Medical emergency Epic help needed urgently

my daughter has phoned to say her 77 year old mother has had a bad fall on a wet staircase. She has broken her leg severely near the hip. They are airlifting her to Barcelona and not turning the ship round. They left Palma today and have a day at sea before Naples

They say her son can't go with her so she will be alone and can't speak Spanish.

Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received please!

We are willing to fly out to her of course.

My daughter has our 2 year old grandson with her.

Definitely contact NCL

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How? It's nearly 11.00 pm here and they are closed

She fell in the buffet apparently on a wet floor.

Can't find a number.

Definitely contact NCL. There should be an emergency contact number on the NCL website. But I am a little confused, the Epic docked in Barcelona this morning. I know because my in-laws were on it. Tomorrow is a sea day.

We are in the UK

You say this is your daughter who called so I am assuming the patient is her mother in law and your son in law could not accompany her on the evac?

So your daughter/ husband/ grand can leave the ship in Naples and fly to Barcelona on Tuesday AM, I would imagine.

If that is the plan maybe it would be easier for you to make the flight reservation from Naples to Barcelona??

I know that feeling of helplessness you must be experiencing, so far away.

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The son should probably get off at the next port and fly back to Barcelona to be with his mom. I’m sure there are translators for her there. Your daughter should get any info she can about what hospital etc they are going to. Did they have trip insurance? There may be resources they can call from that as well.

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We have only received garbled messages. We are pretty frantic.

my daughter has phoned to say her 77 year old mother has had a bad fall on a wet staircase. She has broken her leg severely near the hip. They are airlifting her to Barcelona and not turning the ship round. They left Palma today and have a day at sea before Naples

 

They say her son can't go with her so she will be alone and can't speak Spanish.

 

Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received please!

 

We are willing to fly out to her of course.

 

My daughter has our 2 year old grandson with her.

Can you contact some government official, at least first thing tomorrow at the UK Embassy in Spain?

Embassies can sometimes assist, including with translation.

Do they have travel insurance?

If so, contact the insurer ASAP. Again, at a minimum, they should be able to provide translation assistance.

But they should be able to do more than just translation, although I'm not familiar with UK travel insurance coverage.

I was hospitalized overseas, where I did not speak the local language, and I was too sick to think clearly. However, within several hours, dear friends who are native to that country were able to arrive and help with translation.

If you are willing/able to go, and feel comfortable with that (and think she would), I'd be on the next flight to Barcelona...

But I'd verify with *someone* that she actually IS in Barcelona.

Good luck!

I hope the local UK staff can provide some help, or at least help locate some help.

GC

The one thing I would not worry about in Spain is translation issues, especially in a hospital in a large city.

It sounds like the lady fell after they left Barcelona. Medivac is probably much quicker than turning the ship around. Unfortunately they really can't take passengers on the helo.

Also, contact her primary physician, ASAP. He/she may be willing to liaise with physician in Barcelona.

They are at sea. They have a sea day tomorrow. Next port Naples. They've just left Barcelona and have a long run to Naples

Definitely contact NCL. There should be an emergency contact number on the NCL website. But I am a little confused, the Epic docked in Barcelona this morning. I know because my in-laws were on it. Tomorrow is a sea day.

You are right of course. They left BARCELONA. Sorry bit confused.

They have travel insurance but I don't know the details. I'm praying it covers this sort of situation.

Nobody in UK to help. Phoned miami and they've sent an email to ship to ask my daughter to call. She has little experience of cruising, and m-In-law never been abroad before.

It's a horrendous situation we feel SO helpless.

The ship has definitely not turned back, we are tracking it, and it's back on course.

They have travel insurance but I don't know the details. I'm praying it covers this sort of situation.

 

Nobody in UK to help. Phoned miami and they've sent an email to ship to ask my daughter to call. She has little experience of cruising, and m-In-law never been abroad before.

 

It's a horrendous situation we feel SO helpless.

See if your daughter can find the TRAVEL INSURANCE INFORMATION.

There's a good chance there is an emergency number (there is for our coverage, in the USA, and with other insurers here, I think).

THIS IS WHAT THEY DO!

I can't emphasize this enough, and I just hope that the UK-based travel insurance policies and providers work in a similar fashion.

But it does depend upon the terms of the policy.

I lived in the UK years ago, but didn't need to use the National Health Service outside the country, so I don't know if there is *any* coverage at all.

But as mentioned her physician may be willing to be in contact with the hospital in Barcelona. (Who knows... maybe the physician is aware of some medical network for "this type of thing"...?)

But for her to be alone... that is dreadful.

However, it's possible with such a bad break that she is medicated/sedated.

Did they have any medical records IF there are any special health conditions so they could pass those along with her?

We keep that information handy, along with insurance emergency numbers, just in case...

It's unfortunately true that a lot of "how to handle" this type of emergency only becomes obvious in the moment. That's how we learned a lot, too.

FROM GOOGLE, about the British Embassy in Madrid:

https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-madrid

This includes:

"If you’re in the UK and worried about a British national in Spain, call 020 7008 1500."

British CONSULATE IN BARCELONA:

https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-consulate-general-barcelona

They'll open at 8:30 tomorrow it seems.

GC

Unfortunately they really can't take passengers on the helo.

Depends. In the couple of medivacs we have seen with the US coast guard, they have always lifted a family member with the paitient.

From the US, you can call the ship ($8 per min). The message should be short “get hotel director staff to initiate call home - for free”. Yes,,, I know OP is from the UK, so there must be an number from the UK thsr can be called or use Miami to pass message.

In order to reach a person on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship from the United States or Canada, call 1.888.627.4477. You will need to pay with a MasterCard, Visa, or American Express.

Marinetraffic shows Epic turned around and increasing speed and slowing down at the same course later on and turning back to her original course some 15-30 minutes later. Probably had a rendezvous with an helo at/after 21:30 UTC.

With the sea day ahead and not much alternative ports along the route (not to mention port fees for a quick disembarkation one does not want on their onboard account..) my guess is that the relatives will have to hang in there.. until they reach Naples.

There's a 10:25AM direct Vueling flight from Naples to Barcelona on the 19th. Some 298-321 Euros depending on the codeshare, I suggest booking it directly by Vueling and not through Iberia.

Alternatively there's a 12:40PM Ryanair flight, one way for 129 Euros. The 7:00AM Easyjet flight won't be an option I think although the airport is just 15 minutes by car from the Naples port.

Good luck.

I bet the hip broke, causing the fall....that's the usual way "broken hips" happen, unfortunately. They will take care of her...they do have English speaking folks in the hospital.

I'm sure NCL will do everything in their power to help this family. Prayers to all of you!

You can call the ship directly

NCL Ship Telephone & Fax Numbers

When calling from the United States:

Dial 1.888.NC SHIPS (627.4477), select the ship, and enter your credit card information.

When Calling from outside the United States:

Dial 1.732.335.3280, select the ship, and enter your credit card information.

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Four years ago I was taken ill with pneumonia whilst on Norwegian Spirit. I was taken to a Spanish Public Hospital in Malaga and given emergency care, chest x-ray, ECG, cannula, oxygen therapy. Once stable a few hours later I was moved by ambulance to a private facility as I had travel insurance. The EEC reciprocal agreement entitles the same care as a local person would get. Nothing more, insurance pays for other things.Hopefully the lady has insurance to cover the extras.

I had few problems with the medical staff, my doctor spoke good English and so did the administrator. NCL Customer Care in Miami called me every day to see how things were and was there anything they could help with. The family on the ship need to be talking with the people in Guest Services on board the ship and also with the insurance company. They are the people who help not the folks on a forum.

Also, contact her primary physician, ASAP. He/she may be willing to liaise with physician in Barcelona.

Unfortunately the NHS doesn't work like that!

They have evacuated her by helicopter and her son is with her thank goodness.

They are going to a hospital in Girona.

We have spoken to the British Consulate who are being helpful.

I honestly think I would consider flying out to Girona (or maybe even Naples if that is where the ship will be next) if possible. Not so much because of your daughter's mother-in-law but to lend support to your daughter and granddaughter. It will be a bit overwhelming for her to get eveything together and off the ship if that is her plan. You could be there to help her navigate her way back to Girona or home. I don't mean this to sound unsympathetic but her husband will figure out how to navigate the medical and insurance issues. There is no other choice for him but to go forward and deal with each issue in the moment. It would be my daughter I would be most concerned with at this point. Sometimes arriving into a very stressful situation (i.e. hospitals, doctors, insurance dealings etc) it is beyond calming to see a familiar face and you could be there, if only for a short time, to lend support to both your daughter and granddaughter. This would also give your son-in-law some help and keep him from worrying about his own family while trying to help his mother.

Take a deep breath now. You can handle this and you know better than anyone what your daughter needs at this moment.

They were not allowed off the ship. The ship is sailing towards Naples

When my SIL got to his mum there were no medical staff with her. Just 6 people dong nothing. It took 15 minutes after that for medics to arrive. Nobody has helped my daughter or spoken to her or given her any support whatsoever. This has catastrophic effects on all of them on the future.

She is in her cabin on her own.