boone2

Patches are not recommended because of some of the side effects that can be quite bad. I know a lot of people swear by them but as a ship board nurse I've seen some awful effects. You can usually get sea calm meds from guest services or the clinic. On the line I work for they are given free, not sure about princess. I've done many TA and never had it as rough as some of the seas in the med

Terry

Repeat

Not only do the crew have to make ready for the next voyage, disembarking crew can't get off until the ship passenger count is at zero. After a few months on board they are usually very antsy to be off. We once had to wait an extra hour because some pax who were called over and over decided they wanted to stay longer on the ship 😩

Terry

Always chose the cabins near the aft pool. So close to everything, the rear elevator is close by and DH can nip to horizons to get his cuppa tea whenever he wants

Terry

I very much dislike the "vulture" mode demonstrated by the spa employees, especially when one walks thru the area outside the spa, going to and from the open deck. There are usually 3-4 young ladies hanging around out there, trying to make eye or verbal contact with passersby. I find that very annoying. If they work for the spa, they need to be IN there handling customers, not looking like we who are passing by are roadkill and we are about to become lunch.

 

I don't like it any better when they are camped by the aft elevators on deck 15 outside the Horizon Court at lunch time, seeking victims to lure to the spa.

 

If I want spa services, I will go into the spa and make the necessary arrangements.

I blame Steiner for this. I am elite on princess and have had the hard sell from the spa. However I work on another cruise line and Steiner also runs the spa. I became very good friends with some of the spa girls and I feel so sorry for them. They signed up for a job they thought they would enjoy and ended up having to be hard line sales reps. They have to meet a certain target in sales every week, if they don't they can lose their days off and on one ship I worked on they were brought in for 0600 "breakfast meetings" that didn't involve breakfasts. Then they work all day till 9pm. They are pushed all the time by Steiner. Some of them don't mind it but a few on my longest contract last year never went back. One hair stylist told me she was working for about 2$ an hour and thanked God for her tips. Just a peekat the other side of things

Terry

Air transat offer true one way pricing from Toronto to many European visited. We flew to Venice to join a TA cruise a couple of years ago. The price was about $450 if I remember. So we upgraded to club class. Had a very comfortable flight

Terry

Passengers are kept away from the the area of the the evac because if anything happens their safety cannot be guaranteed. That's why pax are not allowed in the area where it will happen. The helicopter and the area they are winching from are covered by fire teams just in case

Terry

You don't usually need progress notes. As a pax I never have and I've submitted about 5 claims. All I've needed is the signed medical bill. However if you do need more you can ask for a copy of the chart before you disembark

Terry

I don't get the big problem some have with people taking photos.

 

What do you think the news does on a daily basis.

 

If you don't want to don't.

Helicopter yes. Patient and medical personnel not so much

Terry

Have done multiple medical evacs and never failed to be surprised by the number of passengers who think it is part of their holiday photo shoot. Really, I mean really. How would you feel if it was you on the stretcher.

Medical evacuation by helicopter is one of the most dangerous operations at sea (and yes I have been raised up in a basket with my patient). It takes precise positioning and they need to use the helicopters equipment as that is what fits, the copters come in all shapes and sizes with extremely limited room on aboard so a one size fits all from the ship won't work

Terry

The problem with filing insurance one you get home is this: the form you sign at the ship's medical center says they will not have any notes or information to give you or send to your insurance. It is hard to file insurance for treatment when the only record you have is the charge on your ship account

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Every passenger is given an account detailing all services and the cost of each service. It is signed by the MD and you can submit it to your insurance company when you get home. You cannot usually submit a claim for OTC products. I'm also not sure that an insurance company will reimburse for something like allergy shots but you would have to check. I have beentold by pax that they cannot claim for their INR checks as they are a pre existing condition. I haven't given allergy shots onboard but for B12 shots you have to have a consult with the MD that involves a charge. There is also an injection fee

Terry

In 40 years working on ships, I've done well north of 1000 emergency drills, and I consider each and every one of them a learning experience. Is it an inconvenience? Yes, it interferes with the daily routine, but is it necessary to ensure "muscle memory" to know instinctively what to do? Also yes. Even some who have attended 100 musters may not react instinctively, and hesitation or indecision can be trouble.

 

If you find the musters to be repetitive, you might want to try to challenge yourself by setting a scenario. Just prior to muster, go to a chosen location on the ship, lets say Lido deck, aft. Decide that there is a fire in the MDR. Now determine the best route from your location on the Lido deck to your muster station without going near or above the MDR. This is how we train the crew to think.

I'm crew too and I always learn something new with each muster. I was also on the crown princess "tip" years ago and was so amazed at the chaotic conditions with passengers running around hysterically. I always think of this everytime we have a crew drill. I don't work on princess but I do know of many occasions when passengers try to get out of a drill. One couple wanted a personal phone call from the captain to tell them why it was necessary to take part in the drill. They were dealt with personally by the staff captain!

Terry

When we were on the regal princess passengers were invited by crew to wash their hands at the wash stations and we noted a large number refused and just laughed as they walked through.

Terry

I love AC. That makes me unusual I know. However I'm a great fan of AT and their club class. I fly AT a lot because they offer direct flights to airports in th uk I would have to go though LHR on AC. I have flown them to the UK this year and will fly into the UK and out of DUB in August. The prices are always reasonable too and in years of flying I have only had one bad flight. This is for personal flying I normally fly around 22 segments a year on various airlines with my job., no choice of airline then,I'm not a huge fan of Rouge. Ive had one, not bad flight and 2 terrible flights to and from Europe on them. Just a personal perspective

Terry

As above, insulin is good at room temp for 28 days after opening. If she needs to store in a fridge and there are none in the room you can go to the medical centre and they will store it for you. You can retrieve during opening hours

Terry

A good idea is to take a picture of the back on board notice on your cell phone as you leave the ship so you know.

Terry

On our recent Antarctica cruise, there was no "Bright Star"; there was just a call for "Medical Emergency at Cabin 7XXX" just as we were about to cast off at Montevideo. Later we learned that the fellow didn't make it. I was surprised when the non-coded message came over the PA system.

Bright star call is no longer being used. It's "medical emergency response team"

that is total BS. I know that for a fact it is only policy but not what really happens.

Must be different on the cruise line you work for then

Terry

They dont accept travel insurance as payment? Thats absurd. Many will not have $4000 free funds on their card. Insurance Policies in Australia require pre authorisation on large (>$1000) hospital bills.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Always have to pay upfront and then reclaim no matter where in the world that I have been to. Only place I never had to was the UK even though we had travel insurance and we offered. They didn't know how to process the claim and said as we were expats they would let us have the services for free

By the way I work as a cruise ship nurse and can't believe the number of people who travel without insurance.

Terry

One of the best flights I've ever had was in August from Istanbul to Toronto. I managed to snag an exit row seat at check in for no extra cost. The flight was very comfortable, food was airline food but edible. Unlimited free drinks, snacks and drinks left out in the galley to help yourself from and IFE was excellent. I too was worried but would fly them again

Terry

It seems to happen fairly often - someone fainting (or worse) during the muster drill, especially when it is a hot day.

That is why there is always a nurse on standby in the atrium. It varies from ship to ship but the best thing is to go to your muster station and ask if you can check in and then sit in the atrium. It isn't always allowed, but in alot of cases it is. The important thing is that you turn up - no excuses allowed.

Terry

I had to visit the Serenade of the Seas infirmary for cough syrup in November, and the person at the desk didn't know what pseudafed was. Had to get someone to translate it into his language.

Well I'm Canadian and I didnt know a lot of the uUSmeds. Also had to learn a whole new vocabulary and medical terminology when I immigrated from the Uk[emoji12][emoji122]

And your point is?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't see any problem with this at all..

 

 

 

BTW according to the HAL WEB site their Dr's are certified in the U.S. or Canada, but tI've never seen a provision that they must be from the U.S. or Canada..

 

 

 

There are many Dr's working in our local Hospital's who are from a Foreign Country, but IMO are highly competent..

No problem at all. Just pointing out what was happening. I think you will find that the doctors certification requirements are changing too I.e. They will not be required to be only from the U.S. Or Canada.

Princess have taken over management of HAL medical facilities on the fleet. Their preference is for full time doctors and nurses. I.e. Four months on and 2 months off. This makes sense financially. Those working for HAL offered the choice of being full time or not. This appears to be a transition year with some shorter contracts being offered. It is a time of great change for HAL medical

Terry

Agree. The staff probably don't get sick leave on full pay.

Yes they do [emoji3]