Potty Breaks on Longer Excursions

[just4steven]

How easily accessible are bathroom breaks on an all day excursion? For instance seeing the ruins in Belize after a tender ride to land and then almost a 2 hour ride to the site?

[4x4bob]

You are lucky. After the tender ride there will be plenty of trees along the way.:D

 

However, there are others sources of information like you want.

 

For example on Princess Cruises I found out this information this way:

 

Go to Princess web site

From the top bar select plan a cruise

From drop down menu click on Search Cruises

Select the Cruise location and date that you want

Look for ports and excursions

View excursions details

at Detailed Itinerary

Click on each line item. It will will give time, distance and if Restrooms are available.

 

Bob

[just4steven]

sort of good info, but GURRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, if you have the runs (from both ends) and have to go all the time............. GURRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL, This is a carnival ship by the way, your info did not help. I hope this did not sound like a jerk, just being serious and I should have reworded it all.

 

Basically, are there points where you go for more than 3 hours?????

[OCruisers]

There are seldom times when there won't be some sort of restroom ... may not be the nicest ... but will meet your immediate needs at the time. :D

 

LuLu

[orchestrapal]

sort of good info, but GURRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, if you have the runs (from both ends) and have to go all the time............. GURRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLL, This is a carnival ship by the way, your info did not help. I hope this did not sound like a jerk, just being serious and I should have reworded it all.

 

Basically, are there points where you go for more than 3 hours?????

 

So why not post this on the Carnival site..????

[crystalspin]

It is an "age-sensitive" matter.

[margincall]

fyi-I went on that excursion thru carnival and guess what??didn't have to use a tree-lol--on the bus out to the ruins there was a restroom.

[citygirl62]

I know what you mean! Just the idea of not having a place to go makes me want to go! I worried a lot about that when I was planning excursions. The tender ride to Belize had me concerned, the trip to the beach on Roatan was cause for concern, going to see the sting rays had me concerned.

 

What I did was get in direct contact with the tours I was going with. The boat to Stingray City had a head, not great but adequate. I drank very little the morning we went to the beach in Roatan because the bus didn't have a toilet.

 

I get really irked when people say "why didn't you go before you left" There is a special place in hell for those that are woefully unaware of the curse of weak bladders and IBD!

 

I get my doctor to give me a prescription for Dicetal before I go away to parts unknown. It provides me with peace of mind. Sorry for oversharing but it is a real issue for some of us. Thanks.

[just4steven]

I know what you mean! Just the idea of not having a place to go makes me want to go! I worried a lot about that when I was planning excursions. The tender ride to Belize had me concerned, the trip to the beach on Roatan was cause for concern, going to see the sting rays had me concerned.

 

What I did was get in direct contact with the tours I was going with. The boat to Stingray City had a head, not great but adequate. I drank very little the morning we went to the beach in Roatan because the bus didn't have a toilet.

 

I get really irked when people say "why didn't you go before you left" There is a special place in hell for those that are woefully unaware of the curse of weak bladders and IBD!

 

I get my doctor to give me a prescription for Dicetal before I go away to parts unknown. It provides me with peace of mind. Sorry for oversharing but it is a real issue for some of us. Thanks.

 

Thank you very much citygirl! This helped a lot and good info! :)

[margincall]

I know what you mean. we have been to roatan twice-first time we had a private island tour and the guide would stop if needed,second time was a beach but there were bathrooms at the beach and it wasn't a far ride

 

when I was a teenager Mick Jagger had a line in a song that I thought was so funny back then--"What a drag it is gettin old"

 

Not quite as funny as i thought years ago-lol

[Larryh86GT]

My wife and I have been on a number of Mexican tours that had restrooms that required you to purchase your tp before entering. So we have always made sure we had some peso coins with us. And many of the restrooms were in horible condition but better than behind a tree in the jungle. :D

[HarleyNana11]

How easily accessible are bathroom breaks on an all day excursion? For instance seeing the ruins in Belize after a tender ride to land and then almost a 2 hour ride to the site?

 

I've been on the ruins tour in Belize. There are bathrooms adequately placed. You should do just fine. Enjoy your trip.:D

[dacruiser12]

 

I get really irked when people say "why didn't you go before you left" There is a special place in hell for those that are woefully unaware of the curse of weak bladders and IBD!

 

First of all be careful you don't get dehydrated!

 

From personal experience I can tell you that kegel exercises work wonders for weak bladders. As for irritable bowel, it is not a disease but a syndrome. It can be so well controlled by your diet that it's as good as gone. Also relaxation techniques so you don't start worrying about your tummy, which gets it going. Vicious circle. Good luck!

[traveler279]

I share the OPs concern and try to research things before tours and the like. FWIW, if the sudden intense "interest" in a washroom is caused either by an anxiety disorder or IBD (Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves chronic inflammation of all or part of your digestive tract. IBD primarily includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. IBD can be painful and debilitating, and sometimes leads to life-threatening complications.), I'm not to sure that improving one's diet or learning to breathe calmly will address the issue. But that's just my opinion based on my own experience.

[dacruiser12]

I agree. I was discussing irritable bowel syndrome, not inflammatory bowel disease. They are indeed completely different & require different treatments.

 

 

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[berkyvdr]

The whole bathroom dilemma is a huge issue when we travel as well. I always include the question when I am researching private excursions and usually there is some kind of "facility".

 

A few years ago we were on a Mediterranean cruise and went DIY at all of the ports. Often we would spend an agonizing hour looking for a place to relieve ourselves whilst not absorbing any of the local culture or history as we were so focused on our quest for a decent WC.

 

This fall for our Mediterranean cruise we will be looking for private shore excursions. For our kayaking in Mykonos, the second half of the response I got was "In all the other cases we use the nature(discreet spots, especially for the ladies, have been located and noted!)" Can't say that I am looking forward to that aspect of the tour.

 

Maybe TMI requested and discussed, but I am thinking of wearing some of those special underwear or liners, just in case. Can anyone recommend something that works well?

 

And yes, getting old sucks--I expected wrinkles and some aches and pains, but a lot of the other stuff no one told me about!

[citygirl62]

I agree. I was discussing irritable bowel syndrome, not inflammatory bowel disease. They are indeed completely different & require different treatments.

 

 

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I have suffered from this ailment for 30 years which means I was pretty young when it started. I have tried all the known treatments: dietary changes, biofeedback, drugs, you name it. It is a self fulfilling prophecy, my brain knows it but my body refuses to cooperate. Hypnosis doesn't work on me, more's the pity.

 

What I don't do is restrict my lifestyle and I make sure the people I vacation with are understanding; unfortunately that's difficult to do when on a cruise since you are usually in a group situation. I have good friends that I have never gone on an extended vacation with because they just don't "get it".

 

So I don't dehydrate myself but I also don't have juice and coffee before a tender ride, probably just water. After 30 years I know my body and my mind. So research is my most valuable tool when traveling, forewarned is forearmed. I find out for myself what the situation is and don't rely on breezy suggestions that I should be "okay" on a 3 hour bus ride and just enjoy my trip.

[seeshore]

Wow, what a timely thread. I've been going round and round with Royal trying to get an answer as to whether a boat tour we're interested in taking has facilities on board. My problems are due to cancer treatment and its long-term side effects.

 

We once took an excursion by motor coach through Carnival which had a restroom but it remained locked and we were not permitted to use it. Thankfully I was ok on that trip but someone else on the bus was not as lucky.

[citygirl62]

Wow, what a timely thread. I've been going round and round with Royal trying to get an answer as to whether a boat tour we're interested in taking has facilities on board. My problems are due to cancer treatment and its long-term side effects.

 

We once took an excursion by motor coach through Carnival which had a restroom but it remained locked and we were not permitted to use it. Thankfully I was ok on that trip but someone else on the bus was not as lucky.

 

That's horrible, what's the point of having facilities if you aren't allowed to use them. I remember being on a bus (the resort shuttle bus) in Mexico and some poor guy was asking him to stop and the wouldn't stop just saying "be there soon, okay, there soon, okay); you know the rest of that story.

 

Can you find out the name of the tour boat so you can ask them yourself or look at different tours online so you can find out information that is pertinent to you? I went on stingray tour in GC and found a tour that had a boat with a head. Good luck.

[seeshore]

That's horrible, what's the point of having facilities if you aren't allowed to use them. I remember being on a bus (the resort shuttle bus) in Mexico and some poor guy was asking him to stop and the wouldn't stop just saying "be there soon, okay, there soon, okay); you know the rest of that story.

 

Can you find out the name of the tour boat so you can ask them yourself or look at different tours online so you can find out information that is pertinent to you? I went on stingray tour in GC and found a tour that had a boat with a head. Good luck.

 

citigirl-I've already taken the matter into my own hands by looking at the name on the boat in Royal's picture then doing a search for the company and emailing them directly. In the meantime I get a response from Royal via email (the only way you can communicate with the accessible shore excursion dept.) They required me to fill out a form with 10 or 12 questions before they would email the tour co. on my behalf.

 

Long story short, I got the answers I needed directly from the tour co.-2 restrooms, a 10 minute walk from the pier, and wheelchair accessible if necessary. :)

[GeezerCouple]

My wife and I have been on a number of Mexican tours that had restrooms that required you to purchase your tp before entering. So we have always made sure we had some peso coins with us. And many of the restrooms were in horible condition but better than behind a tree in the jungle. :D

 

I've kept up with a little "trick" that I learned (the difficult way!) from decades ago traveling overseas with our young children.

 

We ALWAYS keep some TP (or Kleenex) with us when traveling.

 

Before major trips to potentially "remote" locations, we stop using each TP roll when there is something like 1/4 inch (+/-) on it, and set them aside.

These can then be flattened, and don't take much space at all, in a purse, jacket pocket, small knapsack, etc.

 

We just stuff the flattened "roll ends" (what else to call them!? :)) in assorted parts of the luggage at the end of packing.

 

The "difficult way" I learned the possible need to do this was in a Museum in Paris, when the electricity went out. No lights. No way to know where the WC was. And when we finally were assisted to one (for a child "in distress"), there was no TP.

 

After that, ALWAYS a tiny flashlight (at least now they are tiny; back then, not so much!), TP, assorted local cash in addition to charge cards, and some *snacks* like granola/energy bars.

 

And we usually do this when traveling to "non-remote" locations, too.

Flights are delayed late at night.

Facilities can run out of supplies.

Etc.

 

GeezerCouple

[ny cruisequeen]

Of all the cruise lines, Princess has the BEST excursion details on their website! They list how long to get there, how long in each spot, and if there are bathrooms and snacks available! However, we were on a Princess excursion in Hawaii to the Haleakala crater and it was a good two hour ride and the bus never stopped! We had checked with the cruise member accompanying us and he had even assured us it made a bathroom stop. Thank goodness we were okay, but that was not right!

 

I totally understand the anxiety. It is awful to have to urgently go and the bus keeps going! Usually we stick to shorter bus rides. On those trips you spend more time back and forth than seeing anything once you get off. In Italy we had to pay to use the WC and in France we had to sit down in a cafe and order something before we could use it. In Egypt we had to pay for toilet paper, ( we also brought tissues from the ship). This is a real issue. I like private excursions so we can just say stop, we need to use the facility.