Kidney Dialysis in Port

[MaryLS]

Has anyone ever scheduled in-center kidney dialysis in the ports? Specifically, Port Canaveral, Nassau and Norfolk. How did it work for you?

[DwayneG]

I don't know much about dialysis, but if it's something you need at a scheduled time please remember that there's never a guarantee you'll get to any specific port (or any port at all) at a specific time.  For this reason we always take an extra week of our regular meds with us.  It might be really stressful for you if a storm or engine breakdown happens.

[jlseymour3]

8 hours ago, MaryLS said:

Has anyone ever scheduled in-center kidney dialysis in the ports? Specifically, Port Canaveral, Nassau and Norfolk. How did it work for you?

Hi Mary, even if you are looking at a Norwegian Cruise, this question isn't unique to Norwegian and you may have better luck asking in one of the more generic message boards, such as https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/ or https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/69-ask-a-cruise-question/

 

I would also suggest you discuss the issue with the cruise line you are considering.  It wouldn't be reasonable to drop a health crisis on them without warning.

 

Which I guess leads to the question, what happens if you skip dialysis, and how long can you go without it before you need medical care that wouldn't be available on a cruise ship?  As Dwayne noted, things can happen at sea and you could miss ports or have delays in your return.

 

Good luck.

[Babr]

Since cruising started, guests requiring oxygen therapy or dialysis have not been allowed to sail. Have you checked with NCL to see if that restriction has been lifted?

[JT1962]

This may be a better option than a standard cruise since they have dialysis and medical professionals onboard specific cruises: 

 

https://www.dialysisatsea.com/cruises.cfm?destination=0&duration=0&execute=Search&port=0&dept=0&ship=0

 

[CruiseNYC]

On 1/19/2022 at 7:41 AM, Babr said:

Since cruising started, guests requiring oxygen therapy or dialysis have not been allowed to sail. Have you checked with NCL to see if that restriction has been lifted?

Currently, only Carnival, Princess and Holland America won’t allow guests requiring dialysis. We sailed with Celebrity last month and it was lovely. However, my DH is on peritoneal dialysis so he does the exchanges on his own.  
For hemodialysis, Dialysis at Sea is an excellent option.