Warning regarding medical issues

[smtcan]

We had a similar experience with HAL when DH was taken ill as we docked in Shanghai a few years ago. He was taken off in an ambulance, but I was not allowed to leave until I had packed everything to leave the ship. It was an overnight stop, so I could well have gone to hospital with him then returned later to pack. They just put me in a taxi to the hospital on my own.

 

He had to sign consent to have surgery before I arrived at the hospital but luckily I arrived just in time to see him before he entered the operating room. I was able to contact our insurance company and they looked after everything from there on. The HAL port agent visited us several times, but when we were leaving the hospital, they asked us for money. I didn't have enough currency, so they said they would take me to a bank to get some. I had no idea I had to pay them, and it wasn't mentioned earlier. I asked our hospital contact what to do about it and they told me not to pay. i never heard any more about it.

 

Our experience wasn't as traumatic as the OP's, but I don't really think HAL performed any better than X. It was our insurance company that saved the day for us. We couldn't have asked for better service once we had contacted them.

 

Sheila

Edited June 4, 2015 by smtcan

[Langley Cruisers]

What country dis this take place in?

 

OP said Dominica.

[JackieJ]

:) There. You did it again. Spent a line on your $1,000 cell phone problem, then a paragraph about the kindness of the taxi driver.

 

I suspect you'll underplay this compliment, but you're exactly the kind of person one loves to meet on vacation.

 

May all your future vacations be filled good surprises.

 

Oh you're so sweet to say that!

 

Trust me, I am extremely disappointed with the way this was handled by Celebrity. While they may not have had control over what happened off the ship (although the port agency is paid by Celebrity per the documentation officer), they certainly had control over how I was treated on the ship.

[Iamthesea]

I am horrified over your story. :eek: Thank you for the warning.

 

I know that the cruiselines have no obligation to take care of passengers once we are onshore, but they could have at least taken care that you arrived at the hospital and made arrangements for to stay at a hotel.

 

If you take the ship/a cruise out of the picture and you were on a land vacation, things would not have been any different for you, except perhaps the hotel concierge would help you. ;)

 

May I ask what the excursion was? The type of insurance you had? Your age? I am 57 and would have flipped out had something like this happen to my husband. He is 5 years older, and while he would be able to handle a situation better if I were sick, he would not have the patience to use a cell phone (or know how. :D)

[yorkyred]

Terrible and probably a good example of the way most mass market cruise lines deal with things these days. However the post on Azamara and how they dealt with it is interesting. It does go to show you get what you pay for, add in the smaller ship and way better passenger to crew ratio and maybe old style cruising is not dead. We would really like to try them next time we cruise.

[BobbyD]

Dominica

 

Unfortunately, your husband probably couldn't have picked a worse port to take ill in. Beautiful island, but not many modern amenities.

[yukongold]

Like many others I am grateful you shared your story - a real eye opener. I also am glad to hear your husband if OK.

[rkacruiser]

Unfortunately, your husband probably couldn't have picked a worse port to take ill in. Beautiful island, but not many modern amenities.

 

Agree. But, like the taxi driver, many pleasant people reside there.

 

Re the issue of having cash: Would having traveler's checks have worked in place of hard currency?

[HouseRulz]

Agree. But, like the taxi driver, many pleasant people reside there.

 

Re the issue of having cash: Would having traveler's checks have worked in place of hard currency?

 

These days travelers checks are not nearly as widely accepted as they once were (including by banks), especially if they are not in the local currency.

[lhbsurf]

Jackie,

 

Upon reading your story, I looked at your signature to see if you were on Equinox, because my husband and I could see the end of your story transpiring from our balcony. We wondered what was happening, as it was obvious you were distraught.

 

Made me think about many things regarding our frequent travels...thank you for sharing your experience.

 

I know many things may not be "required" by the cruise line...but a company as powerful as Celebrity could do more than they did to assist you. Glad to hear your husband is ok.

[Beanb41]

At the end of the day for personal piece of mind one needs adequate travel insurance that will deal with one's issues irrespective whether they are onboard or ashore. One needs toll free numbers and assurance that the insurance company will pick up the costs rather than one having to use one's own money. They are around and may cost a little more than the "supermarket" travel policies but in event that they are needed are worth every penny one pays in premiums. One also needs a company that will cover existing ailments even if one has to pay a higher premium to cover them. Especially important as one gets older.

[tangerinebunny]

Perhaps we should all carry the local US or Canadian consulate information in our phones when we travel.

 

This page provides information on locating the US Consulate for the eastern Caribbean.

 

http://barbados.usembassy.gov/acs_emergency_contact.html

 

OP, I hope that you and your husband enjoy many more worry free vacations.

Your post made me double check my cruise insurance.

[dutrie]

I suffered a back injury while on an excursion in Grenada. I went to the ship's Dr. (Eclipse) who administered IV medications to relieve my pain (didn't work). He diagnosed a ruptured disk and I was forced to go to the hospital in Aruba for an MRI. The ER doctor in Aruba said I was misdiagnosed and I did not have a ruptured disk but a SI joint problem. He would not do an MRI because it would show nothing. He sent me back to the ship with a report declaring me fit to travel home on the ship.

 

I delivered the report to the ship's Dr. He was shocked and said that I should have been sent home immediately. I was allowed to stay on board because of the report from the ER. Had the ship's doctor declared me unfit to travel, however, my wife and I would have had to disembark immediately in Aruba where we would have been on our own to make arrangements to get a hotel and make arrangements to get home.

 

The ship DR has a lot of power and can decide if you stay on-board or have to disembark. They do not want the liability of you staying on-board.

 

I agree, prepare for the worst. Buy insurance and take plenty of cash and your credit cards! We had to guarantee payment for my ER visit up-front with a credit card with adequate limits.

[knittinggirl]

One of our table mates arrived at dinner with a cane. And he said the ship doctor put him on antibiotics and gave him the cane. The doctor must have been checking on him each day, and told him to visit the ER in Juneau. That evening, he walked up to our table w/o a cane. The ER in Juneau had changed his antibiotics.

[laurac22]

:) There. You did it again. Spent a line on your $1,000 cell phone problem, then a paragraph about the kindness of the taxi driver.

 

I suspect you'll underplay this compliment, but you're exactly the kind of person one loves to meet on vacation.

 

May all your future vacations be filled good surprises.

 

You are correct, Jackie and her Husband are exactly the kind of people you love to meet on vacation! That is why after meeting them on a Celebrity Cruise a while back, we are friends today. They are the best, and yes she has underplayed their experience!

 

I am one of her cruise buddies that encouraged her to post this warning. I myself was horrified to hear all that happened to them on this cruise, and how badly Celebrity failed them. Let me just say that Jackie is being kind to Celebrity by only sharing what she things might be beneficial information to help others.

 

I on the other hand as a somewhat frequent cruiser, that travels with my Son that is ill and mobility challenged am very concerned about the way Celebrity handled this whole situation. I always trusted that Celebrity(or any cruise line) would not take us on vacation to ports that many cruisers would likely not venture to on their own, and then desert us especially in the case of an emergency.

 

Maybe I was naive in thinking this, maybe it is not their responsibility (Although I believe it is) to take care of us once off the ship. However I believe that we should be able to except common decency, kindness, and a little help. Not be thrown off the ship like a criminal (with no explanation as to why), lied to repeatedly, Screamed at to sit in a chair and not move for two hours (while your husband is in a hospital and you have no idea if he is alright). To get better treatment from a Taxi driver that knows how dangerous it is for her to be there by herself without any representation from the cruise line! I could go on...

 

However I would truly not expect to lose 4 days of my vacation, based on what they say was "miscommunication" and then have to fight for 2 months to try to get reimbursed for prepaid things such as specialty restaurants, beverage packages, internet, ect that were not used.

 

There has been no mention of compensation, just the suggestion that there are other cruise lines out there.

 

In the future my family will have to think long and hard with this new information, and decide if it would be smart to cruise again to the majority of the places the cruise lines go.

 

Jackie you are a class act, and you both deserved better. Take care

[mmt44]

I think legally they have no obligation other than transport from the embarkation port to the disembarkation port. Any amenities like quality of food , onboard services (i.e. medical) are part of a reputation the cruise line would like for their business model. And if you get off the ship, you rely on the company reputation, not legality, to readmit you to the ship.

Edited June 5, 2015 by mmt44

[ghstudio]

Sadly, Celebrity's focus in these cases seems to be on minimizing their potential liability. If you present a risk, they do not want you on board; if they provide assistance once they put you off the ship, they might have some liability...and so on. What happens if you take a turn for the worse and they now have to divert somewhere for an emergency evacuation?

 

It's an understandable focus....just not one that we all would like them to have.

I certainly would be very unhappy the way Celebrity acted....and I can feel the OP's pain and frustration.

 

I'm not condoning Celebrity's actions....just trying to put them in perspective.

[Hlitner]

This thread really perks my interest. DW and I do a lot of traveling (to about 100 countries) on our own and simply pray that we have no medical emergencies. We also do a lot of cruising (probably nearly 1600 days on ships) and also pray we never have a medical emergency. But we are cognizant that we are responsible for ourselves and would never count on any resort, hotel or cruise line to properly handle a crisis. Sure, many cruisers think that the cruise lines are totally concerned about the well-being of every passenger and will do everything possible to "hold their hand." But the reality is that cruise lines (and resorts) see sick customers as problems to be dealt with minimum disruption to their schedule (and other healthy customers). Cruise ship captains will usually go out of their way (sometimes at great expense) to get a sick passenger or crew member to a shore-based hospital. They do not want sick or injured folks on their ships because they have limited facilities, few medical personnel, and are not a hospital ship. So the attitude of cruise lines is to get the sick passenger off the ship ASAP..preferably at a regularly scheduled port. Once off the ship the passenger is no longer the responsibility of the cruise line either legally or morally! Over the years we have heard of port agents who went well beyond the norm to provide support to sick passengers dumped in their venue. And we have heard of port agents who do nothing beyond making the arrangements to get a passenger from ship to hospital.

 

It is no fun being sick or injured and stuck in a foreign country (this happened to me while on a driving trip in Northeastern Spain). But one needs to be prepared to deal with these issues and not expect a lot of handholding by cruise lines or other travel companies.

 

Hank

[hypercafe]

I think the ship medical facility is like a urgent care place. They really want you off the ship if you are really sick and do not want you back. I always get med insurance for at least 500K and evacuation at least for 500K, primary paying. I hate to say it but some of the places on my list are impossible because I would be scared to get stuck there. Best to use up your list while you are young and able.

 

Sent from my SM-T320 using Forums mobile app

[ginabab]

Thank you for sharing this

Sorry you had this experience

[JackieJ]

I'm not saying I needed any hand-holding, but at the same time, Celebrity's lack of communication among their own staff made this whole situation far more difficult than it needed to be.

[Snit13]

Jackie,

 

Since reading your post the other day I have done a lot of thinking. I wish someone knowledgable would post (if allowed) directions for reputable travel insurance companies. We always buy the trip insurance sold by Celebrity but now I am wondering if it really protects us. I must admit when it comes to insurance I find it difficult to understand the small print and what coverage we actually receive. Since we are super seniors we need emergency coverage as Medicare does not cover us while crusing.

 

I feel for you as my husband got quite ill while on Safari in Kenya and we were out in the bush. I always carry a bag of medications from home so I was able to handle the situation without "The Witch Doctor." The Lodge where we were staying was very helpful.

 

On TA a lady from Scotland fell on running track and broke knee and was dropped by ship's agents a block from hospital and had to walk. No one from crew ever contacted her and her husband when she returned from hospital to ship. Fortunately their insurance from Scotland came to their aid and assisted with arrangements from Barcelona once we docked.

 

Glad you were able to handle the situation on your own and thanks for posting and opening our eyes.

[quilter06]

I am able to associate with your experience having become ill on two separate trips, Israel and Paris. We travel a lot and when we leave are in perfect health but even at home health emergencies can happen. However we received excellent care and treatment from our travel company, Grand Circle. In Israel I had a doctor come to the hotel and ordered a prescription. The tour director himself took my husband in a cab to a pharmacy, waited with him and brought him back to the hotel. In a couple days I was well. In Paris, after 3 days on a river cruise, I became ill and spent 8 days in a hospital and was unable to continue on the cruise. The tour director made arrangements even staying up one night till midnight to make sure transportation back home was in place. Grand Circle is a smaller company but we travel with them with confidence and have always been satisfied with their cruises and tours. Yes, we are elite with Celebrity and enjoy their cruises also however I will certainly think twice before I book again to a underdeveloped country. Another suggestion is in the event of illness keep detailed notes and lists of expenses. You'll need them for insurance.

[Barry ATL]

What happens if one does not have the ability to pay the medical expenses up front? I will throw out an example: One of us is really ill and the ship doctor sends us to the hospital at the next port... we will say Mexico since that is our next cruise. The hospital costs are $5000 and we only have access to $2000. We have to arrange travel back to the USA after the hospital visit. In this example we would be over insured with travel insurance. In the example I am making up dollar amounts.

 

I am asking because some of the experiences listed here would be way out of our financial ability to pay up front.

[varoo]

What happens if one does not have the ability to pay the medical expenses up front? I will throw out an example: One of us is really ill and the ship doctor sends us to the hospital at the next port... we will say Mexico since that is our next cruise. The hospital costs are $5000 and we only have access to $2000. We have to arrange travel back to the USA after the hospital visit. In this example we would be over insured with travel insurance. In the example I am making up dollar amounts.

 

I am asking because some of the experiences listed here would be way out of our financial ability to pay up front.

We asked the same questions ourselves when obtaining Medicare Advantage insurance coverage.

 

In the USA, ordinary Medicare for seniors does not provide insurance coverage when traveling outside the country, but many Medicare Advantage plans do, so many seniors who travel abroad are always careful to choose a plan that does.

 

We were told that if we did not have the money to pay up front ourselves, our Medicare Advantage plan would guarantee payment to the hospital and doctors, or would even make the payment up front themselves if necessary to ensure medical care.

 

But even so, when we travel we always bring along a credit card with a high limit that we leave locked in our ship safe, just to have available to use for emergencies if necessary.

 

For everyday purchases when traveling, we use a chip credit card with a much lower limit.

In case that one should ever be compromised or lost, we can cancel it and still have the high-limit card available to use if necessary.

 

Guess I should add that we frequently use the chip and pin card (which we obtained a few years ago specifically for overseas travel) for purchases even in small out-of-the-way places and have not had a problem with it yet.

 

We understand that just about all USA issued credit cards will have the chip and pin technology in the near future.

 

In any case, it is always a good idea to check with your own insurance provider to find out what they do and do not cover,

and specifically how they would handle a situation where you did not have adequate cash to cover medical/hospital/emergency evacuation expenses up front,

because your own coverage may differ from the policies held by those of us who respond here.

 

In the USA, even the same company's policies can differ from state to state, as we found out.

 

Edited June 6, 2015 by varoo