Injured during shore excursion...

[monorail81]

1 hour ago, nanners said:

Sorry, I had a brain fart!  It was in Tortola where the Baths really are!

That’s ok. We all have those.  Darn!  I was thinking there was something similar in Aruba that I was missing. 

[MrMarc]

Be very careful and the change of the Statute of Limitations in the Cruise Contract.  I had a client with whom the very nice and helpful until the 366th day after the cruise, then no response.  Federal Court said the travel agent is the passangers agent (even though paid by cruise line) since travel agent had the cruise contract, the passanger had the contract(which was not true) Client was SOL.  That wantbthe wording of the judgement, but it was the effect.  They are not your.friend.  be sure to inform yourself and check cut off dates.  One of the situations where you have the least rights and the law is against.you.To.be blunt, get a lawyer, believe me the cruise lines have them.

Edited June 7, 2022 by MrMarc

[Merion_Mom]

20 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

Be very careful and the change of the Statute of Limitations in the Cruise Contract.  I had a client with whom the very nice and helpful until the 366th day after the cruise, then no response.  Federal Court said the travel agent is the passangers agent (even though paid by cruise line) since travel agent had the cruise contract, the passanger had the contract(which was not true) Client was SOL.  That wantbthe wording of the judgement, but it was the effect.  They are not your.friend.  be sure to inform yourself and check cut off dates.  One of the situations where you have the least rights and the law is against.you.To.be blunt, get a lawyer, believe me the cruise lines have them.

There are a lot of missing words there.  Could you please clarify?

[dcgrumpy]

1 hour ago, MrMarc said:

Be very careful and the change of the Statute of Limitations in the Cruise Contract.  I had a client with whom the very nice and helpful until the 366th day after the cruise, then no response.  Federal Court said the travel agent is the passangers agent (even though paid by cruise line) since travel agent had the cruise contract, the passanger had the contract(which was not true) Client was SOL.  That wantbthe wording of the judgement, but it was the effect.  They are not your.friend.  be sure to inform yourself and check cut off dates.  One of the situations where you have the least rights and the law is against.you.To.be blunt, get a lawyer, believe me the cruise lines have them.

Did you post in the correct thread? 🤷‍♀️

[BirdTravels]

We were on a shore ex in St Thomas. It was basically a beach transfer. We were being transported in one of those open air safari taxis that seat about 20. Our driver was driving aggressively and crossed the center line to pass a slow moving vehicle. When he did this, the taxi sideswiped an oncoming car and swerved into a wall along side the road. The air bag deployed on the driver’s compartment. The truck suffered significant damages including a broken axel. 
 

Those of us on the back flew forward into the seats in front of us. I suffered scrapes on both knees and mild whiplash. A girl on the back face planted into the row of seats in front of her. 
 

1) I immediately called the shore agent on the cover of the Compass. They asked why I would call them. 

2) When asked by the driver “is anyone hurt” we answered “yes”, but the driver offered no assistance 

3) when the police ask if there were any injuries, we answered “yes”, but no further assistance was offered

4) the tour company was only interested in getting a new taxi there asap to complete the beach drop off so they could get paid

5) tour company personnel at the beach offered no assistance. 
6) upon return to the ship I went to medical and got the knees cleaned and bandaged (no stitches) and evaluated for whiplash. Got some meds for both. 
7) the ships “safety officer” was quick to track us down and took multiple reports, then asked us to sign a release so the ship would pay for the medical. I was not about to release Royal from responsibility for their shore ex accident. 
 

We repeatedly got hounded to sign a release. I told them that if they wanted me to sign a release, that I first wanted to talk to the Hotel Director then Captain in that order. The hounding stopped. The ship did not charge for any medical. 
 

Our experience was far different than the OP’s. 

 

[MrMarc]

7 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

There are a lot of missing words there.  Could you please clarify?

Basically they can be helpfull for the 1 year limited statute of limitations ingucing you not to file a suit and then ttotally ignore you starting on the 366 day, and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't feel bad consulting a lawyer very early on.  The cruise companies have them from day 1.  And it doesn't matter if you actually get a copy of the contract as long as the travel agent does.  It also does not matter how small the print is in a multi-fold document where terms are difficult to find even if you know what you are looking for.  This is based on a real case from the 90s, so things may have changed. 

 

[AF-1]

cruisin from florida;  so glad to hear you are ok and received good care.  All the best. Cheers

[Spif Barwunkel]

14 hours ago, nanners said:

Sorry, I had a brain fart!  It was in Tortola where the Baths really are!

For the sake of accuracy and further clarification, the "Baths" are actually in Virgin Gorda, really, a sister island to Tortola. The cruise ships arrive in Tortola and you take an excursion to the Baths.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Spif Barwunkel

[pcur]

On 6/5/2022 at 8:42 AM, rudeney said:

It sounds like that was handled extremely well for you!   I am surprised there was no charge for the medical care.  That's definitely a great decision by RCI.

I'm not surprised. Housekeeping froze, instead of refrigerated, my husband's insulin in 2019.  The onboard doctor was REALLY upset about this, had a delivery to our cabin 5 minutes after we docked in Cozumel the next morning, and Customer Service reimbursed us at the next stop in Key West when we replaced the remainder at CVS.

[dcgrumpy]

2 hours ago, MrMarc said:

Basically they can be helpfull for the 1 year limited statute of limitations ingucing you not to file a suit and then ttotally ignore you starting on the 366 day, and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't feel bad consulting a lawyer very early on.  The cruise companies have them from day 1.  And it doesn't matter if you actually get a copy of the contract as long as the travel agent does.  It also does not matter how small the print is in a multi-fold document where terms are difficult to find even if you know what you are looking for.  This is based on a real case from the 90s, so things may have changed. 

 

 

Who is consulting a lawyer? About what? I don't understand what any of this has to do with the OP. 

[MrMarc]

1 hour ago, dcgrumpy said:

 

Who is consulting a lawyer? About what? I don't understand what any of this has to do with the OP. 

The person got hurt and RCCL is being very nice, however you give up a lot of rights and time limits in the cruise contract that most people don't know about.  Depending on how serious the injury is she might want to consult an attorney just to be sure she knows all of options.  I had a client many years ago that they were very nice to up until literally the 366th day after the accident.  Then they stopped returning her calls.  She had a back injury that really was RCCL's liability, but it didn't matter.  1 year had passed.

[Joseph2017China]

20 hours ago, brandy4598 said:

If it had been a private excursion, they could have still gone to the medical center, but they would have been charged for it (out of pocket likely). 

My primary would have paid for it (80% out of network) and my travel insurance would have paid the (20%).  But regardless, the doctors on board charge RCCL for the service and likely an insurance company, so the patient would not be charged.

[Joseph2017China]

6 hours ago, MrMarc said:

Basically they can be helpfull for the 1 year limited statute of limitations ingucing you not to file a suit and then ttotally ignore you starting on the 366 day, and there's nothing you can do about it. Don't feel bad consulting a lawyer very early on.  The cruise companies have them from day 1.  And it doesn't matter if you actually get a copy of the contract as long as the travel agent does.  It also does not matter how small the print is in a multi-fold document where terms are difficult to find even if you know what you are looking for.  This is based on a real case from the 90s, so things may have changed. 

 

Tripping over a rock, in a natural setting is not something you need to have a lawyer for.  The person was fixed up, and that is all.

[cruisin from florida]

1 hour ago, Joseph2017China said:

Tripping over a rock, in a natural setting is not something you need to have a lawyer for.  The person was fixed up, and that is all.

OP here.... I agree. I'm sure there can be situations where there is negligence, etc. My situation was a true accident, and I'm happy with the care I received. Update: I did go to a local urgent care to make sure that it wasn't getting infected. That cost ( plus meds) will be applied to my insurance deductible. I could probably get Royal to pick up the bill if I tried, but at this point I am not going to bother.

[Blauelini]

On 6/5/2022 at 11:42 AM, rudeney said:

It sounds like that was handled extremely well for you!   I am surprised there was no charge for the medical care.  That's definitely a great decision by RCI.

I got hurt in Mexico on a RCCL excursion a couple years ago. Same as OP,  treated onboard in medical and they took very good care of me. Zero charge. They told me RCCL takes care of it if hurt on RCCL excursion. One of the main reasons we only book RCCL excursions and never private ones. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

I fell off a Segway in Cozumel years ago (2011 or so) on a ship-sponsored excursion.  I am blind in my left eye and misjudged the distance to the curb while parallel parking, side swiping it.   My foot was stuck in the Segway, but eventually I flew off and landed on my back.  I was bruised and sore for a few days, but not injured. The tour guides were concerned only with getting my signature on release forms, didn’t even ask if I was injured. That was my last Segway ride and I have been very careful about choosing excursions since then.
 

After reading this thread, I know not to sign any kind of release and to report to medical when I return to the ship. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
 

 

[theump]

My wife back a few years ago in Roatan missed a step at a resort on West Bay and broke her foot.  We were on a private excursion (first stop of the cruise) and we had to see th doctor when we got back.  They took xray, gave her crutches , wheel chair and meds and checked on her the rest of the cruise.  They medical people and all the RCCL staff took really good care of her the ret of the week.  We did have to pay for the medical service and meds but turned it into our insurance when we got home. 

 

The Ump  

[MrMarc]

2 hours ago, Joseph2017China said:

Tripping over a rock, in a natural setting is not something you need to have a lawyer for.  The person was fixed up, and that is all.

Just providing information that a lot of people do not know, and some cannot believe.  

[Surfguyxxx]

Happy to hear good things about RC.  Glad you're alright.