Cozumel Goers Beware (Aboard Enchantment 2/23/06)

[WaterCrazzy]

Just got back from a Royal Caribbean cruise aboard the Enchantment of the Seas (Awsome ship). While in Cozumel my mother, brother (age 14), and I (21 as of the first day of the cruise:) ) went to the beach, Playa Mia Beach Break Excursion...

We were there for about 45 - 90 minutes, my brother and I had been out swimming and climbing the giant iceberg. I came into shore and was talking with my mom, walked to the outdoor shower and rinsed off. In the 5-10 minute walk my mother had lain down and become deeply sick! When I got back she was not making sense and was talking very funny. Shes a nurse and she started telling me she thought someone had put something in her drink because she was feeling horrible and that she just needed to lay down for alittle bit. Then it got worse and if any of you have ever seen a diabetic when they really need their medicine, this is what she was compariable too.

After maybe 10 minutes of consideration I decided I really needed to get her back to the ship, however my brother was out on the iceburg still and at this point I didn't actually know if my moms drink had had something put in it. So i didn't want to leave her. Thank you to everyone on the beach that day, you were all SO very helpful! After getting my brother in the manager had already been brought over by a few people and a doctor (spanish speaking of course) was checking her out.

Now I cut to when I was finally carrying her onto the ship telling her to keep her eyes open and not stop talking to me...

She spent 5 hours in the hospital onboard ($750) and did not even come close to being her normal self until 8 the next morning, I know because I pulled an all-nighter checking on her ever 15-30 minutes. When i finally crawled in bed (@ 8 am) i finally felt she was going to be ok.

After talking to the doctor, (her blood sugar level had been extreamly low) he said that his best theory is that someone mixed her drink wrong (entirely to much alcohol)...

she had two drinks:

penacolta (which i had a sip of, it wasn't this drink)

rum & coke <<<<

 

This is just a reminder, that even on vacation we all need to be extreamly careful with what we drink and eat. Even when the place is checked out by your cruise company...

 

If you were on the ship with me and saw and helped out or even just offered a few kind words I'd like to say from the deepest part of my heart, Thank You

~Ryan~

[mark290]

I don't want to sound insensitive but did the ship's doctor conclude she drank too much ?

[JXOPF]

Thank you for taking the time to post this warning. I hope your mother is well.

[WaterCrazzy]

no, i definitly want to point out that she did not drink too much (2 drinks sipping over the course of an hour should not do this to you). For all we know, something really might have been put in her drink...

"doctors best guess" :confused:

[WaterCrazzy]

I've been thinking about this and in all honestly we were actually there for 2 hours. Time is all crazy when something like this happens but we left the ship at 11:30-12 and so that means we were there probably about 1? at the latest and we were back on the ship at alil after 4. (taxi driver was doing 120km/hr on the way back to the ship)

[megessey]

I'm confused-- is your mother a diabetic or hypoglycemic or just showing similar symptoms?

[Boo Boo]

Thanks for the warning. Whatever it was, sounds as though it came over VERY quickly (could it be a combination of heat stroke, a little bit of alcohol and dehydration?)

 

Although my husband and I don't drink alcohol during the day, if something dodgy was being mixed into the drinks, it could be being mixed into soft drinks too... there might be an argument to stick to bottles/canned drinks on shore (that you can see opened infront of you...)

 

The main thing I wante dto say was well done in how you handled the whole thing: you must have been very worried/scared, but obviously did all the right things and were incredibly caring. I bet that your Mom is incredibly proud of you.

 

Hope that your Mom gets checked out by her doctor when she gets home (i.e. gets some blood tests etc.), just to ensure that she has fully recovered and that it isn't likely to happen again.

 

Best wishes,

Boo

[crusinmama06]

No matter the reason, ANY emergency at sea is horrifying (I know, I've been there). So sorry that your mom went through that. :(

 

I agree with the pp, she should be checked by her doc now that she is home.

[WaterCrazzy]

I was wrong, they did not do a drug test to see if her drink had something in it. However i have been talking to alot of people and have found out that this isn't the first time this has happened. A friend was there with his friends and one of them got sick and was choppered to a medical ship nearby. Where at point they did many tests and found a chemical that had been put in her drink that most drug tests would not have caught...

 

this says cozumel goers beware, because this happened on cozumel. However i think it pertains to everywhere! ESPECIALLY when you are travelling alone.

 

my family is major boaters and so we do drink alot of water especially while out in the sun. my mothers also a nurse and no she isn't diabetic.

 

also the next morning she did not have a "hang over" nor did she throw up once...which is definitly the signs of drinking to much alcohol.

 

my guess is that she had something put in her drink and the doctor just didn't tell me

[WaterCrazzy]

yes boo, everybody aboard the tender from the dock to the ship stopped me when they saw me aboard the ship, complimenting me on how well i handled everything ("because they would have been freaking out")

 

...i dunno all i could think about was getting her back aboard the ship. I cut alot of the story out but the tender was definitly the hardest part

 

and i must be honest i might have lost my complete calm if she ever completely stopped being at least somewhat awake. My mom being a nurse showed me how to take pulses and listening for breath and checking the pupils. I just never thought i'd have to use it on her!

 

again i need to thank the people on the tender especially for watching my lil bro when i sent him to the back of the boat. by that point she had no comprehension of what she was saying and i'm glad there are still GREAT people out there...

[WaterCrazzy]

my mom went to the doctors today, described the entire situation and everything that happened. The doctor said she was DEFINITLY drugged. Heat stroke, dehydration, and too much alcohol are all completely out of the question since none of these would produce everything she experienced and the her symtoms...

 

who knows why they would drug her, however they never did see that my brother and i were with her, we went straight to the water when we got to the beach and she was alone on the beach for over an hour. It's easy to steal money, or for someone to just be forgotton about on the beach...

 

definitly scary

[WaterCrazzy]

the drug is called "Robinul"

 

the onset of this drug can be seen in an individual within ten minutes and can lead to a coma

[FitzLA]

Sounds to me like someone put something in her drink, and if you had a sip of the Pina Colada, it was not that. But maybe the other. Or, maybe it was a mild case of Montezuma's Revenge. (Bad water/ice)

[FitzLA]

the drug is called "Robinul"

 

the onset of this drug can be seen in an individual within ten minutes and can lead to a coma

 

Or Rohypnol. Sounds more like it was that.

[WaterCrazzy]

yeah maybe that was it, i'm no pill expert and she just left me a message on my answering machine...that's what it sounded like tho

[huskerdude]

I was wrong, they did not do a drug test to see if her drink had something in it. However i have been talking to alot of people and have found out that this isn't the first time this has happened. A friend was there with his friends and one of them got sick and was choppered to a medical ship nearby. Where at point they did many tests and found a chemical that had been put in her drink that most drug tests would not have caught...

 

this says cozumel goers beware, because this happened on cozumel. However i think it pertains to everywhere! ESPECIALLY when you are travelling alone.

 

my family is major boaters and so we do drink alot of water especially while out in the sun. my mothers also a nurse and no she isn't diabetic.

 

also the next morning she did not have a "hang over" nor did she throw up once...which is definitly the signs of drinking to much alcohol.

 

my guess is that she had something put in her drink and the doctor just didn't tell me

 

I'm sorry but in the first statement you said that it's a drug that's very hard to detect. Then in the last one you state that the doctor just did not what to tell you about the drug. If he could detect it at all why would he not tell you?

 

I'm glad to hear they at least ruled out a health issue with your mother.:)

[WaterCrazzy]

I'm sorry but in the first statement you said that it's a drug that's very hard to detect. Then in the last one you state that the doctor just did not what to tell you about the drug. If he could detect it at all why would he not tell you?

 

I'm glad to hear they at least ruled out a health issue with your mother.:)

 

i think the doctor knew what was going on, he didn't perform a drug test on her but i'm pretty sure he knew it wasn't due to alcohol like he told me...every doctor i've talked to since has told me that that prognosis couldn't be more wrong, in regards to all her symtoms. As far as hard to detect, i was saying that there are drugs out there especially on tropical islands that are very hard to detect in the system. But along the lines of this drug, it wouldn't be possible to detect it in her system once we got home, being over three days later...she works at a hospital and more than one person has come to the conclusion that something was put in her drink. If we try to disregard it and say "stuff like this just doesn't happen on cozumel at a public beach" i think it's only bound to happen again...i'm not bashing cozumel or even the beach (it was a really nice beach) i'm just saying that she's been given more than one "second opinion" and they've all come to the same conclusion...

[shirleygr]

Wow, that's really scary. Glad your mom is okay though.

The poster who said rohypnol is probably correct. It is also known as "rufies" and is a commonly used date rape drug here in the States. Aside from the symptoms you described and coma, it also causes amnesia so the victim really has no clue what may or may not have happened under its influence.

Thank you for posting your experience and reminding all of us not to let our guard down just because we are on vacation. Especially on a ship sponsored tour where we expect to be safe. And kudos on keeping your head and taking care of your mom. I'm sure she appreciates all you did and is very proud of you. I know I would be.

[quagmire0]

I don't see the benefit of spiking a drink like that - unless it was to cause a big enough distraction where they could rifle through peoples things for money/valuables.

 

Did anyone report getting something stolen after the incident?

[cruisin granny]

How lucky your Mom is to have such a responsible daughter/son with her when this happened! Also you can be commended for worrying about your little brother.

[MargaritaPlease]

Though you've got a LOT of speculation and little evidence here... You can read about the drug here or here.

 

And uh... There's an iceberg in Cozumel?

[ElvisandTracey]

The drug you are speaking of (roofies) is usually used to take advantage of people sexually, not to rob them.

 

If you wanted to rob someone that you thought was alone and an easy mark, a strong dose of a tranqulizer would make them sleep without all the drama. Roofies would cause too much of a fuss due to the obvious side effects and irratic behavior.

 

I didn't happen to notice the age of the woman who was ill? If is was roofies, and if she was not the intended recipient of the drink, perhaps she got the wrong drink, meant for someone else??

 

I am in no way talking badly about moms (have 2 sons myself), but usually mommies are not the common roofie victim-usually younger high school or college girls. Maybe she was a really hot mommie??

 

That's why you never leave your drink unattended-

[Boo Boo]

I don't see the benefit of spiking a drink like that - unless it was to cause a big enough distraction where they could rifle through peoples things for money/valuables.

 

As the OP said (n one of their later posts), it probably appeared that the lady was by herself (i.e. she ordered the drinks by herself whilst her sons hit the water...).

 

Anyone by themselves (man or woman) showing those sort of symptoms might be considered "drunk" and probably ignored by the majority of people around (because they wouldn't have known that she wasn't drunk). That would have made her very vulnerable to whatever (probably theft).

 

I once suffered an upset stomach after being in Cozumel (dodgy salad or maybe unclean water that I washed my hands in - who knows, I am always very careful...), but the affects didn't strike until the middle of the night :(. Nobody would become ill THAT quickly with dodgy ice/water.

 

Think this is a useful reminder to just be AWARE, ESPECIALLY if you are travelling alone (man or woman).

 

Boo

[Nliedel]

This is an interesting thread. No matter what it was a horrible scare and sounds like you did the right thing at the right time and she raised a good boy!

[RevSmith]

Glad to hear your mom turned out alright...happy ending.