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Cruising with an old person--the deluxe edition.

Cruising with an old person--the deluxe edition.

Old Apr 29th, 2015, 12:41 PM
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Cruising with an old person--the deluxe edition.

Deluxe because we're taking Celebrity this time. We'll see.

The old person in question, my 86-year-old father, likes HAL, but their Bermuda run was out of Boston and $150 more a head. This time we are joined by my sister and her nine-year-old son, in two inside cabins. This will be interesting.

We are still about ten days out, and we're crossing our fingers that nothing will go wrong. Dad had a health scare in February, but the doctor cleared him to go, so we're going. Sister has thrown her back out, and has been informed by me that she is getting on that ship even if she spends the entire trip lying flat in the cabin. She agreed that if she's going to be miserable with a hurt back it might as well be on a cruise ship with masseuses and hot tubs, rather than in New Jersey. And we're assuming that they let my nephew on the ship, even though his passport expires in three months. Sister is bringing his birth certificate.

We have new beach towels, snorkels for sister and nephew, fancy new walker that converts into a wheelchair for Dad, new aluminum cane with butterflies on it for me (I have balance issues), swimsuits, cover-ups, and t-shirts with fish.

I am trying to persuade sister not to bring too much. She's a chronic overpacker, and every time we go anywhere, we're playing luggage Tetris in the back of her CRV. In response, she'll bring up every single instance of my having had to buy emergency underwear in the last twenty years.

We still need to buy sunscreen and bottles of wine for the cabin, and possibly something else. What I'm not sure, but Dad's suit and the gray evening dress that was my mother's and is a communal emergency back-up need to get cleaned.

I have also not decided if I'm bringing a computer or not. Over the last couple of years I have half-accidentally wound up with a secondary career as a writer of niche romances, and I might theoretically get some work done. I also have a book theoretically coming out in June and I haven't gotten the post-proofs back yet. Last cruise I had the edits for my second book due, but I was able to email them from Florida when we stopped in Port Canaveral. I hate dragging the computer around, and even though I do back up (e-mail to myself rather than Cloud storage), I'm terrified of losing or breaking it. I'm also not a fan of paying cruise ship prices to email my less-than-deathless prose. I will remind the publisher that I'm incommunicado, and hopefully they can live without contacting me that week.

More to come. I probably won't update from the actual ship, though, so it may be a couple of weeks.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 01:10 PM
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I just returned from a cruise with a 78-year old friend.

She came down with a cough about 5 days in. Three trips to the sick bay. Bring cough remedies. Robitussin DM and antihistamines. Cough drops. Inhalers. Immodium. Pedialyte. Ear plugs.The sick bay was doing a brisk business. Runs about $115 a visit. They can do flu tests, give drip infusions, and nebulizer treatments, dispense antibiotics.

The only thing that makes the news is Norovirus. I think our Norovirus rate was among the highest in recent history but I was actually more shocked at the number of people coughing all over the place.

Fortunately neither of us had Norovirus but I came down with a cold the day we got home.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 01:41 PM
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Some of that we don't normally take, but thanks for reminding me that we should make sure we have medications we might need (Dramamine, Tylenol, Band-aids, etc.).

I live in terror of Norovirus. Dad spent 24 hours quarantined last trip because he was unwell. It was probably too much shrimp, but they were taking no chances.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 01:58 PM
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Observe the waitstaff refilling water glasses in the dining room. Hands too close to the rim? We were at a table where 4 had recently been released from quarantine. In addition to no water refills, I tried not to use my hands at all when eating.

Use your knuckle instead of fingertip to touch buttons. Paper towel when opening restroom door after washing hands.

I'm sure a lot of the spread is within cabins, though. Five of the 6 friends we ate with the last several nights had been sick. Most were better within a day but one was still sick 3 days later.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 02:21 PM
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Bring a can of Lysol and spray everything in the cabin when you arrive. Then leave for lunch/explore the ship and let the Lysol dry. I sprayed all surfaces, remote control, door knobs, closet, bathroom fixtures & shower. Even the pillows on the bed.
Use the hand sanitizer everywhere on the ship and/or wash your hands with soap & water before & after meals.

No need for beach towels. They should be provided by the ship. (More room for souvenirs.) But bring your own hand sanitizer for shore excursions or put a small pack on dad's wheelchair for necessities to keep on hand.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 02:45 PM
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Persimmondeb, glad to see you and your dad are going on another cruise. You know I love your trip reports. I read them to my friends. Plus I remind my two daughters and four grandchildren I will be on cruises with them when I turn 85.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 04:00 PM
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No Lysol for us, since I can't stand the smell of it. Hand sanitizer is a good idea, and I suppose I could use that to wipe surfaces down with in a pinch. I usually just trust to the competence of housekeeping, but if there's an outbreak I might do that.

We prefer to bring our own beach towels, since they're larger than the ship's, easier to distinguish from other people's, and far less expensive if lost (which is a talent of ours).

Thanks, TCH912. I always tell my kid that I want him to treat me like this when I'm my dad's age!
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 11:36 PM
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Thanks for inviting us along on your cruise, persimmondeb . . . I look forward to the next installment! Di
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Old Apr 30th, 2015, 02:21 AM
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If you can't stand the smell of Lysol, just bring Lysol wipes which is what I do and don't forget to wipe the telephine in room.
look forward to your report
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Old May 1st, 2015, 04:50 PM
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Update--Sister has been to the chiropractor. She's not allowed to lift anything, but she feels much better.

Also, we got a phone call today from the very nice people at Celebrity offering us an upgrade. We were about to say "thanks, but no thanks" until we realized that the pleasant young lady was offering us Aqua class for $350 a stateroom. We took it. So now we really are the deluxe edition.

We'll see. I should mention that both nephew and I sleepwalk, which has always made us a little nervous about balconies. I'm thinking to bring twine to tie the door shut, unless anyone has a better tip.
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Old May 2nd, 2015, 07:42 PM
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persimmondeb, when your book comes out, please let us know. Would love to read it. Maybe signed copy for every one here! .

A tablet would be a good laptop alternative. Much lighter and easier to carry. If you are used to PCs, the new windows tablet is great. And if you use a Mac, an iPad would do. Most of the programs are in apps format so you are not missing any functionality.

GBelle, wipes are better alternatives. The most germs are usually on the remote control, telephone, light switches, hair dryer, door handles, water tabs, temperature controls etc.: the surfaces that got touched the most. A spray will not work too well on the electronic devices such as remote control and the hairdryer.

Just wash your hands often with soap will be the best way to avoid norovirus.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 03:41 AM
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And drying your hands thoroughly is the most important part of the washing process! Di
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 05:40 AM
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Thanks, Eschew, I have some out already, but they're mostly only availabe in e-format. The one I'm working on edits for currently is the sequel to this http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=DC_WCTBR

I've thought about a tablet, but I've never seen one I was really comfortable typing on. I'm really hoping that I'm done with the last set before we go.

I wash frequently, but I'm sometimes guilty of that "not thoroughly drying" thing. I'll keep it in mind!
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 06:07 AM
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I should probably add that while they're not THAT steamy, if you're uncomfortable with erotic content you might prefer not to click on the link. I'm proud of what I write, and I'm up front about it, but sometimes people are a little startled.
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 07:11 AM
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persimmondeb, the new windows tablets comes with a great keyboard. The challenge for me is the screen being too small. I bought a logitech "clam shell / keyboard" for my iPad and it works great and it is not even that expensive.

One more thing about hand washing: after washing your hand, do not turn off the water with your bare hand. Grab a paper towel to turn it off. Same with door handles when you exit the washroom, use the paper towel that you just dry your hands with. That's why the "properly designed" washroom has the basket by the door.

Think about it, people who did not wash their hand grab that same door handle after they do their business and contaminate the door handle with germs. Your freshly washed clean hands grab that dirty door handle. You got the idea.

and BTW, I definitely want to read your book now ...
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Old May 3rd, 2015, 12:29 PM
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Thanks, Eschew. I may need to look at tablet keyboards again. I find the lack of "springiness" is an issue, and it's rough on the pads of my fingers. I usually type at least a couple of thousand words a day.

And thanks! I do have a self-pubbed freebie on Amazon, too. http://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Gif...0684941&sr=1-3
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Old May 4th, 2015, 02:05 AM
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Some suggestions. Skip buying wine for the cabin - you will likely not be allowed to bring it aboard and they are really checking these days. Skip the twine as well - bring a small roll of duct tape. Much more versatile in fixing all sorts of things that break and you can use it on cabin door. Try to find some individually wrapped hand wipes and have everyone stash some in their pockets.

And while I know you travel and have been on other cruises - the best cruise advice I ever received came from this forum. That is, on first morning, leave a cash tip for the cabin steward. Thinking $10-20. A nice note. Any small request - like extra pillows. Does wonders to improve level of service for the rest of the cruise.

Have a good trip - awaiting report. I am considering taking my 86 year old mother on a cruise, but need to find one with reasonable single supplement since I can not share a cabin with her - her snoring is so oppressive.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 09:59 AM
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Check the cruise line policy before you decide on wine for the cabin. RCI allowed us two bottles per cabin and there was no corkage fee in the Main Dining Room.

Celebrity is the same company, isn't it?

We got automatically charged $24 per day per cabin in tips. They leave tip envelopes in the room for the end of cruise.

We only tipped extra for room service, a few bucks.

Our cabin attendant was excellent.
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Old May 4th, 2015, 03:25 PM
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We're permitted two bottles per cabin, so we're going to go ahead with the wine. I always check, because cruise company policies vary enormously.

At this point we wouldn't be really comfortable having dad in a room by himself, but I've seen low single supplements, particularly on cheap cruises.
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Old May 9th, 2015, 09:57 AM
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And we sail tomorrow. There's been a lot of laundry, I need to switch purses, and both my nephew and I are still in our pajamas. Also Celebrity sent us luggage tags, but they are for the OLD cabins.

We'll see.
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