the layout of an inside cabin but cannot get her to understand the concept fully. Should I worry?:confused:

Is she able to sit in a doctor's office without windows with the door shut? How is she in an elevator? If she has problems with these, I would think she would hate being in an inside cabin. I do not think I could even be in an ocean view because the window does not open. If her cabin is close to the stairs or an outside deck that might help.. Maybe an antianxiety pill. I have extreme claustrophobia and did just fine in a cabin with a balcony. I did not find the ship claustrophobic at all. Lots of open spaces. I took the stairs alot though. Connie

She will be in the cabin to sleep and dress. But a med cruise is a long cruise. if she does have that kind of anxiety-- he should really get a oceanview-- at least with the curtain open it will look bigger.

How do you plan to get to the Med? Fly? In an airplane for 8 to 10 hours? Sounds like some serious thinking is needed here.

Im a person who has fears of small places, elevators drive me nuts but I have done fine with the inside cabins. I do however take a night light for the bathroom. I like the outside much better because it does have a window, yet the size can be the same as the inside is. You should really layout the size for her in feet on a floor (with tape) and make sure she feels she can be in that area without problems. That is how I did to see if the space would feel small to me or fine. Once on the ship the chance to change is not always there. The rooms are about 2X the size of a doc's normal area (or the ones out where I am) for the smallest of rooms, plus area for the bathroom. Your part about the museum makes me think this space is going to be hard for her to take, Im not quite that bad on space as she is.

How do you plan to get to the Med? Fly? In an airplane for 8 to 10 hours? Sounds like some serious thinking is needed here.

I was worried about this myself - but she has flown to Europe before and was fine - I have not mentioned it to her because I don't want to put the idea in her head.

From what I've read, keep the tv on to the channel that has the bridge cam, if they do that. I't's like having a window, a lot of people do this at night, so when they wake up, they see the daylight. If she is really bad tell her to read the boards and get insite from "perfect strangers" like me.

Good luck to her.