Passport-less Family with Sick Child Stuck Aboard Norwegian Ship

[Tapi]

Has anybody posted about this story? A family traveling without passports claim that they were stuck aboard a Cruise ship with their sick child. They chose not to seek medical attention ashore in Cozumel fearing not being able to get back home.

 

 The story mentions that they returned on Wednesday to Port Canaveral so it seems like they may have been sailing aboard Norwegian Sun. 
 

https://www.wtsp.com/mobile/article/news/regional/florida/nicole-roman-mejias-florida-cruise-ship-passport/67-5bbe7d14-829e-4b84-8208-90053161bd20

[esm54687]

30 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Has anybody posted about this story? A family traveling without passports claim that they were stuck aboard a Cruise ship with their sick child. They chose not to seek medical attention ashore in Cozumel fearing not being able to get back home.

 

 The story mentions that they returned on Wednesday to Port Canaveral so it seems like they may have been sailing aboard Norwegian Sun. 
 

https://www.wtsp.com/mobile/article/news/regional/florida/nicole-roman-mejias-florida-cruise-ship-passport/67-5bbe7d14-829e-4b84-8208-90053161bd20

They weren't "stuck" they chose to stay on board instead of seeking medical attention in Cozumel. 

 

Some people travel without a passport and roll the dice with healthy family members but when when a member has a serious medical condition / development disorder such as autism then it is pure stupidity to travel without one.   Poor kid if parents are making these types of decisions to save a couple bucks.. 

 

And it looks like the reporter just copied details off Facebook and didn't contact the US Embassy the passenger referenced..... they were probably told it would take a couple days plus lodging and transportation and the passengers chose again to stay on the ship. If it was a true emergency the little person would've been airlifted without issue

Edited February 13, 2020 by esm54687

[hallux]

"Stuck" is a bit sensationalized.  They CHOSE to sail without passports.  They were OFFERED an opportunity to seek medical care on shore but they CHOSE not to because of the previous choice to sail without passports and the risk of not making it back to the ship in time.

 

This is why the question "do I need a passport" is generally "no, but..." and the "but" spells out the exact scenario of needing medical attention on land in a foreign country and possibly needing to fly home from there.

 

I do hope the child fully recovers, that's quite the infection to be stuck with for a week without full medical care.

[luv2kroooz]

Thanks for sharing. This is an example of how using birth certificates, instead of passports, can create challenges.

[FLcruisergrl]

9 minutes ago, hallux said:

"Stuck" is a bit sensationalized.  They CHOSE to sail without passports.  They were OFFERED an opportunity to seek medical care on shore but they CHOSE not to because of the previous choice to sail without passports and the risk of not making it back to the ship in time.

 

This is why the question "do I need a passport" is generally "no, but..." and the "but" spells out the exact scenario of needing medical attention on land in a foreign country and possibly needing to fly home from there.

 

I do hope the child fully recovers, that's quite the infection to be stuck with for a week without full medical care.

I completely agree with this assessment. All of this was about bad CHOICES. I too hope the child is better, it seems he is out of the hospital. I do find it interesting that the mother has travel insurance that will most likely reimburse her for the medical charges onboard. She paid using funds raised, so once she is reimbursed, will she have made a profit off of this situation or will she return or donate the money? Hmmmm....

[david_sobe]

The biggest part of the story no one has mentioned.  The article states the child needed "urgent" medical care.  As a parent you are always supposed to look after your child's health and safety at all times.  Parents would take bullets and walk over hot coals for their children.  If the medical care was "urgent" why on earth did they not seek urgent care?  It was totally selfish of them to put their travel concerns over the health of their child.  Maybe the care needed was not "urgent" after all and things worked out.  I don't care if I get flamed but IMHO the parents are horrible parents.  Imagine if something terrible happened to their child because of their neglect.  However, I sense the child's condition was not that severe otherwise the captain would have immediately put them off the ship.  I have seen captains bounce passengers on ships because of medical conditions they believe need to be taken care of ASAP.  Once medically cleared, they are allowed to board the ship if they are still in port or at the next port.

[TSUmom]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

The biggest part of the story no one has mentioned.  The article states the child needed "urgent" medical care.  As a parent you are always supposed to look after your child's health and safety at all times.  Parents would take bullets and walk over hot coals for their children.  If the medical care was "urgent" why on earth did they not seek urgent care?  It was totally selfish of them to put their travel concerns over the health of their child.  Maybe the care needed was not "urgent" after all and things worked out.  I don't care if I get flamed but IMHO the parents are horrible parents.  Imagine if something terrible happened to their child because of their neglect.  However, I sense the child's condition was not that severe otherwise the captain would have immediately put them off the ship.  I have seen captains bounce passengers on ships because of medical conditions they believe need to be taken care of ASAP.  Once medically cleared, they are allowed to board the ship if they are still in port or at the next port.

I agree with you....I explained to my adult kids the importance of passports as opposed to traveling with just birth certs for this exact reason.  I also told them the cheaper passport card is not a great option.  They have all taken my advice and have passports for all, kids included.

[Lem_On_Ade]

I've been following this on FB and the amount of people blaming the cruise line was astounding. 

 

[TSUmom]

Just now, Lem_On_Ade said:

I've been following this on FB and the amount of people blaming the cruise line was astounding. 

 

Does not surprise me....as usual the blame always belongs somewhere else.  Those blaming the cruise line obviously don't travel or cruise enough to know

[Petals22]

One of the initial reports I read quoted the mother as saying the child had a cut on his eye before they boarded and it then became infected after they were on the ship. Then the tv stations in Florida made it sound like the child fell on the ship, injured his eye and got infected.   I feel bad for the child regardless of when it happened. The cruise line medical center did not refuse them care, the child received care. Not free care.  I agree that if the captain and drs truly felt it was life threatening, arrangements would be made to get the child to a.hospital.  we were on a cruise in November and we had several medical situations involving transporting patients off the ship .

 

The mom didn't want to be stuck in Mexico. I understand that but that was her choice. 

 

I hope the child is recovering.   

[RedwingHockeyFan]

This has zero to do with NCL.  It would be the same outcome if it were any other cruise line.  Seriously, what did anyone want NCL to do?  Wait for the family until the child was released from the hospital?  I honestly don't even think it would have mattered if they had passports, they just didn't want to get stuck in Mexico and have to find alternative travel home.

[roger001]

I don't get this post.  The news media said "stuck".  They weren't stuck at all.  The posting continued to foster a agenda of sensationalization created by the media.  They could have walked off at Cozumel any time they wished.  If the kid had become really serious I imagine they could have even been airlifted off.  What was the point here?  (Other than carry a passport when leaving the country).  

[RedwingHockeyFan]

2 minutes ago, Petals22 said:

One of the initial reports I read quoted the mother as saying the child had a cut on his eye before they boarded and it then became infected after they were on the ship. Then the tv stations in Florida made it sound like the child fell on the ship, injured his eye and got infected.   I feel bad for the child regardless of when it happened. The cruise line medical center did not refuse them care, the child received care. Not free care.  I agree that if the captain and drs truly felt it was life threatening, arrangements would be made to get the child to a.hospital.  we were on a cruise in November and we had several medical situations involving transporting patients off the ship .

 

The mom didn't want to be stuck in Mexico. I understand that but that was her choice. 

 

I hope the child is recovering.   

 

You can buy amoxicillin over the counter in Mexico too.

[Cruiser_1977]

Curious what is the reasoning behind blaming the cruise line? I don't have Facebook...

 

This scenario, yet again, is another instance of not taking personal responsibility. Why should anyone but the family foot the bill for the medical care they received? I am very confused...The ship/cruise line in no way appears to have caused the cut that led to the infection. I must be missing something...right?!?!?

Edited February 13, 2020 by JennyB1977

[SeaShark]

OK...I'll address the elephant in the room.

 

Stuck on a cruise ship with a child who is in need of urgent medical care. What part of caring for that child and obtaining the urgently needed medical attention involved contacting and speaking with reporters?

 

Is the TV news crew part of the HMO now?

 

Might just be me but if my child needed urgent medical attention I wouldn't be calling channel 10. I would want a DOCTOR, not publicity. YMMV.

[david_sobe]

How much OBC was demanded at the service desk before calling reporters on Facebook?

 

[Tapi]

40 minutes ago, roger001 said:

I don't get this post.  The news media said "stuck".  They weren't stuck at all.  The posting continued to foster a agenda of sensationalization created by the media.  

I started this thread. I used the word “stuck” to bring attention to the media’s inappropriate use of this word. And that’s exactly my point. Most of us that frequent cruise critic will roll our eyes at the use of that word and understand that the media is trying to sensationalize a story that has no reason to be, besides it being a cautionary tale to always travel with a passport. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Tapi

[JamieLogical]

How did this story make the news? I see bad parenting all the time and it doesn't make the news... What makes this story different?

[hallux]

20 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

How did this story make the news?

Because the mother posted to Facebook and someone that saw it sent it to the news station.  I was going to add a comment about someone at the news station having an agenda against the cruise industry but did seem to be fair in the reporting and indicating that this is a risk you take when traveling with the minimum needed documentation.

[Cruiser_1977]

@hallux I was glad for this portion...

 

"Tammy Levent, a Tampa-based travel expert with Elite Travel said while you can get by without passports on a cruise in certain situations, she highly recommends you never go without it.

"You're risking it, you're taking the chance,” she said.

Levent said this Florida family’s unfortunate situation should serve as a cautionary lesson. Emergencies can happen, she said, from illness and injury to even something going wrong with the ship itself.

"Especially when you're traveling with small children and your family, you can wing it but when it comes to your kids you're not going to take the chance,” she said. “Things happen all the time.""

 

I have said it before and will say it again...if you are boarding a ship without access to cash/credit for an emergency you shouldn't be going. It's fortunate for this family that we live in the internet fundraiser age where people are willing to give their money away. What was the plan if they hadn't gotten $9K from the internet?

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by JennyB1977

[spanishguy1970]

4 hours ago, Tapi said:

Has anybody posted about this story? A family traveling without passports claim that they were stuck aboard a Cruise ship with their sick child. They chose not to seek medical attention ashore in Cozumel fearing not being able to get back home.

 

 The story mentions that they returned on Wednesday to Port Canaveral so it seems like they may have been sailing aboard Norwegian Sun. 
 

https://www.wtsp.com/mobile/article/news/regional/florida/nicole-roman-mejias-florida-cruise-ship-passport/67-5bbe7d14-829e-4b84-8208-90053161bd20

what gets me about these stories are people getting on a cruise without passports, i just don't get it.

[GA Dave]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

How did this story make the news? I see bad parenting all the time and it doesn't make the news... What makes this story different?

Same as so many other stories nowadays.  The press in the US have become vultures trying to get their 15 minutes of fame.  The stuff that they continuously publish that is blatantly wrong, overly sensationalized, or downright deceitful is just ridiculous.  They have truly become the "used car salesmen" of our age.

[smplybcause]

17 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

Same as so many other stories nowadays.  The press in the US have become vultures trying to get their 15 minutes of fame.  The stuff that they continuously publish that is blatantly wrong, overly sensationalized, or downright deceitful is just ridiculous.  They have truly become the "used car salesmen" of our age.

 

24 hours news cycle x all the news outlets = a lot of time they have fill up with crap

[Zippeedee]

1 hour ago, JennyB1977 said:

@hallux I was glad for this portion...

I have said it before and will say it again...if you are boarding a ship without access to cash/credit for an emergency you shouldn't be going. It's fortunate for this family that we live in the internet fundraiser age where people are willing to give their money away. What was the plan if they hadn't gotten $9K from the internet?

 

 

Exactly this. Everyone is focused on the lack of passports, but the mother originally posted on facebook that they could not pay upfront and wait for insurance to reimburse them on the ship or in a Mexican hospital.  I've seen people crying at guest services because their cash deposit had run out mid-week and they didn't have cash or a credit card to continue to sign for purchases. It takes more than making the final payment to responsibly go on a cruise, or any vacation.

[BirdTravels]

This should be an open invitation for Child Protective Services (Florida and home state) to investigate the parents for denying their child urgent medical care. Which the parents willing admitted in their post. And potentially Federal involvement because it was done across international borders.