I developed appendicitis on board Carnival Ecstasy... My story

[Lemory06]

Hello everyone. I cruised Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston to Nassau, Bahamas from Sept 8-12th. Me and my girlfriends had an absolute BLAST. Couldn't have had more fun!!! Sunday morning was our 2nd fun day at sea as we headed back to Charleston. I started having pain around 10am. Thinking I was having heartburn I took some tums and returned to the pool. Things quickly got worse and I found myself in the medical center around 5:30pm.

 

I wanted to post because I wanted to give a shout out to the medical center on Carnival. They took excellent care of me. They were able to draw labs and administer IV fluids. Labs showed my WBCs were significantly elevated but there was no other way to know exactly what was wrong. At the time my pain was mid epigastric and not the classic lower right quadrant pain that is so classic for appendicitis. I was given IV pain medicine and oral zofran and zantac. Then nurses were awesome and the doctor was thorough and explained everything so well. I am an ICU nurse so I have medical knowledge.

 

Carnival sent me back to my cabin and felt I was safe to stay on the boat until docking. I had to return once in the night for more pain relief and they were quick and gave me IM meds so they would last longer. They also prescribed oral pain medicine to get me home.

 

Carnival was able to make sure I was first off the boat and bussed me to our car. My friend drove me home to Greenville, SC (a 3 hr drive) where I went immediately to the ER. I had a gangrenous appendix with peritonitis and was taken to surgery around 5pm Monday afternoon. (Carnival offered an ambulance to the nearest hospital but I declined)

 

My recovery has been slow but I am getting better every day. My advice to you is to get the trip insurance. If I had to be life flighted off the boat it would have been very expensive.. Also I am so thankful this happened on the last day instead of the first.

 

This was my second cruise but my first with Carnival.

 

I already posted this in the new cruiser forum but thought Carnival people would like to see it to.

 

I want to update that I am 11 days post op and doing great. I should be going back to work next weekend. I know I risked it to drive from Charleston to Greenville. At the time I felt I was stable enough to make the trip so I could be in my hometown near my family and at the hospital where I know everyone!

 

Sail on friends!

Edited September 24, 2016 by Lemory06

[funinthesun1964]

Glad it worked out for you and you are doing okay. Best wishes for the rest of your recovery. Here's to happy and healthy cruising for you in the future!

[siestakeys04]

I'm am so glad everything is okay. Take care of yourself.

 

 

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[Yazoo cruiser]

Four years ago our 4year old granddaughter began running a very high fever. The nurses and doctors were amazing. After docking in Cozumel, a nurse rode in the ambulance with her to the hospital where the nurse stayed with her and her parents the whole time, she was treated all day until time to get back on the ship. After returning to the ship a nurse and even the doctor came to her cabin every four hours to check on her. I can not say enough about their concern and treatment. As soon as we got back to New Orleans, they arranged for her to have an ambulance waiting to take her to the hospital. Thankfully she was fully recovered. The care they showed us was outstanding.

[bjd2]

Thanks so much for sharing your story. It's so great to hear how caring the medical staff are. Glad to hear that you're recovery is going well too. :)

[bradboy]

Thanks so much for sharing. I'm glad that your on the road to recovery

 

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[footballbabe3]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. How was your medical covered on the ship? Was it your private health insurance or did you purchase something for the trip?

[Florings]

Thank you for sharing your story, and so glad you are on the mend. Really good to hear what great treatment you received onboard. I've heard nothing but good about Carnival's medical staff, and this just bears it out!

 

Here's to your continued recovery!

[Mary Ellen1]

Wow, that certainly could have been a lot worse. I'm glad you are better now. Thank you for sharing your story.

 

We had a teenager in our party who broke his leg while playing basketball on the ship. First night. The doctor determine that he had to leave the cruise from our first port, Grand Cayman, which was two days later. He required a last-minute first-class ticket purchase (he needed the first-class seating because he couldn't bend his leg. :( ). So yeah, anything can happen, you don't need to be old and infirm, and it can get pretty expensive if you don't have trip insurance.

 

When you get trip insurance, the policies are a lot less expensive if you don't insure for trip cancellation. Medical policies are around $40-50-something for 2 people (and at least $100 more than that if you include trip cancellation insurance). Something to think about...

[poobears]

Great reminder that anything can happen, so glad you are on the mend and very happy it hit at the end of your cruise so at least you got to enjoy your vacation before it hit. That sounds like you caught it just in time.

 

I wound up in the ER right after leaving a cruise once for a gallbladder attack before I had it removed so I learned my lesson, even though my health insurance covers me out of country I still buy medical trip insurance because my health insurance has a high deductible. With the trip insurance through BCBS I can set my deductible to zero and it's still cheap to cover all of us.

[ducklite]

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. How was your medical covered on the ship? Was it your private health insurance or did you purchase something for the trip?

 

 

 

I don't believe any private health insurance covers treatment on a cruise ship, and most only cover a small percentage of the treatment cost in some counties (i.e. Some--not all--BC/BS plans will cover some Canadian treatment at an out of network rate, but you need to pay and then be reimbursed.)

 

This is a classic case of why travel insurance is crucial.

 

I am very glad to hear the OP is feeling better. :)

[Coopie]

So glad it worked out for you! This is NOW my biggest fear. Haven't cruised this year due to fear. Had emergency surgery on my colon due to blockage Aug 2015. Sailed that Thanksgiving week. Two weeks after we were home I was rushed by ambulance so sick that they had to hold off surgery for a few days before they could operate. Had another blockage, almost gangrene, due to scar tissue from first surgery. I still to this day am so grateful that we were home when it happened. Unfortunately, after hearing horror stories about the hospitals in the Bahamas I haven't booked since. (Didn't help that shortly after recovering earlier this year from the 2nd surgery in Dec I saw a story on The Doctor's about a guy who went to the hospital in Nassau (he was at Atlantis) and they butchered him. The details were awful.

 

Would sail north to NE/CAN but hoping they replace the Sunshine soon. Not to worried about being hospitalized in US or Canada (and I know that we do have some bad hospitals of our own here in US).

[UtterCaro]

I'm so glad to hear you're on the mend now, and that Carnival's medical staff was responsive to your needs. (I'm especially glad to hear it was on the Ecstasy, since I'll be aboard her next month!)

 

I developed pneumonia on a transatlantic cruise, and having (non-cruiseline) trip insurance saved my financial butt. At the price of a few drinks, I absolutely won't cruise without it.

 

Caro

Edited September 24, 2016 by UtterCaro

[Jenna1983]

Medical ship staff are pretty good. I've visited once in Carnival for something caught in my eye that caused abrasions. Last year, on MSC, they arranged for me to be seen by an orthopedic specialist on a Sunday in La Spezia (small hospital) and it was the fastest medical experience of my life. And cheapest. $0

[Lemory06]

I faxed all the receipts to my insurance company. I don't think they will cover any of it but it will go towards my out of pocket deductible. So it isn't a total waste. Also my chase credit card gives me a $300 annual travel credit so some of it was paid for by my credit card. The medical care on the ship cost me $445. That is some expensive pain medicine... BUT I really really needed it. I was in so much pain!

[LilDesertGirl]

What is a good company to use for insurance?

 

 

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[summersigh]

DH caught a bacterial pneumonia on our Belize cruise. He has cardiac issues and I have to say that the infirmary staff was EXCELLENT evaluating and treating him. They told us this illness was affecting many others as well. He spent the last 4 of the 10 days in bed eating room-service or plates I brought from the MDR at dinner time.

I have to say that our room steward was also excellent in accommodating his illness bringing ice and kleenex boxes often and even volunteering to keep an eye on DH so I could go on my excursion in Belize. :)

[Badfinger]

I don't believe any private health insurance covers treatment on a cruise ship, and most only cover a small percentage of the treatment cost in some counties (i.e. Some--not all--BC/BS plans will cover some Canadian treatment at an out of network rate, but you need to pay and then be reimbursed.)

 

This is a classic case of why travel insurance is crucial.

 

I am very glad to hear the OP is feeling better. :)

 

 

Not correct.

 

My insurance provides me the same coverage when I am traveling/cruising as when I am home. Of course, if I need medical care, it is unlikely any in-network providers would be available, which would mean I might have to cover the difference between the actual charge and my insurance companies allowance, but deductibles and maximum annual out of pocket would apply so I am not worried at all about health insurance when we cruise.

[ducklite]

What is a good company to use for insurance?

 

 

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There is no single answer. I use insuremytrip.com and each time they spit out different companies as my best option, as my needs vary between trips. In French Polynesia I needed very high medical evacuation insurance coverage but wouldn't be driving a car. For another trip I might might not need travel delay but would need cancel for any reason. I might choose to not insure the actual trip costs, but still need medical and evacuation based in where I am going.

[k2excursion]

Thanks for sharing your story, and I'm glad that your recovery is going well. Great advice about the insurance as well.

[Herfnerd]

What is a good company to use for insurance?

 

 

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I agree with the previous poster that there is no one single answer for this question.

 

Use InsureMyTrip.com or SquareMouth.com to look for policies from a variety of insurers - both sites will break down what is covered as well as specifics for each insurer - how long the have been in business, ratings, etc.

[trueblue91652747]

Glad to hear all ended well and Carnival took good care of you.

 

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[elliair]

Another story that reinforces the idea to get trip insurance. Young or old, you can get sick. DH 2 days into our cruise to Mexico developed a severe ear infection, inner and outer ear. The ship's doctor treated him with antibiotics and I must say, they did a thorough job of taking care of DH. On our Legend cruise to Alaska in May, I noticed that DH could hardly walk up the stairs and out of breath. He kept denying that anything was wrong. It was a 7-day cruise. The night we got home, we went to bed only for him to get up with a sharp pain in his back. He could hardly breathe. I told him to get his clothes on I was taking him to ER. I had to drive him over 40 miles to the hospital and they took care of him right away. As it turned out, he had massive blood clots on his lungs and the pain in his back was from a collapsed lung. His oxygen level was 65 and 3 doctors asked him why he was still alive! The clots came from a knee replacement he had about 5 years ago! We always have trip insurance, but, who wants to be stuck in Alaska for 2 weeks holed up in a hospital and hotel? He wouldn't listen to me to go to the ships doctor and almost died as a result. So a word to the wise, pay the extra cost and get trip insurance. We use TravelGuard, the Gold plan.

[winddawn]

I think each of us should understand our own personal insurance options prior to automatically spending extra to insure an upcoming cruise. My health insurance covers me outside the U.S. so I feel spending extra for trip health insurance would be a waste.

 

Read your insurance policy details before assuming you need to spend more to be covered on a cruise.

[poobears]

What is a good company to use for insurance?

 

 

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For strictly medical I go with Blue Cross Blue Shields Geo Blue or Geo Trekker plans. You can adjust your deductible and coverage to where you want it. It won't cover any trip cancellations it's just medical coverage but it's good medical coverage and it's very affordable. That is who I am using for our Oct cruise.