Medical Issues - Jade

[Bluefox]

We are currently on the Jade. This particular cruise has had more passengers with medical issues than I have ever been on before. I have heard of 2+ heart attacks, at least 2 with major falls, one emergency medical evacuation near Cancun and one unfortunate passenger apparently went swimming with the sharks in Belize; and I heard they died while doing so. This is so insane. My thoughts and prayers to all of the passengers. Let's hope the last day of this trip home is less eventful.

[roger001]

Cruise ships do have generally a large group of older guests, and we do have a more frequent bunch of medical problems. A year and half ago, right after a cruise on the Sun, I found out that I had major (95%) cardio blockages needing triple bypass. I was ready to drop dead at any moment. Could have very easily done so on that cruise. On a PC cruise we did, we had to stop in the canal not once, but twice while older guests were taken off the ship on stretchers to waiting ambulances.

[Vacationlover2]

The shark thing sounds over the top

 

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[Bluefox]

I agree- but it happened. Was hoping I'd find some official report but I haven't seen it yet. Apparently it was a shark feeding expedition- not through the ship obviously.

[Loonbeam]

This is why ships have 3 to 12 bay morgues...

[rvsullivan]

I agree- but it happened. Was hoping I'd find some official report but I haven't seen it yet. Apparently it was a shark feeding expedition- not through the ship obviously.

 

Last reported tourist death in Belize was several years ago. Nothing so far this year? They seem to report all the others over the past several years. When did this happen? Did the ship report on it?

[GITC]

The shark thing sounds over the top

 

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Swimming with sharks isn't inherently over the top. Tour companies aren't going to put people in harm's way. Further, we don't know the details behind OP's comment on this so it's unclear as to what caused this person's death.

 

My wife and I swam (snorkeled) with sharks in Bora Bora (blacktips) and the scariest part of that was getting out of the boat and then seeing the scuba divers below us...

[FranknBeans]

This is why ships have 3 to 12 bay morgues...

 

 

I was told they only have 2 cadaver frigs on board and the rest go over board.:rolleyes:

[Laszlo]

Sounds like they had a lot of older folks on the cruise. My guess is the shark attack is bogus, I just checked 3 dive forums and not a word has been said

[hawk1972]

Maybe the OP meant "swimming with the sharks" in the sense of "swimming with the fishes."

;)

Edited November 20, 2015 by hawk1972

[dexddd]

Swimming with sharks isn't inherently over the top. Tour companies aren't going to put people in harm's way. Further, we don't know the details behind OP's comment on this so it's unclear as to what caused this person's death.

 

My wife and I swam (snorkeled) with sharks in Bora Bora (blacktips) and the scariest part of that was getting out of the boat and then seeing the scuba divers below us...

 

We've done the same and the blacktip reef sharks don't bother humans. The naturalists we were with gave a number (I don't recall exactly) but there are very few sharks that bother humans out of the hundreds of varieties of sharks. Something like 12 or 20 out of hundreds.

[mangoboy]

Cruise Visitor Drowns On Caye Caulker Tour, Where Was The Guide?

Fri, November 20, 2015

 

From time to time, we have reports of tourists drowning while on water tours - and usually, it's from some cardiac event related to snorkeling or diving. But, tonight there's a disturbing report about a 61 year old American tourist who drowned while trying to save his wife's life. Disturbing, because Karl Edwin Simmons was a cruise tourist, who was on a guided tour - and, regulations state that both he and his wife should have been under the close watch of tour guides.

It happened on Tuesday afternoon - when the Texas resident and his wife, Esther were part of a tour by the H2o Tierra company in Shark Ray Alley which is in the Caye Caulker Village Marine Reserve.

 

According to police, the sea current caused Esther Simmons to start drifting away. Simmons went to save her as a result he disappeared into the water and was later seen floating face down. He had drowned. Dr. Mario Estradabran certified cause of death to be "Asphyxiation by Drowning, Incidental".

 

But - how did she start floating away - where were the tour guides? And where was the tour guide who should have been watching Karl Simmons? Regulations state that one tour guide must accompany every 8 guests on every water tour.

 

These are questions we put to the Belize Tourism Board - which has been very dodgy on the issue. 80 hours after the accident, all the public relations manager could tell us is, quote, "we will investigate matter further and will need time to provide any response."

 

As for the tour operator, Tom Wilson is the owner of H2o Tierra and when asked for comment, he told us, quote, "I would like to but due to the ongoing investigation, I cannot."

 

Karl Simmons and his wife had come to Belize on the Norwegian Ship, Jade.

 

We will keep following the story until the BTB or Wilson can tell us where the breakdown in safety measures occured.

 

 

Close this window

[hawk1972]

Tragic. How terrible. The victim and his wife are the same age as my wife and me.

[Jane Don]

The tourism board was first reporting that the man died of cardiac arrest. As out turns out, the autopsy states the cause of death as asphyxiation by drowning. Something is not right. How did the man go under? No one saw him struggling for long enough for him to drown? Water tours are required to have one staff member per eight guests. Not only that, the investigation will be mired by corruption in an attempt to protect the tourism industry. There is revolt against NCL amongst the Belizians because of the environmental damage they perceive the construction Harvest Caye is doing. We will probably never know what really happened.

 

A woman had to return from her vacation without her husband. I can't even imagine her pain.

[hawk1972]

h2o Tierra, the tour operator, was given an award by Carnival earlier this year as the leading tour operator in the Caribbean. I wonder if this was an NCL-sponsored tour or if it was an independent.

 

http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=31679

Edited November 21, 2015 by hawk1972

[fshagan]

Looks like the story is from this source: http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=34371

[zqvol]

Cruise Visitor Drowns On Caye Caulker Tour, Where Was The Guide?

Fri, November 20, 2015

 

From time to time, we have reports of tourists drowning while on water tours - and usually, it's from some cardiac event related to snorkeling or diving. But, tonight there's a disturbing report about a 61 year old American tourist who drowned while trying to save his wife's life. Disturbing, because Karl Edwin Simmons was a cruise tourist, who was on a guided tour - and, regulations state that both he and his wife should have been under the close watch of tour guides.

It happened on Tuesday afternoon - when the Texas resident and his wife, Esther were part of a tour by the H2o Tierra company in Shark Ray Alley which is in the Caye Caulker Village Marine Reserve.

 

According to police, the sea current caused Esther Simmons to start drifting away. Simmons went to save her as a result he disappeared into the water and was later seen floating face down. He had drowned. Dr. Mario Estradabran certified cause of death to be "Asphyxiation by Drowning, Incidental".

 

But - how did she start floating away - where were the tour guides? And where was the tour guide who should have been watching Karl Simmons? Regulations state that one tour guide must accompany every 8 guests on every water tour.

 

These are questions we put to the Belize Tourism Board - which has been very dodgy on the issue. 80 hours after the accident, all the public relations manager could tell us is, quote, "we will investigate matter further and will need time to provide any response."

 

As for the tour operator, Tom Wilson is the owner of H2o Tierra and when asked for comment, he told us, quote, "I would like to but due to the ongoing investigation, I cannot."

 

Karl Simmons and his wife had come to Belize on the Norwegian Ship, Jade.

 

We will keep following the story until the BTB or Wilson can tell us where the breakdown in safety measures occured.

 

 

Close this window

 

 

If you are going to quote a news article you could at least include the link. BTW copying the entire article is a copyright violation.

 

http://7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=34371

[zqvol]

The tourism board was first reporting that the man died of cardiac arrest. As out turns out, the autopsy states the cause of death as asphyxiation by drowning. Something is not right. How did the man go under? No one saw him struggling for long enough for him to drown? Water tours are required to have one staff member per eight guests. Not only that, the investigation will be mired by corruption in an attempt to protect the tourism industry. There is revolt against NCL amongst the Belizians because of the environmental damage they perceive the construction Harvest Caye is doing. We will probably never know what really happened.

 

A woman had to return from her vacation without her husband. I can't even imagine her pain.

 

 

Drowning is not a violent or active event like is portrayed on TV, typically the victim simply slips underwater and that is the end. No thrashing or anything like that. Very easy to lose sight of someone who is in the ocean especially if there is a chop.

[Loonbeam]

Correct. Also the coroners report will report the proximate cause of death, not necessarily all factors. Something as simple as a cramp can pull someone down enough to drown.

 

Drowning is not a violent or active event like is portrayed on TV, typically the victim simply slips underwater and that is the end. No thrashing or anything like that. Very easy to lose sight of someone who is in the ocean especially if there is a chop.

[SuiteCruiser]

Drowning is not a violent or active event like is portrayed on TV, typically the victim simply slips underwater and that is the end. No thrashing or anything like that. Very easy to lose sight of someone who is in the ocean especially if there is a chop.

 

This is very true. The reason that some people die in crowded swimming pools is because people expect a drowning person to wave and splash like you see on TV. What you will actually see is someone looking like they're climbing an invisible ladder. All of the body's energy is focused on getting to the surface. It's very calm and people think that kids are playing when they see it.

[macandlucy]

Tragic and heartbreaking story.

 

I didn't know about the apparent calmness in a drowning -- I just learned something important.

 

What about life jackets? Were they wearing them, and aren't they required of all ocean excursions?

[Bluefox]

Sorry that you all doubted my original report- but I just got off of the Jade today. Wifi isn't exactly cheap on the boat. Word spreads pretty fast when you're on board and thats why I came here to see if there were any confirmed reports of the man dying "with the Sharks" - as the week went on we did hear it was a heart attack as well- but now reports of drowning? Either way- my point was that our particular cruise just seemed cursed with bad falls, heart attacks and the one death.

 

I had always heard you should never sail right after a repositioning cruise- and I have to agree. While a lot of the staff was awesome- I witnessed some crazy stuff too. For instance- last night in the casino the man next to me ordered a beer and the bartender told him he was tired and didn't feel like getting for him- and then walked off. I guess it was the end of his shift? I also saw a dealer going for gold; for about 4 minutes. It was late and his table was dead- but I'd hate to be at that table after that. Yuck.

[tugboat]

Sorry that you all doubted my original report- but I just got off of the Jade today. Wifi isn't exactly cheap on the boat. Word spreads pretty fast when you're on board and thats why I came here to see if there were any confirmed reports of the man dying "with the Sharks" - as the week went on we did hear it was a heart attack as well- but now reports of drowning? Either way- my point was that our particular cruise just seemed cursed with bad falls, heart attacks and the one death.

 

I had always heard you should never sail right after a repositioning cruise- and I have to agree. While a lot of the staff was awesome- I witnessed some crazy stuff too. For instance- last night in the casino the man next to me ordered a beer and the bartender told him he was tired and didn't feel like getting for him- and then walked off. I guess it was the end of his shift? I also saw a dealer going for gold; for about 4 minutes. It was late and his table was dead- but I'd hate to be at that table after that. Yuck.

 

I was also on this cruise, some good lots Bad, more ugly then I have ever seen, this was my first and last NCL cruise.

[durberville]

Well this is a depressing thread......and I have no idea what "going for gold" means. :confused:

[littlebull]

I am cruising on the Jade Jan 2 and was planning on doing the Snorkle with the Sharks tour to Caye Caulker with Belize Express Tours. After reading this post I must say I am reconsidering! How unfortunate for the man who lost his life and for everyone involved.