Helicopter Medivac from Crown

[RD64]

I was on this sailing and saw the evacuation - although not an American, I were I would have been extremely proud to be one on that day - the site of the US Coast Guard Chopper as it arrived and the lowering of the Coast Guard personnel was something I will never forget.

[theknittinglibrarian]

Also just off the Crown & agree with what's been said about experience on this ship. The Captain kept us informed of what was happening & everyone seemed to cooperate really well. Didn't know what happened, so it's been nice to see some updates on here. It seemed like a smooth process & the slight FLL arrival delay was no big deal.

[RickEk]

If I was the person being evacuated (I pray that never happens) I would hope people would get a video and pictures so I could watch what I was going through. But that's just me. I know some people like their privacy.

 

I feel the same way. Many years ago I was in the hospital for a week undergoing surgery and I do wish that someone had at least taken one photo. I would have liked to have a record of that part of my life...

 

And I'd certainly want photos if I was airlifted off a ship!

[snowman]

I've been a little suspicious that it seems like every time one hears from the staff, the person is always doing well. I'm guessing that it's being said to make people on the ship feel better.

I totaly agree. We have been on many ships with a med evac and it is allways the case. We learned later 2-3 days that it was not good. Sorry and sad but true.

[AMAC86]

and because the patient/pax that was evac'd is entitled to have his/her private medical situation..remain just that..private.....regardless of how many pax were delayed/inconvenienced/interested/concerned about his/her well being.....the info must remain private.....

If what you say is true, then either 1) the fact that he was doing better was a lie to make everyone feel better, or 2) the privacy of the patient/passenger was breached. Or both!

[luvtheships]

If what you say is true, then either 1) the fact that he was doing better was a lie to make everyone feel better, or 2) the privacy of the patient/passenger was breached. Or both!

you are absolutely correct...it was BOTH!!!

[paddingtonbear]

If I was the person being evacuated (I pray that never happens) I would hope people would get a video and pictures so I could watch what I was going through. But that's just me. I know some people like their privacy.

 

Me too! All that excitement and trauma and no photos of the event - what a disappointment!

 

My son smashed his elbow and X-rays of it were on Facebook as soon as he got home. Within a minute there were responses from his friends which really cheered him up!

[gelo7]

I hope that the passenger is doing well.

[piper28]

Please don't show the video or pictures....I think it infringes on the person's right of privacy.

 

Personally, as long as the pictures don't make it so you can determine who it was (and in general, from the positioning of passengers during this type of thing you're not going to be able to see the person well enough to identify them), then I don't feel it really imposes on their privacy.

[rolloman]

Rest assured I will not post my video. The reason I took the video was because I look at it as heros in action saving a life and it was a part of our trip we can look back on and remember.

 

I will say after review of the video it was not a child. The lady who told me onboard was elderly, so when she said a young boy, I guess by her assessment someone under the age of 40 could theoretically fall into that category. If someone wants to view this event I am sure it will be on youtube somewhere as I heard several say they would post theirs. It will not be mine though.

[Mr_Astro]

I've been on two ships: The Norway in '99 and the Ryndam in "04 where folks were lifted out. The Norway was done by the Brits and the Ryndam by USCG. The Norway evac'd off their huge fantail and the whole of the ships' pax got ring-side seats. The Ryndam had no such luxury so they did a low (VERY LOW) hover over the bow. We could not see how the extraction was executed but from my vantage point, I could see the helicopter getting lower and could see it through the windows to the Crows' Nest (which was evacuated) passing below THAT deck level. All the while an ORION plane was circling around the ship.

We had another extraction earlier in the '04 cruise but we just turned around and went back to Kona.

All extractions were done very professionally.

[Aus Traveller]

I was on a cruise to Hawaii when a crew member had an attack of appendicitis. We were in the middle of the Pacific. I have never seen a cruise ship travel so fast to allow the coast guard to catch up with us.

Linda

We were on a cruise on the Sun Princess last year when an English woman crew member had an attack of appendicitis. We were in the middle of the Indian Ocean and diverted to Christmas Island. Unfortunately she did not survive.

[KarenMF]

I was on this sailing and saw the evacuation - although not an American, I were I would have been extremely proud to be one on that day - the site of the US Coast Guard Chopper as it arrived and the lowering of the Coast Guard personnel was something I will never forget.

 

I was on this sailing also and that is how I felt. I took pictures and video to show how well the Coast Guard, and the cruiseline, react to and handle an emergency.

[KarenMF]

Rest assured I will not post my video. The reason I took the video was because I look at it as heros in action saving a life and it was a part of our trip we can look back on and remember.

 

I will say after review of the video it was not a child. The lady who told me onboard was elderly, so when she said a young boy, I guess by her assessment someone under the age of 40 could theoretically fall into that category. If someone wants to view this event I am sure it will be on youtube somewhere as I heard several say they would post theirs. It will not be mine though.

 

I heard it was a man in his 30s.

[CanadaBunny]

I too was on the Crown for the air lift last week. I was on the balcony of our cabin, and DH was up on a deck that had not been roped off. We both followed the captain's instructions not to take flash photography. We did take non-flash photos, and DH took a video.

 

From what DH saw, it was a man in late 20s, early 30s. As to who he was or what he was ill with, I have no idea - and if I did, to protect his privacy, I wouldn't say. For that same reason, I will not post any photo / video that shows the man, but I will post a photo or two that shows the air lift.

 

Truly hope he is ok. And also hope he has travel insurance that will pay for at least some of what I am sure was a very expensive process. It's a good reminder for all of us that things can go wrong, and insurance is so important!

[cuzie]

After reading all the posts here, I decided to share my recent cruise medical story. I was on the Coral Princess in Feb. this year with my 87 year old mom and her friend, also 87. The first night out of LA, my mom became very ill. She was hospitalized on the ship and received excellent care. A call was put out for blood donors and the number of people volunteering was amazing. On the beginning of the third day the dr. determined that mom needed hospital care they couldn't provide, so the ship was diverted to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. As I was in the ship's hospital, I didn't here any of the announcements or if any were made. It was 7 in the morning. A pilot boat with a dr and emt group met us off Cabo San Lucas and took us ashore to an awaiting ambulance. What sight we must have been - luggage thrown together, mom in here wheelchair, her friend and I just out of bed.... Once at the local hospital she was assessed and given outstanding care. Sadly, she suffered a heart attack and cardiac arrest and passed away. The point of my story is never ever take a cruise without travel insurance. We have been cruisers from way back, especially mom. I never could see the point of having the insurance, but my TA always pushed us to have it. Between Princess's compassionate attention and the help from the travel insurance, everything was taken care of. Airline reservation, hotels, food, funeral expenses involving returning mom to the USA were taken care of. The Princess rep assigned to me called me numerous times throughout the day to make sure I was ok, offering to put phone calls through to anywhere, etc. As hard as it will be to board a ship again, I will continue to cruise and will always take the insurance. I hope you all choose to do the same.

 

PS As one who has been there through and emergency, please don't film things like that - respect a person's privacy. Standing on the deck and waving means so much more. I was filled with hope when I saw all those people standing at the railings waving to us as we left in the pilot boat.

[Pam in CA]

Cuzie, I'm so very, very sorry for your loss.

 

Thank you for your post as it echoed our experience on the Coral two years ago when my brother-in-law got sick on the ship and wound up in the ICU in Ft. Lauderdale for a month before we could get him flown back to CA where he subsequently passed away. The Princess Care rep was outstanding and helped us so much during a difficult time.

 

Please don't leave home without insurance. It's a gamble whether you'll need it or not but when you do, it makes a huge difference and relieves anxiety when you least need additional stress.

[mediator]

I was standing next to someone who said they were down in medical and that the passenger was a young boy. I can't imagine the anguish a parent would go through seeing their child airlifted to another country while they stayed on board. I was able to video the entire event but have not looked at it yet. Having seen this done many times in the Navy, I will say the coast guard did an excellent job as usual.

 

I guess you can't understand the anguish of what a parent is going through. So, let's make a video of this sad event. Perfect.

[rolloman]

I guess you can't understand the anguish of what a parent is going through. So, let's make a video of this sad event. Perfect.

Since when did documenting heros saving a life become a sad event?

[mediator]

Since when did documenting heros saving a life become a sad event?

 

Documenting heros saving a life is not sad.... the event of the person and family was a sad event to what was to be a vacation or a celebration. Sadly, too many people take pictures, videos and their intentions are quite different. There are always those who slow down to see a crash on the road, and gawk. I guess I hope that if it were me or a member of my family one would refrain from taking pictures to respect my privacy. While I admit it was probably a truly remarkable event to see, I think I would have taken a picture in my mind of what a remarkable feat it all was. Sorry if you were offended.