Trips to Sick Bay - The Good and the Bad

[Goes Cruising]

The post about the daughter getting kicked off before embarkation by the medical staff got me thinking.

 

On our December Oasis cruise, my adult daughter slipped and fell on the rocks in Labadee. She really hurt her wrist, to the point we were both afraid it was broken. I have heard so many horror stories on this board about the ship’s medical (costs, level of care, etc). I was really afraid to take her for help, but it was day 3 of the cruise, and there was no way I was going to risk putting it off until we returned. I steeled myself to what it was going to cost me, and we headed directly back to the ship to get her wrist checked out.

 

The woman that checked us in was a little terse, and made it clear I was signing that I was taking financial responsibility for her. By this point, I had a knot in my stomach knowing we were probably about to spend our next cruise money in medical.

 

From that point on, the experience was outstanding! The Doctor and staff were very kind to her. They took one set of xrays, and saw something suspicious (skin tag?), so they xrayed the other arm for comparison. The Doctor reviewed the xrays with another Doctor as well. Good news is, her wrist was not broke, but she left medical with a good brace, a sling, and pain pills. The Doctor even discussed pain pill options with her to guide her to a choice that would not restrict her alcohol consumption :rolleyes:.

 

Now comes the part that was completely unexpected. They waived the charges. Now I realize if she had hurt herself in Cozumel rather than on RCCL's private island, I might not have been so lucky, but I still walked away thinking the staff made a difficult situation as good as it could have been. Even if I had to pay for it, I felt she was in good hands.

 

I would like to hear other’s experiences with the ship’s medical staff. Certainly there are other good stories, as well as bad?

[trev71]

Very lucky, it always good to buy travel / medical insurance when you travel to other countries . I wouldnt leave Canada or the US without some type of coverage. Its really affordable too. *knock on wood* I or none of my family has ever had to use it

[oneputt18]

The post about the daughter getting kicked off before embarkation by the medical staff got me thinking.

 

On our December Oasis cruise, my adult daughter slipped and fell on the rocks in Labadee. She really hurt her wrist, to the point we were both afraid it was broken. I have heard so many horror stories on this board about the ship’s medical (costs, level of care, etc). I was really afraid to take her for help, but it was day 3 of the cruise, and there was no way I was going to risk putting it off until we returned. I steeled myself to what it was going to cost me, and we headed directly back to the ship to get her wrist checked out.

 

The woman that checked us in was a little terse, and made it clear I was signing that I was taking financial responsibility for her. By this point, I had a knot in my stomach knowing we were probably about to spend our next cruise money in medical.

 

From that point on, the experience was outstanding! The Doctor and staff were very kind to her. They took one set of xrays, and saw something suspicious (skin tag?), so they xrayed the other arm for comparison. The Doctor reviewed the xrays with another Doctor as well. Good news is, her wrist was not broke, but she left medical with a good brace, a sling, and pain pills. The Doctor even discussed pain pill options with her to guide her to a choice that would not restrict her alcohol consumption :rolleyes:.

 

Now comes the part that was completely unexpected. They waived the charges. Now I realize if she had hurt herself in Cozumel rather than on RCCL's private island, I might not have been so lucky, but I still walked away thinking the staff made a difficult situation as good as it could have been. Even if I had to pay for it, I felt she was in good hands.

 

I would like to hear other’s experiences with the ship’s medical staff. Certainly there are other good stories, as well as bad?

 

Just posted this on the other thread:

 

Yup, broke my big toe three days into a 7 day on the Allure and they bandaged my toe, gave me a choice of a cane or crutches. They followed up with a visit from the safety officer and did not charge me for the medical treatment (yes I had insurance but they didn't ask)

[Mapleleafforever]

I hope to never find out how the medical facilities on board are but because you never know what's going to happen we never ever travel without insurance. It's a small price to pay.

[The Grumpus]

Now comes the part that was completely unexpected. They waived the charges. Now I realize if she had hurt herself in Cozumel rather than on RCCL's private island, I might not have been so lucky, but I still walked away thinking the staff made a difficult situation as good as it could have been. Even if I had to pay for it, I felt she was in good hands.

 

I would like to hear other’s experiences with the ship’s medical staff. Certainly there are other good stories, as well as bad?

You are so right. My wife twisted her ankle during our Allure sailing a couple weeks ago while we were at 1/2 S. Frogs in Cozumel. She didn't go to Sick bay until around 4 hours later when it tightened up and could no longer put any weight on it. I was able to snag a wheelchair from the Concierge so I wheeled her down there to get it checked out. The Doctor's assistant did x-rays and after the Doctor reviewed them and found no breaks. She then they wrapped her ankle, prescribed some 800mg ibuprofen and sent us on our way. She let us hang on to the wheel chair too. Total cost on our sea pass card the next day: $289.00, which we filed a claim for through our insurance. All-n-all I thought it was a very reasonable price for the service they provided, and they were both very pleasant too.

[cruisenfever]

My husband had a kidney stone attack at 4AM the day after Christmas while on our b2b on Freedom. We can't say enough good things about the 2 female doctors and nurses that attended to him. Luckily he was much doing much better by the start of our 12/30 cruise.

 

My husband has veins that roll, so he was a little concerned about getting the IV placed correctly. When it was removed the mark left was so small you could hardly see it. Usually his arm would be quite black and blue.

 

The charges were 1/10th of what we paid when he had his last attack back in 2006 and I had to take him to the Emergency Room.

[KroozFoolz]

Our experiences have been very positive as well. We felt the medical team provided excellent care. I felt the charges were very reasonable.

The first time (in December 2010) was during a Royal Visa promotion, so we even got triple points for the charges to our SeaPass account. We were reimbursed through our travel insurance policy for the medical expenses but it does take a while for everything to be processed.

[Clarea]

Another positive experience with the medical department on board. My wife hurt her back onboard a couple of years ago. The spent about 30 minutes examining her and ended up giving a her prescription muscle relaxer. Total cost: $115.

[NorbertsNiece]

Your stories leave my insect bites in the shade but I was nonetheless impressed by the service I received and the $4 tube of ointment..... the assistant there did check the bites out for chickenpox which had been reported previously by a couple of passengers.

[Goes Cruising]

These are the stories that never get posted on here! I knew I would be able to work with my insurance to recover R&C, but based on some of the horror stories I've read, I was certain I was going to see an extraordinary bill at the end. All of you who were charged seem like costs were no more, or even less than average.

 

I guess I must qualify as an RCCL cheerleader, because they so rarely disappoint me.

 

I have an Aunt that was not happy with her experience with medical, but she felt she was unfairly restricted to her cabin. I know I wouldn't have been happy spending a week in an inside cabin either, but I'm sure the rest of the passengers would be happy she was restricted!

[superduper123]

I have needed to use the medical facility on two separate occasions. Both times I received great care. And although the charges were billed to my seapass account, I was reimbursed after filing a claim with my medical insurance policy. No complaints here. :)

[scubababy]

We were sailing on the Conquest week before last. My husband's elderly parents have cruised with us the past 6 years since the birth of our daughter.

 

We were 10 feet away from stepping onboard, and my MIL fell face first.

I really thought our vacation was over at that moment. Luckily, her hips and legs were ok, but she had two nasty knots on her head.

 

Security saw everything, and helped us get her inside to sit down. Within minutes, they had a Carnival "Care" person meet with us and take down information. (She stripped over a strip in the gangway area. She had a total knee replacement a few years back and still has some issues with "drop foot"). Carnival insisted we take her to the infirmary to be checked out even though MIL said she was fine. The doctor checked her pupils, did a few other cognitive tests, and sent us on our way with some extra tylenol for her "future" headache. They called every evening to check on her for the first few days of the cruise.

 

Didn't charge us anything either. All in all it was a good experience.

 

We've never had to use the infirmary on any other cruise line.

[MonaCK]

I ended up very unexpectedly at the medical facility on day 6 of my cruise last week when I ended up with an .... infection that usually only hits women. Was in and out in less than an hour. It cost me $186. Haven't filed a claim with cruise care yet, but it's on my agenda to do. Even so - I was not upset at the cost. They got me on antibiotics right away, and I was feeling better within a few hours.

[constable145]

I came down with a nasty ear infection last year on the Allure. I finally broke down and told my wife and she convinced me I needed to go seek attention.

 

I went down, was checked out by a nurse and an MD. They gave me some prescription ear drops and advised me to decrease my alcohol intake.

As we were waiting for the elevator the Doctor came sprinting out of her office to confiscate my meds... She re-read my file and saw my amoxicillin allergy and gave me new drops. Moral of the story always advocate for yourself when it comes to medical needs, especially when dealing with foreign doctors.

 

The damage was 289 which was 100% covered by my insurance. Most of it was for the cost of the drugs.

 

I was amazed at the size of the facility... a number of treatment rooms, a few exam rooms and an operating room.

[MAHA]

Depending on what kind of travel insurance you have, you might first have to file with your primary health insurance before filing with travel insurance. Many travel insurance policies pay secondary to your primary health insurance. Read the policy and call the carrier if you have questions.

[luvscruising2007]

DH fell while we were on an excursion in Cartegena. He was in a lot of pain so we went to the Medical facility. They did extensive X-rays and found that he had cracked his elbow. They wrapped it and provided a sling and pain meds. He slept that night and was doing fine the next day. No permanent damage. I believe the charge was around $400 and was paid by our trip insurance.

We were very pleased with the care he received and the doctor seemed very thorough.

[crafty sue]

I got a chest infection on the Oceana last April ( well it was bloomin freezing and rained most of the cruise !) Gave in and went to the Doctors, who when told I had Lupus, they were very very good. Gave me Antibiotics and confined me to cabin, but did tell me to make sure Room service let me order my dinner from the MDR menu, which I did but unfortunately I wasn't very hungry ! They also send a Deep Clean Crew to the cabin wearing white paper suits, shoes and masks - All this for a Cough, I didn't see my normal cabin steward for the rest of the cruise, just these guys. the bill was £150 which I claimed back of travel insurance, But I am glad I went - it would not be fair to the other passengers to give them my germs

[jairzinho]

Did they take down the thread the OP is referring to, because I can't find it. I was looking at it about 30 minutes ago...

[bouhunter]

Depending on what kind of travel insurance you have, you might first have to file with your primary health insurance before filing with travel insurance. Many travel insurance policies pay secondary to your primary health insurance. Read the policy and call the carrier if you have questions.

 

And some travel policies are Primary on medical care, which is what we make sure we purchase. Only had to deal with on board care once, but the primary travel policy paid us back in full almost immediately when we got home, no questions asked. Who knows how long it may have taken with our regular health care policy, and there may have been deductibles or co-pay's:rolleyes:

[Goes Cruising]

Did they take down the thread the OP is referring to, because I can't find it. I was looking at it about 30 minutes ago...

 

It did disappear, didn't it! Possibly because the OP admitted to having multiple user names?

[hardinggrad]

We had 2 experiences with the medical facility several years ago. The first night my daughter came down with a fever. We took her to the ship dr the next morning and they gave her some antibiotics. She spent the day in bed and was better by the next morning. I don't remember what her diagnosis was, but they did not confine her to the cabin.

 

While in Grand Cayman, my son was stung by some box jellyfish while on an excursion. His entire chest looked like it had been burned and it seemed like he was going into shock. We took him back to the ship to the medical facility. They hooked him up to an IV for several hours and he spent probably 4 hours there. There were several other people being treated for jellyfish stings but they said his was the worse. He was better by the next morning.

 

In both cases, we got 100% reimbursed, between our insurance and the cruise care insurance. Also, we were very pleased with the treatment they both received from the ship's doctors.

[Iamthesea]

We always purchase insurance and will never cruise without.

 

In the past 10 or so years, a few family members have needed medical care while onboard. Every case was treated with most kindness and efficiency. The cruiselines were especially great to my elderly parents. My mother had a cold, and my father had Coumadin level problems. Both were treated and then followed up on by the medical staff.

 

When my college age daughter was injured on a RCCL excursion, they even went so far as to give her free phone calls to the U.S. One to call us, and another to her boyfriend, to tell us about her injury. BTW - It was a stubbed toe. :D

[trout62]

Depending on what kind of travel insurance you have, you might first have to file with your primary health insurance before filing with travel insurance.

 

...which can be a whole new experience. BCBS gave us the round around first because it was "international", then denied the claim over a pill the RCI doctor prescribed that cost, (are you sitting down?) $3.78. BCBS said they had never heard of the drug. My wife googled it, printed the page, faxed it and they said "oh, OK."

 

In all, almost a year to get reimbused ~$200.00.

 

Scumbags.

 

RCI Medical? Awesome.

BCBS? Not so much.

 

Trout

[trout62]

While in Grand Cayman, my son was stung by some box jellyfish while on an excursion. His entire chest looked like it had been burned and it seemed like he was going into shock. We took him back to the ship to the medical facility. They hooked him up to an IV for several hours and he spent probably 4 hours there. There were several other people being treated for jellyfish stings but they said his was the worse. He was better by the next morning.

 

Ouch. Nasty. I met up with some of those on a night dive in Jamaica. I had scars for months. Possibly the worst pain I have ever experienced.

 

Interestingly, and bad luck for you, they are actually rare in Cayman. I have probably been diving two dozen times in GCM over the past 20 years and never seen one. So glad all ended well. Those suckers can be fatal.

 

Trout

[Showtune]

Years ago on the Empress (sniff, such a great ship) my wife slipped on rocks or coral at low tide while snorkeling in Bermuda. She sliced open the palm of her hand and cut the top of her foot badly. In the sick bay, after cleaning and examining both wounds, she was offered the option of a few stitches for her hand, which she declined in favor of a butterfly closure. They also insisted on a tetanus booster, since she couldn't remember her most recent one. Turns out, her arm hurt more for the remainder of the cruise than her foot or hand! We were very pleased at the quality of the care we received and the bill was about $300. She submitted it to health insurance once back home and was reimbursed all but the $50 "urgent care" co-pay. Incidentally, her hand healed perfectly and now she gets to brag about the scar she has from snorkeling in Bermuda!