Have you wondered what a medical emergency aboard X would be like? Here's my story.

[tally10]

Let the flames begin with me as well, but the more I read this the more I want to go 'huh??'. Early on, the OP states "We are adventurous, well-experienced travelers". And yet when she goes to the ship's doctor, she cannot give a complete medical background until the morphine kicks in. Not sure why the husband could not do that (point one) or why, given her medical history and recent surgery, she did not have that all pre-written on a document she could give to doctors in an emergency (point two). Then, after having a medical condition which could literally have killed her, she questions why the ship does not want her to continue her passage. Throughout all of this, it appears her husband is nowhere to be seen and is letting her fight all these battles by herself.

 

The OP seems extraordinarily concerned about her husband being in a place he has no prior knowledge of where no one (or few) speak English. Have been to PR many times and never, ever had a problem with the language. Everyone I ever encountered spoke English very well. I have fortunately never been to that hospital so cannot speak to that, but I have been to PR more than 10 times and literally everyone I met spoke English. And then the husband separates from the OP to check in the hotel and apparently just stays there and leaves the OP to fend for herself. Another 'huh??'. He couldn't check in then go back to the hospital to oversee his wife's care? An 'adventurous, well-experienced traveler' could figure out how to grab a taxi back to the hospital I would imagine.

 

And some criticize the OP for even taking this trip. Whether she wants to take that risk or not is, I feel, her choice. But let's consider the facts. By her own account, the OP had open heart surgery less than two months prior to the trip (we are not sure exactly the time - early or late Feb). Not minor surgery, but open heart surgery. She is by her own description considerably immune compromised but takes the risk to go on a cruise ship where she will encounter germ risks from around the world in tight quarters, much more so than she would had she remained at home doing her usual routines. I have to say at that point I would question the medical integrity of her doctors at home who encouraged her to go! Her Crones disease seemed under control and chronic so I presume the risk with that was a lesser one, ironically so. And apparently, deducing this based on the actions she attributes to her husband, she is traveling with a partner who is not well-equiped to help her handle health emergencies (Do not read this as criticism of those suffering with his illness - I am reading what she says and drawing logical conclusions based on what she herself says)

 

In the midst of the lengthy description of this occurence, we have an entire paragraph devoted to how bright the light is in the medical center. Huh? Then at the end, a wrap-up with a concern about getting money back from the drink package (which I would hazard a guess will ultimately be settled by Celebrity).

 

So flame me if you will. I do feel for the OP as she was clearly very distressed about this situation as anyone would be. But at the same time so much of it seemed to stem from bad decisions on the part of her and her husband I feel it is unfair to direct so much criticism on others involved.

 

I totally disagree with most of what you posted. I don't think her decisions were bad. She went with her doctor's blessing. I do think you have to stand up for yourself. She should/could have declined going to the hospital on shore, but the doctor in charge on the ship left her no choice. Knowing from experience that you have the right to refuse, I personally would jumped on the first flight home if Celebrity refused to allow me to stay on board.

[TLCOhio]

Living involves risks - for us all. Many lessons to be learned from htis story. Thanks for taking the time to share.

 

Above is a good summary point. It is better to "live" and experience life and the world than be too cautious sitting at home just wishing and hoping. Having travel insurance and making sure it is right coverage/benefits can also be very important.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 74,533 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Johanna7]

You know, I have learned a lot from the postings. The main one is, we now print out our insurance policy we get from the travel agency and take it with us.

 

I do symphasize with the OP as she was judged to well by her physician. She sounds like a very intelligent woman. Of course it is sometimes easy to trust the wrong person/s.

 

In hindsight, it would have been best to refuse the ambulance and take the first flight home. Or at least to the closest US airport which likely was Miami.

[Vagabondage]

A big thank you to all who have responded to my post here, whether you've offered me empathy or criticism or both. I hope this string will prove instructive to future cruisers, whether you think that we handled the situation well or were idiots or cranks.

 

My original post was so long I don't want to try your patience by posting an equally long response, but there are points I want to clarify or reiterate.

 

-- I have a team of excellent doctors here in Seattle. They all gave this trip their unqualified blessing -- in fact, their enthusiastic endorsement. As several of you have pointed out, much to my appreciation, having a chronic medical condition should not mean that your active life is at an end. I know well that all life is a risk, and we were willing to take what seemed to my doctors like a very small one. You know, guys, we ALL have a chronic medical condition known as human mortality. Do you all stay home because of it??

 

-- I am neither exaggerating nor rashly ignoring my immunocompromised status. My meds leave me moderately ic, not with zero immunity, which is not a reason to enclose myself in a glass bubble but is a reason to take prudent precautions. It affects all decisions my doctors make about my care, and I have been schooled to keep it in mind -- not obsessively, but definitely in mind.

 

-- Yes, I was 2 months cardiac post-op, but I was feeling excellent on that score other than still tiring more easily than usual. Just to be on the safe side, I had an echocardiogram the day before we left home and my cardiologist gave it the thumbs up. AT NO TIME during this entire experience onboard the Solstice or in San Juan did my heart give reason for concern to anyone. Frankly, after initial assessment no one even paid much attention to it other than taking vitals, nor did the ship's medical team ever give that as a reason for disembarking us.

 

-- I did have trip insurance through a third party travel insurance company, so please don't flame me for being so dumb as to leave home w/o it. I reiterate that I don't think ANYONE should travel without it, much less someone with a chronic condition. The big mistake we made, never having encountered such a situation before, is assuming that Celebrity had notified our insurer after the shipboard medical facility specifically asked for our policy number and the insurer's contact info. They did not. Lesson learned and passed on to you readers. In future, I would see to it that my husband or I called the insurer directly ourselves as soon as one of us had to go to the shipboard medical facility. I urge any of you in similar situations to do likewise.

 

-- I fully understand that neither Celebrity or any other cruise line is in the business of providing anything but short-term medical care, nor should they be expected to. I have NO COMPLAINTS about the good care I received aboard ship. On the contrary, I have repeatedly praised it.

 

-- What I do have a complaint about is X's insistence on disembarking us and sending me to the hospital in San Juan when, by their own diagnostic evidence, my medical emergency had already resolved itself 12 hours after my admission to the ship's hospital. I saw two of my doctors here in Seattle yesterday. They studied the medical records and X-rays Celebrity gave me when we were disembarked and feel that by the morning of the 10th there was no reason to insist on further treatment, as shown by X's own lab panels, vitals and X-rays. Had Celebrity conferred with them, as I hoped they would do when I provided my gastroenterologist's contact information 24 hours before we were disembarked, my doctor would have urged Celebrity not to disembark us, but rather just to allow me to return to my cabin and get some sleep.

 

-- I had read our lengthy cruise contact and totally got that what happens to any passenger on a cruise, medically or otherwise, is pretty much the ship's call and not our own. This is why I was compliant with the ship's directives even though I voiced concern that they were unwarranted. I think in retrospect that I was too cooperative. I'm still not clear what my legal alternatives were while onboard ship. I am not a litigious person, so though I've thought about giving all this info to my attorney just to further clarify it in my own mind, so far I've decided not to. If we do decide to make another stab at taking a cruise, I'm going to make sure I do know more clearly just what my rights are while onboard ship.

 

-- Never having been placed in such a situation despite a few prior medical emergencies overseas over the last 40+ years, I was simply not clear what my rights were regarding undesired ambulance transport, hospitalization in SJ, or the necessity to remain in the hospital once it was clear that I was not getting the promised CT scan or good care. I have never walked out of a hospital against doctors' orders in my life. I now believe I should have. I repeatedly asked to be discharged but was ignored. I feared that if I left against doctors' orders our trip insurance might be nullified by my rash decision. Nevertheless, I was so desperate for relief that I was preparing to remove my own IV's and NG pump when the GOOD doctor arrived, CT'd and released me. Should any of you ever find yourselves in a similar situation (and I sure hope you don't), I agree with various posters' comments that we should have refused the ambulance more insistently, called a taxi, and headed for the airport -- with maybe an uurgently-needed night's sleep at a hotel first, since I no longer had medical issues happening.

 

-- Thanks for the tip about AARP discount on specific medevac insurance!

 

-- To those of you who persist in claiming that everyone in Puerto Rico speaks English, you are simply wrong no matter how many trips you have made there (which, I suspect, were probably pretty much confined to tourist industry conversations). Furthermore, I don't think all Puerto Ricans should HAVE to, since Spanish was the native language of the island for centuries before the U.S. took it over a little more than a century ago. It is petty-minded of me, but I wish for you know-it-alls an experience like mine so you have to eat your smug words. I cannot tell you how many people in the hospital I asked if they spoke English. With the exception of the two doctors, Anthony the patient assistance guy, and the one nurse I saw very briefly who made the third try to insert my NG tube, everyone apologetically told me they did not. Even the ambulance team did not. On the way to the hospital I spoke to the EMT entirely in my halting, medically-limited Spanish. This may have been a flukey staffing situation, but despite my repeated requests for someone who spoke English, no one else came to help me.

 

-- To you who dissed me for not being able to give the ship's medical staff a coherent account of my medical history till the pain med kicked in, what universe are you living in? I WAS giving it as best I could, but my pain on admission was 10 out of 10 and I was crying hard. What's more, and this is NOT a criticism of the excellent shipboard medics, they were unfamiliar with the names of many of my medications I listed for them, as these vary a lot from one country to another. It took all of 20 minutes for my pain to start easing, at which point I more calmly reiterated everything I had already told them and elaborated on any of it they wanted to know more about. My husband had already filled them in to his best ability when I first arrived, but he does not have my lengthy list of meds memorized. He always carries a printout of it and offered to go up to the cabin immediately to get it, but even while crying I was able to offer a verbal list of them on my own. I also offered the Solstice medical staff my Seattle doctors' contact info as soon as I arrived, though they chose not to make use of it.

 

-- To you who have judged my husband harshly for abandoning me, etc. etc., you are both abysmally ignorant about bipolar disorder and woefully lacking in empathy. I'm sorry if I sound intemperate, but this above all comments has really bothered me. My husband did NOT abandon me. He was a total trooper through all of this, especially given the strain it was putting on his own medical condition. In addition to offering me emotional and logistic support while I was in the ship's hospital (he must have made 20 trips back and forth in 24 hours), he had to get quite a bit of info for the medical staff, make unexpected onward hotel and travel arrangements with the help of the ship's concierge (BTW, I am an experienced overseas tour planner/leader and always make all our travel arrangements, so this was an unfamiliar responsibility for him), pack up our entire cabin himself, deal with closing out our shipboard account and coming up with the ambulance cash, etc. etc. He finally left me at the hospital about 10 pm, 6 hours after my arrival, AT MY INSISTENCE because the cumulative effect of 36 hours of this stressful turn of events + the capper of having to watch my bleeding like Old Faithful and crying out in severe pain while the NG tubes were twice inserted improperly was beginning to agitate him worrisomely. We both recognized this. One of the key things in managing BP illness as a medical condition is recognizing one's limits and staying rested when you feel you're overstepping them. He did exactly the right thing. I hope you or those you love never have bipolar disorder if this is the attitude you have toward it.

 

Sorry for my own rant here. A heartfelt thank you again to all you who have responded, even if you have made me feel defensive or raised my hackles.

[RLM77]

A heartfelt thank you to you as well for taking the time to inform us all of the pitfalls that potentially lurk when one is medically disembarked.

 

I too went through such a disembarkation in '08 on Caribbean Princess. My retina tore. I knew what had happened, notified guest services to prepare my bill as we would be leaving, notified Travel Guard, called the medical bay and refused over and over and over to be sent to the hospital in San Juan. Thank God.

 

As I was being evaluated by 2 very impressive doctors, DH was calling my ophthalmologist to hand the already connected cell phone over to the doctor. Everyone was very helpful, concerned and insistent that I go to to the San Juan hospital. Except for me, DH and my doctor. I ended up prevailing. No flights could be arrainged out of SJ by Travel Guard. We flew out of St. Thomas

the next day.

 

Interestingly, and very unlike your experience with Celebrity, Princess had a designated customer service person to check in with me when I returned home until such time as I was well and all the various loose ends were squared away. Impressive.

 

I have never regretted not having had more immediate surgery on my eye despite a significant loss of vision in it ultimately. I too am compromised by the immunosuppressant drugs I take for my Multiple Sclerosis and was unwilling to stay for an protracted period in SJ as one cannot safely fly after eye surgery due to cabin pressure.

 

We all make choices. There are no guarantees and we can only do the best we can with information we have and the advice we trust.

 

Marlee

[Vagabondage]

Oops, one more point I forgot to clarify. Of course I didn't expect Celebrity to pay for the ambulance. But since 24 hours passed between their decision to emergency disembark us and our arrival in port, I would have appreciated a heads up that such cash might be necessary so Jim could obtain it in less harried fashion. I'm sure this is not the first time pax have been expected to have it. Actually, in retrospect, I wish Jim hadn't been able to obtain it as the ambulance literally had me loaded and waiting, because then I wouldn't/couldn't have gone with them!

 

I'm hugely grateful that SJ is a U.S. territory and that it appears Ashford/El Presby accepts my Humana health insurance (they have submitted no claim yet, so I can't be sure). Otherwise we probably would have been expected to prepay a whopping hospital bill as well.

 

As a twist on AmEx's old "don't leave home without it" ads, I'd say "Don't leave the cruise ship w/o plenty of cold hard cash if you experience an emergency disembarkation like ours."

[jacketwatch]

Sorry to hear of this sexperience which was obviously disterssing to you.

I do agree with X in terms of having you exit the ship however. With your medical history it was in your best interests to be off the ship which of course is so limited in terms of care to be given, especially if your condition were to flare up again. Though you felt fine its just better to be safe.

 

As for the ngt contents going back and forth while you were in the hospital in SJ thats called intermittent suction and its use to prevent the actualy tube from sucking to the mucosal walls which can cause an ulceration. Its preferred by most surgeons I have worked with so thats reasonable, esp. with your history of Crohns. We use that method of suction almost exclusively.

 

Again sorry to hear of this trauma. Next time, as you have noted you can refuse some or all of the treatment. Too bad you had to learn this the hard way. :confused:

[dorakk]

Judy, sorry to hear about what happened to you. I hope you are doing okay now.

 

It's sad that we didn't get to meet each other onboard, anyway, hope you recover soon!

[Cheerysmom]

Vagabondage, thank you very much for your post about what happened. I have learned a lot from your experience. I did not know about the "MedJet Assist" insurance and after looking it up, it is not expensive at all. My fiance and I will be on a 3 week cruise for our honeymoon this Sept and considering some of his chronic medical issues, I think we will obtain a policy for that trip IN ADDITION to the cruiseline insurance that we always buy. Also - a good reminder for us to write down our medical conditions and meds so we will have it on hand.

 

Again, thanks. And I am so glad that you are doing OK now.

[TLCOhio]

I have a team of excellent doctors here in Seattle. They all gave this trip their unqualified blessing -- in fact, their enthusiastic endorsement. As several of you have pointed out, much to my appreciation, having a chronic medical condition should not mean that your active life is at an end. I know well that all life is a risk, and we were willing to take what seemed to my doctors like a very small one. You know, guys, we ALL have a chronic medical condition known as human mortality. Do you all stay home because of it??

 

Appreciate the added background and details from Judy and Jim. The above paragraph is an excellent summary for life and keeping that enthusiastic spirit to focus forward. Glad things are moving ahead.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 74,533 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Gran2five]

Judy, Thank you for your latest posts. It will help us, and I am certain others, on future cruises/land trips, to be even more prepared with med lists - ALL associated contact information etc. I am a "nervous Nelly" about travelling with medical conditions but then again - one has to live one's life to the fullest.

 

Our best wishes to you and your husband.

[SweetGG]

For once on this board, I have finally seen respectful posting even when it was critical!

And all of this is an excellent scenario to read in becoming more informed while we go about our travels :)

[Vagabondage]

Hi jacketwatch --

 

...Though you felt fine its just better to be safe.

 

I am trying to tell myself that that's what motivated Celebrity. I'm sure it's what motivated Dr. del Olmo, whom I thought very highly of. I'm less sure it motivated Celebrity HQ in Miami who were ultimately calling the shots, as I think their concern was liability and not medical evidence. Maybe I'm being too uncharitable.

 

As for the ngt contents going back and forth while you were in the hospital in SJ thats called intermittent suction and its use to prevent the actualy tube from sucking to the mucosal walls which can cause an ulceration. Its preferred by most surgeons I have worked with so thats reasonable, esp. with your history of Crohns. We use that method of suction almost exclusively.

 

I understand that medical good practice varies on the use of NG pumps. My own doctors whom I saw yesterday say that a continuous pump would have been more effective in this situation if I were really continuing to experience a blockage (remember that in 10 hrs the pump only removed less than 75 cc). But more importantly than that they do not believe such pumping by any method was warranted by the clinical evidence by the time I came into the SJ hospital. Draining was 1000% warranted on the ship, and I'm very grateful for it. I'm convinced that's why I recovered so quickly -- but the ship did not use intermittent pumping either, but rather a gentle and vastly more efficient gravity-fed bag. I totally get that even doing it for a while once I reached the hospital is by no means an outlandish precaution -- I'm sure it was motivated by a sincere desire to help me. I'm assuming everyone at the hospital was trying to help me, though the first doctor sure went about it in a questionable way. But they told me I couldn't get the promised CT scan or leave the hospital as long as there was anything in the tube. Since it was just the same normal gastric fluid going back and forth, back and forth, THAT would have been approximately when hell freezes over, unless I died in the meanwhile.

 

Again sorry to hear of this trauma. Next time, as you have noted you can refuse some or all of the treatment. Too bad you had to learn this the hard way. :confused:

 

Thanks. You are absolutely right -- I think my main takeaway from all this is that I had the right to refuse the treatment in San Juan if I had only realized it when the ship first arrived. I'm less sure that once I recovered I had the right to refuse further treatment on the ship, where they were/are the bosses. I wonder what would have happened if I had walked out and back to my cabin on the morning of the 10th? I'll bet I would have been in big trouble, and of course off the ship later that day anyway....

 

Your medical perspective is helpful -- thanks again for your interest.

[jacketwatch]

Hi jacketwatch --

 

 

 

I am trying to tell myself that that's what motivated Celebrity. I'm sure it's what motivated Dr. del Olmo, whom I thought very highly of. I'm less sure it motivated Celebrity HQ in Miami who were ultimately calling the shots, as I think their concern was liability and not medical evidence. Maybe I'm being too uncharitable.

 

 

 

I understand that medical good practice varies on the use of NG pumps. My own doctors whom I saw yesterday say that a continuous pump would have been more effective in this situation if I were really continuing to experience a blockage (remember that in 10 hrs the pump only removed less than 75 cc). But more importantly than that they do not believe such pumping by any method was warranted by the clinical evidence by the time I came into the SJ hospital. Draining was 1000% warranted on the ship, and I'm very grateful for it. I'm convinced that's why I recovered so quickly -- but the ship did not use intermittent pumping either, but rather a gentle and vastly more efficient gravity-fed bag. I totally get that even doing it for a while once I reached the hospital is by no means an outlandish precaution -- I'm sure it was motivated by a sincere desire to help me. I'm assuming everyone at the hospital was trying to help me, though the first doctor sure went about it in a questionable way. But they told me I couldn't get the promised CT scan or leave the hospital as long as there was anything in the tube. Since it was just the same normal gastric fluid going back and forth, back and forth, THAT would have been approximately when hell freezes over, unless I died in the meanwhile.

 

 

 

Thanks. You are absolutely right -- I think my main takeaway from all this is that I had the right to refuse the treatment in San Juan if I had only realized it when the ship first arrived. I'm less sure that once I recovered I had the right to refuse further treatment on the ship, where they were/are the bosses. I wonder what would have happened if I had walked out and back to my cabin on the morning of the 10th? I'll bet I would have been in big trouble, and of course off the ship later that day anyway....

 

Your medical perspective is helpful -- thanks again for your interest.

 

No worries. You are welcome. As for the ngt lets just say different MD's will have different opinions about this. Cheers and happy future sailings to you and your hubby. :)

[pspercy]

Here you go: http://medjetassist.com/. If you are a member of AARP, there is a premium discount of about 18%. Hope this helps.

 

Dave

 

My former employer had a contract with International SOS http://www.internationalsos.com/en/ we were all pleased to know it was there if we needed it.

[lobster129]

Yes, you do have the right to refuse any medical treatment....HOWEVER, there is another consideration in this decision.

 

You may have found that if you did not follow "medical advice" that your travel insurance company may not have "covered" your care on the ship or your evacuation and flight home (much less things like trip interruption and reimbursement for associated expenses).

 

I have worked in health care as an RN and know everything is not a clear cut "right or wrong" decision....but more what is "standard of care". Of course, there is no doubt that the Standard of Care (USA standards) were not met in PR. Not being assessed or have a competent interpreter....very poor!

 

I also always have "cruise/travel" insurance for our trip....PLUS the annual MetJet Assist policy for evacuation to a hospital of my choice if I am more than 150 miles from home. The challenge is that you must be "medically stabilized" prior to evacuation transfer.

 

Thanks again to OP for posting the details and helping travelers be aware of what can occur....so they can best proactively manage an emergent health issue.

 

Thank you also for being forthright about your husband's Mental Health issues. I certainly can understand how it impacted your concerns.

 

One more thing....GOOD FOR YOU for staying involved in life, travel and interests. Life is much too short to sit and home and wait. Continue to seek out your dreams!

[brazilgirl]

Great comments Lobster129.

[sharpasice]

Vagabondage, thank you for sharing your story...I too have learned MANY things from this thread. For instance, I had no clue that the cruise ship could or would refuse reboarding if injured during an excursion (as someone stated that a young lady had broken her wrist & was refused). Being in our 60s this made me rethink or at least keep that in mind when booking excursions. Our bones aren't as strong as some of the younger ones lol. I also learned more about travel insurances. I have a quick question. Do you think it is sufficent to combine the insurance offered by Celebrity with the Medjet insurance? Or would looking for a totally different travel insurance combined with Medijet be better or ....this has me a little confused. Any ideas? I did find a travel insurance comparison site from another thread here on CC so that will help if you all think the ship insurance stinks. My husband is a type II diabetic on oral meds only, if that is important for the type of insurance needed.

And lastly, I apologize if my questions are off the beaten path for this thread..I just thought it kind of follows all that happened to the OP. Thanks in advance for any help.

[lobster129]

I have compared policies and do not find the insurance the cruise offers to be adequate for my needs. I wish to cover the entire TRIP including flights, hotels etc. (including weather issues that could delay your arrival to the cruise port) More importantly, I need to cover pre-existing conditions. To do that, I purchase our trip insurance within 14 days of booking the cruise deposit. (NOT referring to MedJet here...since that is a flat annual fee)

 

Example, since your DH is diabetic....if he was a wound that is slow to heal that would cause you to cancel a cruise....the insurance company can say part of the reason is that he is diabetic (and therefore at greater risk for slower wound healing). So if they deem that his preexisting condition was a factor in the cruise cancellation....and it is NOT covered (unless you make sure you always select policies that cover preexisting conditions)

 

Just compare policies and take the time to read the fine print. You can do all this on line. You will find something that matches YOUR needs.

[drychi]

Thanks for taking the time to write and respond to others on this board. I have learned several important things about "medical emergencies" which I had never thought of before in our many overseas travels. I feel I will be better prepared if this happens to me or any of my loved ones while we are out of the country. I am glad you are recovering and I hope you and your husband have many happy days ahead of you! :):)

[Milhouse]

Appreciate the original post as it was an interesting & enlightening read. Felt it was very balanced which I also appreciate. I applaud everyone that takes the time to share their learning experience with others.

 

Just to throw my two cent in on a few points:

I have to agree with the posts that seem to indicate that X was probably trying to limit their liability by kicking you off the ship. Might not be the actual case but as an outsider looking in, it looks like it to me.

 

I kept thinking to myself during the read, "why is she not refusing medical treatment?" But I obviously realize that when in the depths of a situation, decision making sometimes becomes a bit off. [Again, appreciate the post as something I can reference if faced in a similar situation.]

 

I have mixed feelings about the assistance that went awry. I can appreciate that X was just trying to help but if you're going to help, you've got to do it right. Helping and having things go wrong (hospital, hotel, & airline) kind of makes things worse.

The extreme alternative is I suppose doing nothing at all to help but I don't think that's a reasonable option for X if they are essentially kicking a pax off the ship.

[Hokiepackcruiser]

I've carried MJA for years and find it reassuring to have especially since evacs and repatriations can be very expensive. Some cruise line policies pay embarrassingly little to cover an evac and some evacs can be very expensive. On a recent HAL Caribbean cruise we had 2 evacs in a 7 day period, both ending up in Miami. The HAL captain said that one case, which required the ship to return to a port it had left 3-4 hours earlier cost HAL $40k in fuel - part was probably because he had to make up time later in the day. The Capt said HAL covered that expense, but its just a small example of how costs can run up quickly.

 

Anyway, there is a glitch with MJA that you should be aware of -- the MJA agent told me recently that their coverage doesn't start until you get onto land (and maybe even until you get to a hospital on land -- still not real clear on that). As previous posters have said, MJA will take you where YOU want to go and at YOUR decision, not the decision of the podunk hospital that you're in that may be salivating to keep you there and get your $$$. But, there are 3 gaps that I've identified -- and who knows how many more gaps I've missed...

 

1) MedjetAssist does not pay to get you off the ship which can be very costly.

 

2) the paltry medical coverage limits in many cruise line policies may run out quickly in a hospital in many foreign ports where Medicare doesn't apply.

 

3) our trusty Blue Cross, etc will only reimburse you once you pay the bills and file claims. You either a big credit card limit or a travel insurance policy with realistic limits (assuming they will work directly with all foreign hospitals).

[lobster129]

According to their web site....

 

"Evacuation is provided from any hospital in the world, to any hospital in the world.

 

In essence....you would need to be stabilized for transfer to the hospital of YOUR choice....but you would already need to be IN a hospital.

 

In the case of cruising....you would need OTHER insurance coverage (or cash/ credit card) to cover the expense of getting you from the ship to the first hospital (and for whatever care you need there)

 

MJA is to get you transferred to the hospital of your choice (also for repatriation of "mortal remains") They can provide aircraft and staff that are medically able to support a patient during transfers (air ambulance)

 

They do provide interpreters etc also.

[sharpasice]

According to their web site....

 

"Evacuation is provided from any hospital in the world, to any hospital in the world.

 

In essence....you would need to be stabilized for transfer to the hospital of YOUR choice....but you would already need to be IN a hospital.

 

In the case of cruising....you would need OTHER insurance coverage (or cash/ credit card) to cover the expense of getting you from the ship to the first hospital (and for whatever care you need there)

 

MJA is to get you transferred to the hospital of your choice (also for repatriation of "mortal remains") They can provide aircraft and staff that are medically able to support a patient during transfers (air ambulance)

 

They do provide interpreters etc also.

 

 

Lobster & Hokiepackcruiser thank you so much for that information. I guess I need to pay CLOSE attention to the exact wording in a policy.

I did want to add also ..that anyone being airlifted or transported from a ship should, if at all possible ask the onboard Dr how to get hold of him if there is a mix up at the hosp. ie: ship dr told OP that a particular dr would be waiting and a CT would be done ..if when she was on land she (or her husband) was able to contact the ships dr then MAYBE..just maybe all her hours of waiting may have been avoided and the ships dr could have spoken again to the hospital/dr ..after all he HAD to have gotten the dr's name somewhere so obviously he DID speak to someone at the hospital. Worth a try anyway.

[Vagabondage]

Hi Everyone --

 

In case it is helpful to future cruisers, you might be interested in Celebrity's e-mail response yesterday to my letter [click on link]. I finally received this [click on link] from Corporate Guest Relations. It is the only contact of any sort, e-mail, snail mail or phone, that we have had from Celebrity after we were removed from the ship, and it was I who initiated it. I personally do not find it reassuring, though YMMV. I am surprised it didn't even merit a personal phone call after they received my letter.

 

If you are interested and have the patience to read even more of this lengthy string, here is my response to them today [click on link]. I feel the need to stress to them the importance for future medically disembarked passengers of being better informed what to expect and their decision-making rights re: treatment once off the ship. I hope this helps somebody down the line!