Medical emergency on the Quest

IMHO, forget the medical waiver but rather make all passengers sign a form that states that they understand the itinerary is just a suggestion. Look at the scorecard for every Seabourn Antarctica cruise this season -- every cruise ended up with changes to the "suggested" itinerary. And BTW, this is not just Seabourn -- both sailbys and expedition ships all experienced changes to their itineraries this year (and most likely every year) for reasons varying from weather to mechanical to passenger health issues.

And I must say I was quite impressed with how after Antarctica was cut short due to the medical emergency on that cruise Seabourn went to great lengths to provide passengers with the special treat of the sailing around Cape Horn.

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Completely agree with you, Chairsin, which is why I asked if the complaining passengers had some serious complaints about the general running of the ship, like food, service etc.

Pretty well all reports on the SB antarctic cruises so far have been very positive, so it is rather sad if some people are just grumbling about the lack of landings, and possibly the medical emergencies, which must have been very hard to deal with.

I think you'll find that if you read the small print,every cruise is a magical mystery tour.

Round and round she goes,where she stops nobody knows.

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Yes, of course we all know this but many cruisers choose to ignore this. I only jokingly say it should be highlighted on Antarctica cruises because the incidence of missed "ports" is so high and worth calling attention to when people book so as to avoid later grousing. (I know, people will grouse no matter what!)

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My take from being on this Quest cruise when the announcement came over the PA was that of disappointment. However, when we looked at all the Antarctica cruises on all cruise lines, we knew it is a "crapshoot" on how much you will get to experience. Personally we felt fortunate to get what we got (excellent four days in Antarctica and the Falklands) and have moved on to booking our next cruise Kobe to Seattle in May. We find life too short to linger on what might have been.

Frankly, I'm surprised to hear there was a bunch of grumbling on that cruise. We were on that trip and it was one of the best we have ever had; in fact, I have no idea how we can ever top it. The medical emergency was what it was. Of all of the places in the world, Antarctica is one of the toughest to get rescued from. It's not like there is any country's coast guard nearby that can send in a helicopter to save the day. Most of the people we spoke with, while disappointed, would have appreciated the same if it were one of us. As it turns out, one of the expedition crew told us they average four landings on these trips because of weather, etc. As it turns out, we got to see Cape Horn and the remarkably memorable Lumiere Channel on a night so still and clear that it will always be an unexpected highlight of that trip or any trip. And Seabourn also offered a shipboard credit and a discount on a future cruise. What more can you ask? My wife, Mary, has a full review of the cruise in another thread. Needless to say, we loved the trip.

My take from being on this Quest cruise when the announcement came over the PA was that of disappointment. However, when we looked at all the Antarctica cruises on all cruise lines, we knew it is a "crapshoot" on how much you will get to experience. Personally we felt fortunate to get what we got (excellent four days in Antarctica and the Falklands) and have moved on to booking our next cruise Kobe to Seattle in May. We find life too short to linger on what might have been.

We will be on that cruise starting in Hong Kong. Eager to hear about your Antarctic trip. Heard our cruise was almost sold out (Hong Kong to Seattle)

I learned last night over dinner from somebody with a lot of stripes that shall go unnamed that the main frustration of the onboard team was/is that the passenger had a serious medical condition -that was not disclosed- when he boarded. In his words "This person should never have been allowed to travel". Perhaps Seabourn should indeed up its pre-embarkation checks and requirements for Antarctica sailings.

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Agree. Non-disclosure of serious medical problems is certainly a problem. We cruised the Baltic (Quest as it happens) with an elderly man who knew he was rapidly deteriorating with kidney failure but expected the ship's doc to keep him going until the end of the cruise so he could go to the ballet in St Petersburg. The doc wanted to disembark the passenger for urgent dialysis but the stubborn fool refused to budge. So what can you do?

He survived the cruise (just) and returned home where he died a few weeks later. Some would say he was happy to die on his own terms and that's true, but he caused a lot of trouble and extra work for the ship's medical and other staff who simply don't have the facilities to deal with serious conditions like this, hence the need for evacuation. He wasn't insured either.

I learned last night over dinner from somebody with a lot of stripes that shall go unnamed that the main frustration of the onboard team was/is that the passenger had a serious medical condition -that was not disclosed- when he boarded. In his words "This person should never have been allowed to travel". Perhaps Seabourn should indeed up its pre-embarkation checks and requirements for Antarctica sailings.

 

 

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+1. On my Seabourn Antarctica journey, we also had a medivac situation (and lost one landing day). As it turned out, the elderly and out-of-shape lady over-exerted herself walking and climbing a trail on ice/snow and as a result suffered a heart attack. We'd also see an elderly man who was visibly frail and had cuts and bruises all over his face and hands, because he'd insist on doing everything on landings and would fall and injure himself, repeatedly. Luckily he just had superficial injuries, but he kept going.

You Seabourn people (and that includes me) should check out the UK company Saga which has been doing cruises for years. They insure anyone, of any age as long as they are over 50. We took a Saga cruise once, from Southampton to Southampton and around the Caribbean loop, Canaries, Madeira, Azores etc. It was about 35 days. People on board had a variety of mobility issues and other obvious medical problems. There were scores of walking sticks, maybe a dozen zimmer frames and one man carried his own personal breathing apparatus.

When we docked at Antigua we were alongside one of those huge 3000-passenger things full of young people. An American guy, a Randy from Nebraska type of guy, had been watching some passengers go ashore. Seeing that my wife and I could walk unassisted, he came up to us and said, "Excuse me, what sort of ship is that?"

I said, "It's a cruise ship, like yours."

He said, "Oh, I thought it was a hospital ship."

We had one helicopter evacuation - the ship had a helipad. And a crew member told us that a world cruise on board bigger ships like Cunard they expect a dozen deaths and have a morgue. With butler service.

The Seabourn ships also have good fridges on Deck3.

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Let's see if I am getting this right.

A passenger on this cruise became so seriously ill that their future wellbeing, or life, was threatened? In order to save this passenger from dying the Captain had to make some difficult decisions which resulted in a few scheduled stops being cancelled.?

 

Some passengers are now planning to sue Seabourn because their vacation was spoilt?

I haven't seen it mentioned here, maybe I missed it, but there were two ill passengers on this cruise. One didn't survive.

. They insure anyone, of any age as long as they are over 50..

 

I have no idea about Saga cruises, but I beg to differ on the statement above!

My husband had a relatively minor procedure (angiogram) 7 years ago and when looking for insurance for an upcoming SB cruise, we contacted them. They refused to insure us! We went elsewhere! :)

Just to say Saga is very very British - at present two elderly ships, with 700 and 450 passengers. They are very suitable for older people, but nothing like Seabourn or other 'luxury' ships. We were one quite recently. We enjoyed the cruise, mostly, and the huge advantage for Brits is that they include a car and driver from your home and back, to Southampton or Dover, and medical insurance. But really do not compare with any of the luxury lines. One thing I really did like, on the Saga Pearl, was that the furnishings were simple and very attractive; cabins (very small) done in navy blue and oatmeal colours, with old sailing prints on the walls, and the public rooms were also furnished in appealing, quiet, colour schemes. Very different from the 'struck by lightning' carpets on Seabourn! I would be very surprised if their cruises would appeal to any other nationalities, however.

Off topic - just a quick fyi - the new CD on the Odyssey, Ross, came from Saga.

Is that the same Ross who was the assistant to Sophie last July on the Odyssey then took over when she left - loves the Spice girls??

This was the best cruise I have ever taken even though it was really disappointing that our time in Antarctica was cut short.

People felt nothing but compassion for the family of the lady who became acutely ill and did not make it to Ushuaia. However, many people were annoyed about the situation with passenger #2, the elderly lady who survived. Before the cruise, she told her children that she didn't think she should come because of her health. They strongly encouraged/put pressure on her to accompany them (this is not a rumor; the family told me this). This group did not understand why other passengers were resentful, rather than empathic about their mother's illness. As it turned out, passenger #2's illness did not in the end affect the landings, but it was inconsiderate, to say the least, to come on a trip to such a remote area when your medical condition is precarious.

This was the best cruise I have ever taken even though it was really disappointing that our time in Antarctica was cut short.

 

People felt nothing but compassion for the family of the lady who became acutely ill and did not make it to Ushuaia. However, many people were annoyed about the situation with passenger #2, the elderly lady who survived. Before the cruise, she told her children that she didn't think she should come because of her health. They strongly encouraged/put pressure on her to accompany them (this is not a rumor; the family told me this). This group did not understand why other passengers were resentful, rather than empathic about their mother's illness. As it turned out, passenger #2's illness did not in the end affect the landings, but it was inconsiderate, to say the least, to come on a trip to such a remote area when your medical condition is precarious.

The way I read this, passenger 1 passed away? And, if passenger 2 had also passed away, people would not have been annoyed?

Yes, I understand the frustration about someone doing such a trip when they have precarious medical condition.

This was the best cruise I have ever taken..."

Linda, Mary and I really enjoyed meeting you. Hope your camera was fixable! Moral of the story: Always travel with two!

Herb

Hi Gary

 

Have you been getting my travelogues? Phil didn't come this time. I'm traveling with his sister.

 

Linda

HI Linda,

Just back from a trip to SAN. No, I have not been getting your travelogues :(

Hope Phil is OK, and that your trip was a big net-positive!

We will be on that cruise starting in Hong Kong. Eager to hear about your Antarctic trip. Heard our cruise was almost sold out (Hong Kong to Seattle)

Just saw this. Yes looking forward to seeing Japan and Glacier Bay in the same voyage. Would love to tell you about "our trip of a lifetime" to Antarctica. Also would like to hear about the differences between Crystal and our new favorite cruise line Seaborn.

CruiseAficionado - You might be interested in the review I recently posted on the Crystal boards, comparing Seabourn and Crystal. The January Antarctica trip was our first on Seabourn after five Crystal cruises.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460092

Also here is the link to my review on the Seabourn boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460177

It truly was a "trip of a lifetime"...and we loved Seabourn as much as we've loved Crystal!

Mary

Travel Blog: http://www.themodernpostcard.com

CruiseAficionado - You might be interested in the review I recently posted on the Crystal boards, comparing Seabourn and Crystal. The January Antarctica trip was our first on Seabourn after five Crystal cruises.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460092

 

Also here is the link to my review on the Seabourn boards:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2460177

 

It truly was a "trip of a lifetime"...and we loved Seabourn as much as we've loved Crystal!

 

Mary

Travel Blog: www.themodernpostcard.com

Thanks, looking at Crystal cruises now. LOL