Refridgerator or Cooling Box?

[littlbugmom]

On the Disney website, our room is described as having a "refrigerator".

On the same website, the room comparison page lists the same room as having a "cooling box".

On the Guest Services medical form, it says "please do not use the cooler to store medications that have specific temp requirements. If you need to store medicines that require proper refrigeration, please visit Guest Services for 24-hour access to refrigeration".


Why the different lingo? Is it a fridge or a cooler?
My son is diabetic. His insulin needs to be in a fridge.

 

[mmouse37]

On the Disney website, our room is described as having a "refrigerator".

On the same website, the room comparison page lists the same room as having a "cooling box".

On the Guest Services medical form, it says "please do not use the cooler to store medications that have specific temp requirements. If you need to store medicines that require proper refrigeration, please visit Guest Services for 24-hour access to refrigeration".


Why the different lingo? Is it a fridge or a cooler?
My son is diabetic. His insulin needs to be in a fridge.

Depends on the ship.....on the Magic/Wonder the cooling boxes are refitted mini bars. They keep things cold but not as cold as a fridge. We put room temp bottles of wine and it was cold by the next day.

The Dream/Fantasy have real refrigerators in them (dorm size).

MJ

 

[reimero]

On the Magic and Wonder, it's more of a "cooling box." On the Fantasy and Dream, it's a fridge (or at least pretty darned close to a fridge.) That said, I would tend to go by what DCL says regarding proper refrigeration. The fridge in our Fantasy stateroom seemed to work fine, but I don't know that it actually got as cold as a regular fridge. It was great for chilling beverages, but I don't know that it actually got down to the 35-37F normal fridges are capable of.

 

[Kim&Chris]

We were on the 5/18 sailing of the Magic...and our room had a cooling box.

I was surpised at how cool/cold it kept our bottles of water (compared to our first sailing on the Magic, when we had to keep a bucket of ice inside the box, just to keep the drinks "sort of" cool). Not sure what they did to improve them, but these cooling boxes definitely kept beverages chilled!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

OP, I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time keeping unopened insulin at a steady refrigerated temperature while traveling. I use a FRIO pouch to keep our DD's insulin (Novolog) at a safe temperature while we travel. I also figure that any insulin we travel with will need to be used within 30 days. That being said, if you need a refrigerator for medical reasons, you need to fill out a medical needs form and a refrigerator will be provided on the Magic/Wonder for you.

 

[ldietiker]

I don't know if this helps, but when I was on the Dream last week, I placed some water in the fridge near the beginning. Later, after a day at Castaway Cay, I came back and opened the fridge and was shocked that the inside felt more like room temperature -- and was surprised that the water had remained cool, although it was by no means cold.

I interpreted this as an effect of turning off the power during the day -- as we left the stateroom, we took the key card out of the light switch. I think that by doing this, we cut the power to the fridge for sometimes 6 - 8 hours during the day. During our trip, we never tried leaving the electricity on, because we had no special need to have mediation refrigerated. However, I wanted to raise this issue because I had not thought about it before.

Anyone who relies on the fridge for medicine should ask about what happens if the keycard is removed. It is not enough to just leave it in place -- a stateroom attendant might remove it unknowingly.

If I'm right about the lack of power when people are out of the room -- is this one reason they might call it a cooler instead of a refrigerator?

 

[littlbugmom]

Idietiker----thank you for bringing that up. I will definitely ask about the power.

I'll call Disney and ask about the fridge. It seems strange that they would use 2 different words to describe the fridge/cooler. I don't like the idea of his meds being stored somewhere on the ship, either. 24hrs access or not.


disneyfaninaz-----We've gone on overnight trips here and there but this will be our first time vacationing, flying and cruising since my son was diagnosed. We'll be gone 2 weeks and I'm freaking a little about managing his diabetes and supplies while we're gone. Freaking just a little.

 

[kcashner]

Guests on the Magic and Wonder who have medical needs for a real refrigerator can have one placed in their room by completing the "special needs" form on the web site or phoning DCL (this used to be called the "medical form.") On all ships, completion of this form will result in a sharps box in your room.

Another hint--if you are unsure of the temp of the fridge, first ask your stateroom host to check the temperature setting. Then, if you place a glass of ice in either the refrigerator (Dream/Fantasy) or cooling box (Magic/Wonder), it will keep the inner temp much cooler without freezing anything.

 

[huffjoann]

on Dream it looks like a mini fridge however I don't think it cooled as well, we did however store DH insulin in there and it was ok
We kept some wine in there and a bottle of water but while they were cooler than room temp they weren't like taking out of my home fridge

If you do the med form too they will bring you a sharps box.

 

[mgmcpa]

I called Disney and asked about this for the Wonder. She called it a "cooling box" and said it's "just like a mini fridge you'd find in a hotel room" and that it is "designed to keep milk cold".

I tend to agree with the hyposis that the power going out in your room could result in it turning off. Has anyone tested this yet?

I will test it for sure on my cruise in late July ... DH has medicine to keep cold.

 

[kcashner]

Magic and Wonder--cooling box. THey will move in a real refrigerator if you complete the medical needs form. No problem with power going off

Dream and Fantasy--real refrigerator ? whether it has power when the lights are not on.

 

[E&EMom]

On the Magic last year we had the cooling box. However, we had requested a fridge through DCL for medical reasons to keep DD's medicine cold. When we got to the room, the cooling box resembles a fridge and I asked the stateroom hostess and she confirmed it was a fridge. It didn't get cold at all. It took them 36 hours of having maint. come up and look at it to realize she had never swapped out the cooling box with a fridge. Once that was taken care of, the medicine stayed cool. Be very diligent if you are on the older ship and having a fridge put in to replace the cooling box - sometimes looks can be deceiving and sometimes the stateroom host/hostesses can't tell a different either.

 

[Beth D]

We were on the Magic at the end of Feb. and my parents requested a fridge for their cabin for dad's insulin. We submitted the request through our TA, and also indicated it on the medical form. It was waiting in our cabin when we arrived and kept his insulin properly refrigerated throughout the 7 day cruise. They will also bring you a sharps disposable box too for the needles!