So I was medically evacuated off Celebrity Apex last week...Ask Me Anything

[kimcheeboy]

Spoiler alert, it wasn't COVID-related. Here's what it's like to be medically evacuated off the ship. First time ever having any major medical emergency, shame it had to happen on Day 2 onboard this eagerly awaited cruise.

 

Ask me anything...

 

 

[Waterluv]

Sorry that that happened to you and I hope that you are getting better everyday. We always have 3rd party travel Insurance. My question is how much was the evacuation? We always go back and forth between having $300k and $500k coverage for medical evacuation but I honestly have no idea what it would cost~ 

[kimcheeboy]

Thankfully we had multiple layers of travel insurance thru our employer and our credit card.

 

The sticky part about air ambulance is in the wording. Most policies will state that they will ambulance you to the "nearest medical facility". Ideally, we would've liked to have an air ambulance back to Canada or at least the US, instead of Dominican Republic. 

 

The Apex Senior Doctor did recommend a third party air ambulance insurance company called MedJet which will evacuate you to any medical facility in any country of your choice. It's the evac company he enrolled in so that's a strong endorsement.

Edited January 17, 2022 by kimcheeboy

[kabmab]

Sorry that happened, especially on your cruise.  I've had the same problem and procedure, luckily not on a vacation.   Tks for sharing your experience and hope you are feeling much better!

[Silkroad]

I’m so sorry your cruise was cut short due to a medical emergency, and I’m relieved that you received excellent care. Thanks for sharing your experience on this forum. I’ve sometimes wondered if our travel insurance would truly cover any medical emergency that DH or myself might have. We’ve always purchased travel insurance for our cruises, and we’ve also had MedJet coverage for the past five years. We’ve not had to use our insurance or medical evacuation coverage, but you’ve done a splendid job showing us how it works. I hope you’re able to get away for a relaxing cruise soon.

[nikel]

WOW...what an experience. I'm glad to see it worked out for you and hope you have a speedy and total recovery and can look forward to a replacement cruise. It's amazing to read how many people never get insurance cuz they feel they are young and healthy !

A medical evacuation has always been my greatest fear, especially since we do so many TA's

[Ihibernate2]

Thank you for sharing your story. I hope you are recovering quickly! 

[Ferry_Watcher]

So you were not "kicked off" a cruise ship for a medical evacuation (your YouTube title).  The ship doctor made a sound medical decision and had you transferred to a local hospital in the Dominican Republic as he/she was worried about your condition (later determined to be kidney stones), and he/she also worried that you may succumb to septic shock while you were on the ship (as stated in your YouTube video).

 

Sounds like they did everything right.  

It really isn't a true representation that you were "kicked off" the cruise ship (title of your YouTube).  You did the cruise line and the medical team a disservice in your quest for YouTube clicks.

That being said, I am thankful that you recovered.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[MamaFej]

I, also, am happy and grateful that you got good treatment and are recovering.

 

I would never say the following "out loud". . . except that your post and video made it clear that you have an excellent sense of humor and are able to laugh at yourself and tough situations.

 

My mom had kidney stone surgery Monday to remove a 7cm by 11 cm stone stuck at the top of the ureter. She was in and out of the hospital in October (once in septic shock) and has had a stent all the way up to the stone since November 10. The pain and multiple infections  have been awful! Believe me, women don't enjoy cystoscopies either. The surgery kept getting delayed, not because the hospital was short surgical staff, but because many staff that do the various pre-op tests and procedures have been reassigned to Covid wards.

 

Anyway, I'm going to tell her that she should have gotten on a cruise ship headed for the Domican Republic. She could have had that thing out three months ago!

 

Thanks for sharing, and I hope you and your lovely lady are back on a ship soon.

[kimcheeboy]

3 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

So you were not "kicked off" a cruise ship for a medical evacuation (your YouTube title).  The ship doctor made a sound medical decision and had you transferred to a local hospital in the Dominican Republic as he/she was worried about your condition (later determined to be kidney stones), and he/she also worried that you may succumb to septic shock while you were on the ship (as stated in your YouTube video).

 

Sounds like they did everything right.  

It really isn't a true representation that you were "kicked off" the cruise ship (title of your YouTube).  You did the cruise line and the medical team a disservice in your quest for YouTube clicks.

That being said, I am thankful that you recovered.

 

You're absolutely right about the Youtube title.

 

The Apex medical crew was fantastic throughout. In terms of being kicked off, the senior doctor consulted with the Staff Captain and RCL HQ and determined I was too high risk to keep onboard due to lack of a CT scanner onboard and potential septic shock.

 

Quite frankly, I really would've preferred to stay onboard even if it was confined to the medical bay until it's return to Port Everglades. Naturally, I had major concerns regarding the quality of medical facilities in Dominican Republic, language barriers, and how to eventually make it back to Canada. So in a way I did feel like I was being kicked off against my ideal wishes.

[kimcheeboy]

2 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

I, also, am happy and grateful that you got good treatment and are recovering.

 

I would never say the following "out loud". . . except that your post and video made it clear that you have an excellent sense of humor and are able to laugh at yourself and tough situations.

 

My mom had kidney stone surgery Monday to remove a 7cm by 11 cm stone stuck at the top of the ureter. She was in and out of the hospital in October (once in septic shock) and has had a stent all the way up to the stone since November 10. The pain and multiple infections  have been awful! Believe me, women don't enjoy cystoscopies either. The surgery kept getting delayed, not because the hospital was short surgical staff, but because many staff that do the various pre-op tests and procedures have been reassigned to Covid wards.

 

Anyway, I'm going to tell her that she should have gotten on a cruise ship headed for the Domican Republic. She could have had that thing out three months ago!

 

Thanks for sharing, and I hope you and your lovely lady are back on a ship soon.

Thank you for your kind words.

 

Under normal circumstances, I would say I'm a planner and a worrier. I like to plan for all contingencies, but didn't see this one coming. It was a good lesson to just surrender to fate, laugh at the situation, and hope for the best.

 

Cliche as it sounds, this all could've gone wrong in a million ways, and only one way to make it back home (covid, flight cancellations, medical stability). I experienced tremendous kindness from strangers which really does show me the general goodness in humanity. It's not all doom and gloom out there, as the news would make you think. 

[Shipswap]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are so happy that it worked out so well.  As a fellow Canadian, I am very interested in reviewing my travel health coverage in these challenging times. You had mentioned that your current Medical Travel Provider was slow in responding. Would you be willing to share any hints to who they were?  

[Ferry_Watcher]

33 minutes ago, kimcheeboy said:

So in a way I did feel like I was being kicked off against my ideal wishes.

My friend, you would have been in agony without the medical intervention given to you at a true surgical center.  Your wife/partner would have been beside herself in worry and second guessing herself watching you in withering pain.

Actually saying post surgery that you felt that you were "being kicked off against my ideal wishes" shows me that you have a bit of Peter Pan in you.  I have no doubt that you are a delightful individual, and lots of fun to be around.  But sometimes adult decisions need to be made and dealt with.  Thankfully the medical staff did that for you.  Wishing you all the best.

Edited January 17, 2022 by Ferry_Watcher

[kimcheeboy]

2 minutes ago, Shipswap said:

Thank you for sharing your experience. We are so happy that it worked out so well.  As a fellow Canadian, I am very interested in reviewing my travel health coverage in these challenging times. You had mentioned that your current Medical Travel Provider was slow in responding. Would you be willing to share any hints to who they were?  

 

So we relied on Allianz Global Assistance which is provided by my wife's exceptional employer plan. In terms of air ambulance, it covers up to $1M in transport. 

 

However, the Allianz 24/7 emergency phone line was absolutely unreachable during our emergency. Could be coincidence or call centre staffing shortage due to covid, but our nurse was on hold for over 4 hours with their call centre, until someone replied via email. 

 

In a perfect world, if Allianz was immediately reachable the ideal plan by the ship doc would've been to have a direct transfer from ship straight to airport for an air ambulance to Florida. We ran out of time, hence disembarked in DR.

 

As mentioned, I highly recommend getting additional medical transport coverage as most default coverage only takes you to the nearest medical facility. Check out MedJet. Only $300 per year and they'll take you home.

 

 

[Lastdance]

Thank you for sharing such important information with us.  What a relief that things turned out so well for you.  Scary events like this seem to happen when you least expect it.  It is a great lesson and reminder to all of us, no matter how healthy we think we are…

Edited January 17, 2022 by Lastdance

[Lastdance]

2 minutes ago, kimcheeboy said:

 

So we relied on Allianz Global Assistance which is provided by my wife's exceptional employer plan. In terms of air ambulance, it covers up to $1M in transport. 

 

However, the Allianz 24/7 emergency phone line was absolutely unreachable during our emergency. Could be coincidence or call centre staffing shortage due to covid, but our nurse was on hold for over 4 hours with their call centre, until someone replied via email. 

 

In a perfect world, if Allianz was immediately reachable the ideal plan by the ship doc would've been to have a direct transfer from ship straight to airport for an air ambulance to Florida. We ran out of time, hence disembarked in DR.

 

As mentioned, I highly recommend getting additional medical transport coverage as most default coverage only takes you to the nearest medical facility. Check out MedJet. Only $300 per year and they'll take you home.

 

 

A little more for those of us oldies, but yes, a great company!

[kimcheeboy]

42 minutes ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

My friend, you would have been in agony without the medical intervention given to you at a true surgical center.  Your wife/partner would have been beside herself in worry and second guessing herself watching you in withering pain.

Actually saying post surgery that you felt that you were "being kicked off against my ideal wishes" shows me that you have a bit of Peter Pan in you.  I have no doubt that you are a delightful individual, and lots of fun to be around.  But sometimes adult decisions need to be made and dealt with.  Thankfully the medical staff did that for you.  Wishing you all the best.

 

So about my ideal wishes, there were more factors at play there. 

 

To stay on the ship, yes there was a considerable risk of septic shock without a full trauma center resource onboard. After the IV, I did feel stable and wasn't in much pain (although probably from the drugs). We were well outside the range of a helo from the US mainland and the next day was a sea day enroute to Nassau.

 

To be disembarked in the DR, a lot more unknowns at play. How good was the hospital? How safe is the area? Does anybody speak English? Where is my wife going to stay? Where is my wife going to eat? How safe was it for my wife to be alone transiting around? If this goes bad, how long would I have to stay there?

 

Given the choice, I still would've rolled the dice to stay onboard at my own risk. At least I would know and trust in my wife's safety and well-being. I wouldn't say it was Peter Pan idealism but it came down to a bad choice versus a worse choice.

Edited January 17, 2022 by kimcheeboy

[cnkgirl]

Wow thank you for sharing your story it was very interesting, but I am so sorry this happened to you. I am glad you are on the mend and home again and I really admire your outlook on this and how you handled it, you two were both troopers 😊

[verizon]

7 hours ago, kimcheeboy said:

Thankfully we had multiple layers of travel insurance thru our employer and our credit card.

 

The sticky part about air ambulance is in the wording. Most policies will state that they will ambulance you to the "nearest medical facility". Ideally, we would've liked to have an air ambulance back to Canada or at least the US, instead of Dominican Republic. 

 

The Apex Senior Doctor did recommend a third party air ambulance insurance company called MedJet which will evacuate you to any medical facility in any country of your choice. It's the evac company he enrolled in so that's a strong endorsement.

I never leave home without MetJet.I been with them almost ten years now.

Have used them before.

[Linda W.]

6 hours ago, kimcheeboy said:

 

So we relied on Allianz Global Assistance which is provided by my wife's exceptional employer plan. In terms of air ambulance, it covers up to $1M in transport. 

 

However, the Allianz 24/7 emergency phone line was absolutely unreachable during our emergency. Could be coincidence or call centre staffing shortage due to covid, but our nurse was on hold for over 4 hours with their call centre, until someone replied via email. 

 

In a perfect world, if Allianz was immediately reachable the ideal plan by the ship doc would've been to have a direct transfer from ship straight to airport for an air ambulance to Florida. We ran out of time, hence disembarked in DR.

 

As mentioned, I highly recommend getting additional medical transport coverage as most default coverage only takes you to the nearest medical facility. Check out MedJet. Only $300 per year and they'll take you home.

 

 

I always buy the MedJet insurance as I travel to St. Maarten every year.  MedJet will take you where YOU want to go not the nearest facility that can take care of your issue.  We haven't had to use it but are very happy we went with them. 

[Alakegirl]

Would you know recommend MedJet in addition to allianz?

[floridatravelersforlife]

Curious about the effect of Covid in your journey through the hospital.  Was the intake and medical attention immediate or was the ER full of covid patients?

 

Hope you recover well.

[nps001]

First of all, I am glad it was not a serious illness and that you recovered.    Thanks for taking the time to film this in the midst of the emergency.   This was very informative.

[verizon]

1 hour ago, Alakegirl said:

Would you know recommend MedJet in addition to allianz?

MetJet cover what ever corner of the world you will be.

Its for transportation only.

Have to be 150 miles from home.

Edited January 17, 2022 by verizon

[Babr]

The thing to understand about evacuation insurance - whether it is part of your comprehensive travel plan or an stand-alone like MedJet - is that it is for hospital to hospital transfer. The difference is that MedJet will take you to the hospital of your choice from the initial admitting hospital.