Princess Nurse Appointments

[Tomcruise92]

Hi all

I am supposed to embark a Princess Cruise in about 2 weeks time. About 4 weeks ago, I had an emergency abscess surgery which left an open wound. The wound needs to be 'packed' daily. They predicted it would take a month or so to heal. Alas, I am still basically no further forward. I currently visit my local GP (doctors office) every day to see a nurse to change the packing and manage the wound. They have indicated my partner may be able to take this over on the ship if necessary. I am worried as being away from home for over 2 weeks still with a deep wound seems a little unsettling. Do you think I could book a few nurse appointments on the ship for them to 'check' the wound and dress it for me? Does anyone have any idea how much this will cost? I have insurance but I don't think they will cover me for the wound itself.

I am sorry for the graphic detail, just feeling a little sad at this stage at the prospect of having to cancel.

[cr8tiv1]

You may make appointments (very limited hour).  Each office visit will cost you $49 ( and supplies?) billed to your folio.

 

Be sure to request a medical history record.  Cost is $28.  Medicare will probably deny payment.  I don’t know if cruise insurance will cover this expense.  Be sure to ask your doctor for a written note explaining the need for services.  I am not sure if this will fall under pre-condition.

 

Might be helpful to know itinerary.  Visits to urgent care on land?

Edited March 1 by cr8tiv1

[Over from NZ]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

You may make appointments (very limited hour).  Each office visit will cost you $49 ( and supplies?) billed to your folio.

 

Be sure to request a medical history record.  Cost is $28.  Medicare will probably deny payment.  I don’t know if cruise insurance will cover this expense.  Be sure to ask your doctor for a written note explaining the need for services.  I am not sure if this will fall under pre-condition.

 

Might be helpful to know itinerary.  Visits to urgent care on land?

It'll cost you a lot more than $49 a visit! 🙂 

 

[Thrak]

It might be more prudent to cancel the cruise unless you are comfortable with having your cruise partner deal with the open wound. Health is far more important than a pleasure cruise. Hopefully you have "cancel for any reason" insurance.

Edited March 1 by Thrak

[cr8tiv1]

This was my very first ever visit to the Medical Center (have cruised many times).  I was very surprised at the visit cost of $49.  The meds cost more.

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

You may make appointments (very limited hour).  Each office visit will cost you $49 ( and supplies?) billed to your folio.

 

Be sure to request a medical history record.  Cost is $28.  Medicare will probably deny payment.  I don’t know if cruise insurance will cover this expense.  Be sure to ask your doctor for a written note explaining the need for services.  I am not sure if this will fall under pre-condition.

 

Might be helpful to know itinerary.  Visits to urgent care on land?

 

43 minutes ago, Over from NZ said:

It'll cost you a lot more than $49 a visit! 🙂 

 

 

28 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

This was my very first ever visit to the Medical Center (have cruised many times).  I was very surprised at the visit cost of $49.  The meds cost more.

There's a difference in price between a nurse visit/consultation and a doctor visit/consultation.  I've been to the medical center on RC and Carnival but not Princess.

 

On RC in January it was $152 for a doctor visit and $107 for an outrageously marked up generic antibiotic that I probably could have bought for $15 in Cozumel if I could have diagnosed myself. 

[startedwithamouse]

Consultation and treatment are completely different.

 

$49 is when you walk in the door. Whatever they want to charge, they will and you need to settle the cost prior to disembarking (no sending it to insurance to see what's covered).

 

If your wound gets worse, they can disembark you at any port for better treatment on land.

 

 

Edited March 1 by startedwithamouse

[Tomcruise92]

Thank you all for the replies and advice, it is very much appreciated. I will give my insurance company a call. As I'm from the UK and cruising to the Caribbean, I think I definitely need to know where I stand.

[cr8tiv1]

I DID see a doctor.  Actually one of the best doctors I’ve run across outside of my network.  Not that it matters, but he was from Malaysia with quite a sense of humor.  As usual, the nurse did all the pre-visit protocols.

 

He even made a house (cabin) call to check on a medication I had brought with me on the trip but didn’t take it with me to the med center.

[negn]

I think a major consideration is the size of the wound.  I am a visiting nurse and we teach family members how to change dressings as long as they are not too deep or too large.   Infection prevention is most important.  Would your MD consider ordering an antibiotic prophylacticly ?  Also packing products containing silver act as an anti microbial   If you decide to go this route, bring your own supplies and remember to wash your hands

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, negn said:

I think a major consideration is the size of the wound.  I am a visiting nurse and we teach family members how to change dressings as long as they are not too deep or too large.   Infection prevention is most important.  Would your MD consider ordering an antibiotic prophylacticly ?  Also packing products containing silver act as an anti microbial   If you decide to go this route, bring your own supplies and remember to wash your hands

 

 

 

 

 

 

And use sterile gloves.  

[NavyVeteran]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

It might be more prudent to cancel the cruise unless you are comfortable with having your cruise partner deal with the open wound. Health is far more important than a pleasure cruise. Hopefully you have "cancel for any reason" insurance.

Cancel for any reason insurance may not be needed. If your physician documents that it would be unsafe for you to cruise, this could be a medical reason for cancellation. If you do this, make sure that the physician's note documents the fact that you did not know you could not cruise until now. At the time of the operation, he thought you would be healed by the time of the cruise. This could be important in case because they don't pay any increased penalty if you don't cancel as soon as feasible after the condition that keeps you from cruising. In your case, this should not apply, since you didn't know the condition would still be a problem at the time of the cruise until the last week when it hadn't healed as expected. But this needs to be clearly documented by the physician.

[Zena,W.P.]

I needed stiches removed a week after boarding.  Cost was very reasonable.  Nurse.  Around $80 which included supplies.  

[memoak]

12 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

You may make appointments (very limited hour).  Each office visit will cost you $49 ( and supplies?) billed to your folio.

 

Be sure to request a medical history record.  Cost is $28.  Medicare will probably deny payment.  I don’t know if cruise insurance will cover this expense.  Be sure to ask your doctor for a written note explaining the need for services.  I am not sure if this will fall under pre-condition.

 

Might be helpful to know itinerary.  Visits to urgent care on land?

Our Medicare Advantage plan has always reimbursed us once we are home. Last year they covered X-rays and treatment for broken ribs

[cr8tiv1]

I am not familiar with Medicare Advantage plans.  Medicare denied my claims but my secondary picked up everything except the medical history charge.  AON picked that up.

[Therese S.]

I agree with Negn…it all depends on how large and open the wound is.

My husband recently received IV antibiotics for 2 days to combat a nasty hot abscess just below the  elbow.  In the end he needed surgery and then more IV antibiotics.  Was left with a 2 inch open gaping wound to heal and I became wound nurse.  Kaiser sent us/me home with my own kit of scissors, tweezers, syringe to spray wound cleaner inside the wound, sterile pads, saline solution, gloves, tape,collagen and packing strips for the packing which was every 12 hours then changed to every 2 days as it heals.

 After my original hesitation, I found the wound cleaning and packing to be pretty simple.    I did take a photo each time the bandage was changed to watch for any major changes.  It’s been almost a month now and wound is almost closed, probably another  week of packing left.  

 

I would say if your partner is up to being a wound nurse, and  the wound is healing nicely and you have all the supplies, to go for it. But,  I would stay out of pools, hot tubs and the ocean which could impact the enjoyment of your cruise.  

Edited March 1 by Therese S.

[Crystaltipps67]

OP is from the UK where we don't have 'cancel for any reason' insurance (as that isn't actually insurance in our meaning of the word) nor do we have medicare (and any private medical insurance the OP has will be v unlikely to cover treatment for existing conditions abroad).

 

[Tomcruise92]

4 hours ago, Therese S. said:

I agree with Negn…it all depends on how large and open the wound is.

My husband recently received IV antibiotics for 2 days to combat a nasty hot abscess just below the  elbow.  In the end he needed surgery and then more IV antibiotics.  Was left with a 2 inch open gaping wound to heal and I became wound nurse.  Kaiser sent us/me home with my own kit of scissors, tweezers, syringe to spray wound cleaner inside the wound, sterile pads, saline solution, gloves, tape,collagen and packing strips for the packing which was every 12 hours then changed to every 2 days as it heals.

 After my original hesitation, I found the wound cleaning and packing to be pretty simple.    I did take a photo each time the bandage was changed to watch for any major changes.  It’s been almost a month now and wound is almost closed, probably another  week of packing left.  

 

I would say if your partner is up to being a wound nurse, and  the wound is healing nicely and you have all the supplies, to go for it. But,  I would stay out of pools, hot tubs and the ocean which could impact the enjoyment of your cruise.  

Thank you - this is really reassuring. It is a healing slowly but steadily. Deep but small! I think we will likely take the same approach 😊

[karatemom2]

10 minutes ago, Tomcruise92 said:

Thank you - this is really reassuring. It is a healing slowly but steadily. Deep but small! I think we will likely take the same approach 😊

 

On the few occasions we have needed to consult with medical onboard, we have always found them to be professional and caring. They were wonderful to my husband when he developed a kidney stone on a boys trip last year. It was a pricey care experience, but fortunately fully reimbursed by our insurance.

 

Sounds like you have been given good advice here and have a good plan in place, so I just wanted to wish you speedy and complete healing and share the hope that you have a great cruise!

[Tomcruise92]

58 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

 

On the few occasions we have needed to consult with medical onboard, we have always found them to be professional and caring. They were wonderful to my husband when he developed a kidney stone on a boys trip last year. It was a pricey care experience, but fortunately fully reimbursed by our insurance.

 

Sounds like you have been given good advice here and have a good plan in place, so I just wanted to wish you speedy and complete healing and share the hope that you have a great cruise!

Thank you for the kind message. First time to the Caribbean and first time on Caribbean Princess 😊

[cjpj]

My husband spent several days in the ships "ICU" on one cruise. The medical staff were excellent. Most of them are Emergency Room docs and nurses. They do have limited hours for walkin appointments,  but the center is staffed 24 hours a day and there's usually a patient or two admitted. People have to remember that the medical team not only provides care for the passengers, but also for the crew that are onboard for months at a time. 

[Bgwest]

18 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

This was my very first ever visit to the Medical Center (have cruised many times).  I was very surprised at the visit cost of $49.  The meds cost more.

Knowledge is a powerful thing!!!

Well done. 

[smwg]

in regards to costs,  my husband saw the Dr on our Hawaii Cruise last year because he had a cough and sore throat.  The Dr. fee was $99 plus cost of meds.  Seems fairly reasonable to me. 

[shofer]

21 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

 

 

There's a difference in price between a nurse visit/consultation and a doctor visit/consultation.  I've been to the medical center on RC and Carnival but not Princess.

 

On RC in January it was $152 for a doctor visit and $107 for an outrageously marked up generic antibiotic that I probably could have bought for $15 in Cozumel if I could have diagnosed myself. 

From a previous cruise when I had a medical visit for conjunctivitis (pink eye).  I spoke with Medicare after I came home and they said if you were within 2 hours of an American port, they would cover your visit.  Unfortunately, it was a sea day but my charge was $78 which my cruise insurance did reimburse me.