Refrigerated Meds

[mommytotwins]

My daughter chipped her tooth this weekend. I took her to the dentist who gave her an antibiotic that has to be refrigerated. What can I do while onboard? Do you think it would be ok to be kept in a cooler bag with ice? I don't think this is something that warrants a special needs request for a fridge.

[RHilla619]

What ship are you sailing on? Most ships do a have mini-fridge in the cabins so you could always store it there. If your ship does not, I do remember reading somewhere that ships can furnish a mini fridge for you for medicinal purposes but it would probably require calling ahead.

[Schoifmom]

My daughter chipped her tooth this weekend. I took her to the dentist who gave her an antibiotic that has to be refrigerated. What can I do while onboard? Do you think it would be ok to be kept in a cooler bag with ice? I don't think this is something that warrants a special needs request for a fridge.

 

Call the Special Needs Department now, so that they can make arrangements if they are required.

[RuthlessBoss]

Yes, just a bag and ice . Probably cooler than a fridge. Why bother with special needs when the solution is so simple :D

[Legend]

You can also store it at guest services, they have a proper fridge for medications not just a cooler that you find in the cabins.

[mommytotwins]

We are on the Fascination so no mini-fridges.

[mommytotwins]

You can also store it at guest services, they have a proper fridge for medications not just a cooler that you find in the cabins.

 

Really? I had no idea. I guess that would be safe. Surely no one will tamper with it. I just hate for Special Needs to make special arrangements for something that only has to be taken 2x day.

[asdjl]

The fridges in the cabin aren't cold enough for mess, anyway. I would use ice or guest services

 

 

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[Elaine515]

The very first day ask your Room Steward to keep an ice bucket filled with ice for the duration of the cruise as you need to put some Meds in it and that should work the best...

[cruiser gilly]

I sailed with a friend a couple years back that had meds that needed to be kept refrigerated - we went to the medical center and they were more than happy to keep it for her - meds are signed in and out and the medical staff was great!

Edited January 12, 2016 by cruiser gilly

[wantocruisemore]

I would use ice. In the alternative there's the medical center.

We used ice once for daughters insulin but next time mini fridge was plenty cold. But ice worked well and that's what I normally do at hotels without fridges.

[thomarvin]

Can you call the dentist and get another antibiotic that might be in pill form?

[shellsd]

I took my brother on a cruise in March and his chemo had to be kept cold. Obviously that was nothing to mess with. I called special needs months before boarding to request a medical fridge. I was told we could not reserve one, and that we had to request one on board. I thought that was pretty crappy since my brother had stage IV cancer. Anyway, I had FTTF and went to guest services immediately upon boarding. They got me a medical cooler thing but it was really for insulin and not for his size medicine. He wound up having to check it in at the medical center and go there every time he needed it. I was a little nervous to turn over what essentially was keeping him alive but it turned out to be convenient to his cabin and the staff there were great. His medicine was kept at the proper temp and he had no problem whatsoever popping by for it at the prescribed times. He had a super wonderful cruise. I couldn't afford it but it is the best money I ever spent.

[marc3565]

My daughter chipped her tooth this weekend. I took her to the dentist who gave her an antibiotic that has to be refrigerated. What can I do while onboard? Do you think it would be ok to be kept in a cooler bag with ice? I don't think this is something that warrants a special needs request for a fridge.

 

Make sure the medicine can tolerate ice if you go that route. Some medicine like insulin cannot get frozen or they crystalize and become useless

[floenbier]

You can also store it at guest services

[Squidlips]

We bought an insulated bag which included a little ice brick from a chemist, specifically for medication, kept it in our Stateroom fridge.

[luckycruzer]

request......just make sure the stewards dont leave it unplugged when they vacuum.....Toms was lwft 2 days b4 we noticed..they paid without question.

[crooooze]

You can also store it at guest services, they have a proper fridge for medications not just a cooler that you find in the cabins.

 

 

 

If you store it with guest services, you better purchase FttF so that you don't have to stand in a long line for half hour everyday to take a dose :-)

[mommytotwins]

Thanks All!

 

We did purchase FTTF and my TA called and spoke to Carnival. They wouldn't allow her to reserve a fridge prior to boarding and like another posted, we would have to go directly to Guest Services to request one. I feel bad about using one since there is a limited number and there are others that obviously need their LIFE saving medication cold.

 

The dentist said it can be kept in ice so that is what we will do. If this does prove to be a problem I will just take it to the medical center or guest services.

 

thomarvin- Most antibiotics in that dosage are very large and I know there is no way she could swallow it.

[RuthlessBoss]

Thanks All!

 

We did purchase FTTF and my TA called and spoke to Carnival. They wouldn't allow her to reserve a fridge prior to boarding and like another posted, we would have to go directly to Guest Services to request one. I feel bad about using one since there is a limited number and there are others that obviously need their LIFE saving medication cold.

 

The dentist said it can be kept in ice so that is what we will do. If this does prove to be a problem I will just take it to the medical center or guest services.

 

thomarvin- Most antibiotics in that dosage are very large and I know there is no way she could swallow it.[/QUOTSE]

It should be no problem, keep a sticky note on your mirror to remind the steward or his helper about it. I'd also go to buffet area and get it myself rather than get upset waiting for the steward. I would not like the fridge using up my free electrical plug.

[RuthlessBoss]

Thanks All!

 

We did purchase FTTF and my TA called and spoke to Carnival. They wouldn't allow her to reserve a fridge prior to boarding and like another posted, we would have to go directly to Guest Services to request one. I feel bad about using one since there is a limited number and there are others that obviously need their LIFE saving medication cold.

 

The dentist said it can be kept in ice so that is what we will do. If this does prove to be a problem I will just take it to the medical center or guest services.

 

thomarvin- Most antibiotics in that dosage are very large and I know there is no way she could swallow it.

 

It should be no problem. Leave a sticky note on the mirror. I'd not like having my 1 plug tied up with the fridge. There is always ice at the juice area on lido if you choose to get some on your own while you are there.

[dctravel]

If we use the medical center to keep medication cold (since it sounds like the mini bar fridges might be up to the challenge), how long does the process of going to the medical center and getting the medication take?

 

My son takes a medicine once a day that needs to be refrigerated. I will confirm with the compounding pharmacy that it can be kept on ice, but I would love to minimize the hassle of going to the medical center and back, if possible. He is only 4! so if I need to make it a daily adventure, than so be it.

[dctravel]

After sailing on the Dream last week, I wanted to follow up my own inquiry with our experience. Our mini fridge in the cabin was not cold enough for the meds, so I went to guest services and they "rented" me a medical cooler that plugs in to keep the meds cool. When I signed for the cooler, they took a $70 deposit. This was refunded at the end of the cruise when I returned the cooler to guest services.

 

We found that the cooler kept the medicine plenty cold and allowed us to avoid going to guest services or the medical center to give my son his medicine.

 

Just as word of warning with these cooler. Since they plug in, you really need a plug extender if you want to plug anything else in. We had taken a Phillips model that had 2 USB ports and 2 plugs, which allowed us to keep the medical cooler plugged in AND have plenty of space to charge cameras, iPads, etc... Here is a link to the extender (it is surge protection free) that we used:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Ultra-Slim-Multiple-Outlet/dp/B00U9QSNOA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

I hope this helps others with similar questions.

 

dctravel