a review from someone

[seabourndt]

Cruise Ship: Azamara Journey Sailed: January, 2009

Destination: Panama Canal Age: 65+

 

I am not sure where to put this article on this site but I believe that what I have to say is relevant to all those who go cruising.

There are few things more unsettling or unnerving in life than losing control and not being in command of your destiny and I’m not talking of when you get on an aeroplane and the pilot and crew take charge because you make a conscious decision to take that step. What I would like to relate to you is a true and traumatic episode that should serve as a cautionary tale and should convince anyone who has ever considered not taking out travel insurance because it is overpriced or unnecessary.

Six days into our cruise and we have been sauntering around Acapulco and gone back to the ship. I had stomach pains and went to rest in the cabin, Ida came down at 4-30pm and saw that I was in great pain so we went to the Medical Offices where I received an investigative procedure including a blood test and suddenly it was made clear that it would be better if I was to go to the local hospital as should it be that I needed surgery, which seemed likely, they would be unable to perform that onboard and the next ports of call offered little in the way of facility. Now is the start of the real experience. Neither of us had given a huge amount of thought as to what would happen in such circumstances and so the unpreparedness and loss of control begins. You assume that the all embracing confederacy of the ship will kick in but what you do not know is that the ship is leaving and you are holding it up. They have made the decision to evacuate you and your spouse and to that end all of your belongings are bundled quickly and haphazardly into your suitcases, you are asked to collect your passports and sign forms, not me but Ida as I was on a stretcher or gurney with needles and drip feeds in my arms and she was being hurried. The ship was overdue now and hundreds looked on as I was loaded into an ambulance to await Ida. I was incapacitated and she totally flustered, the situation fraught.

The ambulance drew away with us and our luggage in it only to stop at the port exit and whilst we watched the ship sail Ida was rushed off to the customs office where the officials not only berated her for not having filled in the forms but also asked for $58 in payment for the visa. I had to painfully get into my back pocket to find it. Now we were off and at a small, private and shabby hospital I was disgorged into a curtained area and Ida was taken, with the suitcases into a room with two small curtained windows and a long plastic cover settee and we were kept apart like this for some time. I was asked for a credit card before anything could happen and when I said that I had insurance cover that was rejected out of hand because they had had “bad things” with insurance companies before and that was not acceptable. The whole of the communication was in my very poor Spanish and their equally inadequate English. I was in pain uncertain of things and easily gave in and was debited 25,000 Mexican Pesos which it turned out was just for the consultant and didn’t cover the hospital bill.

Slowly, nothing happens quickly or even on time in Mexico, the various procedures started at one time I was shipped to an even smaller building two streets away for ultrasound tests. Eventually after three hours Ida and I reunited and she told me that they wouldn’t let her ring out to the insurance company or anyone else so we settled in for the night with me having various blood tests and intravenous drips and injections by instructed nurses none of whom spoke English, Ida tried, mostly unsuccessfully to sleep on this sticky plastic couch. Through the night I was attended and given various doses of substance and also the most effective, but evil tasting laxative I have ever experienced. It took several hours to work but when it did it even cleaned my ears out, and went on doing so. I had to go to the bathroom frequently pushing, tugging or manhandling the apparatus to which all these umbilical drips were festooned, I felt like a medical Christmas tree. Now here is the salt to rub into the would, at no time did we know what was really wrong with me, we had been told, I’m not sure when, that very few people make it back to the ship and most are repatriated. I did get one call from Marie in Miami who was the representative from Azamara she asked all the right questions but after that was unable to get back to me and I know she tried and I had a call from the Port Agent who is there to facilitate matters and help with our movements whenever they might be. As I said nothing happened quickly and when they did they were invariably later than they said they were going to be. Luckily for us the doctor had hired a translator so that he could communicate more appropriately with us. We made good friends with her and also said that we would pay her if she could get through to the various people we needed to talk to and also get Ida some food as she was not able to be provided for from the hospital and I was not allowed any.

Later on that day I was taken away for more investigations with a catscan and colonoscopy. It is now that we find out that there may be other items that are worthy of examination. I don’t want to go into detail but trust me when I say that it was the sort of news that made your stomach do a complete cycle.

So here we are in a foreign country with state of the art machinery but poor communication skills, consultants, I now had three and an interpreter, unsure not only about how we could get home, to the ship or indeed how we were going to cope with unexpectedly bad news, having to pay up front for all of these procedures and the consultants and both of us tired, frustrated and traumatised. You could say that you would never let that situation arise and you would have better control or luck but you could never be sure of that. We had finally, with the intervention of our translator and the doctor, managed to get in touch with the insurance company but they were not willing to pay until they had checked that I had no mention of this in my previous notes. I asked if I could not cover this bill which to date was 70,000 Mexican Pesos, what would happen and they replied that they would first contact any of your family that could help and if not they could make some other arrangements which would obviously mean that there would be interest involved. We were well into day two and the pain was, with the aid of the antibiotics started to subside. Having been told the Consultant would be along to discus the results of the test, yes you’ve guessed it, later when they had studied them, we decided to reclaim some of the initiative by unpacking and then repacking our cases, the jumble that we found inside them was worse than we expected but I am sure that we gained a great deal with this resorting and tidying exercise, Ida sorting in disbelief and I still festooned with bottles and drips, we carried on until we were far more fulfilled because we were regaining our dignity, strange how something so simple can have that effect. At eight that evening the consultant arrived and explained some of what they had found but said that he would return in the morning, early, with his two other colleagues to pronounce on the situation. So we had yet another night to mull over the situation and to make up our minds as to what we wanted to do, so that we, through our interpreter, could at have a major say in the situation. The indication from this consultant was that they, the three musketeers, would like us to go straight home, this is what happens to most people who are taken from a ship and this then makes sure that their backs are covered should I drop dead or whatever, for them it was the clever move. Two or three economy flights, with airport changes, back to the UK and then home. Our plan was different and that was to rejoin the ship at the last possible port before the Panama Canal spend a restful time on there and then take our booked flight, which was Club Class, back from Miami to the awaiting taxi at Heathrow. No contest we thought. Are you getting fed up yet?

Another day dawned and we waited and waited until finally at ten thirty the triumvirate of medical intelligence strode into the room. They, as we thought, had their view that the safest way (for them) was for us to return, whatever the impact on us, to the U.K. but they had reckoned without out restorative luggage sorting session and to be quite honest the well briefed translator who, after we had had a go at them, corralled them like sheep in the anteroom and reargued our case with them. Without their backing there was no way the ship would receive us into it’s all embracing bulwarks. Suddenly and gleefully the medical heavies burst back into the room all excitingly stating that the best thing for us both, with no equivocation, was to rejoin the ship and that we should start making arrangements immediately, having settled the hospital account first.

The ‘phones then opened up and we could call the port agents and they said, yes, they would make arrangements for us to go back to Journey. They sent a car, which arrived two hours later, and we scuttled of to the Travel Agent where eventually we got the flight tickets to…….. Mexico City where we had one hour to get to another flight to San Jose in Costa Rica. The flight was with Mexicana Airways and we we surprised at the newness, the smart operation and the room that they offered. We arrived in Mexico City feeling quite elated, caught out plane to San Jose and arrived, on time, at midnight. Unfortunately out luggage didn’t, we had three suitcases somewhere out there and only what we had been wearing for the last few days. Well we had changed our you know whats but not a lot more. We made our official complaint and we were told that the next plane in was at the same time tomorrow. So we drove off to an arranged hotel three miles down the road. The ship, fortunately, was not due until the day after so we had a day’s grace in the hotel and a mini bus calling for us at 9am that morning. Cutting a frowningly long wait with the inevitable missed times and promises our cases arrived at the hotel at 6-20am on the day of our departure. Joyously but slightly frazzled we enjoyed the two hour ride to Puntarenas, which translated means and looks a bit the bridge over the enas, and we entered back into the warm ship’s womb with feelings of mixed but mainly very happy emotions. We were overwhelmed by the reception we got from crew and passengers alike, apparently our return was announced at the start of a cabaret the previous evening by Sue, that for us ,was very humbling but Oh so pleasing.

Now for those of you that have sat through and read this, well done, but we feel that you should be aware that the things which can overtake you are quite disruptive upset and cost a considerable amount both emotionally and financially, the whole episode nearly overtook us and we are now far more aware of the cause and effect of an incident like ours. No two incidents will be exactly the same but, as they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed and we are so grateful that the insurance we had should cover some if not most of our expenses which at the final reckoning will be over £7,000. Please if nothing else look at your holiday insurance before going away.

Finally I will say that when we were back on the ship it was as though we had never left, strange but true.

Happy Cruising. …….. Neil and Ida

 

Quality of Food n/a

 

Entertainment n/a

 

Shore Excursions n/a

 

Staff n/a

 

Children's Facilities n/a

 

Onboard Activities n/a

 

Cabins n/a

 

Overall Rating n/a

 

 

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[MarleneAm]

Cruise Ship: Azamara Journey Sailed: January, 2009

Destination: Panama Canal Age: 65+

 

I am not sure where to put this article on this site but I believe that what I have to say is relevant to all those who go cruising.

There are few things more unsettling or unnerving in life than losing control and not being in command of your destiny and I’m not talking of when you get on an aeroplane and the pilot and crew take charge because you make a conscious decision to take that step. What I would like to relate to you is a true and traumatic episode that should serve as a cautionary tale and should convince anyone who has ever considered not taking out travel insurance because it is overpriced or unnecessary.

Six days into our cruise and we have been sauntering around Acapulco and gone back to the ship. I had stomach pains and went to rest in the cabin, Ida came down at 4-30pm and saw that I was in great pain so we went to the Medical Offices where I received an investigative procedure including a blood test and suddenly it was made clear that it would be better if I was to go to the local hospital as should it be that I needed surgery, which seemed likely, they would be unable to perform that onboard and the next ports of call offered little in the way of facility. Now is the start of the real experience. Neither of us had given a huge amount of thought as to what would happen in such circumstances and so the unpreparedness and loss of control begins. You assume that the all embracing confederacy of the ship will kick in but what you do not know is that the ship is leaving and you are holding it up. They have made the decision to evacuate you and your spouse and to that end all of your belongings are bundled quickly and haphazardly into your suitcases, you are asked to collect your passports and sign forms, not me but Ida as I was on a stretcher or gurney with needles and drip feeds in my arms and she was being hurried. The ship was overdue now and hundreds looked on as I was loaded into an ambulance to await Ida. I was incapacitated and she totally flustered, the situation fraught.

The ambulance drew away with us and our luggage in it only to stop at the port exit and whilst we watched the ship sail Ida was rushed off to the customs office where the officials not only berated her for not having filled in the forms but also asked for $58 in payment for the visa. I had to painfully get into my back pocket to find it. Now we were off and at a small, private and shabby hospital I was disgorged into a curtained area and Ida was taken, with the suitcases into a room with two small curtained windows and a long plastic cover settee and we were kept apart like this for some time. I was asked for a credit card before anything could happen and when I said that I had insurance cover that was rejected out of hand because they had had “bad things” with insurance companies before and that was not acceptable. The whole of the communication was in my very poor Spanish and their equally inadequate English. I was in pain uncertain of things and easily gave in and was debited 25,000 Mexican Pesos which it turned out was just for the consultant and didn’t cover the hospital bill.

Slowly, nothing happens quickly or even on time in Mexico, the various procedures started at one time I was shipped to an even smaller building two streets away for ultrasound tests. Eventually after three hours Ida and I reunited and she told me that they wouldn’t let her ring out to the insurance company or anyone else so we settled in for the night with me having various blood tests and intravenous drips and injections by instructed nurses none of whom spoke English, Ida tried, mostly unsuccessfully to sleep on this sticky plastic couch. Through the night I was attended and given various doses of substance and also the most effective, but evil tasting laxative I have ever experienced. It took several hours to work but when it did it even cleaned my ears out, and went on doing so. I had to go to the bathroom frequently pushing, tugging or manhandling the apparatus to which all these umbilical drips were festooned, I felt like a medical Christmas tree. Now here is the salt to rub into the would, at no time did we know what was really wrong with me, we had been told, I’m not sure when, that very few people make it back to the ship and most are repatriated. I did get one call from Marie in Miami who was the representative from Azamara she asked all the right questions but after that was unable to get back to me and I know she tried and I had a call from the Port Agent who is there to facilitate matters and help with our movements whenever they might be. As I said nothing happened quickly and when they did they were invariably later than they said they were going to be. Luckily for us the doctor had hired a translator so that he could communicate more appropriately with us. We made good friends with her and also said that we would pay her if she could get through to the various people we needed to talk to and also get Ida some food as she was not able to be provided for from the hospital and I was not allowed any.

Later on that day I was taken away for more investigations with a catscan and colonoscopy. It is now that we find out that there may be other items that are worthy of examination. I don’t want to go into detail but trust me when I say that it was the sort of news that made your stomach do a complete cycle.

So here we are in a foreign country with state of the art machinery but poor communication skills, consultants, I now had three and an interpreter, unsure not only about how we could get home, to the ship or indeed how we were going to cope with unexpectedly bad news, having to pay up front for all of these procedures and the consultants and both of us tired, frustrated and traumatised. You could say that you would never let that situation arise and you would have better control or luck but you could never be sure of that. We had finally, with the intervention of our translator and the doctor, managed to get in touch with the insurance company but they were not willing to pay until they had checked that I had no mention of this in my previous notes. I asked if I could not cover this bill which to date was 70,000 Mexican Pesos, what would happen and they replied that they would first contact any of your family that could help and if not they could make some other arrangements which would obviously mean that there would be interest involved. We were well into day two and the pain was, with the aid of the antibiotics started to subside. Having been told the Consultant would be along to discus the results of the test, yes you’ve guessed it, later when they had studied them, we decided to reclaim some of the initiative by unpacking and then repacking our cases, the jumble that we found inside them was worse than we expected but I am sure that we gained a great deal with this resorting and tidying exercise, Ida sorting in disbelief and I still festooned with bottles and drips, we carried on until we were far more fulfilled because we were regaining our dignity, strange how something so simple can have that effect. At eight that evening the consultant arrived and explained some of what they had found but said that he would return in the morning, early, with his two other colleagues to pronounce on the situation. So we had yet another night to mull over the situation and to make up our minds as to what we wanted to do, so that we, through our interpreter, could at have a major say in the situation. The indication from this consultant was that they, the three musketeers, would like us to go straight home, this is what happens to most people who are taken from a ship and this then makes sure that their backs are covered should I drop dead or whatever, for them it was the clever move. Two or three economy flights, with airport changes, back to the UK and then home. Our plan was different and that was to rejoin the ship at the last possible port before the Panama Canal spend a restful time on there and then take our booked flight, which was Club Class, back from Miami to the awaiting taxi at Heathrow. No contest we thought. Are you getting fed up yet?

Another day dawned and we waited and waited until finally at ten thirty the triumvirate of medical intelligence strode into the room. They, as we thought, had their view that the safest way (for them) was for us to return, whatever the impact on us, to the U.K. but they had reckoned without out restorative luggage sorting session and to be quite honest the well briefed translator who, after we had had a go at them, corralled them like sheep in the anteroom and reargued our case with them. Without their backing there was no way the ship would receive us into it’s all embracing bulwarks. Suddenly and gleefully the medical heavies burst back into the room all excitingly stating that the best thing for us both, with no equivocation, was to rejoin the ship and that we should start making arrangements immediately, having settled the hospital account first.

The ‘phones then opened up and we could call the port agents and they said, yes, they would make arrangements for us to go back to Journey. They sent a car, which arrived two hours later, and we scuttled of to the Travel Agent where eventually we got the flight tickets to…….. Mexico City where we had one hour to get to another flight to San Jose in Costa Rica. The flight was with Mexicana Airways and we we surprised at the newness, the smart operation and the room that they offered. We arrived in Mexico City feeling quite elated, caught out plane to San Jose and arrived, on time, at midnight. Unfortunately out luggage didn’t, we had three suitcases somewhere out there and only what we had been wearing for the last few days. Well we had changed our you know whats but not a lot more. We made our official complaint and we were told that the next plane in was at the same time tomorrow. So we drove off to an arranged hotel three miles down the road. The ship, fortunately, was not due until the day after so we had a day’s grace in the hotel and a mini bus calling for us at 9am that morning. Cutting a frowningly long wait with the inevitable missed times and promises our cases arrived at the hotel at 6-20am on the day of our departure. Joyously but slightly frazzled we enjoyed the two hour ride to Puntarenas, which translated means and looks a bit the bridge over the enas, and we entered back into the warm ship’s womb with feelings of mixed but mainly very happy emotions. We were overwhelmed by the reception we got from crew and passengers alike, apparently our return was announced at the start of a cabaret the previous evening by Sue, that for us ,was very humbling but Oh so pleasing.

Now for those of you that have sat through and read this, well done, but we feel that you should be aware that the things which can overtake you are quite disruptive upset and cost a considerable amount both emotionally and financially, the whole episode nearly overtook us and we are now far more aware of the cause and effect of an incident like ours. No two incidents will be exactly the same but, as they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed and we are so grateful that the insurance we had should cover some if not most of our expenses which at the final reckoning will be over £7,000. Please if nothing else look at your holiday insurance before going away.

Finally I will say that when we were back on the ship it was as though we had never left, strange but true.

Happy Cruising. …….. Neil and Ida

 

Quality of Food n/a

 

Entertainment n/a

 

Shore Excursions n/a

 

Staff n/a

 

Children's Facilities n/a

 

Onboard Activities n/a

 

Cabins n/a

 

Overall Rating n/a

 

 

Report this review

Email to a friend

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_________________________________

 

Thank you for telling this important story.

I hope that your health situation and compfort improves when you get back to the UK. My Best wishes for your recovery

[KAWS]

Wow, Neil. What an experience. Certainly NOT the way you intended to spend any part of your vacation for sure.

 

Thank heavens you got a translator and that they were able to help you. I think that was instrumental for you two.

 

So what's the end of the story? Now that you're home (albiet broke) I'm pretty certain you've seen your own doctor. Are you ok now? Do you still have to have surgery? Was your doctor in agreemnt with what they were saying was wrong with you? Was the homecoming part of your journey (please please) uneventful?

[Ilivetogo]

Oh my! I'm SO sorry for what you have gone through. We have already paid for our trip insurance for an Alaskan cruise in August. I hope we don't have to use it, but I'm glad it's there.

Like the PP, I wonder how you're doing now and I do hope you're well now that you're home.

Hopefully, your next holiday will be fabulous!

[Iris5383]

That was quite an experience! I'm sure it was a scare for you both. I, too, am curious what your own doctor diagnosed. I'm glad you made it back to finish the cruise.

Laura

[letsgocruz1]

Wow, how horrible for your vacation to take a turn like this, I am glad you got to rejoin your cruise.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. I hope you are doing well now.

 

BTW, did you ever find out what was wrong with you?

[tomko2]

Wow, what an ordeal. Very glad you are OK. I appreciate your story because I like to be prepared in case anything happens to us on a cruise. My DH collapsed here in Florida a couple of years ago (we are Canadians) and it was stressful enough for me dealing with everything. The bill for a total of 6 hours of care was over $12K -- all taken care of by insurance. Your experience in Mexico highlights the importance of insurance and the importance of both spouses being aware of the policy and other important matters.

Thank you for helping others.

Kathy