Having oxygen delivered to ship?

[Snookie415]

Hi,

We are going on our first family cruise soon. My daughter is physically disabled with a power wheelchair & uses oxygen 24 hours a day. I am worried about relying on the company to deliver her oxygen tanks on the sail date. Has anyone every had a problem NOT getting oxygen delivered? She will be stuck with just her concentrator and it is not very portable!

[B4andAFT]

I'm sure the companies responsible for these types of deliveries would have to be very reliable. Are you bringing your own concentrator from home? I will be taking my first cruise since being on oxygen and was thinking about bringing my own concentrator as well. Hopefully someone with experience will be able to reassure us both.:)

[Snookie415]

We are bringing her concentrator use in the cabin & when sleeping. I found out today, her supplier will not deliver to the cruise ship but instead referred me to a company that will rent her a portable concentrator. We are going to have the local office deliver tanks to our house and we will be taking them ourselves to the ship.

[xxoocruiser]

We are bringing her concentrator use in the cabin & when sleeping. I found out today, her supplier will not deliver to the cruise ship but instead referred me to a company that will rent her a portable concentrator. We are going to have the local office deliver tanks to our house and we will be taking them ourselves to the ship.

 

If you are flying to the port, you need to check with the airlines as to their regulations. Regulations can vary depending on the airline. Since 9/11 many airlines do not permit you to take your own oxygen onboard aircrafts, but most airlines are willing to provide it while you are in flight.

[Snookie415]

We will be driving. If we were flying, we'd definitely have to rent the concentrator!

[B4andAFT]

We are driving as well, that's why I thought bringing my own concentrator for use in the room would be OK. My worry would be getting to the security check-in and having them say NO!

[marelind]

We are bringing her concentrator use in the cabin & when sleeping. I found out today, her supplier will not deliver to the cruise ship but instead referred me to a company that will rent her a portable concentrator. We are going to have the local office deliver tanks to our house and we will be taking them ourselves to the ship.

 

My understanding is that, due to fire risk, they will not allow oxygen tanks, i.e., compressed or liquid oxygen. My experience is that they only allow concentrators on board.

[Peachie1]

My understanding is that, due to fire risk, they will not allow oxygen tanks, i.e., compressed or liquid oxygen. My experience is that they only allow concentrators on board.

 

 

I travel with my tanks and my concentrator both. 10 tanks, they load them like luggage. When you get onto the ship and put your card through, there will be a 'ding' that goes off and you will be directed to the Pursers desk. They will then tell you that your oxygen is being stored and when you want a tank, just dial their number and one will be delivered to your room. Also take a power strip and an extention cord in your carry on. Tell them it if for medical reasons and they will let you through with it. I take one each time I go, as there arent' but two outlets in the rooms. One over the sink in the bathroom and one near the bed.

 

I have to have one for my scooter, concentrator and cpap. No problems and I LOVE to cruise...

 

Hope this helps, and sorry for being late in replying to you, but been busy getting ready for a cruise that leaves on Sun...

 

Good luck on your trip and remember, the name of the game is to have fun!

 

Peach

[kayr2]

Snookie415

It depends on which Cruise line you are sailing with. There are 3 companies that the cruise lines recommend. I was told that I could not bring my own oxygen on board and needed to order from one of them. I used CareVacations for our cruise to Mexico and will use them again on our trip to Alaska this month. The Mexican cruise was with RCL and we are going to Alaska with Celebrity. CareVacations handled the transactions in a businesslike way. My oxygen was not in our cabin when we boarded in San Diego so I immediately called the number they had given me and they found out right away that it had been delivered and someone on the ship had put it in a closet because the cabin had not been cleaned. Problem solved. I also rent a concentrator from them plus bring a travel concentrator of my own. Maybe overkill and a little expensive but once you leave port, what you have is what you get. Be sure to check with your cruise line to see what they require.

 

Kay

[JP2048]

My understanding is that, due to fire risk, they will not allow oxygen tanks, i.e., compressed or liquid oxygen. My experience is that they only allow concentrators on board.

We would like to take another cruise but I too have been put on oxygen. I have called 3 of the cruise lines and were told I could take my own oxygen tanks as long as they were a certain size. I had to check them in as I could only have 1 tank in my room at a time. I think renting a concentrator would be so much easier than hauling my own. I really need to hear from anyone that has already taken a cruise and took their own tanks. Cruise line? when you sailed? etc. etc? To rent it all costs as much as a cruise and I can't do that, and if you don't use all the small tanks there are no refunds, as I was told. Can anyone offer some information on this?

[bjboothman]

We have had oxygen delivered to the ship twice (once Princess and once Royal Carib), the first through Care Vacations who did a great job, the second through Special Needs at Sea who made a huge mistake in our order and I'd never deal with them again. Their error affected my DH's ability to fully enjoy his cruise.

 

Not sure what price you were quoted but you can get a 100# stationary unit and portable carriers for around $300.

 

Here is another suggestion for you --- can the supplier of your home oxygen service either rent you or lend you a portable oxygen concentrator for use on the ship.

 

Sorry, I can't comment on bringing our own, my husband doesn't use individual canisters at home, he uses a 100# refillable tank which obviously we can't tote along with us.

[Snookie415]

Well, since asking this question, we have been on a 2nd cruise! We did take our own cannisters both times as well as her concentrator and a portable concentrator that we got since the first cruise. We got it last year to hopefully not have to use the cannisters but I didn't truly trust it so we brought cannisters too. Good thing since it malfunctioned!!

 

We drove to the ports (Miami, Port Canaveral)so we brought our cannisters both times. We checked the oxygen and then checked on board before sailing at Guest Services to be sure it had been delivered. As somebody mentioned, they only allow onecannister at a time so I had to call when she ran low to exchange it. In Port Canaveral, we took the concentrator on ourselves. In Miami, they took it from us and told my husband they would have the drug dog sniff it!!

 

As far as I know, the only prohibited oxygen is liquid oxygen.

[sandyblue029]

I have done three cruises using a portable concentrator for the entire trip. Not perfect, but doable. Because the portable that I have is only pulse dose, and I would prefer continuous flow for sleeping. I am getting bad enough that I may have to consider renting a concentrator for our next cruise to use while I am in the cabin and sleeping.

[Dinkachu]

I have done three cruises using a portable concentrator for the entire trip. Not perfect, but doable. Because the portable that I have is only pulse dose, and I would prefer continuous flow for sleeping. I am getting bad enough that I may have to consider renting a concentrator for our next cruise to use while I am in the cabin and sleeping.

 

 

I HAVE CRUISED ROYAL CARIBBEAN, CARNIVAL AND DISNEY WITH OXYGEN 24 HOURS A DAY... We've taken tanks, large room concentrators and portable concentrators on all 3.

 

I am leaving On Allure Sunday and find this works best for me:

... Large concentrator from home or delivered to the cabin from a rental place (we use Special Needs at Sea)

... We rent a portable concentrator. Both DeBliss and Seaqual have continuous flow portable concentrators (I need this due to using a Bi-pap at night. They are a bit larger and heavier but are much easier to deal with than the tanks

TAKE EXTRA BATTERIES - the continuous flow eats up batteries - I take 4 which gives me about 10 hours out of the room on port days.

... We take along a large tank on the back of the wheelchair just for an emergency (batteries run out during a show for example)

 

MOST of ALL - enjoy your cruise!

[jackretired]

I had liquid oxygen delivered to the ship. One big tank & one refillable tank. Very expensive.