EQ 2/12-3/5 B2B, 2 great cruises and 1 broken foot...

[wendychloecruiser]

This will be brief.

We just recently returned from two wonderful cruises on the Equinox. An 11 day eastern itinerary to St Thomas, St Kitts, Barbados and St Maarten followed by a 10 day "southwestern" to Cozumel, Costa Rica, Panama, Cartagena and Grand Cayman.

 

On our FIRST port in St. Thomas, we were on a beautiful, private sailboat with one other couple having a great time snorkelling and trying out our new GoPro. I missed the bottom step on board and twisted my ankle/foot. It was at the end of the day and I managed to hobble back to the ship whereupon I was found to have a fractured metatarsal. The medical team was initially very good in the diagnosis but essentially ignored me after that. Really poor but that is in a bigger letter to head office. I refused to let them make a difficult situation worse, but they sure tried. To make a long story short, I needed an orthopaedic boot which they couldn't find in ANY port prior to Fort Lauderdale and couldn't even promise to find one there. So i took it into my own hands and with the Concierge's help by calling Broward Health Hospital, I spoke to the international department who assured me that they would easily facilitate me getting a boot. They just needed the physician to call them and essentially prescribe the boot. I immediately went down to the medical office whereupon in no uncertain terms flatly refused to make the call despite me providing them with the direct number. I was making my own way to the hospital and obviously paying for it. The reason for the refusal was that it would be a satellite call. I explained that five minutes ago the concierge had no issue in making a call. I left there in tears as I didn't think I was asking for too much. I did end up getting a boot in Fort Lauderdale so at least I was able to get out of a wheelchair.

 

Despite this the rest of the cruises were absolutely fantastic. We really enjoyed the entertainment. The shows were different but wonderful. We went to just about everything as I couldn't do too much, if anything in the ports. The guys in the Martini Bar were amazing. The food was decent. Of course everything wasn't perfect but so what? We really enjoyed Silk...a lot. The trivia was great fun. We met such a great bunch of people everywhere we went.

 

Our insurance company was a little slow in responding but they came through in the end upgrading me to business class in order that I could have my foot elevated for a relatively lengthy 9 hour flight home. Thank goodness for travel insurance!

 

I look forward to many future cruises and will not let a little thing like a broken foot ruin anything. I also came home with a whopping case of the Flu so I have been quite miserable. Tomorrow I find out if I need surgery on my foot. Oh well. I need to be better for our Harmony cruise in May!

[Grandmaanne7]

Wow! Sorry to hear about your foot. So glad that you could rise above an extremely difficult situation. Good for you! I do believe that you are certainly owed an apology, if nothing else, though. Best wishes for your recovery.

 

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

[Keith1010]

So sorry about your accident. Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Keith

[Fouremco]

Wow, quite the cruise. I'm terribly sorry that you were hurt, especially that early, but it sounds like you aren't the type to just sit there and feel sorry for yourself.

 

DW had a medical issue on the Eclipse 2 years ago, and the doctors and staff were excellent. They strongly suggested that we leave the cruise mid-way so that DW could have surgery, and the medical team and front office were highly accommodating. We had virtually unlimited free use of the ship's phone system to make all the arrangements.

 

I do hope that no surgery is required in your case and that you are as right as rain by May! :)

[Flafun888]

I immediately went down to the medical office whereupon in no uncertain terms flatly refused to make the call despite me providing them with the direct number. I was making my own way to the hospital and obviously paying for it. The reason for the refusal was that it would be a satellite call.

 

Can't believe they wouldn't help you with such a simple request - I'd be livid. How frustrating for you. And the flu on top of that. Your attitude at moving past it all and still summing up your vacation so positively speaks volumes about your character. I hate to admit it, but probably would have indulged in a little pity party behavior myself to have both these things hit on same trip plus dealing with the medical office hassles you did. So I really admire you.

[beach_lover_58]

This will be brief.

We just recently returned from two wonderful cruises on the Equinox. An 11 day eastern itinerary to St Thomas, St Kitts, Barbados and St Maarten followed by a 10 day "southwestern" to Cozumel, Costa Rica, Panama, Cartagena and Grand Cayman.

 

On our FIRST port in St. Thomas, we were on a beautiful, private sailboat with one other couple having a great time snorkelling and trying out our new GoPro. I missed the bottom step on board and twisted my ankle/foot. It was at the end of the day and I managed to hobble back to the ship whereupon I was found to have a fractured metatarsal. The medical team was initially very good in the diagnosis but essentially ignored me after that. Really poor but that is in a bigger letter to head office. I refused to let them make a difficult situation worse, but they sure tried. To make a long story short, I needed an orthopaedic boot which they couldn't find in ANY port prior to Fort Lauderdale and couldn't even promise to find one there. So i took it into my own hands and with the Concierge's help by calling Broward Health Hospital, I spoke to the international department who assured me that they would easily facilitate me getting a boot. They just needed the physician to call them and essentially prescribe the boot. I immediately went down to the medical office whereupon in no uncertain terms flatly refused to make the call despite me providing them with the direct number. I was making my own way to the hospital and obviously paying for it. The reason for the refusal was that it would be a satellite call. I explained that five minutes ago the concierge had no issue in making a call. I left there in tears as I didn't think I was asking for too much. I did end up getting a boot in Fort Lauderdale so at least I was able to get out of a wheelchair.

 

Despite this the rest of the cruises were absolutely fantastic. We really enjoyed the entertainment. The shows were different but wonderful. We went to just about everything as I couldn't do too much, if anything in the ports. The guys in the Martini Bar were amazing. The food was decent. Of course everything wasn't perfect but so what? We really enjoyed Silk...a lot. The trivia was great fun. We met such a great bunch of people everywhere we went.

 

Our insurance company was a little slow in responding but they came through in the end upgrading me to business class in order that I could have my foot elevated for a relatively lengthy 9 hour flight home. Thank goodness for travel insurance!

 

I look forward to many future cruises and will not let a little thing like a broken foot ruin anything. I also came home with a whopping case of the Flu so I have been quite miserable. Tomorrow I find out if I need surgery on my foot. Oh well. I need to be better for our Harmony cruise in May!

Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I actually fell missing a step in Cozumel. I just got a scraped knee and a bit on my face though.

 

I wanted to ask...is your husband's name Peter and did he captain the men's team in 'Battle of the Sexes" and did you bring him a drink from the martini bar? There is just too much familiar in your story for it not to be you two. I was the captain of the women's team and it was my husband that rattled through all the countries on one of the challenges.

[lakeliving501]

What a great attitude you have! Some people would have let such a bad situation ruin their vacation.

[SPacificbound]

I am so sorry about your broken foot and hope you will not need surgery.

 

You are obviously a 'make lemonade out of lemons' person and I am very happy for you that you enjoyed the cruises in spite of the medical issues.

 

I hope that your letter will cause Miami to take a look at the MD situation, and no one else will be given such a cold shoulder instead of assistance.

 

Kudos to the Broward Health Hospital.

[wendychloecruiser]

Sorry to hear about all your troubles. I actually fell missing a step in Cozumel. I just got a scraped knee and a bit on my face though.

 

I wanted to ask...is your husband's name Peter and did he captain the men's team in 'Battle of the Sexes" and did you bring him a drink from the martini bar? There is just too much familiar in your story for it not to be you two. I was the captain of the women's team and it was my husband that rattled through all the countries on one of the challenges.

 

Yes, Pete is the most incredibly wonderful husband in the entire world and I am so fortunate to have him in my life. And I did hobble in with a beer for him!

[hypercafe]

Most trip insurance has a 24 hour help line. I wonder if they would of been any help in a case like this? Seems odd the Dr would not help, even a paper scrip you could fax might of been a help.

[wendychloecruiser]

Most trip insurance has a 24 hour help line. I wonder if they would of been any help in a case like this? Seems odd the Dr would not help, even a paper scrip you could fax might of been a help.

 

 

We emailed and called the insurance company. We told them of the situation but could not assist with this except with reimbursement of all costs.

 

The medical facility/physicians refused any prescription of any kind despite us escalating our issue to the stripes (who were as equally unhelpful). I did ask them for a written prescription so that at least I could take that to the hospital. Denied. I can assure you that odd doesn't even begin to describe the situation. I could not and still don't understand their denial of a seemingly simple request. They didn't even have to worry about the time either as there was 24 hour availability of reaching someone at the contact number I GAVE THEM. I am a critical care nurse practitioner so I was particularly disappointed with their unprofessional behaviour and attitudes.

 

It got to the point of giving up on them. I didn't let them affect our cruise any more than they had already tried.

[Andy]

Hi Wendychloecruiser,

 

So sorry to hear what happened, and I wish you a very speedy recovery. It's wonderful that you were able to enjoy yourself, despite a very difficult situation.

 

It surely sounds like someone dropped the ball, or didnt care all that much, in the Medical Office - and that's very concerning. I'm glad that you are sharing your experience with Celebrity, and I hope you will post on this thread, when you receive a reply. I'm curious to hear what they have to say.

 

All the very best to you, and welcome home !

[Flafun888]

Yes - please update us if it's not too much trouble. Again, so sorry for what you dealt with.

[wendychloecruiser]

Apparently I will be getting a response from celebrity by this coming Friday, March 19.

[wendychloecruiser]

I contacted celebrity again on March 18. Apparently the medical department on the Equinox responded by saying that the reason why they refused to call Broward Health on my behalf was because they "aren't licensed to write prescriptions in Florida." Well this is being disingenuous on a couple of levels.

 

Firstly, anyone can buy a boot from anywhere. They are available for next day delivery from Amazon. The phone call was to merely advise the hospital of a recommended boot so that it would be readily available to facilitate the process of giving it to me and getting me back to the ship in time.

 

Secondly, they told me that the reason why they couldn't get a boot in ALL the other ports was because the PORT AUTHORITY AGENT did not respond to emails nor phone calls. So...since when does a Port Authority Agent need a prescription for ANYTHING?? A prescription had nothing to do with it. The only reason that I needed them to make a call at all was because they couldn't get me a boot and I couldn't trust them any longer.

 

I told her that I have been a Celebrity "cheerleader" for a long time now and this is a complete disappointment. We take my mom and MIL on cruises all the time and I was always somehow comforted in knowing that there was medical care available if needed. Now I'm not so sure.

[Clarea]

Sorry about your injury, but thanks for the report.

[Karynanne]

So sorry to read of your misfortune, but your great attitude is uplifting! The best of luck to you.

[Flafun888]

How disappointing...they really dropped the ball on this one.

[DrivesLikeMario]

You poor thing. Celebrity's medical team had the chance to make you a cheerleader forever and they dropped the ball. It's very disappointing. You sure have a great attitude about the ordeal though.

 

Couldn't you have written your own Rx for the boot if you're a nurse practitioner?

[wendychloecruiser]

You poor thing. Celebrity's medical team had the chance to make you a cheerleader forever and they dropped the ball. It's very disappointing. You sure have a great attitude about the ordeal though.

 

Couldn't you have written your own Rx for the boot if you're a nurse practitioner?

 

Very illegal and virtually impossible to write you're own script. Of note...in this case a prescription wasn't indicated just a lousy 2 minute professional courtesy phone call.

[Barwick Cruiser]

Your entire experience with the medical staff is inexcusable. I'm sorry for what happened to you..especially on the first port stop(!), but with a quick and basic call to shore from them you could've ended up with a much more positive outcome and a lot less stress. Not sure what was wrong with the staff that day but they certainly did drop the ball...and at your expense!

 

Also, it's not very reassuring that the port authority didn't respond to either calls or emails from the ship's medical staff...isn't that the same number they give to passengers in case of issues while off the ship??

 

Definitely you are owed at the least an apology from Celebrity...certainly shouldn't have taken this long to get one...

 

You are to be commended for your great attitude...not many would be as positive as you after the treatment you experienced!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[awhfy]

Sorry this happened to you, hope you don't need surgery. Hope you get some resolution from Celebrity, this shouldn't have happened.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Very illegal and virtually impossible to write you're own script. Of note...in this case a prescription wasn't indicated just a lousy 2 minute professional courtesy phone call.

 

Oh, I see. Thanks.