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? On what happens when you get sick


dcruisers

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We are going on the Viking Grand European river cruise in Sept. I was wondering what happens when a passenger gets sick while on the boat. Is there a "med center"?

We just got back 1 week ago from a 2 week HI cruise on Princess. On about the 3rd day, I was feeling sick and had a 102 temp. Went to the med ctr and was given meds and quarantined until temp was gone for 24 hrs. So this made we wonder what would happen to a passenger on a river cruise? Is there someone ...even a nurse..to check a person if they were truly ill? Sometimes, on ocean cruises, they even request that a passenger leave the ship because they are unable to handle the illness/accident.

Has anyone taken ill on a river cruise and if so, what happened!

Thanks.

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On our river cruises with Avalon, the CD has made appointments for people who need to see a physician in the town we are visiting and has summoned cabs to take them to the physician.

 

He/she has also directed them to pharmacies to deliver/pickup prescriptions.

 

We once had a frail gentleman fall and emergency people were called and the man was taken to the hospital. The CD made arrangements for the man and his wife to be flown home once he was released.

 

I commended our CD for his efficiency and he said that in most towns the CDs know where to send passengers for medical care.

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The only river cruise that we have been on with a doctor was in Russia. On most western European cruises, you are never far from a port with medical facilities. We have had people injured in falls and treated by emergency medical personnel at dock, or taken to a doctor and returned to the ship. In one case a woman had an injury that required dressing changes daily. She was traveling alone, and the hotel manager did the changes, whether he had specific training is unknown to us. We have also had people, who either from a fall or illness had to be hospitalized. The ship facilitated the hospitalization, but it behooves you to have travel health insurance, specifically for transport home, if you are not able to travel on a regular flight. In China, the were oriental medicine staff on board. I don't know if they we qualified in western medicine.

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beverlyjack is correct---get travel medical insurance. Why would you spend several thousands of dollars on a cruise and refuse to spend hundreds for something as important as your health or getting home for help.

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Totally agree with the medical insurance. On two separate cruises we knew people who tripped and were injured (broken leg on one and broken wrist on the other).

 

Local medical care was great in both instances; however, only the person with the broken leg had medical insurance. Medical insurance covered everything including upgrading to business class for the flight home.

 

THe person with the broken wrist had to pay for everything out of pocket immediately.

 

Again, both got great care, but travel insurance saved the day for one.

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We recently spoke to a lady recovering from a broken hip. She told us that she broke it at the first port they stopped at on their Carribean cruise. Seems they scheduled a 'segway' tour and apparently it was her first time on one. She didn't know how to operate it and quickly fell/jumped off it causing her to break the hip. (I don't know if she had been imbibing beforehand)

 

Lessons learned? #1) Segways can be dangerous & #2) Make sure you take out the trip insurance with medical AND evac.

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On my last river cruise about 12 people came down with Noro Virus and were quarantined to their cabins for about 2 days. Food was brought to them regularly. Either the crew or friends obtained meds from the local pharmacy in whichever town we were in. I myself caught someone's cold and was directed to a local pharmacy for the miracle pill. When we were in Vienna, a lady fell on the cobbles and dislocated her shoulder. The tour guide hailed a taxi, sent the woman to the local emergency room, called the CD on the ship who met the lady at the hospital. She was back on board within 3 hours and the guest relations folks helped her organize her flight back home. Absolutely you should have medical insurance. To answer your original question, there is no medical center, nurse or doctor on board the European river cruise vessels, at least that I know of.

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All of this brings up another point. A physician was traveling and needed a particular kind of over-the-counter med. Not seeing what he needed he talked to the pharmacist and discovered that what he wanted was not made with the formulation that he comfortable with.

 

We always take our own pain meds, tummy meds, and anything that we might need in a zipped container. Better to have it at 4am in your cabin than to hope and pray it will be in the next town!

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Thanks so much for all the input.

We always travel with travel insurance. We are in the process of filling out forms to get reimbursed for the medical fees paid on this last trip. I could never understand why people would pay a good amount of money for a trip but didn't want to pay the extra for insurance to protect themselves.

Also, we always travel with meds i.e immodium, tylenol, etc. But I was given tamaflu by the ships doc which is a prescription. Also, someone we met on our ship got a terrible eye infection and even the med ctr couldn't help. They were told to get off in Maui and seek medical assistance. She had to stay in Maui for a few days because she couldn't fly due to the pressure in her eye.

Good to know that sickness and emergenies can be handled on the river.

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We were on Uniworld's Imperial Capitals of Europe cruise last fall sailing from Romania to Vienna. We had a doctor on board. Our captain told us river boats are required to carry a doctor on the lower Danube because of lack of medical facilities and inaccessibility. In Western Europe, you are never far from doctors, hospitals, ambulances, etc.

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We were on Uniworld's Imperial Capitals of Europe cruise last fall sailing from Romania to Vienna. We had a doctor on board. Our captain told us river boats are required to carry a doctor on the lower Danube because of lack of medical facilities and inaccessibility. In Western Europe, you are never far from doctors, hospitals, ambulances, etc.

That's good to know. I have only been as far down as Budapest and there were no doctors on board but perhaps it is still farther down the Danube where there is a requirement.

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We have friends who cruised on Avalon just over a year ago. The DW ended up with a kidney infection... felt it brewing - finally had to seek help. The CD sourced out a clinic at the next stop, accompanied the couple to assist with translation, sourced a pharmacy for them and then called ahead to let the pharmacy know that they only spoke English (the CD had to get back to the boat for something...). She followed up with them when they returned back to the boat.

 

This couple said they couldn't believe how much was done to assist them. They did have travel insurance -which reimbursed them for everything they had to pay for out of pocket.

 

Fran

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That's good to know. I have only been as far down as Budapest and there were no doctors on board but perhaps it is still farther down the Danube where there is a requirement.

 

I didn't realize that...

 

Our next cruise/tour starts in Bucharest and ends in Budapest... So will check that out!!

 

Fran

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We had a man step backwards and trip over a concrete bumper .He cracked his head. The tour guide got on the phone with the ship. Then she went with he and his wife to the hospital. The couple made it back to the ship before we left the dock. In speaking to his wife she told us how shocked she was that with all the tests they ran (CAT scan etc) she was only charged less than $100 (we were in France). I was so impressed by how the Viking people handle the situation and that their independent guide was well versed in what to do...

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Equally as important as the Health Insurance, is trip cancelation insurance, in case you can't make the trip. If you can't go at the last minute, you stand to lose the cost of the entire trip. For most plans, you need to purchase the insurance within 21 days of booking the trip to get the pre-existing coverage, which I think is extremely important. We had insurance last year through TripInsuranceStore.com, and got a full refund on our Holiday Market Cruise as well as the cost of the non refundable airline tickets due to my wife's hip surgery literally a few weeks before our trip. I liked two things about TripInsuranceStore: their website gives you a deep understanding of what coverage is out there and compares pros and cons and costs of 5 or 6 insurance plans. Secondly, I liked the personal service I got communicating with the owner via phone or email to get the plan best suited for us. There are small things you don't know about like coverage that includes continued care once you get home from your trip and the difference between Primary and Secondary Health Insurance. Anyway, I encourage you to read that website, as it it explains things in a non intimidating manner using examples of past passengers' experiences. I have no financial or personal connection, to them, but sometimes the best way to thank someone for a job well done is to let others know about your positive experience.

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Equally as important as the Health Insurance, is trip cancelation insurance, in case you can't make the trip. If you can't go at the last minute, you stand to lose the cost of the entire trip. For most plans, you need to purchase the insurance within 21 days of booking the trip to get the pre-existing coverage, which I think is extremely important. We had insurance last year through TripInsuranceStore.com, and got a full refund on our Holiday Market Cruise as well as the cost of the non refundable airline tickets due to my wife's hip surgery literally a few weeks before our trip. I liked two things about TripInsuranceStore: their website gives you a deep understanding of what coverage is out there and compares pros and cons and costs of 5 or 6 insurance plans. Secondly, I liked the personal service I got communicating with the owner via phone or email to get the plan best suited for us. There are small things you don't know about like coverage that includes continued care once you get home from your trip and the difference between Primary and Secondary Health Insurance. Anyway, I encourage you to read that website, as it it explains things in a non intimidating manner using examples of past passengers' experiences. I have no financial or personal connection, to them, but sometimes the best way to thank someone for a job well done is to let others know about your positive experience.

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We always have insurance, but we do have some options that are not available (at least at a reasonable price....) to our friends south of the border.

 

We purchase an annual policy - and then top up if necessary. We just purchased a small top-up for our up-coming Viking cruise. Our annual policy covers cancellation, interruption and health insurance. It also covers "other" issues - and I was able to get some compensation when my wallet was stolen in London, England.

 

Fran

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Thanks so much for all the input.

We always travel with travel insurance. We are in the process of filling out forms to get reimbursed for the medical fees paid on this last trip. I could never understand why people would pay a good amount of money for a trip but didn't want to pay the extra for insurance to protect themselves.

Also, we always travel with meds i.e immodium, tylenol, etc. But I was given tamaflu by the ships doc which is a prescription. Also, someone we met on our ship got a terrible eye infection and even the med ctr couldn't help. They were told to get off in Maui and seek medical assistance. She had to stay in Maui for a few days because she couldn't fly due to the pressure in her eye.

Good to know that sickness and emergenies can be handled on the river.

 

It is reasuring to hear how helpful the riverboat staff is. After reading on CC about a ship's pharmacy running low on meds, I found out that you can request a prescription from your doctor for an antibiotic and Tamiflu. I now carry these with us, but thankfully, have never needed them. Currently, it might be difficult to get Tamiflu due to the severe flu season.

Here is our checklist as we are going on our first riverboat cruise: Insurance? Yes. First aid kit with Meds? Yes. Luck, to not need them? Hopefully!

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Thanks for posting this thread…and for all the responses that make it sound like the crew are extremely helpful on river cruises to get you the help you need.

I was unsure about that too. However, like others, we always carry the normal meds for colds, upset stomachs, heartburn, etc. that we might get even under normal circumstances…we now also carry Robitussin cough gels just in case of a cough…we found that Dextromethorphan, the active ingredient in most of our over-the-counter meds here in the US is by prescription in Italy. The cough gels are easier to transport than the fullblown bottle. Not sure if it's an Rx in other countries…but that's a staple in our med chest.

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We always get trip insurance through insuremytrip, and they reimbursed 100% when we had to cancel last year due to my emergency surgery. Can't wait to go this year in April!!

 

Paulinda, why would you even make the comment about someone possibly imbibing before getting on a Segway? I am a huge klutz and have broken my ankle missing a step, my shoulder tripping over a cord, my knee not looking where I was stepping down, I was looking up, and I have never been drunk or imbibing when I did so, in the middle of the day...to have someone imply that I had had an accident on a Segway because they didn't know about imbibing would have been pretty insulting. People fall, and people have accidents. It doesn't mean that they are drunk.

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