jackretired
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Posts posted by jackretired
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Hi, Jack, Glad to see you doing a review. Did you fill out a questionnaire when you got home? Hope you mentioned these things if you did. I have not been too happy with the "port experts" recently either, or the maps the ship gives us. What was wrong with the tendering at Sorrento - was that when you hurt your leg? Need more, please! :)
The port expert told us it would be 10:30 before we could get off the ship.
One star and not on a HAL excursion. We had a tour set up for 8 or 8:30.
Also once you got off the tender, there is a very big hill (cliff) to climb and I have mobility problems. Did not get off the ship at Sorrento.
I developed an infection in my leg leading to cellulitis.
No questionnaire, but I emailed customer service my post.
See my thread on travel insurance.
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Atlantic Adventure on MS Maasdam 2013.*
The port expert "Kelly" supplied very bad information.*
The choice of a tender port was very poor. Should have stayed in Naples for both days.*
The wait staff was outstanding.*
Our cabin was not as big as pictured on the web site.
The guess lecturer, Jim was great.*
There seemed to be a shortage of small paper napkins.*
Some of the fresh fruit served, should not have been served. If you can not serve a good product you are better off not serving it.*
The cold fruit soups were good.*
The execution of my low/no salt dinners were very good.*
Cabin stewards were very good.*
The ships doctor was very good. Did great follow up. The medical disembark was less than desirable. The port agent Sergio Ruggieri was nice when we had him, but was absent a lot of times when we needed him.*
The choice of docking in some industrial ports without good ways to get out of the port was a poor idea for HAL.*
Nice elevators.*
Shows were good to very good.*
Mike in the Mix lounge was very good.*
The two ladies in the* Explorer's Lounge were good, but needed a bigger repertoire.*
The music on the lido deck was two loud.*
The piano bar was very good.*
The mix lounge was very good.*
The crows nest was good but we changed to using the Mix.*
The new way of doing meet and greet is very bad.*
Cruise Critic added a lot to this cruise.*
Most of our fellow passengers were very nice.*
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One of the messages here is that if the cruise line decides it can not provide adequate care, it may drop you at a hospital that is even less able to provide adequate care.
As for Italy, is it still customary to tip nurses to obtain proper care?
Yes to #1.
Do not know to #2
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. Sounds awful. Some of my best doctors are female but not very young.What hospital? Who picked it?
As far as I know, HAL picked the hospital and port.
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And what happened after you got home? Are you better now? Did you get a proper diagnosis and treatment back in the US?
Just got home.
Antibiotics are doing there job.
I am sure the ships doctor made the right diagnosis.
Have not had time to see about more treatment.
Most doctors are on holiday. So maybe next week.
If it starts looking bad, will go to emergency room.
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i hesitate to ask but i will. With whom were you insured?
csa.
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Sounds awful. Thank heavens you got home.
Am I understanding that your travel insurance wouldn't move you to another hospital? Or was there none available?
Only two hospitals, and this was the best one.
I hate to think about the bad one.
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We had travel insurance.
We left hospital with no bill, not sure what will happen.
While I was in hospital, DW was put up in cheap hotel.
Minimal support from HAL.
Insurance company said save receipts.
After I was released from hospital, the insurance company took three days to get us on a plane.
The arrangements to pick us up at hotel was good and prepaid.
The flight arrangements were wonderful. Business class with my leg up for me. DW was two rows behind me and could also put her feet up. Wheel chair waiting at every airport.
When we arrived in Miami, once through customs, meet by a driver.
The driver was prepaid and drove us from the imam airport to our car in Ft Lauderdale.
We had been up around 24 hours and checked into hotel to get some sleep before the long drive home.
Then the travel insurance company called and asked if we had made it ok and now that you are in US the coverage has ended.
Not sure what to do with the stacks of receipts.
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Scary hospital.
No soap in restroom
No towels in restroom
No gowns
Few wheelchairs
You must bring almost everything.
Almost no seats anywhere.
Two people per room.
Vendors wandering the rooms and halls selling all sorts of things
....hair cuts, shaves, Angels, flowers, etc.
.... But no soap, nothing to drink, nothing to eat, etc.
NO ice.
No soda, but a vending machine for lattes.
No yellow lines to follow.
Patients are moved from one part of the hospital to another via ambulance
....as many as 8 per ambulance. One transfer I made was in the jump
....seat and the old man on the gurney looked almost dead.
This is a teaching hospital in a city of one million.
98% of the doctors are young and female. No old experience here.
No wi-fi
Call button has two hour delay built into it.
No electric adapters.
No CPAP machines.
One electrical outlet per bed.
I was given a big bottle of water every day, and not much else.
Breakfast was a spoon, four small pieces of something like Melba Toast and a small glass of HOT milk. No eggs, no protein, no fruit, no juice, no selection.
Lunch and dinner a little better than breakfast, but no selection and did not consider your condition.
No TV or radio.
The whole place was COLD. Even the interior walls.
Many windows left open (cold and flies).
The rest room had a smell that almost kept you out of it.
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About day 2 or 3 of the cruise I must have hit my bad leg on something.
My skin on that leg is very thin and easy to damage. I now have 2 small wounds on that leg.
No infection. Bandage etc. Went to ships doctor who said watch it carefully so it does not turn into cellulitis. Which could become septic.
Things progressed in a good way. Every time the ships doctor saw us he would stop and check my progress.
Then, I got a head cold.
Within 24 hours my leg went from an open sore to infection.
The ships doctor said cellulitis, and that is what he was afraid of.
He treated me with IV antibiotics and declared me unfit to cruise.
At the next port I was put in an ambulance and taken to scary hospital. See below.
The hospital had ships doctors report.
The hospital ran several test including ultra sound on my bad leg.
Found nothing.
After 12 hours the hospital decided they would give me the same IV antibiotics as the ships doctor. But it was not cellulitis. After three days,
When I refused a second round of ultrasound and seeing a vein specialist, the hospital decided not to treat me anymore. Gave me oral antibiotics and kicked me out.
I had travel insurance that took 3 days to get me on a plane.
The port was Palermo Italy
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each person is different. but i noticed a trend.
those people that followed orders and did rehab love the results.
those people that ignore orders etc hate the results.
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My DW was back to work after three weeks (pain free).
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Have you looked at the Travelscoot? http://www.travelscootcanada.com/
We first saw it on a Princess cruise last year, came home (Vancouver Island) and bought one. We will be sailing & flying with it for the first time next month. it fits in the back seat of our truck. I can lift it with one hand. My husband is a big man and it carries him around. All the info you need is on the website and there are blogs about it all over the web. Good luck.
Also search youtube for TravelScoot, for a bunch of videos.
TravelScoot is coming out with an improved model. Call and talk to these nice people.
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Should not be a problem.
Having said that here are a few tips:
Elevators are a congestion problem. When you have a chance get on. It does not matter if it is going in the wrong direction. It will turn around and go where you want to.
In the MDR, your wait staff will store your rollalater until you are ready for it.
There will be more DS on early Seating than late.
Do not try to be first in line for MDR. Show up 30 minutes pre-dinner, get a drink, sit relax, wait for the line to go down.
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I do not know., but if you can not arrange a private one, then be sure you are on the muster deck 30 minutes or more before muster time. That avoids busy or shut down elevators. If you go to your assigned muster station they can reassign you to the handicap muster station.
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Keep saying "watch your toes".
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Anyone on the DASH diet?
Does HAL know what the DASH diet is and can they prepare it?
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I vote bring your own.
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One of my favorite ships is Enchantment of the Seas (RC) because I can get a W/C cabin on the same deck as the MDR and thus avoid the elevator.
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My ship docks at 8AM, what time should I have Barcelona Day Tour pick us up?
What is involved with getting from the ship to the pick up point?
Anyone walk La Rambla? what time of day? How much time?
Thanks
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Yah, we figured that he would not be able to participate in shore excursions. We knew that he cannot disembark on a tendered port, so we are all planning to stay aboard that day and enjoy a quiet day on the ship. My husband is completely paralyzed shoulders down, so there is no way we can even get in a taxi, it would have to be a lift equipped van, which you can't even find in the US, much less to expect outside the US. Just figured I'd ask since there was someone in the same boat (bad pun sorry lol).
Do not give up. The one I did on St. Thomas was via RC and was a bus with a lift. I have done private ones that had a ramp and good tie downs. In Boston it was old town trolley, they got on cell phone and shorty after we had one with a lift.
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Did you go on any excursions? We are in the same situation, going to Western Caribbean in July.
IMHO
You will not be able to use the tender.
Very few, if any tours from RC will be WC friendly.
I have found 3, one in St. Thomas one in Boston and one more.
Google the name of the port and "accessible tour" and pray a lot
that you find a private tour is your best bet. also accessible taxi.
ASAP after boarding Freedom, visit with the excursion desk and see
what they have to say.
A mini review Atlantic Adventure on MS Maasdam 2013.*
in Holland America Line
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