Medical emergency at sea

[margaret10987]

I always wondered what would happen if we were to have a medical emergency at sea God forbid. Anything can happen at any time, you just never know. Can anyone tell me how this works. We always have insurance just in case. I know this is a very personal subject but if anyone can tell what their experience was I would appreciate it. I am not trying to be morbid just want to understand what would happen and what the procedures are. Thanks

[matj2000]

It depends on the type of "medical emergency".

 

Which is a very broad term.

Ships medical staff can only do so much to treat people.

If it is something major, they try to stabilize the person and get them off ASAP.

[lizardhowson]

Sometimes the ship returns to port, sometimes the ship diverts to a non-scheduled port and sometimes the person is airlifted off.

 

Someone was airlifted off the Vista on our last cruise.

[sanger727]

The ship does have a doctor and some medical equipment onboard. If they can treat the person with that they will. If they can't they either medevac the person off in a helicopter or sail close enough to a port for a tender to retrieve the person. I've already read on here that in the event the person passes before any of those can be arrange that there is a morgue on board.

[Micahs Grandad]

And it happens fairly often

[hannibal54]

On our cruise in Dec. on the NCL Gem, the ship had 2 medical emergencies around the same time. There were 2 helicopters circling our ship until they got both people airlifted off. They were flown to Martinique. The ship had that port as their second stop. One of the people that was sent to the hospital re-boarded there. Later in the cruise we saw his wife pushing him in a wheelchair, he told us that he was one of the two who were flown off.

[Crusin Hogs]

We did a Panama /Costa Rica cruise from Miami , We diverted to Grand Cayman , in the middle of the night ,Tender came out ,They off loaded a couple ,lady on stretcher ,,,and we headed on to Miami

[KansasTexan]

I always wondered what would happen if we were to have a medical emergency at sea God forbid. Anything can happen at any time, you just never know. Can anyone tell me how this works. We always have insurance just in case. I know this is a very personal subject but if anyone can tell what their experience was I would appreciate it. I am not trying to be morbid just want to understand what would happen and what the procedures are. Thanks

 

 

I've seen ship's crew in action several times and they were quick and professional in handling significant medical emergencies. I've also seen people evacuated off the ship while we were at sea. What I'd encourage each and every person to do is this: If you're not already CPR/Basic Life Support certified because of your profession, take a Community CPR/Basic Life Support class and learn how to recognize emergencies, get help, and start treatment while waiting for help to arrive. The life you save could be someone you love, family, a neighbor, or a complete stranger - at sea, at home, anywhere.

[summersigh]

We've been in the medical center of what was then one of the older ships in the CCL fleet. Suprising to us it was very well equipped - like any emergency room you'd see at home.

It's my understanding that most, if not all, of the doctors and nurses on board have an emergency room background. That's what we were told by a Doc DH saw for a respiratory infection he acquired on board.

[bwellen]

We were on the Breeze a few years ago when the Coast Guard lifted a person off the back of the ship while we were cruising between Cuba and Haiti.

 

A couple of weeks later I happened to run into the daughter of the man lifted off of our cruise. She was posting about it on a thread on this site. Her Dad had a heart attack on board and he was taken to Miami. She had nothing but good things to say about the medical facility on board and how they were able to stabilize him for transport. She also said the staff on the ship went out of there way to help her Mom deal with everything and gave her free internet and phone calls.

 

 

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[kgb46]

I always wondered what would happen if we were to have a medical emergency at sea God forbid. Anything can happen at any time, you just never know. Can anyone tell me how this works. We always have insurance just in case. I know this is a very personal subject but if anyone can tell what their experience was I would appreciate it. I am not trying to be morbid just want to understand what would happen and what the procedures are. Thanks

 

 

Even though you have insurance (I always do as well) you need to know that it is not normally accepted as payment for services in a foreign country. Most of them will require payment before they will treat so make sure you have a credit card with a good amount of credit on it. Then you have to file your claim with the insurance company once you are home.

[JaniceB]

My last cruise first day at sea our friend slipped and broke her hip. She was in her 80's and I wondered if they would fly her off. They said no as long as she was stable they would wait until our first port. We had 2 sea days and then a port. She did this very early on sea day 1. They kept her in the infirmary full of pain meds until we got to port. I thought it was very cruel but they said it is very dangerous to take someone off in a helicopter and puts everyone on the ship in danger.

[cb at sea]

The ship's medical center is equipped to deal with tummy aches, and other viruses...scrapes, bruises, sprains, cuts, etc. They are not equipped to do surgery or set broken bones or any major medical procedure. You should be in good health when you cruise. Yes...stuff can and does happen, but it makes no sense to put yourself in the middle of the ocean, if you have ongoing medical issues that require specialists!

[HeidiHo]

We were on the Breeze a few years ago when the Coast Guard lifted a person off the back of the ship while we were cruising between Cuba and Haiti.

 

A couple of weeks later I happened to run into the daughter of the man lifted off of our cruise. She was posting about it on a thread on this site. Her Dad had a heart attack on board and he was taken to Miami. She had nothing but good things to say about the medical facility on board and how they were able to stabilize him for transport. She also said the staff on the ship went out of there way to help her Mom deal with everything and gave her free internet and phone calls.

 

 

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I think I was on that cruise with you. I remember the posts from the daughter afterward.

[dan4182]

And it happens fairly often

 

 

We sailed out of Galveston on the Magic and' date=' before we even dropped the harbor pilot off, we had to return to the dock to evacuate two elderly women. One had broke her shoulder, the other her arm.

 

Lots of metal to fall against on a ship that size!

 

 

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[coevan]

Even though you have insurance (I always do as well) you need to know that it is not normally accepted as payment for services in a foreign country. Most of them will require payment before they will treat so make sure you have a credit card with a good amount of credit on it. Then you have to file your claim with the insurance company once you are home.

 

 

Many of the Caribbean islands are on some sort of socialized medicine. We had a friend on a land trip to the British Virgin Islands and had an emergency appendectomy. The total charge was about $300. You also better carefully check your personal health insurance and see how they cover international travel. This is why we always buy travel insurance.

[ABQrobin]

Our ship heading north out of Seattle last June, on way to Alaska.... we were only maybe 2 hours out of port when an announcement came over intercom that there was a medical situation and we would be meeting a med team on a boat. Sure enough, our ship practically stopped, 15 minutes later a boat came up beside us, within a half hour we were back under way at full speed. Took maybe an hour off our progress, no biggie. Lucky for whomever had to evacuated we were so close.

[InitialD]

Last year my mother-in-law developed a respiratory issue. She spent most of the morning in the ship sickbay - they have the equipment to monitor heart rate etc. finally they decided as a precaution she would debark in Nassau as a precaution because the next two days would be at HMC and sea day and it would be too risky to try to wait it out. So the ship was a hour late leaving Nassau as they waited for an ambulance to take her to a hospital.

 

She had bought the travel insurance through Carnival and it was good because they helped book a flight home after a couple nights in the hospital in Nassau and she was reimbursed a free cruise which she will be taking with us this year.

 

 

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[hookedoncruising99]

The medical team on board is like an ambulance squad. The hospitals on most Caribbean islands can offer the support that a dental practice in the U.S. can. Hope you are close enough to have the US Coast Guard take you from the ship, hope even more that you're close enough to the US to be taken there. There are a few places where the medical services really are quite adequate but they are few and far between (places like Cuba). If you are near place like the D.R. or Honduras- make peace with your God. I say that after seeing the "best" hospital in the D.R. in Santo Domingo---I've seen better facilities at Vet clinics.

[sk8rmomof3]

As a nurse, I'm curious as to the medical center. I'd love to just go down there and see how it is. Do they charge your insurance for everything? Obviously getting flighted off the boat would require extra fees, but if you are dehydrated and need some IV fluid, they charge your insurance? Hopefully we won't be needing any medical services! (We don't drink so no hang overs or anything. My 9 yr old son tends to be my "weak link" medically so lets hope he is ok! He's usually my carsick kid (Im bringing a patch for him) but he is also very small so excessive vomiting is detrimental to him and fluid replacement would be important. What about broken bones? Can they do x-rays and set the bone for until the cruise is over? Just curious but totally not planning on using this service! ( But then again, who plans a medical emergency?!)

[sk8rmomof3]

The ship's medical center is equipped to deal with tummy aches, and other viruses...scrapes, bruises, sprains, cuts, etc. They are not equipped to do surgery or set broken bones or any major medical procedure. You should be in good health when you cruise. Yes...stuff can and does happen, but it makes no sense to put yourself in the middle of the ocean, if you have ongoing medical issues that require specialists!

 

Good to know! My son likes to break bones. He better not on the trip! I was happy to see they don't allow anyone over 24 weeks pregnant to cruise with them. As a labor and delivery nurse I was curious about this! I'm not about to delivery any babies on my vacation! (Of course I would if the need was there....but good to know it wouldn't be the case!)

[Sitzmark]

The ship's medical center is equipped to deal with tummy aches, and other viruses...scrapes, bruises, sprains, cuts, etc. They are not equipped to do surgery or set broken bones or any major medical procedure. You should be in good health when you cruise. Yes...stuff can and does happen, but it makes no sense to put yourself in the middle of the ocean, if you have ongoing medical issues that require specialists!

 

 

Actually many ships medical facilities now are equipped with X-ray equipment and can set broken bones put on casts etc.

[hookedoncruising99]

As a nurse, I'm curious as to the medical center. I'd love to just go down there and see how it is. Do they charge your insurance for everything? Obviously getting flighted off the boat would require extra fees, but if you are dehydrated and need some IV fluid, they charge your insurance? Hopefully we won't be needing any medical services! (We don't drink so no hang overs or anything. My 9 yr old son tends to be my "weak link" medically so lets hope he is ok! He's usually my carsick kid (Im bringing a patch for him) but he is also very small so excessive vomiting is detrimental to him and fluid replacement would be important. What about broken bones? Can they do x-rays and set the bone for until the cruise is over? Just curious but totally not planning on using this service! ( But then again, who plans a medical emergency?!)

 

I've seen it once, on a tour right before they started the behind the scenes excursion. At least at that time (about 8 yrs ago), the ships had very minimal equipment/capabilities. I do know they have improved that though as most ships have basic xray now. I don't know how serious of something they can treat without needing to take someone off immediately or what will get you taken off at the next stop. You are charged (your sail and sign acct) for any and all service--this comes from Carnival's site, then you can make a claim with your travel insurance or insurance company afterwards.

[bluejay555]

On our very first cruise, there was a medical emergency. A boy fell off the slide and broke his back. It was first announced by the cruise director that we would be diverting to Key West instead of Jamaica but once we got close to the US, the coast guard met us and air lifted him. We turned around and hauled ass to jamaica (lost a motor in the process and struggled to make it back to New Orleans but that's a diff story!) What I liked about this situation was the cruise director kept us updated. He must have gotten permission from the family? I remember when he came on the intercom and said the boy arrived in the US and would be OK, and people cheered. We were on a diff cruise where a woman had a heart attack at the casino the night before Nassau. We got to dock first while the other cruise ships were waiting in the bay and an ambulance met the ship. Rumor was Nassau has great cardiologists and if you're gonna have a heart attack, do it in the Bahamas.

[jaskie]

On our Disney cruise a couple of years ago we ended up diverting to Miami for a medical emergency going from Cozumel to their private island. It seems one of the crew had fallen while cleaning the deck in the morning and they decided to stop in Miami quick to take them off the ship. I have never seen so many people out on their balconies at 10:00 pm at night, mainly to make calls since we were back in the US. We got to Castaway Bay about 2 hours late, but was able to stay an extra hour.

 

I also did a trip on the Carnival Ecstasy where I got sicker than a dog. Went down to the medical doctor, she diagnosed me with strep and gave me some heavy antibiotics. They didn't quarantine me or anything, I think she could tell I was miserable and wouldn't be venturing out until things kicked in. So sent one of the sea days sleeping all day. Two days later when we got home my daughter got the diagnosis, and then a day later our traveling partner was diagnosed. The medical facility seemed very well stocked, it looked like it had 3 beds in it. No insurance, the visit cost $95.00, which you paid before you left the facility.