Passenger death on Pacific Jewel

[Aussieflyer]

Reports of gastro on board esulting a the death of one passenger though not proven as the cause yet or whether the other non-related passengers have become ill:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/one-dead-after-suspected-gastro-outbreak-on-pacific-jewel-cruise-ship-20160912-greig1.html

Edited September 12, 2016 by Aussieflyer

[Haoie]

Being reported here in NZ too:

 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/84188116/one-dead-after-suspected-gastro-outbreak-on-pacific-jewel-cruise-ship

[Aus Traveller]

This is very sad for the family. Unfortunately people pass away while on a cruise - often several people on longer cruises. In my opinion, when they say that the lady passed away in her cabin, I can't see how it could be the fault of P&O. It would be interesting to see the official cause of death as certified by a doctor, but it will probably not be reported.

[MicCanberra]

Sad for the family and until the autopsy results are out, nothing can be confirmed but gastro on a weakened body (babies and elderly especially) is and can be very dangerous thing due to the dehydration that occurs.:(

Blaming the cruise ship is just a recoil to a very tragic event for the family.

[Russell21]

She was 79 years old and it has been deemed natural causes according to the latest report I have.

[MicCanberra]

She was 79 years old and it has been deemed natural causes according to the latest report I have.

 

Yes, it was in the article.

'Margaret Carlson boarded with her daughter and teenage grandson. It was the 79-year-old's seventh cruise in 10 years after her husband passed away, and she was looking forward to the journey after being upgraded to a luxury cabin.

 

She soon began showing signs of gastro and was told by medical staff that she had probably brought the bug onto the ship with her, her family says. Her daughter and grandson also fell ill after boarding the ship.

 

On Saturday afternoon, when the ship was docked at Yorkeys Knob in Cairns, Mrs Carlson's family discovered she had died in her room.

 

Police were called to inspect the scene and determined she had died of natural causes several hours earlier. An autopsy will be performed.'

I would think she had brought it on and being elderly it knocked her over. Very sad for the family.

[Aus Traveller]

A Police spokesman said there was no gastro outbreak on board (as had been claimed by the lady's family). Police would have questioned medical staff on board and most likely inspected records in the medical centre. It has been stated that she had several health issues and that she died from 'natural causes'.

 

Some news outlets get the story wrong. It was clearly stated that the lady was found deceased in her stateroom around breakfast time. Police were called and ascertained that she had been dead for several hours. One news report claimed she "died at the breakfast table surrounded by her family". :eek:

 

I don't want to sound flippant - I'm not ready to go yet, but what better way to go. In your sleep on a cruise ship.

[IsanTom]

Reports of gastro on board esulting a the death of one passenger though not proven as the cause yet or whether the other non-related passengers have become ill:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/one-dead-after-suspected-gastro-outbreak-on-pacific-jewel-cruise-ship-20160912-greig1.html

 

This lady DID NOT DIE because of Gastro. Never proven and never will be proven. One thing is certain though, she was 79 and she died on a wonderful cruise. What better way to go! We all will go one day and if I had to choose,

a cruise would be my choice, so lets not start-up this rumor mill, P&O is

not responsible for this ladies demise! Bon Voyage!

[GUT2407]

Sad for the family no matter the cause.

[Aus Traveller]

Sad for the family no matter the cause.

Yes, and they are trying to find a cause, trying to blame someone else. I suppose this is a natural human reaction.

[MicCanberra]

 

I don't want to sound flippant - I'm not ready to go yet, but what better way to go. In your sleep on a cruise ship.

 

Yes, sounds alright to me, not so sure about my wife though.

[Aussieflyer]

P&O have denied there was a gastro outbreak and as it seems that the only other people unwell may have been in the woman's travelling party, they may well have brought the illness on with then as P&O claimed. I suppose it is natural for the family to look to find a reason but it seems she might have just passed away in her sleep, though 79 is not terribly old.

Whatever the situation, it is very sad for the family and for other passengers very unsettling.

Yes, people pass away all the time on cruises. I remember doing a ship's tour on QM2 and the doctor showed us the fridges and said that they hadn't needed to be turned on at that stage of the sector :eek:

[GUT2407]

P&O have denied there was a gastro outbreak and as it seems that the only other people unwell may have been in the woman's travelling party, they may well have brought the illness on with then as P&O claimed. I suppose it is natural for the family to look to find a reason but it seems she might have just passed away in her sleep, though 79 is not terribly old.

Whatever the situation, it is very sad for the family and for other passengers very unsettling.

Yes, people pass away all the time on cruises. I remember doing a ship's tour on QM2 and the doctor showed us the fridges and said that they hadn't needed to be turned on at that stage of the sector :eek:

 

Yep, many cruises have deaths, obviously some more than other and when you look at the numbers and ages it isn't surprising.

 

About 6% of 75 year olds die each year, 85 year olds it jumps to about 15%

 

So last year on Diamond princess with an ave age of 75, 2,500 passengers, would be 150 a year or 12 a month, so our figure of 8 a month was pretty good.

[mr walker]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand in cases like this, the sudden urge of people to jump on social media and run to the media to blame the cruise line. I can understand the media making 'news' of anything they think will sell papers, but for the family????

 

The daughter who wasn't even there is quoted as saying "My first priority was to let people know, because I thought you would not want to send your mother or grandmother on that [ship]."

 

Is that really what a normal person would consider the first priority - maybe she didn't really mean first priority, but for most it would not be even a low level priority.

 

Anyway, good luck to the lady's family - losing a loved one is never pleasant.

[MicCanberra]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't understand in cases like this, the sudden urge of people to jump on social media and run to the media to blame the cruise line. I can understand the media making 'news' of anything they think will sell papers, but for the family????

 

The daughter who wasn't even there is quoted as saying "My first priority was to let people know, because I thought you would not want to send your mother or grandmother on that [ship]."

 

Is that really what a normal person would consider the first priority - maybe she didn't really mean first priority, but for most it would not be even a low level priority.

 

Anyway, good luck to the lady's family - losing a loved one is never pleasant.

 

Great post.

Some people really baffle me sometimes.

[Pushka]

Maybe blaming the cruise line brings to light the thought of compensation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Aussieflyer]

Agree MrWalker. It seems to be the first thing people do these days - 'warn others' on social media.

I often see posts about cruise lines where people are warning to not book with them or sail with them, and in most cases the claims are baseless IMO.

[Brisbane41]

It just proves that myth about people always dying on cruise ships is yet another untruth. The moment someone dies on a cruise ship the story hits the news. I once did the behind the scenes tours on Princess ships and they brought the subject up and said that it was a total myth that passengers die on every cruise. They said it rarely happens and that with strict insurance policies and the medical department landing passengers who present as too sick for them to handle there are hardly any deaths at sea on cruise ships.

 

This news story proves that it is a myth that people die all the time on cruise ships because if that was the case there would be more stories like this hitting the news on a weekly basis.

 

I would be more inclined to believe the cruise line and police that there is no gastro outbreak on the ship and that it is likely the passenger died of natural causes and old age.

 

It is just a shame that something like this needs to pop up in the news and damage the cruise lines reputation and take away the persons and their families right to privacy.

[Aus Traveller]

It just proves that myth about people always dying on cruise ships is yet another untruth. The moment someone dies on a cruise ship the story hits the news. I once did the behind the scenes tours on Princess ships and they brought the subject up and said that it was a total myth that passengers die on every cruise. They said it rarely happens and that with strict insurance policies and the medical department landing passengers who present as too sick for them to handle there are hardly any deaths at sea on cruise ships.

 

This news story proves that it is a myth that people die all the time on cruise ships because if that was the case there would be more stories like this hitting the news on a weekly basis.

I am surprised at your post because it is certainly not a myth. I can assure you that it is very common for passengers to die on cruise ships, more so on longer cruises where the average age is higher. On one of our recent cruises (to Japan), the ship was met at nearly every port by a hearse (quite different from an ambulance). On another long cruise (30 days) one of the crew told us near the end of the cruise that we were 'lucky', we had only 'lost' 8 so far. :D

 

The only reason this sad death was reported in the press is that the family made a fuss about it.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[Brisbane41]

I am surprised at your post because it is certainly not a myth. I can assure you that it is very common for passengers to die on cruise ships, more so on longer cruises where the average age is higher. On one of our recent cruises (to Japan), the ship was met at nearly every port by a hearse (quite different from an ambulance). On another long cruise (30 days) one of the crew told us near the end of the cruise that we were 'lucky', we had only 'lost' 8 so far. :D

 

The only reason this sad death was reported in the press is that the family made a fuss about it.

 

To be honest I do not believe you. I never believe the rumours crew spread about passengers dying. Perhaps you can find some sort of official documents that prove it is a regular occurrence because I for one do not believe it happens much at all.

[MicCanberra]

It just proves that myth about people always dying on cruise ships is yet another untruth. The moment someone dies on a cruise ship the story hits the news. I once did the behind the scenes tours on Princess ships and they brought the subject up and said that it was a total myth that passengers die on every cruise. They said it rarely happens and that with strict insurance policies and the medical department landing passengers who present as too sick for them to handle there are hardly any deaths at sea on cruise ships.

 

This news story proves that it is a myth that people die all the time on cruise ships because if that was the case there would be more stories like this hitting the news on a weekly basis.

 

I would be more inclined to believe the cruise line and police that there is no gastro outbreak on the ship and that it is likely the passenger died of natural causes and old age.

 

It is just a shame that something like this needs to pop up in the news and damage the cruise lines reputation and take away the persons and their families right to privacy.

 

Cannot agree, to me it proves that it is no myth, people do die on cruises.

[MicCanberra]

deleted....

Edited September 13, 2016 by MicCanberra

[Russell21]

I am surprised at your post because it is certainly not a myth. I can assure you that it is very common for passengers to die on cruise ships, more so on longer cruises where the average age is higher. On one of our recent cruises (to Japan), the ship was met at nearly every port by a hearse (quite different from an ambulance). On another long cruise (30 days) one of the crew told us near the end of the cruise that we were 'lucky', we had only 'lost' 8 so far. :D

 

The only reason this sad death was reported in the press is that the family made a fuss about it.

 

Please define your interpretation of "Very Common", and provide from what factual statistics you obtained your opinion. The reason I'm asking is because my viewing of the list of both crew and passenger deaths up until 2012 indicates that deaths aboard cruise ships is indeed far from common, let alone very common.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Russell21

[Brisbane41]

Please define your interpretation of "Very Common", and provide from what factual statistics you obtained your opinion.

 

That is exactly what I would want to know. I was on the Aurora World Cruise in 2008 and there were rumours going around that 13 people had died on the cruise. The Captain made an announcement one day to address these rumours and clearly stated that not one single passenger had died on the ship since it left Southampton for the start of its world cruise.

 

There was a hepatitis outbreak though.

[Aus Traveller]

It is not realistic to ask me or anyone else to come up with statistics of deaths. With the age group on long cruises, it would be very unusual if there were no deaths.