Comments on: The Perils of Getting Sick Aboard A Cruise Ship

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:04:26 +0000

Have sailed many times on Holland America ships with no incidents. Last cruise on the Maasdam in October 2011 both my wife and I became ill due to the cold on shore. Our cruise was along the St Lawrence in Canada. Went to the ships doctor and later treated at home. We missed 5 shore tours and tried to get our money back via insurance we bought from Holland America. Their answer – the doctor didn’t tell us to remain on the ship due to our sickness. Holland America sent us a letter when we complained to the CEO stating that the upper respiratory infection diagnosed by the doctor was just a common cold and we should have gone on the tours. Incidentally, I was hospitalized with pneumonia after coming home. Looks like Holland America gives service to passengers only if they don’t develop symptoms outside of compliance with the lines guidelines. Their insurance is another gratuity to the line with no redeeming value at all.

By: Sam

Sam — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:46:59 +0000

I read with interest your article ” the perils of getting sick aboard a cruise ship”
A relative who took early retirement from the NHS, recently applied for the post of ships doctor on the Carnival Cruise ships and was turned down.
His experience was as long as your arm, from being a Surgeon and running a busy casualty unit, before that a medical registrar and latterly a GP he dealt with people from all walks of life young old etc., Also had all the up to date certificates normally needed.
The reason he was turned down for the post was because he did not have anaesthetic experience!
Now my experience of an Anaesthetist is they sit at the head of the patient and twiddle a few knobs all be it expertly! They are not interested in the rest of the body and never have been which is why they are in their job!
So my conclusion to this, after reading your article, is the cruise ships want a doctor to keep the patient alive until they can be off loaded to someone else instead of maybe a death on the cruise ship!

By: Anne Campbell

Anne Campbell — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:59:32 +0000

My sympathies on your wife’s death. I cannot imagine how awful your Argentina experience was and since I don’t know the procedures in place for ambulances picking up people in one location and which hospital they end up in, I can’t offer much in the way of explanation. You had travel insurance. Didn’t it have emergency evacuation by air ambulance? I thought all of them covered it.

What I do know is this: anyone who gets ill in a foreign country is, with a few exceptions, in for an experience that can be frightening if you must get local medical care. There are a few countries (Canada, UK, France, Germany and Austria) where service is comparable to what we have here. But if I got sick in Italy I would get on my hands and knees and crawl to the local airport. If you need surgery, for example, your family preps the patient. Need injections? You do it yourself.

My advice: get travel insurance that includes emergency evacuation. My friend who had kidney stones during a port call in Istanbul would have done this through his travel insurance company, which would have air lifted him to Germany for treatment.

By: ken green

ken green — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:47:13 +0000

travel insurance does not kick in before your local doctor has confirmed you are not travelling with this complaint my wife off a cruise ship in buenos aries taken to argentine hospital NOT THE BRITISH ONE WHY? out of ambulance demanded $5000 on credit card would not go through doctor took me back to ship for wifes neither would that card companies suspected fraud taken to local atm could only draw 1000pesos she was treated ,off ship you are on your own operated on but passed away big language problem

By: ken green

ken green — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:33:09 +0000

i took great interest in the comments but your travel insurance only comes in to play after the insurance company has been in touch with your local practise to make sure you have not been travelling withe complain.my wife was recently put ashore in argentia on arrival at the hospital she went one way me to another and demanded$5000 this was before they examined her my credit card was declared viod the clerk tried it to many times a doctor took me back to the ship for my wifes card of cause i did not have her pin number by this time 2hours later they had found the problem and she was on the operating table this doctor then took me to the local atm but i could only draw 1000 pesos they did treat her my daughter had to wire $5000 across from england but the money was asked to be sent to the bank of america in new york i think she got proper treatment but why was we not taken to the BRITISH HOSPITAL in Buenos Aries we had one very big language problem i think there was a laison with the ships agent the port doctor and this hospital in fairness the ships nurse thought i was going to the british hospital once ashore you are virtually on your own my travel insurance was very good once it was confirmed she was not tavelling with this complaint IT WAS A COMPLETE NIGHT MARE I HAVE BEEN CRUISING 15 YEARS WITH BLINKERED EYES BE WARNED! (MY WIFE PASSED AWAY)

By: Fred H Spoerl

Fred H Spoerl — Tue, 05 May 2009 19:26:20 +0000

I have been on many cruises, mostly Princess, Carnival and Holland. I am 70 yet look and act about 60 and have been on two over 40 single cruises and have yet to meet the perfect attractive around 55 lady on any of them. What cruise line and itenerary do you recomend to meet such a lady or will that be almost impossible. Thanks for your comments. Fred

By: Untomomma

Untomomma — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:22:29 +0000

Excellent site http://www.shipcriticblog.com and I am really pleased to see you have what I am actually looking for here: “http://www.shipcriticblog.com/dont-get-sick-aboard-a-cruise-ship/” .. as it’s taken me literally 2 hours and 11 minutes of searching the web to find you (just kidding!) so I shall be pleased to become a regular visitor

By: Del Hill

Del Hill — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:22:24 +0000

there are those who are so blind to reality. The insurance companies I purchase from have one hired doctor who makes a decision of should you be evacuated. I buy this and I also have AM.Express Platium card which has 100,000 of evacuation coverage but when I looked into this; the same problem, one doctor whose name I have no idea of how to pronounce.
Med-Jet is your best bet. They agree to take you home by only your request if you are hospitalized. You need to read your policy and investigate what the risks you take by depending on one doctor who is obligated to protect the company who may take the advice of a local 2nd world company that you don’t really need to be transferred. I have traveled hundreds of weeks and thankfully I have never had to use any of these policys but I yet I feel I cannot take the risk of evacuation or some of my family getting sick and losing $10,000 plus.

I do own a firm that you can view all the companies who sells coverage and decide for yourself. It took me 35 years before I would allow this for my firm but after seeing the negative results, well……the rest is history.

By: Anne Campbell

Anne Campbell — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:47:46 +0000

Thank you so much for your feedback. Glad you got the fellow back to Cayman, Mexico would be scary.

By: Dochawk

Dochawk — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:33:12 +0000

Last week in Yosemite I was on a shuttle bus when someone cut off the driver, our bus driver had no chance. A 23 year old woman hit her leg and quite likely broke it. think this can’t happen to you on your tour of Montego Bay or Kenya? I’m a physician and I always buy travel insurance when I go to a third world country. I’ve treated a heart attack on one cruise (forced the ship to go back to Grand cayman (3 hours away, British hospital) rather than continue to Cozumel (abotu 10 hours, Mexican hospital) this guy had travel insurance and got airlifted to Miami for his emergency bypass). I’ve had a patient call me from Botswana where a local MD was advising her to have emergency surgery because she complained to her group leader of abdominal pain. Would you drive without car insurance? you can control what you can control, but I want to protect against what I can’t control.

You are right when you say you are making a small bet saving the money (very unlikely to be used), but its a huge loss when you lose.