Royal Caribbean kicked me off cruise ship for having a migraine

[restasured]

Sorry you missed your cruise but did RCI do something wrong? :confused:

 

In my opinion, which is worth whatever I think it is worth, they did. They acted appropriately in todays litigious society, by sending her to the ER, but they did not act appropiately in not refunding her cruise price or at least offering another, comparable cruise, free. It is called Public Relations, something many companies could care less about today.

Edited February 7, 2014 by restasured

[zombiehunter]

So my assumption is the OP will be a "one post wonder" and not come back for any clarification. I'm not an RCI "cheerleader", but this one is on an either risk adverse or incompetent (but unfortunately fully licensed and credentialed) doc!

 

Remember (from numerous previous posts, and onboard information) that the ship's doctor is legally an independent contractor and RCI assumes no responsibility for their action or inaction. That provides RCI legal top cover and leaves the doc hanging out to dry. With the OPs history, there's no way on earth any ER would do more than a quick rule out and release, which was what happened. The ship's doc was unwilling to accept that risk and offloaded his or her case on the ER (if you know an ER doc or nurse, this happens all the time).

 

Frankly, I hope the OP has private travel insurance and the insurance company goes after the quack that put them in this position. But, this one ain't on RCI, unless they violated their own policies and didn't hire a qualified physician...

 

All the time.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

 

Ignore the RCI fanboys who always side with the cruise line no matter how egregious they acted. So sorry this happened to you on what was to be a 40th anniversary cruise. Assuming what you described is accurate, this was a ridiculous and avoidable overreaction by the cruise line. Very cold and thoughtless they would do this and it should cause people to think twice about sailing with them if they do not make this right. I hope you are able to procure some recourse; you definitely deserve a full refund of all expenses and they should offer you some compensation on top of this to try and make things right. Best wishes to you.

 

And ignore the people who don't know anything about medicine.

 

Medically speaking:

 

They did ABSOLUTELY the right thing. Strokes present with those symptoms. Meningitis presents with photophobia and severe light sensitivity. If you're not aware, meningitis is very contagious and very fatal. I have a similar job to that of "ship nurse". It comes down to a judgement call and unfortunately they made it at your expense. I do the same thing all the time "Oh, you're reporting symptoms of ________" then I look at everything and make my call.

 

Speaking to the situation:

You're a long time sufferer of migraines. As such I have to assume you've had migraines so bad that you've either ended up hospitalized or ended up bedridden for days at a time. KNOWING this...why wouldn't you spring for the $30 travel insurance RCI offers? Knowing that they JUST had a HUGE norovirus outbreak and KNOWING that they're going to be hypervigilant (probably explains the medic at your muster) you have some responsibility to plan ahead. (Possibly ignore this as I think you did have some kind of travel insurance for the outlined reasons).

 

I'm a big fan of holding people accountable, but I don't think RCI has much here. They acted in good faith to you and their other customers. They know that people are going to hide symptoms (see previous noro outbreak as evidence), it's human nature. I wouldn't be surprised if they have IR cameras taking heat videos of everyone on board all the time.

 

Although, it sounds like you have travel insurance. So I'm not sure why this is an issue. File with your insurance company and let it be their problem. It's what they do. It's why they exist. I'm not sure why you're mad at the cruise line. That should have been your first call, not screaming at RCI for doing what is arguably the right thing.

 

Good luck with the insurance!

[richstowe]

Elfmamma

 

Sorry to hear how you were abused by RC. As far as I can tell your biggest mistake is bothering to tell your story here.

 

Reading here about the Norovirus on the Explorer, I saw posts which stated that RC had nothing to apologize for as passengers brought the infection on themselves.

Others said that if passengers had properly used Purell they wouldn't have gotten sick. Still other posts said they were lucky to get as much compensation as was offered and the offer was clearly done out of the goodness of RC's heart.

 

Hope you have better experiences on cruise ships in the future.

Edited February 7, 2014 by richstowe

[LetsGetWet!]

And ignore the people who don't know anything about medicine.

 

Medically speaking:

 

They did ABSOLUTELY the right thing. Strokes present with those symptoms.

Also ignore the people who DO know about medicine but ignore some of the key facts!

 

Given that she's correct about the doctor administering Imitrex to her, either the doctor had ruled out stroke in his own diagnosis, or if he hadn't ruled out stroke he was incompetent and negligent to administer Imitrex...

[restasured]

So you chose not to purchase the Insurance protection for your cruise, is that right?.....

 

Pretty plainly states in the OP's initial post that Yes she bought the insurance, but she and her travel agent are asking RCCI to do the "right thing" where it is the legal thing or not and refund the cost of the cruise. RCCI is the party that put her off the ship, for a non medical emergency, which with a real doctor, would have have obvious.

[restasured]

The symptoms she was experiencing during the muster drill, could indeed have been the signs of a stroke, maybe a bit of research would help you....:rolleyes:

 

You are correct and indigestion is a sign of a heart attack, should all people that suffer with indigestion during the muster drill be put off the ship. The idea that a symtom of one ailment that is life threatening being applied to all symtoms is ridiculous.

[mstigerlily18]

What surprises me about this is that the OP (and some others) seem surprised by the existence of the strobe lights in the hallways. They are pretty much standard in most commercial buildings (ever had a fire alarm in an office building, hotel, or college dorm?). They are ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) mandated in commercial designs- it is a 'visual siren' for those with hearing disabilities.

[fletch1027]

Sorry you missed your cruise but did RCI do something wrong? :confused:

 

I know it's totally hypothetical, but if it happened 7-8 hours out at sea due to a disco strobe or something like that, do you think they would have made the same rush to judgement? The equivalent to what they did would have been an immediate return to port / airlift.

 

I tend to think that had the ship been out at sea they would have taken a little more time to listen to her explanation / evaluate the situation before doing a 180 and heading towards shore.

 

It seemed convenient (time wise and money) since they were still in port to give her the boot and be done with it. IMO, that was a bad call on their part, especially because she alluded to the ship waiting for them to leave before heading out...

[BeachChik]

Let's look at this a little different, suppose they let her cruise and a true emergency occurred. OP is walking in a hallway and the strobe lights and horns sound and she has the same reaction. So now I the middle of an emergency they have to evacuate a completely disoriented and helpless passenger

 

I agree with Royals decision that she was unfit to sail and a risk to other passengers.

Just my humble opinion.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

 

So based on your comments, no one with a disability or medical problem should ever sail. When we went on royal there was a large group with special needs kids. Should they be denied sailing because they would be helpless in an emergency? What about someone in a wheelchair? Or a blind person? We should just remove them all since by your logic they are not fit to sail. :rolleyes:

[QueensChick]

OP... I'm very sorry that this happened. Seems to have been a series of unfortunate coincidences. I hope you get a satisfactory resolution. Congrats on your milestone anniversary.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I927 using Tapatalk 2

[Big_G]

I know it's totally hypothetical, but if it happened 7-8 hours out at sea due to a disco strobe or something like that, do you think they would have made the same rush to judgement? The equivalent to what they did would have been an immediate return to port / airlift.

 

I tend to think that had the ship been out at sea they would have taken a little more time to listen to her explanation / evaluate the situation before doing a 180 and heading towards shore.

 

It seemed convenient (time wise and money) since they were still in port to give her the boot and be done with it. IMO, that was a bad call on their part, especially because she alluded to the ship waiting for them to leave before heading out...

 

Maybe you're right but it seems to me that some here are putting a lot of stock in the version of an anonymous poster. Does anyone remember the infamous 'tobacco' in the scuba bag thread? :D

[LetsGetWet!]

Maybe you're right but it seems to me that some here are putting a lot of stock in the version of an anonymous poster. Does anyone remember the infamous 'tobacco' in the scuba bag thread? :D

I've not been around enough to know about the thread you referenced, but I already argued once in this thread - of COURSE we're "putting a lot of stock" in that version by choosing to participate in the thread to start with. Every single post in this thread is based on that version, whether we're sympathetic or unsympathetic to the OP. I fail to see how else any thread on a message board can exist in any other manner? :confused:

 

It makes no sense to say "I don't think that's what happened, here's what I think happened" because I wasn't there. Therefore, we're discussing the situation outlined in the original post. If its all a lie, than any conclusions anyone in the thread comes to are totally invalid. But that's true for every single thread on this entire board, with the possible exception of the "look at the pictures of my cruise" threads!

[spookwife]

This is the most logical post yet. Someone that actually gets it. I understand not letting her sail, and under the circumstances RCI made the correct call...but to not give a full refund is just wrong.

 

 

the OP has travel insurance. there is no need for Royal to refund anything esp since the fine print on the contracts states that you can be put off with no refund at any point.

 

what's to prevent the OP for getting a refund from Royal then turning around and putting in a claim with their travel insurance thus double dipping?

[alexkrn46]

we do not know what the "medic" was thinking, perhaps he thought she was having a migraine but thought it was severe enough to be evaluated in the er.

 

Travel insurance would have mitigated damages, too bad the travel agent did not suggest it.

 

I am sorry this women had this experience.

[time4u2go]

we do not know what the "medic" was thinking, perhaps he thought she was having a migraine but thought it was severe enough to be evaluated in the er.

 

Travel insurance would have mitigated damages, too bad the travel agent did not suggest it.

 

I am sorry this women had this experience.

 

Did you not read the original post? They had travel insurance.

[Langley Cruisers]

Travel insurance is not always cut and dried, nor is it easy to collect. When we cancelled due to my cancer last year, we had to provide my physician's signatures on forms as well as her account of what happened and what exact date I became unable to travel, and we had to file within 24 hours of my becoming incapacitated - plus of course they phoned my physician after that to make sure everything was accurate and truthful. I think anyone would agree they are looking for a loop hole - a reason not to pay out. Praise God we got everything back but it did take some time.

Edited February 7, 2014 by Langley Cruisers

[Ceblake]

I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with migraine with aura. The warnings signs are exactly what happen right before the migraine starts. I was also prescribed imitrex for migraines. If she has had these types of migraines for that many years, then only she knows exactly what was happening. Please read below:

 

Symptoms of migraines:

nausea

vomiting

yawning

irritability

low blood pressure

feeling "hyper"

sensitivity to light, sounds, or motion

dark circles under the eyes

 

A migraine with aura comes with additional symptoms, which often begin about 30 minutes or less before the headache. These early symptoms are called a prodrome.The prodrome or aura may last for five to 20 minutes, or it may continue even after the headache subsides. Symptoms of aura include:

 

blind spots or scotomas

blindness in half of your visual field in one or both eyes (hemianopsia)

seeing zigzag patterns (fortification)

seeing flashing lights (scintilla)

feeling prickling skin (paresthesia)

weakness

seeing things that aren't really there (hallucinations)

 

It's ashame what happened and I hope this doesn't happen to me!

[emdia43]

I haven't read every post but for the OP - how did the staff member come to notice you at Muster?

[Beach4me]

As disappointing as it is, RCCL did the cautious, prudent thing.

 

I used to suffer migraines and took Imitrex for them. I woke up with a migraine one morning a few years ago. Same symptoms as I always had with migraines - including aura. Took my meds and soldiered on to work. Where I promptly had a stroke. At age 40.

 

I've never looked at migraines the same since that moment. I don't want to think about what would have happened had I "soldiered on" and gotten onto a cruise ship with my "normal migraine" that morning... :eek:

[LA_CA_GAL]

the OP has travel insurance. there is no need for Royal to refund anything esp since the fine print on the contracts states that you can be put off with no refund at any point.

 

what's to prevent the OP for getting a refund from Royal then turning around and putting in a claim with their travel insurance thus double dipping?

 

Someone in customer relations like me.

 

As I said before, I call the OP. I listen. I apologize. I work with her and the insurance company. I make the OP happy and satisfied.

 

And I do not give a rat's @$$ what the contract says, all be damned. I will take care of my customer and do everything I can to make things right.

 

I am totally baffled at how so many here have NO IDEA what is involved with providing exceptional customer service.

Edited February 8, 2014 by LA_CA_GAL

[Sherlock43031]

other than her disappointment.. since RCI refunded all her optional excursions, etc.. and she has insurance (or at least her TA told her she did) I don't know why she doesn't simply file the insurance why pound on RCI? I think we need to hear the rest of the story.

[alexkrn46]

other than her disappointment.. since RCI refunded all her optional excursions, etc.. and she has insurance (or at least her TA told her she did) I don't know why she doesn't simply file the insurance why pound on RCI? I think we need to hear the rest of the story.

 

yes, I agree, I think the issue about the strobe lights is her concern,, which mostly every public building has without making announcements.

[cage keeper]

Anyone who has not experienced migraines can not understand how horrible they can be. I couldn't even read all the posts without getting upset. I also have suffered for many years. yes, i have found my miracle drug in Amerge but before that the only time I missed any work was because of migraines. Not the flu or a cold could keep me in bed but a migraine, with vomiting was the worst pain ever. Could not function at al and No , they were not because of my diet but hormonal. Even now the meds take an hour to work as my body gets accustomed to them. I feel that Dr. was uneducated on migraines. Otherwise this would not have been an issue. So sorry you had to go through this and yes, a migraine is no reason your cruise should have ended.

[jjikids]

I haven't read every post but for the OP - how did the staff member come to notice you at Muster?

 

Read very first post. Everything is explained there by OP.

[cjknox]

OP,

 

While I do certainly sympathize with your situation the procedural action Royal Caribbean took actually was the only thing they could do. By sending you off the ship they basically released themselves of any and all liability that would have resulted if something actually happened to you. Look at it this way, if someone is showing signs of an ailment serious in nature (heart attack, stroke, etc.) but because they don't want to miss their cruise they decide to stay on board and the cruise line lets them, if something were to happen to that guest during the cruise and the cruise line knew about it before hand, the company would be exposed to all kinds of litigation.

 

This is definitely a tough situation but at the end of the day the extreme caution used by Royal Caribbean in this case may just in fact save a persons life one day.