When things go wrong you are in great hands....

[excitedofharpenden]

Currently on Pursuit crossing from Rio to Lisbon. Sadly my friend was not feeling great yesterday morning and I was concerned for him so told his wife he needed to go to the med centre.  They assessed him and decided he needed to go to hospital straight away yesterday evening. 

 

The port agent was useless and in spite of medical info the hospital wouldn't admit him without proof from his travel insurance company. Hotel Director Ryszard took total control and was awesome, basically saying he took full responsibility and to get the guy to hospital now. No further questions asked. He went yesterday late evening. 

 

Long story short we had a very stressful trip to the hospital this morning with his wife where we were unsure that his condition had deteriorated after a call from the hospital. He is ok, needs a procedure on his  heart on Monday and will of course miss the rest of the cruise. Better now than when we have four sea days in a row. 

 

But a shout out to Ryszard for taking charge. This is where his roll the sleeves up mentality comes into its own. Also thank you to the young Brazilian guys who got us into the hospital as our translators. I think we'd still be outside waiting. 

 

This is probably the 4th time med issues on various cruises I've been where Azamara have shown their total professionalism and what a class act the crew and officers are. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

I am so sorry to hear about the drama - it is worrying how useless the port agents are but so good others helped you and your friend along the way.  Fingers crossed for them (I know who they are) and I will be thinking of them and how sad it is that their much looked forward to cruise has ended this way - but as you say better than mid Atlantic

[Lottie A]

Well Done to Ryszard....he is a the man to have on your team when there is an emergency. 

Hope your friend is recovering now Phil ....scary stuff for all of you though. 

[Grandma Cruising]

Great to hear that Ryszard sorted things out for your friend. I hope he improves quickly after the procedure and is able to get home safely.

[gymfreak]

Kudos to Azamara for dealing with the situation.

I do hope all will be well for your friend Phil

Vicki x

[silkismom]

Ryszard was also very involved when our suitcases didn't show up last Aug and made sure they arrived before the Pursuit left for 4 days travel to Iceland, around and back. 

[ellbon]

Phil,so,sorry to hear about your friend. Thank God he will be alright. I know AZ has the best team  on the water.

[Mackdogmolly]

What a relief. Thanks for sharing this, Phil.

[Melissaghoti]

Thanks, Phil. That’s good to know. I’ll be on Pursuit this summer, though I’m sure any of the 3 ships would take the same fine care of passengers. Also, makes me feel better about the money I spend on travel insurance that I’ve fortunately not had to use. 

Im glad you were looking out for your friend and hope he has a successful procedure and a smooth recovery.

Melissa

[screen-gem]

I can attest to Phil's Great Hands assessment, and in particular the care and attention shown by Ryszard (who was the Man in Charge). Two years ago, we were on the Journey, from Singapore to Sydney. A guest became ill while sailing through the Timor Sea. It must have been serious, as one evening (with a sea day ahead of us) an announcement went out over the PA system seeking a blood donor with a particular blood type. Next morning, the Journey diverted to a nearby port - the passenger was off-loaded by stretcher to a small vessel and transported ashore.

 

I learned later that he'd been taken to hospital, accompanied by an Azamara crew member. The patient was treated and discharged (don't know the time frame), and the AZ person ensured that he got to the airport and on to a plane home.  That's exceptional commitment to the well-being of their guests.

Edited March 25, 2019 by screen-gem

[mnocket]

On 3/23/2019 at 12:19 PM, excitedofharpenden said:

The port agent was useless and in spite of medical info the hospital wouldn't admit him without proof from his travel insurance company. Hotel Director Ryszard took total control and was awesome, basically saying he took full responsibility and to get the guy to hospital now. No further questions asked. He went yesterday late evening. 

 

Is requiring proof of travel insurance typical?  Kudos to Azamara for stepping up and saying they will take responsibility (I assume the hospital was looking for financial responsibility) for the passenger's treatment.  It's hard to believe that there are still companies that will do this type of thing for their customers.

[marinaro44]

23 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Is requiring proof of travel insurance typical?

Don't know the answer, but we always take our travel insurance confirmation, our Medicare cards, and our secondary insurer cards with us on cruises.

[uktog]

The guest involved was from the UK and would probably be carrying a copy of their insurance certificate although some companies only issue a generic letter and a policy number, it all depends who your insurer is.  The documentation will not show the financial limits you are insured up to.  It is something I have often thought about,  I carry the policy document and schedule on my iPad and the certificate I print a hard copy of.  However many countries have different views on what they will accept.

 

I know in China where work travel has taken me to a lot, a colleague had issues as even with all that they could not access medical care and there was a delay because the level of pre authorisation the hospital wanted to push through to their card was beyond their card limit.  

 

Its a sobering thought that to see the world has its risks even when you do all your can to manage them and carry all the papers possible.

[Turangi!]

We were on an AZ Dubai to Istanbul and a passenger was medivaced out in Oman and transported back to UK and an AZ member went all the way with them and returned near the end of the cruise to report on the person’s treatment. Kudos to AZ for this dedication!