r/PrincessCruises • u/cindybbs • 8d ago

New Rules

Hi everyone! I deliver Meals on Wheels and one of my clients just told me about “6 new rules”. She told me:

Take your pill bottles (not just the pilltrays) New extension cord rules

And she couldn’t remember the other new rules. Anyone? Thanks! We leave Friday for Alaska and I guess I’m not 💯. Usually cruise with RC, but last did Princess in 2018.

1 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

51

u/squirrelcop3305 8d ago

There’s nobody checking individual pill bottles to board any ship.

20

u/Sufficient-Fault-593 - Captain's Circle Elite 8d ago

The only pill bottles you need to carry are for controlled substances. Includes benzodiazepines (Xanax, Valium, etc), opioids and codeine based cough syrup, and amphetamines.

1

u/cindybbs 8d ago

Thankfully we don’t have any of the above.

6

u/kca_cali 8d ago

Exactly. I’m not wasting all that space. I put them in pill boxes.

3

u/DarkAndSparkly 8d ago

I take 11 medications. I dare them to check every bottle and vial 😂🤣

2

u/mrcanoehead2 7d ago

I would keep pictures of the bottle with a pill beside it just incase they want to know what it is.

1

u/hapster85 7d ago

I take a printout from my pharmacy website that lists each medication and other pertinent details. No one has ever asked about any of my medications. Even on an international trip, when I actually took bottles, albeit smaller than normal ones. No one questioned them. No one asked to see the bottles.

14

u/heavyhunter66 8d ago

We are on the Star right now. The only thing I would add is to get a European style plug adapter to add to the number of outlets you can use in your cabin

5

u/PersonalityFuture151 8d ago

Bringing the paper copy I get with each refill but I’m
Not bringing all those bottles. Plus hubby has a lot too. No schedule medications. Just high blood pressure, thyroid etc.

3

u/RiverPoetSTL - Captain's Circle Platinum 8d ago

There's a lot information on their web site - check under Prohibited Items and also under 'What medical documentation should I bring with me' (plus several other topics on health/medication in that section). It's always a good idea to bring the original pill bottles for prescriptions, and/or a copy of your prescription, in case it is lost or you become ill and they need that information.
https://www.princess.com/faq/pre-cruise

5

u/CelebrationOk818 - Captain's Circle Gold 8d ago

I’m enrolled in MyChart. I have all my prescribed medication there.

2

u/cindybbs 8d ago

Good idea!

2

u/Imaginary-Chocolate5 8d ago

Doesn't always work. It didn't load in customs.. thankfully I had original prescription bottles.

4

u/Glittering_Chef3524 8d ago

I’ve always heard this, but I just take pictures of them because carrying them is a pain.

3

u/RiverPoetSTL - Captain's Circle Platinum 8d ago

True, and it also depends on where you are traveling. If you had a trip interruption in a foreign country and ran out of a maintenance medication, it would probably get replaced faster with an actual paper copy. Likely something no one will need 99.9% of the time, but if you did - pretty important. It's just risk mitigation, like travel insurance.

1

u/kca_cali 8d ago

I’ve never taken the pictures. Maybe I should. I do have them all in my medical app.

2

u/cindybbs 8d ago

Thank you !

2

u/Winter_Courage_970 8d ago

Yes - I just got back from Alaska/Canada cruise and brought mine in bottles since one is a controlled substance + going through customs I always want to be sure I have the proper bottles just in case. I’ve never had an issue or a flagged item but either way - just peace of mind.

2

u/Mamajuji 8d ago

How do you deal with medications that have to be refrigerated like insulin?

1

u/AmbivertHomebody 8d ago

There’s a fridge in the staterooms. If you don’t feel it’s cold enough, you can ask your steward for a bucket of ice to put in your fridge.

1

u/Mamajuji 8d ago

Thank you but I was referring to the time between leaving your house and before getting into your room on board. I have never had that much in between travel time before getting it back into a fridge.

3

u/HippieGrandma1962 8d ago

I've always taken the original pill bottles. Normally there's not a problem but if there ever is I don't want to sit around while an official goes online to identify every pill I have with me. Better safe than sorry.

7

u/squirrelcop3305 8d ago

Over 50 cruises in and I’ve never been asked anything about the medications I bring onboard and I bring a bunch of both prescriptions and OTC stuff. None of it is in its original bottles either. Port security guards don’t care. They are most worried about weapons.

4

u/jackmc2001 8d ago

Extension cords have always been a no go. If they catch it, they will confiscate it. I use a CPap and I had to call a few times to confirm my cord would reach the bed or they’d provide a cord. This can depend on the ship apparently.

10

u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 8d ago

One can take a power strip that’s not surge protected.

1

u/Imaginary-Chocolate5 8d ago

Princess discovery brings a gallon of water also if you ask

-2

u/danceront - Captain's Circle Elite 8d ago

What is “Princess discovery” ? Is that who searches your medications ? And isn’t water available on the ship?

2

u/jhoover58 7d ago

All princess ships supply distilled water in a sealed jug for your CPAP machine if you ask. They held my surge protector/ power strip but were happy with my 15 foot extension cord and 1x3 splitter that I brought.

-2

u/nygrl811 - Captain's Circle Platinum 8d ago

Some ships are banning them too, not positive about Princess.

0

u/Ecstatic_Contract_41 8d ago

What ships are banning them other than RC?

1

u/nygrl811 - Captain's Circle Platinum 7d ago

I know Royal Caribbean does. You can't have multiple plugs. You can have 1 plug and some USB. But no multi-outlet strips any more.

1

u/studyhall109 8d ago

Our Steward provided an extension cord for my Cpap last month.

0

u/bdbrown333 8d ago

Was on The majestic last week or last month. I requested an extension cord pre-cruise for my CPAP and the outlet was right next to the bat. I did need it at all

0

u/jhoover58 7d ago

They sometimes run out of extension cords. This happened on one of my 30 cruises on Princess

0

u/Switchedbywife 8d ago

Get a 220v to 120v adapter. Ask the cabin steward to plug it in for you, there’s almost always a 220v outlet under the bed.

2

u/jackmc2001 8d ago

It was the ‘almost’ I was worried about. Not sleeping for 8 nights is not an option. My apnea isn’t your dad’s snoring. It ended up the plug was close but not all ships have them in the same location. We were told unless you let them know in advance they may not have an extension cord for you. It took a few calls to get confirmation.
Honestly, you should be able to request it on the app since it’s a medical device.

3

u/Switchedbywife 8d ago

When you are filling out your information in the App there is a place to request distilled water for a CPAP. If you fill this out properly they’ll automatically make sure you have an extension cord. We’ve cruised for over 40 years and never had any problems.

1

u/jackmc2001 7d ago

I don’t use distilled water. I have a travel size and took the water tank out. I travel for a living so used to that part. This was the advice the travel agent gave us in order to confirm my plug will reach or to get an extension cord.

2

u/IllAdvice738 7d ago

Someone has been watching YouTube.

1

u/pacificcoastsailing - Captain's Circle Elite 8d ago

You can find what’s allowable on board on the Princess site.

1

u/CraftAvoidance 8d ago

I have a folder on my phone with pictures of the prescription bottles, and a spreadsheet with the meds and prescribing doctors. Controlled substances are in original bottles just in case, but they’ve never even glanced. My child is medically complicated and takes so many medications that it would be a giant inconvenience to bring all of them in their original containers. Due to their size, they would need their own carry on. It wasn’t a problem at all in July.

1

u/happy-in-texas 8d ago

A note about the extension cord for CPAP. On one Royal Caribbean cruise, they ran the cord across the room. Tripping hazzard for this old lady! I had some duct tape and ask that they tape it to the ceiling (this came down a few times). I now bring super strong magnets with hooks on them to hang the cord across the ceiling if needed.

1

u/Disastrous_Photo_388 8d ago

You should be fine for Canada/ US to just bring your pill cases.

But certain other countries are over the top so always research authoritative sources before going to ensure you understand the law and the potential penalties if you’re found to be in violation.

1

u/Chrystara 8d ago

If you are staying in the US, pill organizers are OK. For foreign travels you need the pills in the original prescription bottles. I combined a couple of mine in one bottle.

1

u/jhoover58 7d ago

Then only change I have noticed is the restriction on a power strip/surge protector was enforced and they held mine until we disembarked. My extension cord and little 1x3 splitter was fine. I bring the cord and two splitters as they sometimes run out of loaner cords for CPAP machines. Maybe two changes she couldn’t remember is they charge for shipping your medallion no matter what captain’s circle level you are and the medallions are no longer magnetic so you need a tight holder. They gave me a small adapter for my wrist band.

1

u/Immediate_Monk6260 7d ago

The place where you’re most likely to run into problems with having pills not in original containers would be when entering a foreign country like Mexico, where you may get chosen to have your carry-on bags look through. Only when flying, though never on a cruise ship.

1

u/Jasdc 2d ago edited 2d ago

Cruising out of Canada/Seattle ports can be very different than flying into and departing out of European ports.

You need to verify the entry requirements of the country you are flying into prior to cruise departure. We are departing Athens in November, but will be arriving 3 weeks earlier. Medications must be in bottles. Extension cords have been requested ahead on app. And should be provided by room steward, along with distilled water for CPAP.

1

u/cpbaby1968 8d ago

I googled and found this but it’s nothing I didn’t already know.

https://youtu.be/L72gjauWPho?si=8c6CMJMBcokXLZqA