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"Current" Freedom Cruise having a rough time

hartskys

By hartskys,
in Royal Caribbean International

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hartskys

hartskys

Posted
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:eek: I received a text this morning from my brother that's on the FOS right now. He said there was a "small" fire last night on the ship but didn't sound (reading between the lines) like it was anything too bad and also a person was injured enough (I don't think it was anything to do with the fire) that the captain announced they need blood donors as the situation was life threatening. They also hit rough seas and did not go to Grand Cayman due to the weather (45+ mph winds). They were in Cozumel when he text and said seas were still rough and my sister-in-law was not feeling well due to the motion of the ship.

I only received this text and I don't know anymore information - Hoping someone that's live on the ship that may be on CC can inform us more.:confused:

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BND

BND

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Grand Cayman gets cancelled a lot because it's a tender port so that's not that unusual and not a big deal at all. I can't count the number of reviews/posts I've read talking about that port being cancelled.

 

The fire is more unusual, but sounds like it wasn't a big deal. Did he say where the fire was? I wonder if it was a crewmember who was injured since some of them have jobs that are riskier than others.

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BND

BND

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A little off topic, but would they just take blood like that and use it? I imagine it would have to be screened, etc. Maybe they can do that on a ship.

 

Normally, no they wouldn't. I think they might only do that in dire circumstances. I've never heard of a ship's doctor asking for it either. Normally they would fly someone off. If they were that close to land, which apparently they were since they were supposedly near Grand Cayman, they should have done that. Since we haven't seen any other posts about this, we need to wait and see what actually happened. We've seen reports on here that turn out to not be exactly accurate because the individual on board heard bits and pieces or rumors.

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cruz4natic

cruz4natic

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We were on the Oasis in May, and they needed two crew members to donate blood for a passenger. They didn't announce it, but a waiter we had gotten to know in a speciality restaurant told us, because we had asked about the helicopter evacuating passengers. Two people needed emergency evacuation, which they did from Ladadee within a couple hours of each other, but one was so critical that they asked crew members to donate blood. They flew both passengers to Miami, I believe. Scary situations on a vacation.

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BND

BND

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I would guess they could ask a crew member to donate because they know what their medical history is and have their medical records available. They probably are also required to be tested for certain diseases (HIV, etc) and innoculated against others (hepatitis, i.e., etc) on a regular basis so they wouldn't require screenings that take time to do.

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misty57

misty57

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Hmmm... I would think that would be a long shot to actually request blood donors for immediate transfusion unless the ship was stranded or something. Does a ship's hospital really have the capability of doing blood screenings and would they not keep a small supply of O neg blood for the rare incident that would require it? I am very sceptical :eek:.

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TPKeller Excellent Advice! Rare

TPKeller

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Normally, no they wouldn't. I think they might only do that in dire circumstances. I've never heard of a ship's doctor asking for it either. Normally they would fly someone off. If they were that close to land, which apparently they were since they were supposedly near Grand Cayman, they should have done that. Since we haven't seen any other posts about this, we need to wait and see what actually happened. We've seen reports on here that turn out to not be exactly accurate because the individual on board heard bits and pieces or rumors.

If it was too rough to tender into Grand Cayman, it could very well have been too rough to land a helo on deck.

 

Theron

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celle

celle

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Hmmm... I would think that would be a long shot to actually request blood donors for immediate transfusion unless the ship was stranded or something. Does a ship's hospital really have the capability of doing blood screenings and would they not keep a small supply of O neg blood for the rare incident that would require it? I am very sceptical :eek:.

 

That question has been discussed on this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1281962&page=3

 

Posts #47-55 discuss blood transfusions and post #55 is particularly informative - it was written by someone who has worked as a doctor on cruise ships.

 

Hope this helps!

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ChipLondon

ChipLondon

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Not really the main problem when tendering is not possible, is the ability to safely get people from the tender onto the ship, that can mean just a small swell. Which would not effect a helicopter as the movement of the tender is the problem, not the movement of the ship.

 

If it was too rough to tender into Grand Cayman, it could very well have been too rough to land a helo on deck.

 

Theron

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BND

BND

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If it was too rough to tender into Grand Cayman, it could very well have been too rough to land a helo on deck.

 

Theron

 

Ever seen them actually land a helicopter onboard? I haven't, because they don't actually land. They hover, lower a medical personnel and basket, load up the passenger and raise them back up and then raise the crewmember back up. The swells aren't an issue unless you're in a hurricane or something similar. Too rough to tender into Grand Cayman doesn't take much in the way of waves. It's much more dangerous to land a chopper on a moving ship (even one anchored) than it is to hover over the deck. That's really what the helicopter deck is for.

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TPKeller Excellent Advice! Rare

TPKeller

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Ever seen them actually land a helicopter onboard? I haven't, because they don't actually land. They hover, lower a medical personnel and basket, load up the passenger and raise them back up and then raise the crewmember back up. The swells aren't an issue unless you're in a hurricane or something similar. Too rough to tender into Grand Cayman doesn't take much in the way of waves. It's much more dangerous to land a chopper on a moving ship (even one anchored) than it is to hover over the deck. That's really what the helicopter deck is for.

Hmm.. wonder why they went to the expense of making the break-away railings and retractable antenna/flag mast on the bow then? :rolleyes:

 

Speaking in generalities is probably safe. Speaking in absolutes will usually ensure you are wrong from time to time... :)

 

Theron

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jd1966

jd1966

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Ever seen them actually land a helicopter onboard? I haven't, because they don't actually land. They hover, lower a medical personnel and basket, load up the passenger and raise them back up and then raise the crewmember back up. The swells aren't an issue unless you're in a hurricane or something similar. Too rough to tender into Grand Cayman doesn't take much in the way of waves. It's much more dangerous to land a chopper on a moving ship (even one anchored) than it is to hover over the deck. That's really what the helicopter deck is for.

Witnessed the Canadian Coast Guard/Navy land (twice) on the Jewel of the Seas off Nova Scotia.

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Lionesss "Live from...." Rare

Lionesss

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When we sailed the Freedom of the Seas in July, a helicopter made a medical evacuation from the island of Labadee.

When we were on a bridge tour that sailing and the captain asked if we had any questions we asked "How can a helicopter land on the Helipad with all those cables, is that why it landed on Labadee"?

The captain told us that it would take about 30 min. to prepare the helipad for a helicopter landing. However most times if they are close to a port or docked they will land the helicopter on shore.

However with so many variables such as wind, ship movement, frequently a rescue stretcher will lift up the patient. The helicopter will not land.

However it has landed on the Freedom on various occasions.

He told us the helicopter that landed at Labadee was for a passenger who was having chest pain in there cabin and the medical staff wanted further medical attention than the ship could provide. . . so they air-lifted them out.

It happenned in the afternoon, and the authorities closed down the dock not letting passengers back on the ship till it took off.

Safe travels.

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