We are doing a family reunion 2016. Looks like the vote is to do an Alaska cruise. Any feedback is appreciated!
Never been on a cruise (to Alaska or elsewhere) myself, but my beloved stepmother and late father went on several during the years before his untimely death and they always had what they described as a truly awesome time. As far as how to deal with your daughters' T1D while on the cruise, even if I had experience cruising to Alaska with T1D on board, I would likely have nothing more to add that you don't already know and/or hasn't already been said in response to prior inquiries on this Forum. Have a fantastic time, and let us know how it went!
T1 is least of my worries! Being stuck in the middle of the ocean with my entire family is more of a problem
I think the nice thing about a cruise to Alaska is that you don't have a lot of sea days so you are pretty busy. I survived a cruise (my first cruise ever) with my boyfriend's family this past summer in the Mediterranean that included stops in Italy, Spain, France, and Monaco. While we met up for meals we all did our own thing in the ports which I think was a very good idea so we didn't get sick of each other. The biggest issue at least for me was we were on a cruise line (seadream) which was very clearly oriented for middle aged adults. My boyfriend and I and his siblings were the only ones under 40 on the boat! Diabetes wise, I was paranoid about norovirus and brought tons of hand santizer and zofran but we were all completely fine. Also I brought 4 glucagon kits so I could give mini glucagon doses if needed but again I was fine. I would guess the biggest issue you will have will be the time difference and adjusting basal rates. I'm not sure if you have dealt with that before. I usually do OK if it is just a few hours but anything over 6-7 hours and I am fiddling with basal rates for days. Enjoy!
The max we have done so far is 3 hours, so it will be interesting. And, we only experienced a time change with DC1 (diabetes child 1) and she went low for the first few days, then higher the next. Oh well, it's a dance! Should be interesting. Good hint about glucagon, will definitely do that.
It's been awhile, but I really enjoyed our cruise to Alaska. Save up for and go on excursions - they really make the trip. The "experience" excursions aren't cheap (helicopter ride to a glacier, whale watching, etc), but they are so worth it! Remember it will be light forever in the summer, so even if you have late dining, try to get a table by a window - you'll pass down very narrow passages and you'll see beautiful scenery during dinner including waterfalls.
