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If emergency at home happens

bullsh

By bullsh,
in Royal Caribbean International

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SRF

SRF

Posted
Posted

Considering what it will cost for you get off at the next port and fly home at the last minute, especially if you are one of those who travels without a passport, the cost of the call is MINIMAL.

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spookwife

spookwife

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, bullsh said:

If there is an emergency that happen at home is there a cheap way for someone to get a hold of you? Just talked with a RCCL rep. And she stated that an 800# but it will cost $7.95/min to leave a message 

 

 

that is the cheap way.  otherwise you set up your smart phone with some sort of  international plan or  text messaging deal.

 

we each have an elderly parent.   we just give everyone our information and let them know we will check email  in ports when we can find free wiFi.  we have pre decided that nothing will change if we do get crap news on board.. we will finish the cruise then proceed accordingly.  

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cruisegirl1

cruisegirl1

Posted
Posted

Once we had to receive a call - but I don't recall the fees.  As stated, for a TRUE emergency, does the cost matter?    Many of us have had to fly out last minute to see or care for an aging parent  and the airfare cost in never an issue.  

 

Now, I rely on the internet for communication .  We check our text or emal at least twice a day so we  keep up with any issues at home. Last cruise  I logged on and had just received an email and text from our security company ( didn't get the phone call because I had no phone service)  that there was a potential compromise at  our house.   We were able to communicate via a few emails back and forth and   learn that the police  were checking out the house and happily all was well.

 

We did have an emergency a few years ago, but we didn't learn of it  until the cruise was over.   Family decided there was nothing we could do in the middle of the ocean and no ports left to disembark and fly home. 

 

Good luck  for no emergencies but ship happens.

M

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Bama2georgia

Bama2georgia

Posted
Posted

My family needed to make one of these calls.  They called the 800 number for the cruise line and were eventually transferred to a manager/supervisor who was very kind and helpful.  She explained our itinerary to our family members explaining that we were disembarking the next morning and that we couldn’t get home any faster.  The family decided not to call us and met us at the airport to deliver the unwelcomed news. My family was very pleased with the response they received from the cruise line.  

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MrsPete

MrsPete

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, DCT61 said:

I don’t care how much it costs, if there is an emergency at home....call me. 

Eh, maybe, maybe not.  Can my knowing about the emergency make things better?  Is it even possible for me to get home sooner?  Sometimes ignorance is bliss.  Two true stories:

 

We were in Florida celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary.  We were scheduled to drive home on Friday, and my grandfather died (he was old and fragile, but hadn't been particularly sick) on Thursday.  My mother opted NOT to call us.  As a result, we enjoyed our last evening in Florida, and we drove home without stress on Friday.  Upon our return home Friday night, we found out he had died, and we scrambled to be ready for the funeral on Monday.  If we had known about his death, we could not have done a single thing to improve the situation, and we would've been miserable on our drive home. 

 

We went on a cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary -- hmmm, I see a pattern here -- we're close to 30 now, and we're staying home! -- and another grandparent died in the middle of the week.  It would've been difficult to contact us on the cruise, but no one even tried.  Sure, we could have left the cruise early, paid last-minute plane fares for six people ... but what would that have done?  Again, our presence would not have made one bit of difference.  We would've been stressed traveling home, and we would've hated wasting half our cruise ticket cost ... but our presence would not have improved a single thing about his death.  This situation was actually a little bit worse in that we arrived home on Sunday and the funeral was planned for Monday evening ... because of us. 

 

My mom was actually the one who made the decision both times NOT to contact us, and she did exactly the right thing.  With the advent of cell phones, we seem to have the idea that we MUST have bad information RIGHT THIS MINUTE!  If it's available, we MUST HAVE IT!  Why?  Does it really benefit us? 

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MaryCS62

MaryCS62

Posted
Posted

Similar situation -- a few years ago, my older brother ended up in the hospital the day after our mother left on a weeklong trip to Aruba.  He had passed out at work, and the only reason he called me is that he needed someone to take care of his dog!  Our sister was also away, visiting her son at college.  Upshot was, he ended up needing a quadruple bypass and internal defibrillator installed.  I called my sister while she was away, because at that point I did not want to be the only one that knew about it but we decided not to call our mom -- for one thing, there was only one flight a day out of Aruba, and there was terrible weather where we lived (NY area), so there was no guarantee that she would be able to get home sooner than she had planned anyway. 

Weirdly, it happened the day before the anniversary of our father's death, also from cardiac issues, and my brother was only a year younger than Dad had been at the time of his death -- and Mom swore she had felt wrong that whole day

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2tix2paradise

2tix2paradise

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/24/2018 at 11:22 PM, bullsh said:

If there is an emergency that happen at home is there a cheap way for someone to get a hold of you? Just talked with a RCCL rep. And she stated that an 800# but it will cost $7.95/min to leave a message 

 

Edited by 2tix2paradise
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ggo85 "Live from...." Rare

ggo85

Posted
Posted

We had a true emergency while at sea (totally unexpected death of close, young family member) five years ago.  We learned of it via my email as I had international connectivity for work purposes.  I must say that the ship was wonderful.  They gave us as much free phone time (using ship's phone) as we needed to talk to relatives.  They were willing to do whatever was necessary to help us disembark early if that was what we wanted to do (ended up not doing it).  Even sent flowers to the stateroom.    

 

It is important that your family members can contact you b/c unexpected issues can arise.  I suggest that, if you choose not to use VOOM/ship internet for cost or other reasons, you get some sort of international pay-as-you-go plan for your phone.  That way, you can quickly check daily or even a few times a day for emergencies should they arise but don't incur charges for calls and internet you don't plan to use.  

 

The alternative is for your relative to call you.  All they need to do is leave a short message and if the situation is serious, based on our experience, I expect the ship will be very accommodating in terms of your returning the call. Thus, cost would be minimal and, as others have said, in the vast scheme of things, what is $25 for a short (3 min) message?

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Ewing

Ewing

Posted
Posted
On 11/25/2018 at 3:22 PM, bullsh said:

If there is an emergency that happen at home is there a cheap way for someone to get a hold of you? Just talked with a RCCL rep. And she stated that an 800# but it will cost $7.95/min to leave a message 

 

I always roam on my phone using Cellular at Sea. It works rather well and texting works as well. Now that my carrier also has Wifi calling I find that works over Voom and I can make and receive calls like normal under my unlimited plan.

 

On my most recent cruise we had all three of the company directors (including myself) onboard so for business continuity purposes we also took one of our Iridium satellite phones with us. That bit isn't so cheap but with wifi calling we didn't have to use it 🙂

 

It's been a long time since I've been "disconnected" when cruising...

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SRF

SRF

Posted
Posted
On 11/25/2018 at 12:31 PM, MrsPete said:

Eh, maybe, maybe not.  Can my knowing about the emergency make things better?  Is it even possible for me to get home sooner?  Sometimes ignorance is bliss.  Two true stories:

 

We were in Florida celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary.  We were scheduled to drive home on Friday, and my grandfather died (he was old and fragile, but hadn't been particularly sick) on Thursday.  My mother opted NOT to call us.  As a result, we enjoyed our last evening in Florida, and we drove home without stress on Friday.  Upon our return home Friday night, we found out he had died, and we scrambled to be ready for the funeral on Monday.  If we had known about his death, we could not have done a single thing to improve the situation, and we would've been miserable on our drive home. 

 

We went on a cruise for our 20th wedding anniversary -- hmmm, I see a pattern here -- we're close to 30 now, and we're staying home! -- and another grandparent died in the middle of the week.  It would've been difficult to contact us on the cruise, but no one even tried.  Sure, we could have left the cruise early, paid last-minute plane fares for six people ... but what would that have done?  Again, our presence would not have made one bit of difference.  We would've been stressed traveling home, and we would've hated wasting half our cruise ticket cost ... but our presence would not have improved a single thing about his death.  This situation was actually a little bit worse in that we arrived home on Sunday and the funeral was planned for Monday evening ... because of us. 

 

My mom was actually the one who made the decision both times NOT to contact us, and she did exactly the right thing.  With the advent of cell phones, we seem to have the idea that we MUST have bad information RIGHT THIS MINUTE!  If it's available, we MUST HAVE IT!  Why?  Does it really benefit us? 

 

Agreed that there are times when it makes no sense to call or notify.

 

But that is a separate thing from HOW to contact or notify when it is required.

 

Or are you saying you NEVER want to be contacted and spoil your holiday?

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Joseph2017China

Joseph2017China

Posted
Posted

Well, I remember a person telling me about an emergency.  Grandma called to complain the kids would not eat the food she cooked and wanted to know what to do about it. Everyone has an idea what an emergency is.  She thought the kids would starve.  Found out, she had plenty of money to cover costs of the kids, she just didn't like pizza herself. 

 

I used to be one of those that always been disconnected, but as we use our phones more for basic everyday things, like reading the news, I find that I don't want to be so disconnected.  Plus, I do have family members that I'm concerned about, so I always have an International phone package and/or wifi.  It's just a small cost compared to the overall picture and I can than be easily reached.  I may not be able to do anything about it, but at least I can be reached.

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Keksie

Keksie

Posted
Posted

We have AT&T, elderly parents and a house sitter .  They have a cellular at sea plan that we get for one our phones.  It has 50 min. of talk and unlimited text.  Not everyone in our family has computer skills so this works for us.

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