Bad Show Royal Caribbean International

[uksimonusa]

In USA we don't have to have insurance to travel outside the country like those in GB do. I didn't know you all had to do that until reading here on CC - guess it's to keep NHS off the hook financially. We don't have socialized medicine here (thank goodness!) so the government has no interest in whether we have insurance or not when we travel.

 

Have travelled from the UK (GB) many times, and have never been asked for insurance, last time was in July 2008 London to Rome, when did this requirement take place?:confused:

[holiday queen 500]

I was on this cruise and the rumour was that a 2 year old had drowned in the pool and an ambulance had taken their body away.

I heard this from our head waiter that evening who rushed over to our table to see if my 2 year old son was ok, this really upset me and I couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the cruise.

I am very pleased to hear that the rumour was incorrect and the child was ok.

 

I must also add that there are signs next to all of the pools stating that there is no life guard on duty / swim at our own risk etc. However for the rest of the cruise a member of staff was watching over the deep pool in the H20 zone, even on cold days when it was probably a bit too cold for swimming.

[monn_a]

As others have stated there must be some facts missing...and he said they were later refunded the amount (better than most will get for a medical bill). And they didn't seem too upset they rejoined the cruise (again as other stated). They may have been forced to make the payment because they didn't secure their acct with a credit card, but put a cash deposit down. That's why I tell my friends use the card (and insurance). I wouldn't have thought twice about the payment, just knowing my daughter was ok would have been enough. They should have been watching the little girl anyway....

 

People go to the press in an effort to get some kind of deal from the cruise line or set them up for a possible lawsuit...they don't realize these things make it more expensive for the rest of us...

[Maks_Mom]

OK

 

What an idiotic statement. At what point did the cruise line say,

$717 for your childs life ? If that is cheap what do you think the proper

price is ?

 

 

I took her statement as a comment towards others that were saying $717 was high for a resusitation (sp???), not that the cruise line was saying the child's life is only worth $717 (although I could be misreading her statement as well!).....

 

As for my own 2 cents :) There is no price worth a child's life...I know, I buried my daughter, and I would have given my own life to save hers not to mention all of the money in the world....money is no object and never should be an object when it comes to your child.

 

Anyway...I'm with many others on the general story...until we know more...you cannot comment much other than to say, Thank God the little girl is okay!

[dougt1957]

They were from Scotland, where health care is probably considered to be free(at someone elses expense). The big question I had is how the parents could be so negligent as to lose track of the child for so long that someone else had to find it. Maybe someone should have checked the blood alcohol level of the parents. And I wonder if the bill was from the ship or the hospital.

[Elizanessie]

They were from Scotland, where health care is probably considered to be free(at someone elses expense)

 

Would you care to explain the bit I have put in bold? :confused:

[Judi2112]

Would you care to explain the bit I have put in bold? :confused:

 

Yeah, I'm a little confused as to that statement also. Could they be making reference to our National Insurance Contributions???

[Elizanessie]

Yeah, I'm a little confused as to that statement also. Could they be making reference to our National Insurance Contributions???

 

Not sure just what the poster meant..perhaps they will come back and explain eh :)

 

Someone mentioned about insurance for UK Cruisers and I have to say that although when you do check in online it asks who your insurance is with...they dont actually ask you to prove it etc.

 

I have insurance always and I also have the health card...(what used to be called the E111 ) for when travelling in Europe.

[pcur]

This is the second thread I've read in 24 hours about a serious medical emergency on a cruise ship, and the passengers were outraged they had to pay, expected refunds, etc.

 

I just don't get it.

 

Now, I can understand someone from a country with socialized medicine being confused about paying first. However, outside of your home area, it's common to pay first and get reimbursed later by your insurance company.

 

If these incidents had happened in a hotel on land, the emergency room / hospital would not have released the patient until the bill was paid. No difference. When you are in a U.S. emergency room you have to show proof of insurance and payment when you arrive. I believe that was probably the practice on this cruise ship: they treated the little girl, and also took care of the business end, too.

 

I'm glad this turned out OK for the little girl and her family, but RCCL is not providing free medical care. You have to pay for medical care anywhere you go, and that's why we should all understand our coverage if we are away from home, and be prepared for emergencies. Hotels and cruise lines are not responsible for our health insurance.

[AllieInMD]

There are a couple of these medical emergency threads going on - saw 2 posts from people that are citizens in UK that said they are required to have travel insurance to go and have to provide the information when they leave. I figured it was so the NHS wasn't on the hook for it. It appeared to apply only to UK citizens, not others leaving from UK.

 

Have travelled from the UK (GB) many times, and have never been asked for insurance, last time was in July 2008 London to Rome, when did this requirement take place?:confused:

[Elaine0138]

Firstly I am a scot and can tell you the daily record is a piece of tat! Secondly - one cannot travel from uk without insurance so any pay out would have been settled. Does it really matter? Small price to pay for one healtly alive child! The record obviously struggling today for a story! Own up who bought the record anyway? Shame on you! :)

 

This is not true you CAN travel from the UK without insurance, foolish to do so but it is done.

[AllieInMD]

Went back and looked - one of them is in this thread - Scotland - said he couldn't print his setsail pass without putting in insurance info - and one in Germany said something similar - US cruisers don't do this - I've never even had to provide the info much less not be able to print setsail passes without it.

 

 

Have travelled from the UK (GB) many times, and have never been asked for insurance, last time was in July 2008 London to Rome, when did this requirement take place?:confused:

[AllieInMD]

I'm confused - another poster from Scotland said they couldn't print setsail pass unless insurance info was entered?

 

Not sure just what the poster meant..perhaps they will come back and explain eh :)

 

Someone mentioned about insurance for UK Cruisers and I have to say that although when you do check in online it asks who your insurance is with...they dont actually ask you to prove it etc.

 

I have insurance always and I also have the health card...(what used to be called the E111 ) for when travelling in Europe.

[AllieInMD]

Amen - I *think* my medical insurance will cover me on a cruise, but I couldn't get a really straight answer out of them. So I will bite the bullet and buy trip insurance just in case - it's a small amount in comparison to the bill I might face.

 

 

You have to pay for medical care anywhere you go, and that's why we should all understand our coverage if we are away from home, and be prepared for emergencies. Hotels and cruise lines are not responsible for our health insurance.

[Elizanessie]

Went back and looked - one of them is in this thread - Scotland - said he couldn't print his setsail pass without putting in insurance info - and one in Germany said something similar - US cruisers don't do this - I've never even had to provide the info much less not be able to print setsail passes without it.

 

Hi Allie :)

 

Actually all a UK Cruiser has to do is name who they have insurance with ..thats it..nothing else...no proof is needed...not even policy number.

 

A lot of UK Cruisers this past year or so are newbies to RCCL and even to cruising, so they may not be aware of how things are done with regard to medical and insurance while cruising..of course we CCrs know all about it but sadly not a lot of UK cruisers are aware of this site.

 

I know from past conversations with many of the crew on the NV etc last year that sadly many UK cruiser newbies think the crew are responsible if their kiddies do something wrong...be it trouble in the elevators,poolside etc etc...one of the main things said to crew from angry parents last year was " well why didnt you stop them,you are meant to keep eye on them" !!

 

As to this report in the newspaper well I dont think I will comment on it as I wasnt there and dont know all the details.

[AllieInMD]

Thanks for the info :)

 

I don't think here in the US it even asks for anything at all - not that I recall.

 

The crew meant to watch their kids? LOL Is that how it is in the UK - in general I mean - shopkeepers, restaurant staff, hotel staff - expected to keep an eye on kids? Here many stores won't even allow kids in without parents with them.

 

 

Hi Allie :)

 

Actually all a UK Cruiser has to do is name who they have insurance with ..thats it..nothing else...no proof is needed...not even policy number.

 

A lot of UK Cruisers this past year or so are newbies to RCCL and even to cruising, so they may not be aware of how things are done with regard to medical and insurance while cruising..of course we CCrs know all about it but sadly not a lot of UK cruisers are aware of this site.

 

I know from past conversations with many of the crew on the NV etc last year that sadly many UK cruiser newbies think the crew are responsible if their kiddies do something wrong...be it trouble in the elevators,poolside etc etc...one of the main things said to crew from angry parents last year was " well why didnt you stop them,you are meant to keep eye on them" !!

 

As to this report in the newspaper well I dont think I will comment on it as I wasnt there and dont know all the details.

[Rala]

I was thinking the exact same thing. Leaving a 7 year old left unsupervised in a pool is pretty close to pathetic.

 

The rest of the story doesn't make that much sense to me. RCI already has a credit card number attached to their seapass account. Billing should not have been a big issue. The incident didn't seem to sour things enough to keep the family from re-joining the cruise.

 

Regarding the last portion of your post....some just put cash on their seapass and do not use a credit card. Possibly this was the case here.

[uksimonusa]

Went back and looked - one of them is in this thread - Scotland - said he couldn't print his setsail pass without putting in insurance info - and one in Germany said something similar - US cruisers don't do this - I've never even had to provide the info much less not be able to print setsail passes without it.

 

Oh so it's an RCI requirement, that makes more sense, the way I read the original post was that you could not leave the UK without travel insurance.

 

We went on a Sovereign cruise last month with friends from the UK, they booked in the UK, but printed thier set sail passes when they got here, they were not asked for Insurance details:confused:

[cyukuk]

When this story first appeared in the the Daily Mail it had all sorts of other "tit-bits" in it but it mainly centred on the family believing that RCCL should take total responsibility for their children !!

 

"Apparently" the child and her friend had been playing in the childrens zone pool and then elected to go to the main pool to "dive" !!!

 

When her playmate raised the alarm a passenger brought her out of the pool and resucitated her. The Family "apparently" felt that there should be trained life guards and medics on hand to look after their children.

 

NOW, is there not a notice at all main pools on RCCL ships that warn against diving AND point out there is no lifeguard on duty?

 

As with all newspaper reports there is usually an element of sensationalism

but the family quotes of outrage because no one was looking after their children beggars belief, whatever happened to parenting responsibilities.

 

Luv

Cy:confused:

[loveoftravel]

:D Just another thing to take away the freedom

 

PS kids should not live in the hot tubs either..... or take them over....:confused: :confused: :confused:

 

 

Independence of the Seas

Royal Caribbean InternationalFROM A PASSENGER: Whilst on the ship my 5 year old daughter rushed over to her dad and said she needed him to come to the bottom of the pool. When he got there he could see a little girl right at the bottom, he shouted for help and jumped in he pulled her dead weight out of the water she was blue. He did CPR and mouth to mouth for a few minutes every one thought she was dead.. but he carried on and eventually colour started to come back to her cheeks, there are no life guards and no first aiders on or around the pool area, if it wasn't for my daughter and husband that girl would have died. Thank god she did live or else my husband would have had that on his conscience for ever. We feel it should be essential to have somebody around the pool area to do first aid if this happens and it should not be left to the people around the pool. It was a terrible situation to be in and it ruined our cruise. The incident was subsequently reported by The Daily Record (Scotland) NS and Leicestershire Times

[DHADEN]

And isn't it interesting (or appalling) that the person reporting the incident and the newspaper "Leicestershire Times" didn't even mention the parents through the whole matter. :eek:

 

How could anyone let their child, who obviously could'nt swim go to the pool unaccompanied??????

[reallyitsmema]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=868230

[cb at sea]

I think it's posted that you swim at your own risk. There are no lifeguards. The pool is only 4 ft. deep or so....

Terrible thing to happen, but....

Bad things can happen anywhere, at anytime. That's why they're called "accidents".

[ehfl]

It's sad that parents don't watch their children.

[RoyalCruiser2007]

I think it's posted that you swim at your own risk. There are no lifeguards. The pool is only 4 ft. deep or so....

Terrible thing to happen, but....

Bad things can happen anywhere, at anytime. That's why they're called "accidents".

Actually, they're about 6 feet deep. More than enough for someone to drown.