cruise/vacation

Cruise!
Hi Nancy, I have not had the opportunity to take a cruise and don't have any advice, but am so happy for you that you can go. Will your kids stay or go too? I know you will be able to let go of your fears, and have a great time!

I had a doctor say this to me the other day, and it may apply to you to. "The very thing that has kept you going and alive until now, is the same thing that may prevent you from enjoying the life you have now!!!" I guess our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses.

Hugs,
Kathleen:)

Hissy_Fitz said:

Nancy, I hope you have a
Nancy, I hope you have a great time! I am looking for a cruise to Hawaii, departing from a stateside port, such as LA. My husband and I love cruises and have been on several. He actually got sick on one and paid a visit to the doctor on-board. They stock common pharmaceuticals right on the ship and should something really urgent come up, like a bowel obstruction (God forbid), they will put into the nearest port and you can go to a hospital or even fly home.

I would take stool softeners and laxatives with me, if I were you. Also your prescription anti-nausea meds. Ask your doctor if you need to have blood work done just prior to leaving. They told me no flying if my hemoglobin was too low.

It wasn't a vacation, but I traveled from TX to West Virginia and back for my mother-in-law's funeral just 2 months after I was diagnosed, and the same month I started chemo. I also took my daughter to Mexico over spring break.

Where is your cruise taking you?

Carlene

Cruising
I have taken two cruises since I had my diagnosis. I had to cancel one to Mexico, but I've gone to the Caribbean and Bermuda, and I'm leaving for Alaska the first week in August. I'm still on chemo for three weeks and off one week through September. My oncologist was very happy I'm taking these vacations, so I hope you decide to go. She was the one who told me not to go to Mexico, but the other places she was fine with.

Are you still on Doxil? It wasn't working for me, so now I'm back on Taxol and Avastin. It seems to be working, although my counts went up again last time.

Mawty

nancy591 said:

thanks
Cruising to Bermuda out of Bayonne, NJ. I've been on this cruise ship before about 8 yrs ago. The kids will be going with me...I'm never without my kids!! My parents are coming too. Make me feel better knowing there will be other adults around if I get 'sick'. I am a worrier!! I spoke with my surgeon today. She is ok with it. I have chemo on the 14th and the 21st. I hope I will feel better by the time the ship leaves. I had my last chemo 8 days ago and my stomach/bowels are still feeling the effects. Yes, bowel obstruction is my fear. I did my the trip insurance although they do not cover preexisiting conditions. Was anyone afraid to travel? Afraid of becoming ill? I did go to Orlando and Myrtle Beach but since this is out in the ocean and out of the USA I feel a bit worried.

I just got back Sunday from a 9-day Caribbean Cruise!!
GO!!! I also departed from Bayonne, NJ, so that I could DRIVE instead of FLY, since I was more concerned about my lymphodema flaring up from flying. We were on Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, and just got back on Saturday. They have a 3-bed hospital on board with an emergency room and complete triage unit. (I think they justify their large medical staff by having a SPA on 1 deck, since you can get botox and acupuncture and all sorts of medical-beauty treatments on board!) One of the women that we met on board got a 24-hour stomach bug and was quaranteened in their on-board hospital for one day and said you'd never know you weren't at a regular hospital. You can safely drink the water on board, but may want to eat in the dining room instead of grazing at all of the buffets (although they always looked super-clean and were monitored by staff constantly). Cruise ships are held to a VERY high hygiene standard; there are hand-sanitizers everywhere.

I took a trip to Greece, Turkey, & Italy during my first remission and came back with a colitis-like bowel problem that took me a couple of months to clear up. But that vacation I also ate at Souvlacki stands and sampled all the local food I could find, stopping spontaneously at small places with a lot of locals. I was more careful this time and did my eating in the ship's dining room and stuck to bottled water in ports of call (Bermuda, St. Thomas. St Maarten and San Juan).

I had a FABULOUS time and it was soooooo good to NOT think about cancer and to see my husband so light-hearted and happy. GO!! Life is too short to let fear keep you from living large!

Hissy_Fitz said:

Bermuda rocks! There is,
Bermuda rocks! There is, however, no source of fresh water on Bermuda, so you will see all these brilliantly white roofs. People keep their roofs spotlessly clean because they collect rain water in cisterns to drink. I would be very careful about drinking anything but bottled water, if I were you.

We took a walking tour of St George. It was very interesting. Also toured a little museum and St Peter's - an Anglican church built in the 1700's and still used today.

Buy the transportation pass. It entitles you to unlimited rides on the ferry and/or buses. There is no car rental in Bermuda. The roads are very narrow and only one car per family is allowed, so everyone rides scooters - grandma, business men, etc.

I loved St. George the best. Hamilton is much more modern, but not nearly as picturesque.

Carlene

about cruise beverage packages
About the cruise beverage package: there was a package where you could have a case of bottled water in your state room when you got on board, but I didn't buy any beverage packages. The water they served on board was very safe, and there were 3 liter-size bottles of water in the room that were $3.75@ that they replaced any time you used one. The beverage packages were so much that I think we made out better paying as we went. We budgeted $100/day for drinks and incidentals and that was about right even having wine with dinner and cocktails when we were watching the shows. I had 28 rounds of pelvic radiation, so always have some bowel issues, but I can see no difference since we got back from this cruise. There were all kinds of healthy food choices at all meals and I had granola and yogurt and fruit for breakfast each morning and ate a lot of veggies with my meals. I did drink cocktails and eat desserts that I might not have indulged in at home, but that is all a part of the fun.

There is a wonderful cave in Bermuda: "Crystal Cave' that is a great shore excursion to take with the kids: huge 'National Geographic' like stalagtytes and stalagmytes (sp?). From the Bermuda Dockyards you can walk to see a glass blower and a pottery, and the beach there at the dockyards has big wicker couches you can sit in and have a snack. It's a gorgeous place. I recommend the cave tour if that is offered by your cruse line. We did a submarine tour in St. Thomas but I think that was also offered in Bermuda at Coral Land and the kids would love that too.