Transatlantic health emergencies

[rebeccalouiseagain]

If you are at all concerned with being away from land- you might want to do the Northern Route from Boston or NYC because it is shorter and the land is not as far away as on the southern route. My sister is doing the Oceania Marina and there are only three sea days. The other days they are on land.

[queen61]

I am not a critic of on board med services... yes it will never be the Cleveland Clinic or Mayo nor should it be but how about a brochure that describes the services. What generally can be done, what can never be done. And yes the lawyers would have to review. Maybe some info on billing and a picture of a doctor with the caveat I am an actor/actress and not a real doctor. Hey how about a pitch along the lines we take pride in having the best medical personnel possible. It would say if you have additional questions do not hesitate to ask.

[TravelerThom]

Just off the Silhouette and got to go on the helipad. We asked how they landed and one of the officers did say they collapsed.

Was that a marine officer, or an officer from a non-marine department? If you go to http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bS-lEBdCM74/ThVzs2sUypI/AAAAAAAAAtE/K6jY6U5lFCY/s1600/celebrity+silhouette+meyer+werft.jpg there is picture of the Silhouette helicopter area and in LARGE letters it say "WINCH ONLY". Winch Only means Do Not Land. I have personally seen this sign, but that was two years ago - I doubt that the situation has changed, but almost anything is possible.

 

I know that earlier Solstice class helo areas were landing zones, and had hinge and pin fencing (pull the pin, and you can fold the fence flat). I can not absolutely guarantee that there are no hinge and pin mechanism on Silhouette's helo area fence, but I have been told that and will continue to believe it until I have contrary information from a source I trust (FYI I am not a source I trust on this matter; I'm just trying to figure out what is actually going on).

 

Thom

[katgio50]

Thanks for all of the thoughts and opinions. I used to be a tour director and took groups on tours and cruises. I did have a couple of medical emergencies on land tours, but fortunately never had any serious emergencies on the cruises. Now I am more aware of the possibility and indeed the probability of these occurring.

Whenever we get the green light to cruise again, I think we will forego a TA.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Disgraceful treatment by your insurer IMHO.

 

Your trip was delayed due to circumstances completely out of your control.

 

I hate it when insurers find ridiculous reasons to decline valid claims and would have considered referring the case to the insurance ombudsman:mad:

 

I work for one of the major travel insurance providers. My information is based on our company's plans.

 

When you purchase an insurance policy, it's to protect you against hazards listed in the specific plan--no more, no less. If the terms are not acceptable, don't buy the insurance. And I can tell you that our claims department looks for ways to be able to pay on a claim, if possible. They've been able to come up with reasons that the customer didn't think of. We'd rather keep people happy and coming back, but unfortunately some claims are just not valid.

 

Whether or not a claim is valid depends on the language in the description of coverage. There are specific reasons that allow for trip cancellation (and returning late would also fall under the definition of trip cancellation) or trip delay. For cancellation, which would be (typically) 100% of the trip cost, reasons could include inclement weather causing delay or cancellation of travel, as well as mechanical or equipment failure of a common carrier resulting in a loss of a specified length of the trip, but getting in late due to a necessary change in itinerary would not fall under these categories. Check the cruise contract-- they reserve the right to change the itinerary for any reason.

 

Another reason for cancellation is due to sickness, injury or death of the insured themselves (people on the policy), a traveling companion (someone accompanying them, not necessarily related), a family member (whether traveling with them or not), or even an insured's business partner. But the sickness of a stranger has no bearing.

 

There could have been a benefit for trip delay, but it's a much more limited benefit designed to provide meals and lodging until travel can resume if delayed by a certain number of hours.

 

Missed connection coverage? That applies specifically to airline flights. Not Amtrak, not cruise lines.

 

Was the circumstance completely out of their control? Yes. But so are things like civil unrest and acts of war, and those events are specifically excluded from most insurance policies. One plan may cover for losing your job through no fault of your own, another may not. The more reasons that are covered, the greater the likelihood a claim will have to be paid, and the higher the cost of the premium. There may be a travel insurance policy that would provide coverage for this circumstance, but I'm not aware of any.

[Project_gal]

I work for one of the major travel insurance providers. My information is based on our company's plans.

 

When you purchase an insurance policy, it's to protect you against hazards listed in the specific plan--no more, no less. If the terms are not acceptable, don't buy the insurance. And I can tell you that our claims department looks for ways to be able to pay on a claim, if possible. They've been able to come up with reasons that the customer didn't think of. We'd rather keep people happy and coming back, but unfortunately some claims are just not valid.

 

Whether or not a claim is valid depends on the language in the description of coverage. There are specific reasons that allow for trip cancellation (and returning late would also fall under the definition of trip cancellation) or trip delay. For cancellation, which would be (typically) 100% of the trip cost, reasons could include inclement weather causing delay or cancellation of travel, as well as mechanical or equipment failure of a common carrier resulting in a loss of a specified length of the trip, but getting in late due to a necessary change in itinerary would not fall under these categories. Check the cruise contract-- they reserve the right to change the itinerary for any reason.

 

Another reason for cancellation is due to sickness, injury or death of the insured themselves (people on the policy), a traveling companion (someone accompanying them, not necessarily related), a family member (whether traveling with them or not), or even an insured's business partner. But the sickness of a stranger has no bearing.

 

There could have been a benefit for trip delay, but it's a much more limited benefit designed to provide meals and lodging until travel can resume if delayed by a certain number of hours.

 

Missed connection coverage? That applies specifically to airline flights. Not Amtrak, not cruise lines.

 

Was the circumstance completely out of their control? Yes. But so are things like civil unrest and acts of war, and those events are specifically excluded from most insurance policies. One plan may cover for losing your job through no fault of your own, another may not. The more reasons that are covered, the greater the likelihood a claim will have to be paid, and the higher the cost of the premium. There may be a travel insurance policy that would provide coverage for this circumstance, but I'm not aware of any.

 

A very balanced, clear and helpful description of travel insurance. However, just for the sake of completeness may I point out that the original poster of the complaint about non-payment of the claim was from the UK. It is clear from posts on these boards that the primary purpose/emphasis of travel insurance is different in different countries. Standard T&Cs will also be different in these different countries. Where the primary purpose of travel insurance in North America is cancellation cover, the primary purpose in the UK is health/medical cover. Our cover for cancellation tends to be more restricted than in the US. For example, if we wish to be able to claim for cancellation due to the illness of a close family member [not travelling with us] or a travel companion, the medical history of these people would normally need to be declared when the policy was taken out.

 

Having said that, I would have expected the additional costs incurred due to an unconnected passenger falling ill on board delaying return to have been covered. In my opinion, it would have been worth taking the failure to pay in these circumstance to the financial ombudsman. Alternatively, if the poster had booked cruise and flights [i.e. a "package"] through Celebrity OR an EU TA, they should have had a claim for compensation of additional costs from Celebrity OR the TA.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Project_gal

[blindrid]

I'm pretty sure that Celebrity's newest ships (Silhouette and Reflection) did away with helicopter landing pads and only have hover points (with fixed railings rather than collapsible ones) located where the Solstice etc had pads. I was told that often the available rescue helicopter exceeded the load limit, and that pilots generally preferred to hover rather than land. The only evacuations I have personally seen were hover. I was greatly impressed with the pilot's control under difficult conditions.

 

Thom

 

Didn't think of that - makes sense.

[cruzsnooze]

All ships have a morgue with several beds. It's a sad reality but comforting knowing someone went quickly doing something they enjoyed.

[H2OH!]

It would be nice to know if they carry drugs to help limit a stroke....(non-invasive treatment).

 

I would be surprised if they carry r-tPA or tPA....they are expensive with potential serious downside of administering. As a clinician, they need to be able to determine if is an ischemic stroke versus a hemorrhagic before administering. I dont believe they have CT or MRI on board. This is an invasive procedure.... noninvasive means not penetrating the body as by incision or injection. the use of these medications is given intravenously.

 

In 2008, myself along with 2 other cruise ship passengers did CPR on a 60 year old gentleman while in port in St. Maarten. you dont want to get sick off the ship, that is for sure. the ambulance took forever to arrive due to traffic and was ill equipped...plus was old. as they pulled away with "Bob" the darn ambulance stalled twice. The ambulances do not carry any advanced life support drugs...zero. their defibrillator was from the 1970's...not kidding. we shocked him a few times unsuccessfully before he was loaded into the ambulance. He definitely would have had a better chance of survival if he had collapsed on the ship and had access to some cardiac medications.

 

since I knew his name was Bob (did not know last name) and was from ohio, I did find his obituary when we returned from our cruise. I knew it was him since the obit stated he passed away on valentines day in st. maarten. Broke my heart even though was expected.

 

I also worked with Celebrity to call their ship...they were on Princess...to let them know 2 passengers may not be returning to the ship (i could not give their names as I only knew his first name and not their last names) and to please call the local hospital since i had no idea if the wife had her passport with her or not. They said they would call but have no idea if they did.

Edited May 24, 2014 by H2OH!