Lack of empathy with shore excursion injury

[phnett]

While on our April 7th sailing on the Edge I had an accident while on a Celebrity Sponsored shore excursion. I am writing this to warn others so all are aware of the lack of empathy we received both from guest relations and the shore excursion teams on the Edge and can take action and not go to this shore excursion site until issues are resolved. 

First just giving you who we are , we are Elite and loyalist both to Celebrity and RCCL and I have no health issues and 60 years old. 

On our scheduled stop to the Island of St Lucia we had booked Celebrity excursion 

“ West Side Treasures by Catamaran “

That sailed to pigeon island and the swim and sail to the Pitons. This was a 6 hr tour 

The Catamaran named “the spirit of Carnival“ was an older not well kept (bathroom stoped working and overflowing while on trip as well making the covered area a smelly mess) and this trip way over sold for this event in my opinion. 

While at the first stop we unload Pigeon island park dock with the option to hike to the up to the Fort or take Swim at the beach areas. We chose to swim at beach area and had no issues here for this first part of the one hour stop. We were told to watch for the Catamaran to return at dock to reload to continue the sail to next stop. While walking up the dock to get back on boat  I stepped on a board on the dock (old dock not well kept) and the board broke and snapped off about a 16 inch section from the last nailed support and my leg fell through this dock down to upper thigh on my left leg. I was so lucky one that I am healthy, and have strong bones. 

No major brakes or cuts. I have horrible bruises and contusions both sides of this right leg.  I only had one small cut and not much bleeding. Lots of pain and could not put weight on leg for rest of day or night. 

I have some pain on left leg due to maybe a shin bone bruising. 

The catamaran captain came immediately to help pull me out of the hole, checking on me and took photos of my injuries and the dock. This dock is not safe, do not take excursions to Pigeon island until this dock is torn down and replaced. 

The next issue was the catamaran had NO first aid kit aboard!! thank goodness I only had a small cut!  It also had nothing to offer me to make an ice pack. I used my celebrity beach bag cloth one given to us in room to make shift ice pack. 

When I got back on catamaran I was still I. Shock and was asked to sign off on injury paper work both from the captain and the escort from the tour group both claiming the dock was not their responsibilities. 

I was not given the opportunity or option to get off and go back to ship and was left in tears and pain for the next 4 hours as this excursion continued. At end of tour , The ship was notified and was asked to bring a wheelchair to get me back on ship. 

The ship porter took me through security and then parked me as my husband came through. No offer was done to ask me if I needed medical or to take me there. My husband got through security check in and said did they just leave you here ? We’re did they go? 

I at this point had been on the catamaran for 6 hrs and had a much need for bathroom break as there was one no way I could make it down any stairs to a catamaran bathroom or would I want to use this smelly overflowing one with open leg wounds, so my husband takes me to our cabin. 

He then leaves to go to Guest relations, they gave him a response that this is not their responsibility and to go to shore excursion desk? No Empathy or well check asked about me.  His Name was Dereck. 

At the shore excursion desk my husband told them of the accident and our concerns about the safety of this stop and lack of safety and first aid help on the spirit of carnival catamaran and last ask for refund of this trip and to cancel the next days booked excursion as I can not put weight on my leg at this point. They would not advise the could or would do anything until my husband agreed to take me to medical for evaluation. 

Ok this is fine so he rolled me down to medical with no assistance from anyone and in my wheelchair still. Dr looked at my bruises and said keep ice on it no gave me zip bags for ice and asked if I needed any over counter pain medicine. The Dr also heard our concerns of safety of this trip and called down a safety officer to make a report.  Panos was the officer had me sign statements and took photos of my leg. we then took ice bags and left and head back to report to shore excursion desk. 

Shore excursion offer to do cancellation for next day tour and to give us half credit for todays excursion! My husband is now livid and they said they would call us later or check back with them and the see if more can be given back for refund. 

It took us many trips  and calls  to get the full refund. 

 Very disappointed with this whole experience. 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by phnett
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[Covepointcruiser]

Third world countries always present dangers.   It’s lucky you did not have a more serious injury.   The conditions in most, if not all, of the Caribbean ports are deplorable.    Safety standards are severely lacking if they exist at all.   You need good insurance plus emergency evacuation when you travel.    Traveler beware!!

[phnett]

Yes we had the trip insurance thank goodness so far have not needed to use it. 

[SPacificbound]

26 minutes ago, phnett said:

Yes we had the trip insurance thank goodness so far have not needed to use it. 

I am so sorry this happened to you, how awful!

[hcat]

hope you get a  full credit  and  find a way to let someone up the chain of command know about the  bad conditions of this tour  and /or dock area and the blase ' attitude of shore excursion dept..etc

 

something better is expected from Celebrity..

 

 

[1Virgo]

Sorry this happened to you.   I think you were very lucky as fromwhat you described, It could have been a very serious injury.  Hopefully someone will reach out to you from Shore Excursions/Guest Relations.   

 

[Covepointcruiser]

Celebrity should skip this port in the future, the infrastructure is severely lacking.

[Cap_D]

We often see all these meet and greets with officers, sing alongs at night where the crew participates, etc.  This seems like something good to bring up. 

[cyntil8ing]

This sounds awful. I am aghast they made you continue the excursion.

 

Years ago, I was injured on a private excursion in St Lucia. Same thing — no first aid kit and nothing except sympathy. I had a small kit with antibiotic cream to clean up that I always keep in my backpack. Former Girl Scout who is always prepared! I too ended up canceling my next day’s excursion. It was not a good experience! I would have expected more from a ship’s excursion.
 

Hope you are all recovered!

[Shadow9612]

So sorry this happened to you.  

 

Thank you for sharing.  I will bring first aid supplies on my future excursions....

[Purplsmurf]

We were in Alaska last August. We had a UTV accident on a Celebrity shore excursion. The shore excursion manager was with us so was aware of the accident. I broke my wrist and found my way to the ER while everyone else headed back to the ship. The only thing I was told was that they would let the captain know in case I wasn’t back in time. I did make it back to the ship with a splint (got a cast once home). I was unable to get pain meds because I barely made it back to the ship as it was. 
I also Injured my knee and once I arrived home found that I also tore my rotator cuff, labrum, and biceps. I have since had surgery for that. Almost 9 months later I am still having issues with my wrist, shoulder is healing, but knee is still messed up. I never received a call or anything from anyone on the ship, not even the shore excursion manager that was with us. I did have insurance. Took months to pay, but I did get a little bit of $ back, but not close to what everything cost. 

[phnett]

30 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

We were in Alaska last August. We had a UTV accident on a Celebrity shore excursion. The shore excursion manager was with us so was aware of the accident. I broke my wrist and found my way to the ER while everyone else headed back to the ship. The only thing I was told was that they would let the captain know in case I wasn’t back in time. I did make it back to the ship with a splint (got a cast once home). I was unable to get pain meds because I barely made it back to the ship as it was. 
I also Injured my knee and once I arrived home found that I also tore my rotator cuff, labrum, and biceps. I have since had surgery for that. Almost 9 months later I am still having issues with my wrist, shoulder is healing, but knee is still messed up. I never received a call or anything from anyone on the ship, not even the shore excursion manager that was with us. I did have insurance. Took months to pay, but I did get a little bit of $ back, but not close to what everything cost. 

Bless your heart I hope you recover, 

I was lucky to have minor injuries. 
best to you as well 

[phnett]

40 minutes ago, Shadow9612 said:

So sorry this happened to you.  

 

Thank you for sharing.  I will bring first aid supplies on my future excursions....

❤️

[phnett]

46 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

This sounds awful. I am aghast they made you continue the excursion.

 

Years ago, I was injured on a private excursion in St Lucia. Same thing — no first aid kit and nothing except sympathy. I had a small kit with antibiotic cream to clean up that I always keep in my backpack. Former Girl Scout who is always prepared! I too ended up canceling my next day’s excursion. It was not a good experience! I would have expected more from a ship’s excursion.
 

Hope you are all recovered!

❤️

[wanderlust58]

Sorry this happened to you.  What a horrible experience.  I think that staff personalities ,  levels of compassion and competence vary widely, as they would anywhere else.  Of course that’s not an excuse.  The service stank.  Our story is that 6 years ago, on our honeymoon no less, my husband began hemorrhaging as we approached Tenerife. We spent 3 hours trying to keep him from dying until they were able to stretcher him off the ship to a waiting ambulance.  Looking back , I suppose I should be grateful they at least called for it. Several pints of blood and plasma and surgery and 3 days in hospital, he survived.  On our way out the door, I handed the nurse a scrap of paper (with a phone number) and asked her to deliver it to guest relations. I asked them to call our private tour operator to explain why we weren’t coming.  They couldn’t manage to do that and he and the group waited for us shipside , cutting us some slack, thinking we were late for another reason. Luckily,  I saw the guide on the way to the ambulance and managed to explain.  He, and the crowd waiting for us showed infinitely more compassion and help.  Horrible experience for us and 1 hour cut from their excursion because the nurse and guest relations couldn’t manage a phone call.  Happy ending- the guide contacted me after that day and offered a private version of the excursion once he could leave the hospital.  We took it.

[trinitygirl]

What a horrible experience that must have been.  I would have expected more from the ship staff.   I am glad you didn't suffer any more serious injuries and hope it doesn't ruin the rest of your cruise.  Like the person above, from now on I will be bringing my travel first aid kit with me on excursions.  Normally it sits in my suitcase and never gets any sunshine - might be time to change my attitude!

[Arizona Wildcat]

Shore excursions booked through Celebrity are vetted that the tour operator has experience and insurance.   I fell goingvdown stairs in Panama.  Was shaken and dazed.   The operator had a first aid kit and tended to a couple small cuts.  Took an extensive report and offered to take me to get medical attention - which I declined.

My concern and that of others is while Celebrity has no legal liability while you are on a shore excursion,  it does seem strange tour operators are not required to notify Celebrity of any injury in order to monitor the condition of the injured party AND to record if there is a problem with the tour operator.    Not having a basic first aid kit would be problem #1.

[chemmo]

I think we all reluctantly accept that many ports are poorly maintained, it always amazes me the footwear some people wear adding to the risks. I do accept that there is a limit to how much one can hold Celebrity liable for this as the numerous roads with uneven pavements…If Celebrity was liable for falls in ports and on local roads they would need massive insurance cover. Accidents in these areas invariably come down to your own personal insurance.

 

However, the catamaran is a different thing…Surely more than one toilet should be on board and all should be working and as to no first aid kit, simply not acceptable. Celebrity has opted to choose the company, they need to ensure it is suitable for purpose, clearly it is not. Even when guests are not on board a first aid kit is necessary for staff use. On return to the ship, it is a pity that on boarding they didn’t automatically take you to the medical centre….Perhaps, as a charge can be made, they leave it to people’s discretion…

 

We have found Shore Excursion staff vary greatly. I remember in Tahiti we boarded a coach for an excursion, nothing like what we had booked/been promised. On returning to the ship we went to complain. The staff member retorted ‘We all knew the excursion had changed, someone should have told you’…When I replied ‘Well they didn’t’ the response was ‘Well at least you saw something’ my response was ‘A tacky local beach, a drive past a container port and a stop at a local fly ridden local market was not an acceptable alternative’. At that point I asked to see the manager who immediately gave us a full refund and explained we were only one of a large number of people who complained…On another occasion we simply made a comment to the Michael’s concierge that we were surprised our 3 1/2 hour trip had us back to the ship in 2 1/2 hours. We had enjoyed what we had seen we were just surprised it had not been the length expected. We received a full refund, an apology phone call and a bottle of wine…

[Cap_D]

Generally, the issue with Island excursions and ports is that they are mostly not consistent with the onboard ship experience, but this also highlights that the onboard experience can and should be improved.  Given the number of striped crew that hangout in Destination Gateway with their special phones, acting important, etc. someone should have taken some leadership on assisting with this unfortunate situation.  Both the medical center and a restroom are a few steps or pushes of a wheelchair away, and the landing team portside with the tent, water, and wash clothes should have a protocol to radio ahead if they identify a guest returning injured.  A ship of about 1000-1,200 crew for about 2,900 passengers surely has someone that can step up and be responsible for the care and comfort of its passengers?  What are they all for and doing?  Not taking a side on responsibility for the selection of the vendor, port, etc., but everything that happens after the incident upon being informed of the incident and injury (or just the OP being in eyeshot of the gangway (or tender) is something that the ship's crew can entirely turn into a positive .... or in this case a negative.  Crew are often asking guests if there's anything they need, how is their cruise, inviting guests to Q&As, cocktail receptions, and a sales point of Celebrity is the presence of their crew among the guests.  Seems like a lot of steps went wrong here in how virtually every crew member responded (or didn't share information with those that could have assisted).

Edited April 20, 2023 by Cap_D

[jean87510]

This is awful.  I always have my first aid bag with me and have used it a couple of times.  But really disturbing to read about the conditions plus the brush off.  I suppose it's a reminder to us all to continue to look out for ourselves as the cruise line may not.  Good call not using the bathroom.

[janetz]

How awful@!

At the least, Celebrity should omit this excursion. 

I know exactly what you felt. I did the same thing on our pool deck at home, right up to my hip. 
 

[Gia2cats]

This is very disappointing to read. One of the selling features of using a cruise excursion seems to be that the cruise line will offer more assistance than booking a private excursion. The OP is Elite so obviously loyal to the brand. I would have expected more compassion and caring.

[jelayne]

9 hours ago, hcat said:

hope you get a  full credit  and  find a way to let someone up the chain of command know about the  bad conditions of this tour  and /or dock area and the blase ' attitude of shore excursion dept..etc

 

something better is expected from Celebrity..

 

 

OP said they did get a full refund for the excursion 

[jelayne]

I’m sorry this happened to you. 
Thankfully you were not seriously injured.  I hope you leg feels better very soon and you enjoy the remained of your trip.

[ymncruise]

I hope you’re doing better. What a horrible experience. Celebrity should include in this shore excursion description that you’ll be walking down a sub standard dock and sailing on a vessel that is not well maintained and if you need to use a rest room, be prepared to walk down stairs to over flowing toilet. There should be standards for ship sponsored shore excursions. I’m sure this experience ruined your trip.