Wondering about medical services onboard

We recently had an experience onboard a ship that has left me wondering about the variation in adequacy of the medical services onboard a ship. I know that some cruise lines have contracts with top quality medical centers located on land that they can send data to and consult with if need arises. Some ships have some minimal xray equipment onboard and some do not,

Does anyone know how I might obtain this info? We like to take longer cruises to remote locales but I no longer feel quite as confident as previously.

I would appreciate any help or direction I can get. Thanks in advance for any help.

We recently had an experience onboard a ship that has left me wondering about the variation in adequacy of the medical services onboard a ship. I know that some cruise lines have contracts with top quality medical centers located on land that they can send data to and consult with if need arises. Some ships have some minimal xray equipment onboard and some do not,

 

Does anyone know how I might obtain this info? We like to take longer cruises to remote locales but I no longer feel quite as confident as previously.

 

I would appreciate any help or direction I can get. Thanks in advance for any help.

The medical services aboard the Seabourn ships are very good. There is the ability for X-rays and heart monitoring. Both my husband and I have unfortunately required some treatment for respiratory infections and these were handled well......I am an ex nurse so very picky. Also two other couples we know required treatment, one heart related and the other an unexpected illness which required the second couple to be disembarked and this was also handled well.

For complete peace of mind I am sure if you asked Seabourn direct they could tell you what is available and staffing requirements on the particular ship you were thinking of sailing on.

I hope this helps.

Thanks so much for this information. Learning of your personal experience was reassuring especially you being an ex health professional We will consider Seabourn for our next cruise

On a Seabourn cruise I needed some minor hand holding following a fall which turned into a bad sprain. Services were fine. They x-rayed, wrapped the ankle and set me up with ice. Medical officer followed up with a call to my room. Regarding your question, I would inquire what their protocol is for treating acute illnesses/conditions such as stroke, heart attack. Ask them to give you specific names of medical centers they commit to using in the various ports you will visit. Also ask if they can airlift regardless of location of ship. This is important!

Thank you, La Jolla Lass.

Your info is very helpful. We are thinking of trying Seaborn this fall.

We knew a passenger who went to the clinic with a bad cough and was given cough medicine and an antibiotic. Heart rate was soaring, nearly double usual resting rate. Passenger went to personal physician day after home - full blown pneumonia. Oh, and passenger seen by nurse only - doctor was on a tour, and passenger told no need to check back with doctor. Only charged for two of three medicines given -makes you wonder what they are dispensing and not keeping track of. Scary. If cruise was a week longer, wonder if passenger would still be alive.

Take this for what is worth, but we were on the Legend a few years ago, when the Captain suffered a heart attack. It seemed to us, and several other passengers that the medical situation could have been handled better.

Take this for what is worth, but we were on the Legend a few years ago, when the Captain suffered a heart attack. It seemed to us, and several other passengers that the medical situation could have been handled better.

Is the Captain dead or alive?

Is the Captain dead or alive?

Surviving a heart attack is not the only indicator of competent medical care. Far from it, in fact, since a patient may live despite sub-par and even negligent care, but the results can nevertheless be devastating causing much more damage to the heart and systems which otherwise could have been prevented.

Pop= I am, in general, going to agree with you. People die with the best of care and survive with minimal care. The physicians that I have come in contact with on the luxury lines, mainly for bronchitis/kennel croup,etc and have had effective treatment.

I have known some other 'patients' who have had serious medical conditions which have been handled well although [mostly] the pt has been disembarked.

We were on a New Years cruise [Regent] and my husband slipped down a few icy stairs on the night before the cruise. He had a lot of pain...eventually went to the doc who was very nice/kind....told him that he was aerating. Unfortunately, the medical center did not have an x-ray machine. Once my husband returned home, he saw an MD who said that he had several fractured ribs and sent him to have the gathering pulmonary fluid removed. This is an example of the limitation of lack of x-ray equipment.

The reality is you cannot expect the same or even close to the same medical treatment at sea as you do on land. Even on land, all medical services are certainly not equal in their capabilities. And even at the best of facilities look at the mistakes that are made. Yes, I realize if the mistakes involves you it is not great but that happens at sea and on land.

Each doctor who works on a cruise line has their own area(s) of expertise and it certainly does not cover everything. It can't. They do have the capability though to consult with fellow doctor(s) on land.

What I have learned is that it is wise to bring your medical history with you and if you have anything that is abnormal it is even more important to have that history with you. For example, people who have Mitra Valve Prolapse have abnormal EKG's. It is normal for them but abnormal for most people. It is very helpful to both the doctor at sea and also on land if you are sent off the ship to have access to this type of history.

The other thing I have learned is that if things go wrong for someones health that initially they are limited in how and where they will be treated. But then again, if you are at home and suffer an event and the ambulance comes often the first place you are taken you don't have a lot of control in selecting.

The reality is that the best of the doctors are not going to be working on cruise ships. And like all professions you are going to have some who are stronger than others.

I am not sure about most of you but often people are misdiagnosed by their own physician at home. It does happen.

Keith

The doctors whom I have met have been internists or Emergency physicians which seem good choices for the job. Some do this work just 1 or 2 months per year, vacationing. My comment above was a reflection on the lack of X-ray

Equipment. Physicians are attracted to different types of practices and I would not wish to imply that. Since they have chosen this area, they are not the strongest. They must rely upon themselves and their clinical skills.

I think the advise to take significant medical history/ data with you is an important one...and take your meds because understandably the drug supplies are limited and often from other countries, with different names and appearances

Surviving a heart attack is not the only indicator of competent medical care. Far from it, in fact, since a patient may live despite sub-par and even negligent care, but the results can nevertheless be devastating causing much more damage to the heart and systems which otherwise could have been prevented.

Yes I know all of this,I was wondering who the Captain was and if he survived.

If it's the same incident the Captain survived probably thanks more to the fact there were at least two other doctors on board with considerable experience. Ship turned back to Amoy to off load the Captain rather than proceed to Shanghai. Passengers not well informed at all about what was happening and why (helped to know one of the two doctors), we all missed the day and overnight in Shanghai but that's the luck of the draw I suppose. Glad it wasn't me.

Don't think he's still with Seabourn. Best question, I'm given to understand, is to ask what activities he was (allegedly) involved in when he was incapacitated.

If it's the same incident the Captain survived probably thanks more to the fact there were at least two other doctors on board with considerable experience. Ship turned back to Amoy to off load the Captain rather than proceed to Shanghai. Passengers not well informed at all about what was happening and why (helped to know one of the two doctors), we all missed the day and overnight in Shanghai but that's the luck of the draw I suppose. Glad it wasn't me.

 

Don't think he's still with Seabourn. Best question, I'm given to understand, is to ask what activities he was (allegedly) involved in when he was incapacitated.

This is the incident I was referring to, although I was under the impression the other drs. were not able to assist in the Captain's care.