No Tracey Arm

Sad news. Due to a medical emergency onboard the Ruby we are skipping Tracey Arm and heading directly to Juneau. I understand it has to be done but I was so looking forward to going to the ice field on the smaller boat.

They updated the info. He is in critical condition, so much so a helicopter or boat evacuation wasn't possible.

Gosh we have friends that are on the Ruby, Our neighbors with their 3 adult children and their spouses and 5 grandchildren. Such a tragedy for the family that is going through this medical emergency.

They updated the info. He is in critical condition, so much so a helicopter or boat evacuation wasn't possible.

My prayers are going out to the injured/sick passenger or crew member and their family as I type this. I hope they make a full recovery.

For you I hope that you have a wonderful rest of your cruise knowing that you now have a great excuse to cruise to Alaska again some time!

This is the second medical emergency this trip. Yesterday we sat dead in the water for quite a while after leaving Ketchikan. Finally a boat pulled alongside and they offloaded another sick passenger.

This is one of the "hazards" of an older demographic. Fortunately these people were able to be evacuated. I've been told that it's normal for one to several passengers to die during cruises. The ship does have a morgue.

Hopefully these people's medical issues will turn out OK. I'm sure there are a number of passengers who are incredibly "ticked off" about missing part of their itinerary but they should be happy to be healthy. The people with the medical emergencies certainly didn't plan them and I'm sure they would much rather have continued happily on their cruise.

This is one of the "hazards" of an older demographic. Fortunately these people were able to be evacuated. I've been told that it's normal for one to several passengers to die during cruises. The ship does have a morgue.

 

Hopefully these people's medical issues will turn out OK. I'm sure there are a number of passengers who are incredibly "ticked off" about missing part of their itinerary but they should be happy to be healthy. The people with the medical emergencies certainly didn't plan them and I'm sure they would much rather have continued happily on their cruise.

Not quite.

We are also aboard and were scheduled on the small boat excursion. This is the second time we have missed Tracy Arm on a cruise. There were people at the front desk about 6 am today raising all kinds of heck and wanting compensation for the missed port. I talked to them later and sure enough they were first time cruisers. The contract says PCL may change things on any cruise. Getting loud and obnoxious won't help. I am disappointed but I pray that the ill person makes a full recovery. Beautiful day to be in Juneau.

Thats too bad for everyone.

Try and enjoy your cruise anyway.

Hope the affected passenger is ok.

Not quite.

LOL. I imagine there have been cruises where nobody died. :) There will doubtless be some compensation offered.

Just curious as a first time cruiser.... when something like this happens... you skip a "stop" and go right to the next one. For whatever reason and surely this particular case is justified and I hope all goes well.... but do they then just park the ship in Juneau longer?

Like if it was supposed to be Tracy Arm for a day and then Juneau for a day, does it typically become Juneau for 2 days? I mean... they don't just cut the cruise short by a day, right? That would raise all KINDS of problems when they get to the end port and nobody has hotels or flights.

Just curious as a first time cruiser.... when something like this happens... you skip a "stop" and go right to the next one. For whatever reason and surely this particular case is justified and I hope all goes well.... but do they then just park the ship in Juneau longer?

 

Like if it was supposed to be Tracy Arm for a day and then Juneau for a day, does it typically become Juneau for 2 days? I mean... they don't just cut the cruise short by a day, right? That would raise all KINDS of problems when they get to the end port and nobody has hotels or flights.

No, they don't "add" to your next port stop. You wouldn't be in Juneau for two days instead. The port that has to be skipped, for whatever reason, becomes a sea day. They can't just spontaneously show up in ports - those things are planned months, if not a year, in advance - and ports cost money in port fees, taxes, charges for security and customs, etc....If you miss a port, that's why you get refunded port fees. But they don't add ports - otherwise, you would be charged extra port fees!

Just curious as a first time cruiser.... when something like this happens... you skip a "stop" and go right to the next one. For whatever reason and surely this particular case is justified and I hope all goes well.... but do they then just park the ship in Juneau longer?

 

Like if it was supposed to be Tracy Arm for a day and then Juneau for a day, does it typically become Juneau for 2 days? I mean... they don't just cut the cruise short by a day, right? That would raise all KINDS of problems when they get to the end port and nobody has hotels or flights.

Depends. We had to sit out two days in Bergen in Norway because there was a storm preventing us from reaching Shetland Islands. We sailed on to the next scheduled port after that and never saw the Shetland Islands.

On my Alaska cruise the evening out of Victoria (at the end of the itinerary) an older gentleman had a heart attack and fell in his shower. The next morning we diverted to Coos Bay OR and he & wife were transferred to a Coast Guard cutter, and the ship continued on to San Francisco.

Hi All

The cruise industry does a good job of keeping quite about just how many

folks pass away while on cruises, I know a person whos job was helping

family members to get loved ones back home, etc.

Some cruise lines have far higher numbers two factors drive these figures

length of cruise and age of passenger,

Even guest speakers have passed away while at sea

yours Shogun

Depends. We had to sit out two days in Bergen in Norway because there was a storm preventing us from reaching Shetland Islands. We sailed on to the next scheduled port after that and never saw the Shetland Islands.

I was stuck in Bergen for almost 3 days back in 1999 on the old NCL Norway. Ship had been in for work before our cruise and they had removed the prop shafts for repair. Something happened when one was put back in and I was told by a crewmember that it was actually a pretty serious leak. (I know something was wrong as they had divers off the ships stern for the 3 days we were in port) Bergen was about 2/3 of the way into our 14 day cruise before we stopped for repairs, it just "happened" to be the Captains home town we were stuck in. There was also a Mercedes stored on the forward deck that magically was gone when we left Bergen. lol

True, if the cruise lines advertised you could die on a cruise, that would freak people out and they would not go. Just like they underreport on-board crime.

On an RCCL cruise out of Galveston I texted my daughter that we were entering intl waters and I'd see her in a week. About 30 minutes later they announced we were turning back for a medical emergency and would be met by an air evac helicopter. Everybody was waiting to see the chopper land and it never came. Finally they announced we were returning to Galveston because it would take too long for an air evacuation. About midnight I texted we were back in Galveston, bye again and I'd see her in a week! Should have seen the rush for the casino about midnight when we once again hit intl waters! You'd think it was a buffet spread out for starving castaways. BTW the ill passenger was fine according to announcements later in the week.

Timing is everything I guess... I'm in the process of adding the insurance to our trip. I'm opting for the better insurance (still less than the plan Princess sells) because it has better coverage and includes medical evacuation and .... well this thread just helped me understand that anything can happen. The insurance is cheap, all things considered.

Timing is everything I guess... I'm in the process of adding the insurance to our trip. I'm opting for the better insurance (still less than the plan Princess sells) because it has better coverage and includes medical evacuation and .... well this thread just helped me understand that anything can happen. The insurance is cheap, all things considered.

It sure is and as part of onboard medical team I can't believe the number of people who choose to travel without medical insurance. One lady told me she never bothered in the Caribbean. I suppose she thought it was cheaper to medically disembark from there. Not sure why. Please do include the cost of medical insurance as part of the cost of cruising - or any other type of travel. I don't even drive over the border to the states without

Terry

They updated the info. He is in critical condition, so much so a helicopter or boat evacuation wasn't possible.

So your ship did arrive in Juneau earlier than scheduled? How much earlier?

I didn't notice the exact time, but it was around 8 am.

Hit send too soon. The ship was supposed to arrive around noon. Those of us on the small boat tour were supposed to be later.

LOL. I imagine there have been cruises where nobody died. :) There will doubtless be some compensation offered.

You get compensation if no one dies on your cruise? That's awesome . . . [making note to self to sternly lecture smokers and those opting for hazardous shore excursions].

You get compensation if no one dies on your cruise? That's awesome . . . [making note to self to sternly lecture smokers and those opting for hazardous shore excursions].

Also balcony rail sitting.