www.incontinentsupport.org

I've cruised a few times. I don't recall if you need diapers 24/7 though, do you. Just estimating at 2-3 per day and one over night- for a whole week would require 28 diapers minimum. You will probably be drinking alcohol on the ship and loads of water off of it too, which will make you pee more than normal. With potential leaks, early changes, etc, I'd say you'd need closer to 35ish. Bringing two (plus) full bags of diapers sounds like a lot, but those cruise ship stores only carry depends (at best), and this is not something you want to run out of.

You have two options for disposal of diapers too. You can add a request to your cabin booking to have them provide a large trash bin (the bins and bags in a cabin can barely hold one rolled up diaper). Or you can bring your own small trash bags and set it next to the cabins bin (with a note it's trash or they might not collect it as I found out).

Your best bet is to ask for the larger bin, though they may require you to provide a valid reason why (which diapers are). I'd also recommend asking to include the room cleaning tips to be automatically added to your cabin bill. And I'd recommend you get at least one drink pass if you plan to drink any alcohol at all (seriously, like 3 drinks purchased on board equals the whole pass). Though as a tip you can keep an old cup, pour your partners drink into it, wait 5 minutes, and go get one for your self. The same thing for their soda pass too. Lastly, buy any excursion passes BEFORE you get on the ship. They are roughly a third or half the price before hand.

Happy sailing, and don't forget the sun block. Another tip, if you do get a burn look for some bannana boat tanning lotion. It actually cools better than the actual burn relief stuff, and believe it or not will actually turn a light burn into a tan after getting it.

kdlstar,

I really hope you enjoy your cruise.

I'll endorse what Brian has said and will note three more things. Don't forget the diapers you will wear during travel to and from the ship. Also, plan for not using all of your diapers to capacity. You probably will want to change into a fresh diaper before leaving the ship for tours or before dinner and the evening's activities. Also, take more trash bags than you think you will need. You may leave a trash bag in the bathroom with a single diaper, intending to add more later, only to return to your room and find that it already has been removed.

--John

I will have to look into getting drink passes. I will definitely be bringing like a case of drinks with me. And I guess I will need to bring more diapers too...
The laundry I am not quite sure how I am gonna handle though and not sute if I have luggage space for like 7 days of clothes. The on board full service laundry is super expensive with like $3 or $4 a shirt
I sure hope I don't have any leaks or it will be one Hecht of a mess to cleanup - yeah definitely bring some extra booster pads and plastic pants

Cruise ships all have a small laundromat you can use (usually at the lower back of the ship- just ask for directions). They are usually dollar operated, so make sure you have bills on hand as well as some powder detergent.

The royal carribean line don't offer self service laundry facilities
So I am going to have to do it onshore...

Oh wow! You're right. Carnival, Disney and Alaska lines all have them so I thought it was standard on any of the more modern ships. Sorry about that, not sure how you can handle that then.

Maybe wash just a few items in your cabin sink and let them drip dry in the shower, or skip washing all together and just air out what you can before rewearing it?

As one other option, look into getting a vacuum bag set you can use and take with you. Pack your clothes for each day in a separate bag so you can unseal and reseal a new bag each day. This will greatly cut down on space needed and should be enough for you to take a full week's worth of clothes (including a set of dress clothes for the banquet and photos). Be warned it will also increase the luggage weight too though, since you'll be taking more (including the vacuum sealer).

Took our third trip to Alaska this past July. It was a short 7 day cruise with a couple of road trip days on either side. In addition to my usual penchant for over planning I had to figure in my various supplies. By the way, during our last trip my large suitcase got trashed. This made me rethink getting a similar replacement and I settled on a duffel bag deal from Cabellas. This solved a bunch of problems and created others. Using the extra large one of the set for my clothes and the smallest for toiletries and such, the medium sized one would work for my ostomy and IC items. It held all my ostomy supplies for two weeks, 28 Tranquility premium day-times, assorted PUL pants, 20 or so pads, a new container of wipes, and bags. I also carry a back pack with, amongst other things, what I call my "72 hour" supplies. It goes everywhere I do. So with everything packed and luggage tags attached I had to figure how to haul this awkward stack of bags. Solution? Well I used a folding luggage hand cart and some bungee cords. It worked....okay
Here is my suggestion. Look for a sale on two large rolling duffels. One for clothes and one for supplies, toiletries and misc stuff. With a well stocked back pack for those waiting in line moments, cruising can be a very relaxing time.
By the way, I came back with about a quarter of the IC supplies. Maybe the sea air was good for me. LOL

Hi all,

Last week my wife and I returned home from another cruise. This time it was a Disney cruise in the Caribbean with our son, daughter-in-law, an d granddaughters who (of course) had a wonderful time.

I wanted to revive this old thread to remind everyone that, yes, you can be incontinent and still enjoy cruises. It just requires more planning and logistics (another suitcase full of diapers, etc.). Remember, adult diapers are not available aboard cruise ships so you must bring aboard everything you will need, including disposal bags. For disposal bags, don't use grocery store bags as that is unfair to the staff who have to clean the rooms. Bring small plastic trash bags with draw strings so that everything can be tied up airtight and cannot leak.

To support sagging diapers I used a combination of onesies and diaper suspenders (underwear suspenders) when wearing jeans or Dockers, and Under Armour sport compression pants when wearing shorts. No one at any time would have guessed that I wore diapers although I normally use either NorthShore Care Supreme or ConfiDry 24/7 diapers, with a booster pad.

As I am double incontinent and use daily enemas to control my fecal incontinence, I had an additional burden that most of you will not have to cope with while aboard. Self-administering old-fashioned red rubber bag soapsuds enemas in a cruise ship bathroom can be a challenge but is do-able.

At night I wore terrycloth pullups over superabsorbent premium disposable diapers with booster pads. I experienced no wet beds and no leaks onto clothing at any time during either the ground or cruise portion of the trip. The extra planing (and experimentation before the trip) paid off.

--John

Hey JD no double PUL pants this time?! Just kidding, I read one of your much earlier posts from another cruise you took and was impressed when you said you doubled up on the PUL pants at night. That said I have to admit that I did that once when I was staying at a good friends house and I did NOT want to wet the bed. I even added a mattress pad which I think you did too. Got to admit though I DID sleep like a baby!

Hi Padded, I definitely wore double PUL pants on top of everything else. That is the "belt and suspenders" approach, but they work. I will note that, after wearing bulky cloth diapers at night, the bulk of the combination of cloth pullups over the superabsorbent diaper with booster pads does not bother me.

As you have found out, it is worth it for the peace of mind and a good night's rest.

--John