Before you book that cruise, read on.....

Robert_Casotto said:
never cruised.  never would.

 I did it once, but only because I was hoping to bump into Al Pacino.

I've flown directly to a foreign city and just winged it, no tours, no guide book.  I didn't have a smart phone so I had to use a phrase book more than once.  Loved it.

I've done cruises, probably as opposite of the above as you can get, and loved it.  

I've done countless types of travel that would fall between the two (camper trips with full hook ups, camping in a tent at a campground, camping in the actual woods with no actual facilities other than the hole we dug for a latrine, impromptu road trips, staying at B&B's, staying in hotels, a week at Disney with the kids, etc), loved all of them.

Cruises aren't for everyone, I get that.  I just don't understand the vitriol that seems to come out when you mention cruises.  Flying directly to a foreign city where you don't speak the language and seeing if you can get by solo isn't for everyone either, neither is hiking into the woods in Maine and digging a hole in the ground to piss and poop into, but those vacations don't seem to bring out the same amount of disdain from people who would rather not try it.

ETA:  Actually, in Maine we did run into ticks, so that part did suck, no pun intended.  But the rest was great

if you travel outside the US always get travel insurance - that is full medical (with a reasonable deductible) and re patriation coverage.  They all cover the cost of the trip, but that’s peanuts compared to a significant medical expense. 

Recently a friend in Montclair’s brother was stuck in Mexico having had a heart attack and no travel insurance. They had to raise something like $50k before he could leave the country. 

peteglider said:
if you travel outside the US always get travel insurance - that is full medical (with a reasonable deductible) and re patriation coverage.  They all cover the cost of the trip, but that’s peanuts compared to a significant medical expense. 
Recently a friend in Montclair’s brother was stuck in Mexico having had a heart attack and no travel insurance. They had to raise something like $50k before he could leave the country. 

 Also true for travelers TO the US.  Canadians and Europeans have been hit hard by medical bills since they're used to having universal coverage with no "in-network" crap in their home countries.  They come here to visit, get sick/injured, and suddenly are hit with tens of thousands of dollars of medical bills

mtierney said:
On another blog, my account brought comments more along this line....

Still not getting what you were looking for.  What, specifically, do you think the cruise company should have done?

ridski said:

Robert_Casotto said:
never cruised.  never would.

 I did it once, but only because I was hoping to bump into Al Pacino.

 to play Devils advocate, I might go cruisin on any given Sunday but I heard from an Insider that after about 88 minutes Insomnia sets in.

Klinker said:

mtierney said:
On another blog, my account brought comments more along this line....

Still not getting what you were looking for.  What, specifically, do you think the cruise company should have done?

 I'm a bit surprised that cruise companies don't retain a local person in major ports to assist passengers who have been put off the ship for medical reasons. Not necessarily a medical expert, but at least someone who speaks the language and can help with transport arrangements. It doesn't seem that unreasonable. How would they treat an injured/sick crew member?

kthnry said:
 I'm a bit surprised that cruise companies don't retain a local person in major ports to assist passengers who have been put off the ship for medical reasons. Not necessarily a medical expert, but at least someone who speaks the language and can help with transport arrangements. It doesn't seem that unreasonable. How would they treat an injured/sick crew member?

 Exactly! It is called customer service or guest relations.

The presence of an onboard X-ray device suggests that fractures are not unheard of on cruise ships, and it isn’t hard to find anecdotes online from people who were treated in their ship’s medical center. I am sorry to hear that you were injured. Your experience certainly seems out of the ordinary. 

j_r said:
The presence of an onboard X-ray device suggests that fractures are not unheard of on cruise ships, and it isn’t hard to find anecdotes online from people who were treated in their ship’s medical center. I am sorry to hear that you were injured. Your experience certainly seems out of the ordinary. 

 Having diagnostic equipment doesn’t mean they are capable of handling the injury.  Especially considering that the hand was described as being malformed after the accident.  

If you’re on a cruise ship and you ship and fall and don’t know if you sprained or broke your ankle, being able to get an x-ray and finding out it is just a sprain means you can stay onboard and finish out your cruise without worrying the rest of your trip.  Getting an x-ray doesn’t mean they’re able to address a break, especially the type described by the OP

I know you feel,this is some personal vendetta but I have no personal opinion of you one way or another. I don’t know you personally or even much from this board. My opinion of YOUR STORY is that you expected way too much or were grossly misinformed. You had a minor to moderate accident abroad. You needed treatment that your cruisline was unable to provide. I’m not sure what you expected them to do? There are 4000+ passengers. They can’t wait for one person who falls ill. Nor can they adequately treat much beyond a minor illness. It’s a confined space so if someone shows signs of a commicabale disease that could spread, you bet your booty they want them off the ship (talking about the people you met) and as a passenger, you should want that also. You should know more as a traveler. Understand what your insurance covers, what happens in the event of an emergency, the basics about the country (ies) you visit. You failed to do your due diligence and traveled “blindly”. Many do. Educate yourself next time but don’t stop doing something you seem to have loved to do.

Cruising has its place. It’s not my favorite but I can certainly find it enjoyable as a way to unwind, relax and maybe get to see a lot of places quickly. We did Europe with my nephew at 13 and he saw Italy, Spain, Greece and France in one week. It was awesome for him. I also find it a great choice for a family of wide age ranges who may be difficult to entertain all. 

mtierney said:

kthnry said:
 I'm a bit surprised that cruise companies don't retain a local person in major ports to assist passengers who have been put off the ship for medical reasons. Not necessarily a medical expert, but at least someone who speaks the language and can help with transport arrangements. It doesn't seem that unreasonable. How would they treat an injured/sick crew member?

 Exactly! It is called customer service or guest relations.

 The local language was English. And the injury was not life threatening. The affected was able to travel on her own, communicate on her own and make decisions about her  treatment.

spontaneous said:

j_r said:
The presence of an onboard X-ray device suggests that fractures are not unheard of on cruise ships, and it isn’t hard to find anecdotes online from people who were treated in their ship’s medical center. I am sorry to hear that you were injured. Your experience certainly seems out of the ordinary. 

 Having diagnostic equipment doesn’t mean they are capable of handling the injury.  Especially considering that the hand was described as being malformed after the accident.  


If you’re on a cruise ship and you ship and fall and don’t know if you sprained or broke your ankle, being able to get an x-ray and finding out it is just a sprain means you can stay onboard and finish out your cruise without worrying the rest of your trip.  Getting an x-ray doesn’t mean they’re able to address a break, especially the type described by the OP

Exactly. All we have here is one side of the story. My point was only that a cruise ship with x-ray capability anticipates needing x-ray capability.  That’s all. 

Rule 9

If bone broken, discard passenger at this or next port.

dave said:
Rule 9
If bone broken, discard passenger at this or next port.

 I think that was in the last Republican health care plan proposal.

drummerboy said:
 I think that was in the last Republican health care plan proposal.

 It was subsection "b" of rule #, "Don't get sick."

the ship sailed four hours later from Port Canaveral, the first port.  At 8 pm, I noticed two emergency trucks on the pier.It is where passengers can go to Disney, etc. Apparently, some passengers were late to return, and in need of medical care.

The next port was Grand Cayman and the captain announced that it was too windy to take the ship in. Sailing slowly past the island, we passengers could see two other large ships docked. It was the perfect Caribbean beach day. 

The ship had to make up the time lost in Florida. 

I learned weeks later, in a phone call from a woman, a retired NYC police officer, who had been with the same travel agency as I, of another “fib”. She was someone the ship had called to the medical unit to inform them of my accident. Although we had never met, she expressed concern because I was traveling alone.  She was ready to get off the ship with me! She was assured by ship personnel that I would have an escort. 

The taxi driver! He demanded $150, cash only, as we arrived. One would think that the ship would have covered that cost with a petty cash fund!

I am not a litigious person and smart enough to know that taking on cruise lines would be a lengthy nightmare. (I was told by a family friend, a lawyer, that I had a good case for negligence.) I was simply telling my story here on MOL to educate and alert others.   

Edited to add: if the ship had waited an hour, I could have had nine days to recuperate in comfort, with housekeeping and meals.

I am pretty sure all of this was covered in some form that the OP signed but didn't read. Liability laws are pretty specific. That said, I am still unclear on where the OP got the idea that the cruise line was responsible for providing her medical care.  A cruise ship is not some sort of socialist paradise where one enjoys a right to medical care just by virtue of being a passenger.  This is a little slice of America, if you become ill or injured and you don't have the appropriate insurance, you are just going to have to deal with that on your own.  Kind of a crappy system, but what are you going to do?

do you have any understanding of the cost to keep a ship in port for an extra hour. It is likely around $100k if it’s even possible (customs/immigration would need to remain open and available). Not to mention expecting 4000 people to wait for you for a non life-threatening medical issue. 

as for too windy, so you are now a ships captain? They make the call based on wind conditions, size of vessel, whether it’s a dock vs tender port, etc. They don’t want people to get hurt nor do they want to risk damage to their very expensive ship. The biggest ships (like the one you chose)  are most susceptible to missing ports due to winds

The one cruise I’ve been on, back in the ‘80s when you didn’t need passports, was just under two weeks. We sailed through a cyclone which crossed our path twice; apart from that, our lower deck was somehow flooded;  and then we managed to have a fire that started somehow inside the inner walls between the library and the next room and the one below. 

We had passengers with food poisoning, passengers with sea sickness, passengers with chronic conditions that needed supervision, various allergic reactions, a baby came early... I’m sure there was more. 

Quite dramatic.

conandrob, it's a great good fortune for your niece and nephew that you are persistent in helping them.  Question here is, do you *ever* just let something go??  It seems to me mtierney posted here so that others could learn from her experience, and maybe also to vent.  Does she really need multiple follow-up posts telling her where she went wrong?  I don't much agree with her politics or religion, but she seems reasonably smart and well-informed, and I'm sure she learned from this experience what to look out for in future travel.

From the POV of the cruise line, I would think they would be more careful sending an injured, elderly, solo traveler off alone with a random taxi driver to a clinic that might not provide adequate care, if only for liability reasons.  Really, how much would it cost them to have a contact in each port to facilitate/escort in case a passenger or staff member needs care, or send along one staff member to accompany a passenger for 12 or 24 hours and then catch up with the ship?  Maybe they were familiar with this taxi driver, but if so, that apparently wasn't made clear to mtierney.  Injured people sometimes pass out, and if there was no one who knew who she was or where she was going, what then?

And so far as i can see, no one here is suggesting that the cruise line "provide medical care."

Joanne, for someone like me, not knowing how to swim, to have journeyed around the world via cruise ship, speaks to my confidence — or stupidity, perhaps. We began traveling in earnest in 1984. Previous decades had us schlepping four kids in a station wagon, going cross country, Canadian cities, as well as touring New England and visiting Southern states over the summer vacations.

The care provided passengers (on board) is outstanding. It is better than anything first class air flights can provide. No way would we have been able to visit Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Israel, Egypt and Jordan, Europe many times. Of course, often, we had to endure stressful air transport to a ship. While a passenger, the crew and staff are there to take care of you. That had been our experience.

Have had a lot of time to think about what has changed in cruising of late. First, of course, I was traveling as a widow alone. But this trip was one we had had on our bucket list! 

What I did not consider in planning the trip was the ship’s capacity — 5,000. We mostly had traveled on ships with 2400 to 4000 passengers. Plus, the sheer size of newer ships allows them space to provide rock climbing walls, huge water slides, multiple pools basketball, golf, etc etc. the ships are floating amusement parks.

It was the no-flight involved cruise out of NYC opportunity which clouded my vision.

However big it was, the planning required for the new attractions reduced the areas for sheer contemplation, reading, snoozing, whatever. I was only on board five days, but that was my impression. Also loud, 24-hour entertainment venues in various locations throughout the ship was a tad overbearing at times.

Mea culpa on my part, but the contempt shown me and my horrific experience in Jamaica should not have surprised me. I, a Catholic Conservative, risked it as a public service. The usual suspects have shown up.

BTW, the ship has accommodations for the very well-heeled, “The Haven,” located on a high deck. Every amenity is over the top, private pools, spas, massages, special food,etc. it is an onboard gated community. Wonder how the ship would have handled a similar accident if it involved a Haven guest?

I’m not sure how I managed such an honour, but I was seated at the Captain’s table for second-service dinner. Gosh! And I was just in an ordinary single cabin, on an ordinary deck, nothing special about me at all. My first big trip, my only one outside Australia.

With all the dramas, Captain rarely joined us, he was too busy. That’s fine - we all got along anyway. And the steward looking after our deck was wonderful and discreet, although I could see others treated him and his colleagues like dirt. 

One memorable morning the dining room was closed for both breakfast sittings because nothing could be safely served: the floors tilted too far for anyone to walk upright between tables, and coffee wouldn’t stay in cups. Lots of smashed crockery on the carpet from the display cabinets, cleaning up would’ve been a hard job. (I guess galley personnel were treated for scalds and burns, but we didn’t hear about it) We were really pitching about that day! I think 70% of passengers were seasick!!

(When you think about the heavy machinery that the crew handle, ships’ medical teams have to be able to do more that hand out sunburn cream, bandaids and aspirin. It’s obvious that without knowing a person’s medical history, full care is difficult however ensuring that person understands what’s happening, and checking on them isn’t too much to ask. Basic first aid calls for that. If you’d glassed your hand with a wine glass, they’d have to remove the fragments and stitch you up...)

joanne said:
The one cruise I’ve been on, back in the ‘80s when you didn’t passports, was just under two weeks. We sailed through a cyclone which crossed our path twice; apart from that, our lower deck was somehow flooded;  and then we managed to have a fire that started somehow inside the inner walls between the library and the next room and the one below. 
We had passengers with food poisoning, passengers with sea sickness, passengers with chronic conditions that needed supervision, various allergic reactions, a baby came early... I’m sure there was more. 
Quite dramatic.

 Damn!  I can see why you only took the one.  That sounds like a two week cruise to hell.

mtierney said:

Mea culpa on my part, but the contempt shown me and my horrific experience in Jamaica should not have surprised me. I, a Catholic Conservative, risked it as a public service. The usual suspects have shown up. 

While I certainly have contempt for your contemptible politics, as a human being I am sympathetic to your suffering.  What I still don't see, however, is what you would have had the cruise company do differently.

It was a P&O cruise, my older sister had previously cruised several times on the ship (longer cruise, different destinations) without incident. Made lifelong friends.

The food poisoning incident resulted from footballers breaking rules and bringing aboard streetfood from a port market, not storing it properly (this was in the middle of tropical summer) then eating it rancid while drunk. Eh. What more to say??

joanne said:
The food poisoning incident resulted from footballers breaking rules and bringing aboard streetfood from a port market, not storing it properly (this was in the middle of tropical summer) then eating it rancid while drunk.  

Did the ship stop in Darwin?  There would have been a certain symmetry to people winning a Darwin Award in Darwin.

Honestly, while the cruise sounds absolutely awful, it does make a great story. At least you have that.

mjc said:
conandrob, it's a great good fortune for your niece and nephew that you are persistent in helping them.  Question here is, do you *ever* just let something go??  It seems to me mtierney posted here so that others could learn from her experience, and maybe also to vent.  Does she really need multiple follow-up posts telling her where she went wrong?  I don't much agree with her politics or religion, but she seems reasonably smart and well-informed, and I'm sure she learned from this experience what to look out for in future travel.
From the POV of the cruise line, I would think they would be more careful sending an injured, elderly, solo traveler off alone with a random taxi driver to a clinic that might not provide adequate care, if only for liability reasons.  Really, how much would it cost them to have a contact in each port to facilitate/escort in case a passenger or staff member needs care, or send along one staff member to accompany a passenger for 12 or 24 hours and then catch up with the ship?  Maybe they were familiar with this taxi driver, but if so, that apparently wasn't made clear to mtierney.  Injured people sometimes pass out, and if there was no one who knew who she was or where she was going, what then?
And so far as i can see, no one here is suggesting that the cruise line "provide medical care."

I have no idea what my niece and nephews have to do with this thread nor why I should not post an alternate view of cruising. I do have some insider knowledge on how cruising works so I think I may have some value to add. Regardless, the OP is quite off base on some of her positions on cruising. She has every right to post her perspective and I have every right to post an opposing view. An expectation that the cruiselines would have a customer care agent in each part isn’t very realistic. And if the OP had spoken up and been more knowledgeable, I am 100% certain she could have re- joined the cruise at the next port had she so desired. If you have no idea what you’re doing, use a travel agent- it’s free,  for crying out loud!

Klinker, nah nowhere near Darwin. Just the islands - Fiji, Noumea, Vanuatu. (We'd just missed the riots in Vanuatu by a couple of weeks when we got there, too.)

The footballers were country guys on a pre-season jaunt. Figured they could play around because people would pay more attention to the cricket.