Does RCI Have A "Care Team" For Emergencies?

[abhb]

Thoughts and prayers for your family.

[stanford's girl]

Saying prayers for your niece, her fiance, and their families.

[TEXASMUNK]

Too many times, speculation runs rampent on thse boards. Taking the time to come back and provide some details will eliminate the two extremes that situations like this will often cause on boards.

 

Hope they get some safe and get the medical care they need!!!!

[Fran Harp]

Just found out from my sister in law that RCI has not forsaken my niece and her fiance. RCI in Cozumel will pick them up at the hospital tomorrow and take them to the airport. RCI knew they had the insurance,too. RCI did not want them to fly home until monday, but the fiance's mother wanted them home asap. They said the hospital was very nice and the doctor spoke perfect English and that they were in good hands. Now we feel so relieved!

 

The little I know is that there is a kind of "care team" for those who are hurt onboard or suffer a loss (both pax and crew). There are a few staff trained in counselling in case of a suicide, but essentially those who are seriously injured are taken off at the next port.

 

Remember the crossing with Brilliance - in April 2008?, where someone fell and broke her leg, and required surgery? Captain had to decide whether or not to go back to Miami or steam for the Azores. In the end he went to the Azores, arriving a day early. I'd bet that the injuries your niece and fiance sustained were serious enough they could not be treated in the medical facility - it isn't equipped for serious care.

 

So glad that RCI has been there to assist them...and that it isn't more serious. Keep us up to date, please and thanks.....

 

Fran in Toronto

[Chitoryubt]

tally10,

Thanks for keeping us posted. Prayers and positive thoughts coming to you and your family.

[tally10]

Thanks again for all of your good wishes and prayers. A quick update as we just spoke to my sister in law. The fiance has fractures in the upper and lower jaw and will have a long road ahead of him. My sister in law has notified the airlines about the circumstances and they are supposed to provide wheelchairs and assistance in getting them through the airport and customs, etc. Hopefully, there won't be a glitch with that. They supposedly have a bulkhead seat with no one in between them, so that part is good. We are hoping they have enough pain medication to get them through the journey and into a Tampa hospital. Thanks again for your support. Cruise Critic people are the best!

[rednancy1]

Thanks again for all of your good wishes and prayers. A quick update as we just spoke to my sister in law. The fiance has fractures in the upper and lower jaw and will have a long road ahead of him. My sister in law has notified the airlines about the circumstances and they are supposed to provide wheelchairs and assistance in getting them through the airport and customs, etc. Hopefully, there won't be a glitch with that. They supposedly have a bulkhead seat with no one in between them, so that part is good. We are hoping they have enough pain medication to get them through the journey and into a Tampa hospital. Thanks again for your support. Cruise Critic people are the best!

 

Sending prayers and good thoughts to your niece and her fiancee. I hope they arrive home safe and sound.

[MilliesMom]

Will keep them in our thoughts and prayers. I hope they will be home safe and sound tomorrow as planned. Thank you fo the updates.

[snausman]

Thanks again for all of your good wishes and prayers. A quick update as we just spoke to my sister in law. The fiance has fractures in the upper and lower jaw and will have a long road ahead of him. My sister in law has notified the airlines about the circumstances and they are supposed to provide wheelchairs and assistance in getting them through the airport and customs, etc. Hopefully, there won't be a glitch with that. They supposedly have a bulkhead seat with no one in between them, so that part is good. We are hoping they have enough pain medication to get them through the journey and into a Tampa hospital. Thanks again for your support. Cruise Critic people are the best!

 

Thank you for keeping us all posted on what is happening. Sending warm wishes for a speedy recovery for them both.

 

Laura

[tomko2]

Prayers going out to your Niece and her Fiance. It would be frightening to be a parent receiving a call about such a nasty accident. Very happy that RCI is providing proper assistance to the couple.

Kathy:)

[dutchess43]

Thank goodness for the helmets an angel must of been watching over them. As a parent I know I would be climbing the walls(patience is not one of my better virtures)until they arrive home. Please keep us updated on their progress. All good thoughts & prayers are with them & the families.

[reallyitsmema]

Wondering if they made it home safe. Please post an update if you see this.

[raisincainus]

My wife had an allergic reaction to aleve pain pill,passed out and fractured her back on the ship. We had rci insurance, found out the hard way they have a 10,000 dollar limit. Hope u have better luck with their insurance.

[Rancher Dave]

Thanks for your warm wishes. Did find out they were NOT on a ships' excursion, but had rented a motor scooter. They did have helmets on, thankfully. He apparently hit a bump and flew over the handlebars and hit the concrete face first. My niece went sideways and landed on her wrist. I'll let you know when I know more, but thanks again everyone. The initial details were just so sketchy. I'm glad RCI was there for them.

 

 

Yikes. I know from personal experience a scooter can be dangerous. I was on loose gravel and the scooter slipped out from under me....and I broke a tooth. Thankfully my dentist was a family friend and baseball coach, he swung by that afternoon...and when their family came over for Christmas week evening celebration, his wife brought some specailly made soft food for me...

 

 

I sure hope here a week later your niece and her fiance are doing well. I am sure it was 100% about as scary as it could get for them. Also glad to hear the insurance stepped in to help ASAP.

[tally10]

My niece and her fiance made it back and he was taken into surgery immediately. He had plates and screws placed in his upper and lower jaw and the jaw is wired shut. My niece is doing well. She has a brace on her fractured wrist as it was not as bad as they thought (just a crack, I guess). Lots of road rash, gouges, and missing skin for both. She has to go to physical therapy for a while. The fiance will be out of work for some time. They said the RCI port agent was wonderful and went above and beyond. The part that bothers us is that the mexican officials demanded cash, separate from the hospital bill, to let them leave. The kids only had $200 on them, which the government rep. accepted. There was an elderly gentleman in the hospital with them from the ship and they wanted $1000 from him, but the kids did not know what happened to him. You would think that with all of the cruise lines pumping so much money into the economy there, that they would not allow this to happen. Continental Airlines was wonderful. They had wheelchairs for them, gave them the bulkhead seats with no one in the middle, and fast tracked them through customs and immigration in Houston so that they could make the connection without any hassle. We are all so happy that they are home!! By the way, even though the hospital was modern, they were never cleaned up or bathed and their bandages and linens were never changed. Moral of the story, don't do anything remotely risky in a foreign country that may not be up to U.S. standards. Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers. They were greatly appreciated!!

[Rancher Dave]

We are all so happy that they are home!! By the way, even though the hospital was modern, they were never cleaned up or bathed and their bandages and linens were never changed. Moral of the story, don't do anything remotely risky in a foreign country that may not be up to U.S. standards. Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers. They were greatly appreciated!!

 

All depends on the country and what hospital. There are many great facilities around the world that rival care in the USA, only at a fraction of the cost. Of course almost none are in Cruise Ports...other than off the top of my head, Singapore.

 

A co-worker had her DH overseas working in Asia and when he suddenly got dealtly ill he was shipped to Singapore where he recovered his ordeal. No need to come all the way back to the USA.

 

Select facilities in India, China, and a few other places around the world have very modern hospitals with US standards and US trained doctors.

 

I do agree Mexico is not where I would want to end up in a Hospital.

[tally10]

All depends on the country and what hospital. There are many great facilities around the world that rival care in the USA, only at a fraction of the cost. Of course almost none are in Cruise Ports...other than off the top of my head, Singapore.

 

A co-worker had her DH overseas working in Asia and when he suddenly got dealtly ill he was shipped to Singapore where he recovered his ordeal. No need to come all the way back to the USA.

 

Select facilities in India, China, and a few other places around the world have very modern hospitals with US standards and US trained doctors.

 

I do agree Mexico is not where I would want to end up in a Hospital.

 

We live in Phoenix and a lot of people without medical and dental insurance travel to Mexico for those services at a fraction of the cost. That's why it was a bit of a surprise, that with the modern hospital they were in, that their care was lacking. The doctor there did not want to do anything because he felt it would be redone when they got home. It was mainly the nursing care that was troubling. Mainly the hygeine/cleanliness. I guess these are things that we tend to take for granted.

[Rancher Dave]

We live in Phoenix and a lot of people without medical and dental insurance travel to Mexico for those services at a fraction of the cost. That's why it was a bit of a surprise, that with the modern hospital they were in, that their care was lacking. The doctor there did not want to do anything because he felt it would be redone when they got home. It was mainly the nursing care that was troubling. Mainly the hygeine/cleanliness. I guess these are things that we tend to take for granted.

 

For truly routine things I think some well trained folks go South of the border and set up shop to eliminate liability and hassle by going cash only...as such the cost fro the consumer is less.

 

Dentists across from South Padre do a lot for a little $$$ and one of the best there lives here in Texas, just comutes to work in Mexico every day. Odd eh? It works for the pocketbook though.

[tally10]

For truly routine things I think some well trained folks go South of the border and set up shop to eliminate liability and hassle by going cash only...as such the cost fro the consumer is less.

 

Dentists across from South Padre do a lot for a little $$$ and one of the best there lives here in Texas, just comutes to work in Mexico every day. Odd eh? It works for the pocketbook though.

 

I'm sure the doctors and dentists and entrepreneurs do that here in the border towns as well. The snowbirds flock there and I don't blame them. But after my niece and fiancee's experience, I'm not so sure I would-LOL! I had personally heard about a dentist in Algodones (you cross at Yuma) that has state of the art equiptment and people were very happy with hi. You do take your chances though.

[snausman]

My niece and her fiance made it back and he was taken into surgery immediately. He had plates and screws placed in his upper and lower jaw and the jaw is wired shut. My niece is doing well. She has a brace on her fractured wrist as it was not as bad as they thought (just a crack, I guess). Lots of road rash, gouges, and missing skin for both. She has to go to physical therapy for a while. The fiance will be out of work for some time. They said the RCI port agent was wonderful and went above and beyond. The part that bothers us is that the mexican officials demanded cash, separate from the hospital bill, to let them leave. The kids only had $200 on them, which the government rep. accepted. There was an elderly gentleman in the hospital with them from the ship and they wanted $1000 from him, but the kids did not know what happened to him. You would think that with all of the cruise lines pumping so much money into the economy there, that they would not allow this to happen. Continental Airlines was wonderful. They had wheelchairs for them, gave them the bulkhead seats with no one in the middle, and fast tracked them through customs and immigration in Houston so that they could make the connection without any hassle. We are all so happy that they are home!! By the way, even though the hospital was modern, they were never cleaned up or bathed and their bandages and linens were never changed. Moral of the story, don't do anything remotely risky in a foreign country that may not be up to U.S. standards. Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers. They were greatly appreciated!!

 

I am so glad you came back to tell us how the 2 of them are doing. There was alot of people worried about them. Glad everything is going well. Hope they both have a very speedy recovery.

 

Laura

[tally10]

Relayed all of your thoughts and well wishes and prayers to the kids last night and they were much appreciated! Cruise Critic people are the best!

 

Joyce

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Relayed all of your thoughts and well wishes and prayers to the kids last night and they were much appreciated! Cruise Critic people are the best!

 

Joyce

 

 

Thanks for the update. I bet the kids are just thrilled to be home!

Glad they had the surgery and are getting the care they need.

 

I know what you mean about AZ people going across the border for dental, Rx's medical and eye glasses....a lot from our community go all the time, we would not risk it.

 

Joyce, Come on over to our AZ thread...just follow the link in my signature. We have a great bunch of AZ people....like you said CC people are the best!

 

***

[BroncosFan2010]

My niece and her fiance made it back and he was taken into surgery immediately. He had plates and screws placed in his upper and lower jaw and the jaw is wired shut. My niece is doing well. She has a brace on her fractured wrist as it was not as bad as they thought (just a crack, I guess). Lots of road rash, gouges, and missing skin for both. She has to go to physical therapy for a while. The fiance will be out of work for some time. They said the RCI port agent was wonderful and went above and beyond. The part that bothers us is that the mexican officials demanded cash, separate from the hospital bill, to let them leave. The kids only had $200 on them, which the government rep. accepted. There was an elderly gentleman in the hospital with them from the ship and they wanted $1000 from him, but the kids did not know what happened to him. You would think that with all of the cruise lines pumping so much money into the economy there, that they would not allow this to happen. Continental Airlines was wonderful. They had wheelchairs for them, gave them the bulkhead seats with no one in the middle, and fast tracked them through customs and immigration in Houston so that they could make the connection without any hassle. We are all so happy that they are home!! By the way, even though the hospital was modern, they were never cleaned up or bathed and their bandages and linens were never changed. Moral of the story, don't do anything remotely risky in a foreign country that may not be up to U.S. standards. Thank you all for your warm wishes and prayers. They were greatly appreciated!!

 

We are all glad to hear that they made it back safely and are getting the medical attention they need.

[pattiea]

Have been following 'the kids' since you originally posted...so glad they're safely home and getting the medical care and are on the mend..hopefully they will be fully recovered by the wedding.

[wrp96]

Thank you for the update. Hope they heal quickly.