Celebrity Guest Relations/Customer Service & Medical Emergencies

Since a number of threads have appeared lately regarding medical emergencies and evacuations related to Guest Relations/Customer Service, it would be interesting and important to understand how Celebrity and other cruise lines treats(ed) their patients, family members, and/or friends during and after the emergency.

- Intially, how did the medical staff respond to the emergency?

- If you were medically evacuated how was it initiated and how were you

treated?

- How did Guest Relations respond to your needs and what type of follow up

support was provided?

- How was the port agent involved?

- If there was any communication with customer service during or afterwards, how were you treated and was there a satisfactory resolution?

I am sure there will be many postive stories as well as many negative ones. It is important for people to be aware of the possibilities that lie ahead in emergency situations. You never know when an emergency will appear and hopefully by reading other peoples accounts you will be better informed and prepared when faced with a simliar situation. Remeber you just never know when.

I am not sure where this will go, but I hope this helps.

TCA, you pose an interesting problem and highlight a possible missed PR opportunity.

With a different line we watched the DH depart the ship clutching a plastic bag, a grip, and one or two other things. He departed to the hospital where the DW was in recovery after an assault.

We sailed and that was the last we heard of the incident although rumour had it that they reboarded later on the cruise.

Now newspapers thrive on gossip and human interest stories. Local papers especially thrive on good news stories, at least in UK.

Now on a cruise ship gossip can be rife and the PR opportunities for the ship immense.

As speculated, if the cruise company reads these boards they may consider publishing on board news in the daily bulletin. It would humanise the whole commercial process.

I became violently ill with norovirus on the evening while sailing back into port at the end of our Alaska cruise. The ship had been aware of an outbreak and had put people off the ship in Skagway who would not comply with the quarantine rules. They did not inform passengers as to what had happened and in three days we had a fullblown outbreak. This was in Sept. 2006.

I was so ill my relatives were concerned and called the doctors office several times. They were told I had to come to the medical unit. I was too ill to leave my room so they came to me and gave me an injection. Hours later, another injection and still no improvement. By this time we were in port and people were attempting to leave the ship although they were still quite ill. Some were very angry, blaming the cruiselines, etc. We just patiently waited in our rooms until the majority of people were off the ship.

Once the masses were off the ship and the chaos died down,the front desk called and offered to take us in taxi's to a hotel, at their expense, and put me up until I was well enough to go home. They put three of us up in two rooms at a first class hotel and paid all our expenses. Port agents were involved in getting our luggage and helping us through customs. All was done very quickly and with little stress to me.

But, after returning home I wrote to NCL to report my illness and to talk about better hygiene practise in the ship, I never heard another word from them. I wasn't asking for anything as I felt I had been properly treated and my trip had not been ruined since I got ill at the end. But I think they should have responded with a follow-up. I also wonder about them letting all those ill people leave the ship. I think only those who sat in the rooms and refused to leave were treated to a room in the hotel.

So although I felt I was treated well in the long run, I don't think they handled it as well as they could have. I felt the front desk was trying to wait till as many ill people had left on their own before offering any kind of assistance. I also felt the doctors office was wrong to ask ill people to make their way to the medical office as that put ill people moving around the ship just when they should be staying put.

I have sailed since but will not sail Norwegian Cruise lines again. Not because I got sick or that they didn't compensate me. But because no one would talk to me about it afterwards.

As speculated, if the cruise company reads these boards they may consider publishing on board news in the daily bulletin. It would humanise the whole commercial process.

What sort of news, specifically? I don't think it would be appropriate to print any information about passengers' medical status. I believe they are entitled to privacy.

Mine was not a medical emergency, but I can share anyway. I was on a scuba diving excursion in Grand Cayman and was in excrutiating pain afterwards. Now, I will fully admit that the injury was my fault and in no way did I hold the cruiseline responsible. I went to the medical center and found out I had torn part of my eardrum. They did the medical exam and provided medicines without charging me since I was on one of their excursions. I felt I was treated very well by the medical staff and when I got home I went to a doctor. I was told there was no scarring or any damage. Yay!!!

So sometimes they do respond positively!

My Husband became ill on Holland America (Noordam) after we left St Martin. That evening he lost partial vision in one of his eyes. He was examined by the ships Doctor with a complete examination of about an hour and suggested that we leave the ship the next morning and go home. He was not sure if it was a stroke or clot. They brought our luggage to our room and we packed up till 3:00 A.M.. They let me make all my calls home to my children to let them know we were coming home and to make Doctors Arrangements. They handled all our customs arrangements and after breakfast the Port Athority met us when we got off. They took us to the Hospital for the exam, to the Eye Doctors office for another exam and made all or flight arrangements from St. Thomas to San Juan and then home to Chicago. He did not leave our side until he put us on the plane in St Thomas and we were home by 9:00 P.M. the same night. Everything was handled very professonally and the Port Athority was the best ever.