I have 6 top health tips for cruisers when planning for seniors and mobility-impaired passengers
Here are 6 top health tips for cruisers. Cruising can be a great way for seniors to travel. It eliminates the need for flights or trains between cities and the need to unpack and repack multiple times as you move from destination to destination.
You always have a good place to sleep and eat and there’s free entertainment, plus lots of shore excursion possibilities to enjoy at or near ports. For older travelers it’s just an easier, more convenient way to get around and still have a vacation adventure.
For some seniors, you have to be sure you don’t make mistakes that younger passengers don’t generally have to worry about. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have a fabulous cruise. It means you need to plan ahead and make sound decisions.
Here are my six top health cruise tips, especially for seniors who want to cruise.
Before booking, seniors, especially 70+ seniors, should discuss potential cruises with their physician to be sure they’ll be okay on the cruise.
Get your cruise health certified by your physician:
Before booking a cruise, seniors should check with their physician to be sure that they’re fit for cruising. Discuss the specific cruises you’re considering with your doctor. Senior friends of mine checked with their physician. He told them they could handle most cruises well, like most seniors, but also said to skip the two mid-summer Mediterranean cruises they were considering due to the sweltering heat they might encounter.
During the COVID pandemic, seniors who were 70+ and/or had severe chronic health conditions were required to have a “fit for travel” letter to be allowed to cruise. Today, most cruise lines aren’t requiring that, but they have health questionnaires that need filling out shortly before the cruise sails. Don’t skip them or you might not be allowed to board.
If you have a serious, chronic health condition and/or you’re a 70+ senior, before booking I recommend checking directly with the cruise line about needing a physician’s letter certifying that you’re fit to take your cruise. Ask the cruise line to send you a confirmation of their rule. If required, make sure that your doctor will give you the signed letter before you book. Moreover, I recommend that even if not absolutely required, get the letter when you’re close to departure. It could save your cruise, especially if the cruise line changes its rules without your knowledge.
Choose the right cruise itinerary:
Seniors, particularly ones with mobility challenges, need to seriously look at the itinerary of any cruise they’re considering. As we get older, all of us don’t have the stamina we once had. Therefore, cruises with mostly challenging shore excursions aren’t generally good choices for 70+ seniors. Ports that require a tender to get passengers ashore can be a problem for mobility impaired passengers of any age. Check with the cruise line about tendering before you book.
Don’t forget to consider weather related problems, especially heat, as it’s a problem for many seniors. Before choosing a cruise, seniors should honestly measure the itinerary against their capabilities.
Cruise lines have absolute scooter size limits due to cabin door sizes. You must be sure your scooter is acceptable long before you sail as you might have to rent one for the cruise.
Mobility scooter size rules:
Seniors, or anyone who uses mobility scooters, need to understand that the cruise lines have scooter size limits. Unfortunately, many home scooters are often too wide to fit through cabin doors on cruise ships. On many, if not most cruise ships, the cabin door width is about 22″ (55.9cm). Many scooters are more than 21″ (53.34cm) wide, the cruise lines’ maximum allowable width. To be safe, ask your cruise line what their scooter size limits are and make sure yours is okay.
Carnival Cruise Line states,
“Scooters that do not fit in the stateroom will not be allowed on board. Should a guest be unable to make alternate arrangements to rent a smaller scooter or travel without it, they will be denied boarding, and no compensation will be provided.”
Carnival isn’t the only one with that severe restriction. At embarkation, if the passenger’s scooter is too wide and they can’t rent an appropriate replacement and won’t sail without a scooter, the cruise line won’t allow them to board and won’t refund any of their fare. It’s also likely that travel insurance won’t pay a claim for the missed cruise. Travel insurance will pay for unforeseen issues, but not for pre-existing device limitations that a passengers should have known in advance.
Choose the right cabin:
For seniors or any passengers with mobility issues, choosing the right cabin is a key for a great cruise. Mobility challenged passengers should choose a cabin that’s easy to access. If necessary, cruise lines have a limited number of fully accessible cabins. Some ships have ambulatory access cabins too, good for passengers who use assistive devices like canes or walkers, but don’t need fully accessible cabins. To cut down on walking, 70+ seniors and impaired travelers might want to be near an elevator or public areas they will use often, such as dining rooms or pools. Fully accessible, not ambulatory access cabins have wider doors to allow wheel chairs and wider scooters through, but you still should be certain that your scooter will be permitted for your cabin.
Generally, 70+ seniors and definitely mobility impaired passengers shouldn’t book “guarantee cabins.” They are a discounted cabin choice where you book a specific cabin category, but not the exact cabin. You want to be sure your cabin meets your specific needs.
Medicare and many supplemental health insurance policies for seniors don’t cover Americans traveling internationally. Seniors must purchase travel health insurance for cruises that include medical evacuation and pre-existing coverage.
Purchase travel insurance that includes health insurance:
For seniors, while most major cruise lines don’t currently require travel health insurance, I highly recommend it and always purchase it myself for every cruise. Medicare and many supplemental senior health insurance policies don’t cover Americans traveling internationally. If a senior has a serious medical emergency on a cruise, it could easily cost $100,000 or more if you have to be medically evacuated home. Few of us can afford that expense.
Not only should you purchase travel health insurance, you need to purchase early enough to have it cover pre-existing conditions to be sure it will properly pay your medical bills. The insurance should also cover medical evacuation. I recommend a full trip insurance package that includes travel health coverage.
You can’t count on being able to purchase either prescription or over-the-counter medications while traveling.
Bring your pharmacy on your cruise:
Getting the specific medication you need during your cruise is your responsibility. Purchasing the exact prescription and non-prescription medication you need from your ship or at a port may be impossible. I recommend bringing all medications you may need for the entire trip, plus at least 5 extra days in case of delays. Make sure they’re all in their original bottle. Prescription medication should have the prescription label on the container. If you’re bringing a restricted medication, make sure it’s permitted at your destinations before you book your cruise and bring a letter from your physician explaining your need for it. In New Zealand last year, if I didn’t have that letter, I wouldn’t have been permitted to enter the country.
While there are other issues that seniors should consider when planning and booking a cruise, I believe that these six are the most important for seniors to understand and take into account.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
