Returning Ship to Port After Embarkation- Point of No Return

[disfan]

I was on the Monarch in October and after we were several miles at sea, the captain announced that we were returning to port, due to an ill passenger.
While I'm sure that this was a medical necessity, it had to be somewhat costly to return the ship and bring back the docking crew. pilot, etc.
There was an ambulance waiting but no frantic running around. After 20 or 25 minutes the passenger, companion and baggage were removed.
It must depend on the circumstances but I was wondering if there is a point of no return, when the ship would continue, with the ill passenger.

[Saracruise]

That happened to us last February leaving San Juan... had no idea until the next morning since we were having such a good time.

[Sue L]

This is a pretty common occurrence. We were on the Brilliance last month and left Venice, after about 90 minutes of clearing Venice they made an announcement that we would be returning to Venice because of a a ill passenger. A coast guard boat met us part of the way back and took the passenger and we turned around again and kept going.

[silentbob007]

It depends upon the severity of the emergency I'm sure. I'm sure the potential lawsuit of a ship continuing on and putting a passenger in more danger is a much higher amount than turning the ship around a few miles out. I've been on cruises where we've turned around, where we've diverted to a closer port, etc.

[FLCruiseFan]

Happened to me on the Freedom of the Seas last month...We made it to the end of the channel and then pulled over and docked at the casino boat docks to help medical personell on. I think its pretty common.

[kewlguy]

If the ship is too far out at sea they will usually request the passenger be airlifted off the ship. This happened during one of our transatlantic's, well off of Land's End, UK. The passenger suffered a life threatening fractured skull and the Royal Navy was called for immediate assistance. It was quite an interesting event to witness.

[TEXASMUNK]

One poster use dthis word....In recent memory, every cruise line has focused on the human side of the equation. NOT everyone looks for the lawsuit side of life....wow, we have become a warped society!

[temple1]

Originally Posted by TEXASMUNK

One poster use dthis word....In recent memory, every cruise line has focused on the human side of the equation. NOT everyone looks for the lawsuit side of life....wow, we have become a warped society!

There will always be folks who will think or respond that way. Many have been conditioned by big bidness to believe that everyone is out to sue.

[Papa T]

We have turned around several times and as much as 6 hours out to sea and either been late to the next port or missed a port. One time we lost a day and a port because a crew member jumped overboard and they spent many hours searching.

[aruvqan]

Originally Posted by kewlguy

If the ship is too far out at sea they will usually request the passenger be airlifted off the ship. This happened during one of our transatlantic's, well off of Land's End, UK. The passenger suffered a life threatening fractured skull and the Royal Navy was called for immediate assistance. It was quite an interesting event to witness.

I bet, there is a youtube of a medevac, patient and the aircrewman riding a heli-basket up.

[i know people that would have to be tranked off their asses to go up in a basket ... I was a practice patient for cave rescue once and was hauled out in a basket ... it got scary and I got into the cave on my own. When you are no longer in control [like strapped into a basket] it makes it very different, you have to really trust in others!]

[czcruiser13]

Originally Posted by disfan

I was on the Monarch in October and after we were several miles at sea, the captain announced that we were returning to port, due to an ill passenger.
While I'm sure that this was a medical necessity, it had to be somewhat costly to return the ship and bring back the docking crew. pilot, etc.
There was an ambulance waiting but no frantic running around. After 20 or 25 minutes the passenger, companion and baggage were removed.
It must depend on the circumstances but I was wondering if there is a point of no return, when the ship would continue, with the ill passenger.

The same thing happened to me on the Monarch earlier this year. We were in the casino when the Captain made the announcement. They had to shut down the casino when we got within 3 miles. You shoulda heard the bitchin. BTW, the patient make it back OK.

[GXmanDC]

I wonder how the decision gets made? I assume that the ship physician notifies the Captain that the individual needs emergency medical treatment that cannot wait until the next port. I also want to believe that they do this because it is the right thing to do.

[Capt_BJ]

Originally Posted by GXmanDC

I wonder how the decision gets made? I assume that the ship physician notifies the Captain that the individual needs emergency medical treatment that cannot wait until the next port. I also want to believe that they do this because it is the right thing to do.

Having participated in many such situations here's a very simplfied example of what happens in the US anyway:

The ship's staff determines that outside help is needed and the patient should be transferred ashore. The ship contacts the Rescue Coordination Center for the area they are in, typically the Coast Guard Sector or District Command.

The duty Flight Surgeon, usually a USPHS doctor assigned to the Coast Guard, will talk with the ship personnel and make a determination that a) evacuation is necessary and b) what level of expedience is called for.

If 'maximum effort' is warranted the details are passed back to the coordination center who must then look at asset availability. For example, it makes no sense to decide to use a helo, of no helo is available for several hours which can be the case. And there are risk factors in helo hoists and transfers to small boats. The safety of the patient must be weighed against the risks of the various evacuation methods keeping time in mind as an important factor in some cases. Many times the safest option for the patient IS to have the ship go pierside but like I said, many factors come into play.

This happens pretty quickly, several times each day.

[Mack2]

This happened to us aboard the Grand Princess in 2007 leaving out of Miami... Although, in that situation, the ship stopped moving around 8:00pm, and waited until a Coast Guard helicopter lifted the passenger off the ship.

Princess didn't offer too many details other than a passenger had to be airlifted off the boat...

Older crowd on Princess....

[GXmanDC]

Hey Capt BJ, thanks for the details. very interesting.

[cruiserbryce]

I think it all would depend on where the ship is headed and if they are closer to their next port of call...odd thing is...if the passenger was so sick that 30 minutes into the cruise they needed to turn around wouldnt they have realized they were ill and not boarded in the first place???

[CaboWabo62]

Our Hawaiian Island cruise on NCL Pride of Aloha made two stops for medical reasons. Returned to Honolulu for gentleman passenger had heart trouble, we actually docked at industrial/freight harbor at west end of Oahu.
Second stop at Lahaina Maui a day early for a crew member who had taken ill, crew member was transported using tender.
We still made all port stops on time, but we missed night time sail by of active volcano eruption on the Big Island (Hawaii). Still a very nice trip never saw so many whales.

[carribeanpirate18]

This happened on our Carnival cruise in August. We left Freeport headed to Baltimore, we diverted to Port Canaveral to have a CG boat meet us at the mouth of the port. It was a baby (11 month old) who had breathing difficulty and the ship's medical staff felt they could not give the level of treatment that was needed. Carnival was great about it and told us what they could.

[GTO-Girl]

And I'm praying all these people mentioned have recovered and that they had trip insurance!!

[stones902]

A couple of years ago, we missed a day at Princess Cay and instead diverted to Nassau to evacuate a passenger who was injured in an accident.