Cruises are supposed to be the most relaxing type of vacation possible. You essentially check into a hotel that already includes all your drinks and food. The hotel then travels from destination to destination, allowing you to travel without having to worry about making arrangements. Any excursions you take can be arranged and handled through the cruise ship, so they are stress-free. Your biggest decision is whether you want to see a comedian or stage show.
But when things go wrong on a cruise ship, they can go very wrong. And because of the confined nature of the ship, once things start going wrong, they can spiral out of control. That’s what happened recently for cruise passengers on the Carnival Dream, when a freak chain of events led to a passenger’s CPAP machine catching on fire when displaced passengers were bunking down together on the floor of the spa.
From Dangerous Floods to Fires
Ironically, the story of the fire begins with the fire suppression system. The system experienced a problem, causing it to leak profusely. The water poured down, accumulating ankle-deep in several cabins and corridors. Footage of the event has since been suppressed, so it’s hard for you to get a sense of it unless you had already seen it, but some likened it to a scene from Titanic.
Carnival spokespeople said that the “crew and guests were amazing during this voyage,” as the crew cleaned up the water, tore out and replaced carpet, and dried out the rest of the affected carpet. In all 50 staterooms were affected. Carnival says that the restoration of these staterooms took up to six hours, so some passengers opted to sleep in the spa rather than return to their staterooms.
Among these guests was a man who relied on a CPAP machine to sleep properly. When he turned it on to try to sleep, the machine “caught fire,” according to another guest. CPAP fires are very rare (but not unheard of). The suspected cause is water that got in the machine, which they say was at least partly submerged in the incident. No one was hurt, and we don’t know the extent of the fire, but it certainly seems an indignity heaped on people who had already suffered.
CPAP Machines Are One More Nuisance When You Travel
If you love to travel, you try to balance the comforts from home with the experience of the destination. You don’t want to transport anything that’s more of a nuisance than it’s worth.
Unfortunately, a CPAP machine might just be that. Although you’re rarely going to be in a flooding situation like this, there are many potential conditions where a CPAP machine is going to cause trouble. There are many travel situations where the machine would be exposed to the dampness. They can be hard to carry, hard to clean, and you may have difficulty with power.
That’s why you should consider an oral appliance for travel, even if you like your CPAP at home. An oral appliance is easy to transport, easy to clean, doesn’t need power, and will never start a fire.
If you are looking for a sleep apnea treatment that is convenient at home and when you travel, please call (402) 493-4175 today for an appointment with an Omaha sleep dentist at the Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center.
