Medical facilites

[Dancer76]

Hi

Just a general questions in relation to medical facilities on board - we are booked on the Grand for September and it will be our first time on Princess, we are travelling without our daughter as it is my birthday celebration.

 

My daughter is just 4 and is disabled, she had had a couple of seizures to date. Has anyone any idea how good the medical facilities are on board and at what point they would remove someone from the ship?

 

I am toying with whether I would 'dare' take her on board in the future as I could not cope with being in a random hospital not understanding the language with no clue how to get back home in whatever country we happended to be passing during the cruise, if they removed her from the ship.

 

Thanks

Lisa

[paul929207]

In addition to the info you get here, why not drop by the medical center while you are on the ship. Their hours are published in the Princess Patter every day.

[kendon]

I would consult with her medical doctor at home first. He may have an opinion as to whether or not she should be far from home, or far from familiar medical care. I hope all is well.

[Loonbeam]

We toured the medical facilities as part of the UST and they were indeed top notch, the medical staff has access to communications equipment to specialists all over the world if needed.

 

That said, prior to booking, contact Princess medical with the details of her condition and any treatment that might be required. They will tell you up front if that is within their onboard capability or if the procedure would be to stabilize and evac. They may recommend you not cruise depending on the specifics and the risk of evac, which is a of course a disruption to ship operations.

 

Also of note is your medical insurance may not cover overseas treatment and you may have issues purchasing trip insurance for her at a reasonable rate due to pre-existing conditions. Medical evacuation insurance like MedJet would be strongly recommended as well.

[zacc]

Unfortunately we have had the opportunity to use the medical facilities aboard Princess. They are absolutely top of the line. Our local heart specialist as well as one of the leading heart hospitals in the country both said that the care given was fantastic and the findings of the Princess doctor was right on the money(and at a MUCH lower price I might add).

[Astro Flyer]

We haven't required the onboard medical facilities for anything major but have read they're excellent with satellite communication to some of the best hospitals in the world & are able to send test results for a 2nd opinion.

 

Here's a recent discussion similar to your situation & it was reassuring for the person asking the question...and for me also. :)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1364207

 

Medivacs are dependent upon where you're located & if you're within helicopter range. Where you're sailing on the Grand could give you an idea but sounds like there is great medical care onboard.

[Andee]

About two hours after departing from Fort Lauderdale. my mother fell, broke her upper arm and smashed her elbow to smithereens. The very pleasant doctor x-rayed her arm, put it in a sling and medicated her for pain. I was told (but I don't think it's true) that Princess doesn't helicopter any injured patients off their ships. There were two sea days before reaching the first scheduled port so she could be flown back to the US. The delay in getting the surgery she needed caused many, many problems and seriously complicated (and actually diminished) her recovery.

[Jacqueline]

You are asking very specific information about a child with a neurological illness. This is not the equivalent of a broken bone or even a heart attack.

Where are you traveling? Will you be at sea for many days away from land?

I empathize. I actually communicated with the doctor on the Tahitian Princess before that trip as I had a daughter who had been in an ICU that year with an illness. I also have a child with a neurological disability, which is why I have cruised for a decade with my family all over the planet.

Talk to your doctor! Get the scripts that you could need written out in a generic form.

Bring extra in case you get delayed.

Ask yourself what the worst thing is that you can imagine and find out if this can be accomodated at sea,

My experience with Princess is excellent andI have found that they have the best staff at sea (compared to HAL, RCI and Celebrity).

But my caution is that children are not adults and that the training, equipment and medication is geared towards adults on a cruise ship. I am also an EMT in real life!

[Pam in CA]

We have experienced the excellent care given during a major, life-threatening situation and their diagnosis skills, treatment and care were top notch. They had the ability to screen dozens of blood donors and test their blood for a match, which impressed us.

 

It's true that Princess does not medevac passengers by helicopter off any ship. No cruiseline does. It's done by the country's Coast Guard or equivalent, and whether they can do it or not depends on the location of the helicopter base, weather and wind conditions, helicopter range, and distance to the ship. The long-range medical evacuations can be done if the ship is within about 200 miles from the base. Generally, they need to be closer, particularly if the helicopter needs to hover. Most cruise ships are capable of a helicopter landing. It's done on an open, upper deck; passengers are removed from the area and any stantion or light pole is removed.

 

A helicopter evac is a very tricky and difficult maneuver that can be dangerous to all involved, including the ship. They do it only when a life is in danger and there is no other option. I'm not at all surprised that it wouldnt be considered for a broken arm, painful as it was. They also very, very rarely do it at night because that greatly increases the danger. I don't know if the Coast Guard charges a fee for this.

[caribill]

It's done by the country's Coast Guard or equivalent, and whether they can do it or not depends on the location of the helicopter base, weather and wind conditions, helicopter range, and distance to the ship.

 

A helicopter evac is a very tricky and difficult maneuver that can be dangerous to all involved, including the ship. They do it only when a life is in danger and there is no other option. I'm not at all surprised that it wouldnt be considered for a broken arm, painful as it was. They also very, very rarely do it at night because that greatly increases the danger.

 

 

We were on a Princess cruise to Canada when there was a need to evacuate a passenger who had a life threatening situation. The ship turned around and sailed back towards (but not to) the previous port to a point where a helicopter evacuation was feasible.

 

The evacuation occured about 4 AM. For safety reasons, passengers in the Lido deck cabins had to leave their cabins and go downstairs while the helicopter was near the ship.

[Astro Flyer]

Great post Pam & even though medevacs at sea wasn't my duty I had thousands of hours flying helicopters. It's generally safer & more common to either sling load a patient or to hover to load a patient when their is no safe place to land. It's amazing what a helicopter can do including medevacs at sea...it's like a magic carpet ride. ;)

[Pam in CA]

Great post Pam & even though medevacs at sea wasn't my duty I had thousands of hours flying helicopters. It's generally safer & more common to either sling load a patient or to hover to load a patient when their is no safe place to land. It's amazing what a helicopter can do including medevacs at sea...it's like a magic carpet ride. ;)

Thanks, and thank you for your service.

 

We were too far from land and they couldn't do an evac for my brother-in-law from Guantanamo Bay last year, which might have made the difference between life and death. It was too risky, and too late, by the time we were within range of FL. Believe me, I wish it could have been done but we all understood the risks, including my BIL. It's been a year and we still miss him.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks, and thank you for your service.

 

We were too far from land and they couldn't do an evac for my brother-in-law from Guantanamo Bay last year, which might have made the difference between life and death. It was too risky, and too late, by the time we were within range of FL. Believe me, I wish it could have been done but we all understood the risks, including my BIL. It's been a year and we still miss him.

 

I'm so sorry about the death of your BIL & wish he could have been flown from the ship to save his life. In December while in Ensenada sailing on the Golden, I noticed a US medical helicopter at the pier who transported a patient back to the US. They were lucky, sadly your BIL was not.

 

I am positive if there was anyway possible to transport him they would have pushed the envelope to get him to a hospital. Such failures to save a life really bothers crews...they live to save lives.

[gingera]

Only you and your medical team can make this decision.