Disappointing Experience

My husband and I boarded the Summit on July 30th ready for a nice relaxing cruise to one of our very favorite islands. He had been working very hard and was a bit tired and run down, so this seemed a perfect way for him to get reinvigorated. So, Sunday after the muster drill he decided to take a quick nap, but unfortunately slept for so long we just ran up to the buffet for dinner. I'll just say it was uninspired and did not compare well to most other cruise buffets we have experienced.

He headed right back to the room after dinner, and I visited the casino briefly. He was sleeping when I got in. The next morning I woke up to a phone call from the medical staff to inform me that he was there. When I arrived he was getting his second IV as he was dehydrated and in pain. The doctor (who we quite liked) told him he most likely had a kidney stone. Because he also has a heart condition, I was really worried when I saw how weak and frail the big old guy seemed.

He was released and we went back to the room, where his condition actually deteriorated. When we went back to medical the next morning to have his IV port removed, the doctor wasn't there. I will simply say that the rest of the staff was not on a par with the doctor. My husband nearly passed out and they had him walk to a room to lie down, and I had difficulty holding him up. This was a turning point for me. When they wanted to release him, I guess I demanded a wheelchair which they eventually complied with. I got him settled back in our room, and ran up to the buffet to find something he could eat.

After he had some soup and crackers he went back to sleep, thanks to the pain meds he was given. I signed up for internet and booked us a flight home from Bermuda. I then went down to Guest Services to advise them that we would be disembarking when we arrived in Bermuda. The rep was very matter of fact, and advised me of a few things I needed to do.

This is the point where I expected some sort of assistance or support from the staff on the Summit. The only correspondence I got was a letter telling me to return to Guest Services to fill out some additional paperwork and give them flight details. The gentleman I dealt with this time was very nice and friendly, and gave me all the information I needed. We eventually got one more letter telling us where and when to compete the immigration process.

I am extremely disappointed that I never received a single call asking how my husband was, or if there was anything they could do for us. To me, that is common courtesy and the right way to handle the situation. I spent much of my time running back and forth to the buffet trying to find something he would eat. With the exception of ordering once from room service and getting an incorrect order, every single meal we ate was from the buffet. If it wasn't for the panini station, I am not sure what I would have done. It just seems that an offer to bring us a meal from the MDR or a phone call to simply ask how my husband was would have got a long way.

By contrast, several years ago on another cruise line I took a fall and got banged up pretty good. I got calls from several folks, including the hotel director who had meals sent to our room from both the MDR and a specialty restaurant even though we protested that it really wasn't necessary. They could not have done any more for us, and I will always be grateful for the care and concern they showed.

To have the complete opposite experience on the Summit was disheartening. It was a scary time for us, and I felt completely alone. Maybe a kidney stone doesn't see like a big deal to many of you, but with his other issues, it was pretty damn scary.

I am happy it is over and more happy to say that my husband is back to normal. I was even able to leave him so I could fly down to Newark and pick up our car and drive back. Life goes on :)

From your post, it sounds that the decision to leave and not a medical decision by the medical staff. A voluntary departure is pretty much on the guest. An ordered medical departure tends to get a fair amount of support by the staff (a friend of mine had to leave in the middle of an Alaska cruise. The ship pretty much organized everything).

I'm glad to hear your husband is doing better. No matter what had happened on celebrity's end it sounds like a pretty horrible trip [emoji33].

I do believe you can order from the MDR menu through room service; not sure how they would have 'sent you' a meal without knowing what you wanted. While the things you mentioned happening several years ago certainly equate to excellent customer service - I'm not sure that lacking them equates to bad customer service. And based on reports from other people it seems to be the new norm so take that for what it is.

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I understand your disappointment. I would have felt the same way. A little help and compassion would have gone a long way during a difficult time. I am glad to hear your dh is doing well.

Did your husband pass the kidney stone in Bermuda?

What was the ship doctor's recommendation for treatment? Did he/she recommend you leave the ship? Just curious. Sounds like your husband was "under the weather" upon boarding already exhibiting symptoms of "something".

Yes, it would have been wonderful had the medical staff and guest services helped you more. Dissappointing. Hope you followed up with a brief letter to X.

Glad your husband is back to normal.

I'm sure if the medical staff woud have recommended that you depart the ship, Celebrity would have bent over backwards for you as they have for others, but since it was your decision, they probably felt you were able to take care of yourself.

Did your husband pass the kidney stone in Bermuda?

What was the ship doctor's recommendation for treatment? Did he/she recommend you leave the ship? Just curious. Sounds like your husband was "under the weather" upon boarding already exhibiting symptoms of "something".

 

Yes, it would have been wonderful had the medical staff and guest services helped you more. Dissappointing. Hope you followed up with a brief letter to X.

I guess I would say my husband had symptoms of being old, tired and overworked and much in need of vacation when we boarded, as is fairly typical for him. I expected that R&R was all he needed. He had no pain until the middle of the first night at sea, so no clue that anything was actually wrong.

He passed the stone (since named Rocky) on Sunday, the day we would have been disembarking. The doctor did recommend going to the hospital in Bermuda for a CT scan. Because of my other concerns, and the proximity of Bermuda to Boston & the best hospitals in the world, I felt that getting back on the mainland was in his best interest.

I plan to write Celebrity a letter and let them know how I feel. I guess I started my process by writing here :)

I'm glad to hear your husband is doing better. No matter what had happened on celebrity's end it sounds like a pretty horrible trip [emoji33].

 

I do believe you can order from the MDR menu through room service; not sure how they would have 'sent you' a meal without knowing what you wanted. While the things you mentioned happening several years ago certainly equate to excellent customer service - I'm not sure that lacking them equates to bad customer service. And based on reports from other people it seems to be the new norm so take that for what it is.

 

 

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Yeah, it pretty much sucked but he is fine now. It is amazing how quick he recovered after passing the stone, although he still has to follow up with the heart doctor and the urologist.

Let's just say that I would expect Celebrity to have better customer service than they did. It really isn't difficult to pick up a phone and check on someone when you know there is an issue. I just wanted to share my experience, as something like this could happen to anyone at any time.

Glad your husband is back to normal.

 

I'm sure if the medical staff woud have recommended that you depart the ship, Celebrity would have bent over backwards for you as they have for others, but since it was your decision, they probably felt you were able to take care of yourself.

Luckily I am pretty independent and was able to handle things on my own. Had we stayed on the ship for a week with no support, it would have been much, much worse. I was never so glad to get home.

Good move going home, esp for the passed stone. Surprised X or even the port agent did not assist more...but glad it worked out.

Did you have ins for the onboard treatment? The older we get, the more ins we buy for our trips...

Glad to learn that you DH returned to good health. You made all the right choices in the matter.

Celebrity has a special team on every ship that handles medical emergencies On the Silhouette TA the ship made an unscheduled stop in the Azores to take off some passengers who required medical help. A team, including a translator went ashore with them and stayed with them until they were out of danger. This is normal procedure when a passenger is required to leave the ship for a medical emergency. I've read many compliments on Cruise Critic for their efforts. I hope that your incident convinces Celebrity to give the same attention to anyone who finds themselves in your situation. Bet there's a detailed investigation following your contacts with Celebrity..

Good move going home, esp for the passed stone. Surprised X or even the port agent did not assist more...but glad it worked out.

 

Did you have ins for the onboard treatment? The older we get, the more ins we buy for our trips...

We have good medical insurance and will submit the onboard bill to them for reimbursement. It was pricey, but not out of line with what I would expect.

I did ask at the desk if they could assist me with reserving a car service in Bermuda to get us to the airport. I was told there was no need, as there would be plenty of taxis available. What they did not tell me was that those taxis wanted to either fill up with folks going to Horseshoe Beach, or to do tours, so it was challenging to find a driver willing to take us to the airport. I really should not have had to drag a week's worth of luggage around by myself trying to haggle with drivers. Luckily our room steward, who was very kind and thoughtful, brought our luggage down to the disembarkation deck for us, but from there I was on my own. Eventually we found a lovely gentleman who agreed to take us, and we tipped him very generously.

We have good medical insurance and will submit the onboard bill to them for reimbursement. It was pricey, but not out of line with what I would expect.

 

I did ask at the desk if they could assist me with reserving a car service in Bermuda to get us to the airport. I was told there was no need, as there would be plenty of taxis available. What they did not tell me was that those taxis wanted to either fill up with folks going to Horseshoe Beach, or to do tours, so it was challenging to find a driver willing to take us to the airport. I really should not have had to drag a week's worth of luggage around by myself trying to haggle with drivers. Luckily our room steward, who was very kind and thoughtful, brought our luggage down to the disembarkation deck for us, but from there I was on my own. Eventually we found a lovely gentleman who agreed to take us, and we tipped him very generously.

Other than your Cabin Steward, did you ask Guest Services if they could help you disembark the ship (as hard as it is for me, sometimes we have to ask for help) and get your bags into a taxi? If you did and they said no, put that in your letter.

I would certainly be angry and disappointed at the treatment you received on the Summit. From your post, it's obvious that you are able to communicate well....amazing that Guest Services did not realize what you and your husband were going through and did very little to assist you.

I'm glad your husband is doing better!

sorry for your troubles.

I know it won't help you, but in case others in similar situation (or just want to do it for whatever reason), you can get any meal from the MDR during dinner (I've never tried lunch, don't know if that is an option or not?) delivered to your room.

We do it every night!

So glad "Rocky" made it out OK. You can joke about I now but that must have been very unpleasant. Sorry they didn't do a bit more for you. I wouldn't expect meals since you can get pretty much anything over the phone or TV.

You compared this to when you took a fall on another line and they were really helpful. Sad to say they were probably worried about getting sued. A completely different situation. This one you decided to leave early (for good reason) but still was your decision so they didn't really get involved, which is a shame.

So glad all turned out well in the end.

Sorry for your unpleasant situation but glad to hear he is doing well. It's possible they didn't think you needed help. A bad fall is obvious and there can be other problems later.

Since you didn't say you asked for help I'm assuming you didn't. I'm sure if you had asked they would have been more than happy to do so. Speaking to your room attendant about dinner from the MDR would be the thing to do and I would imagine they would think that you would ask for what you need. Was your husband incapcitated? I've had kidney stones and although they are very painful I've still been able to help myself.

Sorry for your unpleasant situation but glad to hear he is doing well. It's possible they didn't think you needed help. A bad fall is obvious and there can be other problems later.

 

Since you didn't say you asked for help I'm assuming you didn't. I'm sure if you had asked they would have been more than happy to do so. Speaking to your room attendant about dinner from the MDR would be the thing to do and I would imagine they would think that you would ask for what you need. Was your husband incapcitated? I've had kidney stones and although they are very painful I've still been able to help myself.

Perhaps I should have been more direct about what we needed, but in truth I was just going through the motions while trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. I expected some sort of follow up, and I think I was giving things time to get to someone who was in some sort of position to reach out. That never happened.

DH did not respond well to the meds, so he was pretty much incapacitated for the rest of the trip. It's over now, and we are none the worse for it. We may be a little wiser, though.

I expected more from Celebrity. For whatever reason, the other line was far more accommodating and compassionate, and I will not forget which line was helpful and which was not.

Thank you to all of you who get what I am saying & have given me words of encouragement. I am really not trying to bash or complain. I know stuff happens, and it was just a lousy situation that could have been handled much better in my opinion.

sorry for your troubles.

 

I know it won't help you, but in case others in similar situation (or just want to do it for whatever reason), you can get any meal from the MDR during dinner (I've never tried lunch, don't know if that is an option or not?) delivered to your room.

 

We do it every night!

I had no idea that was an option. This was only our second Celebrity cruise, and on our first we enjoyed the MDR so much we even cancelled one of specialty reservations, so never even thought about dining in the room.

That would have been good info to have while onboard as at least I could have had a nice meal :)

Sorry for your unpleasant situation but glad to hear he is doing well. It's possible they didn't think you needed help. A bad fall is obvious and there can be other problems later.

 

Since you didn't say you asked for help I'm assuming you didn't. I'm sure if you had asked they would have been more than happy to do so. Speaking to your room attendant about dinner from the MDR would be the thing to do and I would imagine they would think that you would ask for what you need. Was your husband incapcitated? I've had kidney stones and although they are very painful I've still been able to help myself.

I am glad that you did fairly well while you had kidney stones, but my husband has had several and has not done so well. They can be completely incapacitating. He has been hospitalized more than once because of them, and that is not unusual. Also, the pain causes his blood pressure to go through the roof. I would have also got the next flight out heading straight for Mass General.

I, also, think that the medical staff should have at least called periodically to check on his status. I do not know the type of scanning equipment that they have on a cruise ship, but I am pretty sure they don't have a CT machine, and without one they haven't any idea where that stone is located and how big it is. He could have gotten sepsis and that is no joke.

It is absolutely horrible that the only one assisting you upon disembarking was your room steward! Where was the port agent? Several years ago I had a tooth abscess and Princess bent over backwards with priority disembarkation and a port agent to meet me with transportation at the dock to the dentist. The ship's med center followed up that evening. My experience with the Summit was VERY sub par in all areas. I will be on the Equinox this weekend giving Celebrity another chance. Hope to have a better experience. I'm sorry you experienced such indifference.

I'm sorry to read about your experience. I had a similar situation on Eclipse, but on the whole it was handled much better than your situation.

My husbands father died unexpectedly, and we too had to fly to the UK from Bermuda. The young man at Guest Services arranged our flights and for us to see immigration on board at Bermuda. He arranged for someone to collect our luggage from the cabin and wheel it all the way to the taxi drivers and the porter then found us a cab.

My only gripe was whilst I was dealing with immigration, someone from Celebrity was asking me to sign a waiver that said I wouldn't pursue any recompense for my unused portion of the cruise- I had no intention of doing that. I just felt that was a little insensitive at that time.

I think in your situation I would definitely write to Celebrity.

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I am glad that you did fairly well while you had kidney stones, but my husband has had several and has not done so well. They can be completely incapacitating. He has been hospitalized more than once because of them, and that is not unusual. Also, the pain causes his blood pressure to go through the roof. I would have also got the next flight out heading straight for Mass General.

 

 

I, also, think that the medical staff should have at least called periodically to check on his status. I do not know the type of scanning equipment that they have on a cruise ship, but I am pretty sure they don't have a CT machine, and without one they haven't any idea where that stone is located and how big it is. He could have gotten sepsis and that is no joke.

I'm sure that's why the doctor told her to take him to the hospital in Bermuda for a scan. They weren't even sure that's what it was. I feel just as sorry for her as you do but when you don't communicate with people they can't read your mind. Had they known it was a continuing situation I'm sure they would have responded.

First, glad your man is on the way to recovery.

As pointed out earlier, it does sound as though he was not well at embarkcation time. How the heck did he get from your cabin to the infirmary without you knowing about it? I know if I felt sick enough to go to the infirmary early in the morning, I would wake my wife and tell her what was happening!

Hope you had the travel insurance that included pre-existing conditions in the clauses.

As for poor service, Celebrity gave you what you asked for. If you had required or requested an ambulance, it would have been provided.

As for myself, I once got injured (dislocated shoulder) while off a Celebrity cruise. The ship actually waited 45 minutes after the port agent called and returned me to the ship from the Cozumel hospital...but I digress.