FORCED DISEMBARKATION

[Tablelamp]

Does anybody know if any ports are still insisting you are disembarked should you catch Covid whilst still onboard.  The thought of being made to do this on a longer cruise is very disturbing and I wouldn’t be able to cope with a flight home.

[whogo]

I would think the port would want you to stay on the ship and get your sick self away from their city. It is the cruise ship that would put you off. I don't know about COVID, but passengers have been transferred to hospitals ashore when the cruise ship is unable or unwilling to care for them. Yes, it is disturbing. I would not want to be disembarked in a developing country where I do not speak the language.

[d9704011]

I think there has to be some assessment on 'how sick are you?' and the ship's ability to treat vs a shore facility's.

[SargassoPirate]

14 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

I think there has to be some assessment on 'how sick are you?' and the ship's ability to treat vs a shore facility's.

With the virus mutating into less lethal variants that are, for the most part, producing flu-like symptoms, I suspect this will become less of an issue as time goes on.

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

With the virus mutating into less lethal variants that are, for the most part, producing flu-like symptoms, I suspect this will become less of an issue as time goes on.

Yeah, I know how you feel about this.  Unfortunately, it will probably still be a case-by-case assessment for the next little while.

[K32682]

2 hours ago, whogo said:

I would think the port would want you to stay on the ship and get your sick self away from their city. It is the cruise ship that would put you off. I don't know about COVID, but passengers have been transferred to hospitals ashore when the cruise ship is unable or unwilling to care for them. Yes, it is disturbing. I would not want to be disembarked in a developing country where I do not speak the language.

 

I agree and is the reason why, if symptomatic, I would not necessarily rush to get an onboard COVID test. It's bad enough being incarcerated in your cabin. The prospect of being removed from the ship and left to fend for myself is intolerable.

[klfrodo]

How over dramatic can one be?

Left to fend for myself is intolerable! Oh My!

 

The thought of doing this is very disturbing and a flight home! Oh My!

 

Please show some semblance of reality. 

The reality is,,, people travel to international countries where they don't speak the language every day.

The reality is,,,, people are transferred from cruise ships to local hospital on a daily basis.

 

If this is such a basic concern, then maybe traveling the world is not for you. International travel can be exciting. However, you have to have backup plans and be able to adapt and overcome some situations at a moment's notice.

[whogo]

Some people can not fly for physical health reasons, others for fear of flying or claustrophobia.

 

klfrodo, I don't let my concerns keep me from cruising. I recall the cruise passenger who died of COVID after being transferred to a hospital in Belize. How do you like the Department of State's description of healthcare there?

"Emergency services will be either unavailable or significantly delayed. Serious injuries or illnesses normally require evacuation to another country.

"Medical care for minor ailments is generally available in urban areas. Advanced medical treatment is very limited in Belize City or Belmopan and is extremely limited or unavailable in rural and remote areas. Pharmacy services are generally acceptable in larger cities. Specialized prescription medications may be completely unavailable..." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Belize.html

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

55 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

I agree and is the reason why, if symptomatic, I would not necessarily rush to get an onboard COVID test. It's bad enough being incarcerated in your cabin. The prospect of being removed from the ship and left to fend for myself is intolerable.

Sadly, a common remark by people who could care less about protecting public health and the people around them.

[K32682]

59 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

How over dramatic can one be?

Left to fend for myself is intolerable! Oh My!

 

The thought of doing this is very disturbing and a flight home! Oh My!

 

Please show some semblance of reality. 

The reality is,,, people travel to international countries where they don't speak the language every day.

The reality is,,,, people are transferred from cruise ships to local hospital on a daily basis.

 

If this is such a basic concern, then maybe traveling the world is not for you. International travel can be exciting. However, you have to have backup plans and be able to adapt and overcome some situations at a moment's notice.

 

I have travelled the world and am comfortable in different languages. The difference is I get to choose where I go and when I go. Not so much when a cruise line determines they'd rather have a COVID+ passenger off the boat. You get left where THEY choose. 

[K32682]

25 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Sadly, a common remark by people who could care less about protecting public health and the people around them.

 

The fact is there are times you can expect people to put their own personal interests ahead of vague fretting about "public health." If the choice is testing positive and being dumped in a locale not of your choosing or avoiding a test because of the possibility of testing positive and staying onboard don't be too shocked and appalled if people take the second option. 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by K32682

[mom says]

23 minutes ago, whogo said:

Some people can not fly for physical health reasons, others for fear of flying or claustrophobia.

 

klfrodo, I don't let my concerns keep me from cruising. I recall the cruise passenger who died of COVID after being transferred to a hospital in Belize. How do you like the Department of State's description of healthcare there?

"Emergency services will be either unavailable or significantly delayed. Serious injuries or illnesses normally require evacuation to another country.

"Medical care for minor ailments is generally available in urban areas. Advanced medical treatment is very limited in Belize City or Belmopan and is extremely limited or unavailable in rural and remote areas. Pharmacy services are generally acceptable in larger cities. Specialized prescription medications may be completely unavailable..." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Belize.html

 

I recall the case you mention. What you didn't mention was that she was elderly, with underlying pre existing medical conditions, and was in critical condition when she was transferred off the ship. And at the time  there were no proven treatments for COVID. Cruise ship medical facilities are not equipped to handle serious illnesses or injuries. That's just a fact of life. If you are too medically fragile to cope with a stay in a foreign hospital, or to fly (be med evaced), then you seriously need to look at whether cruising is an appropriate  vacation choice for you. 

 

Currently, covid positive pax are quarantined on board, UNLESS their condition deteriorates to a point where the medical officer determines that they need to be transferred to hospital because the ship could not provide the supportive care required. At that point I doubt you would have much choice in the matter.

[jsn55]

I agree with the concept of 'self-regulation' in this example.  If I had underlying medical issues, I would not be cruising or travelling ANYWHERE that might have less than excellent health care.  Piling a potential virus on top of other physical issues is not a very smart thing. 

[Heidi13]

4 hours ago, whogo said:

I would think the port would want you to stay on the ship and get your sick self away from their city. It is the cruise ship that would put you off. I don't know about COVID, but passengers have been transferred to hospitals ashore when the cruise ship is unable or unwilling to care for them. Yes, it is disturbing. I would not want to be disembarked in a developing country where I do not speak the language.

 

Even prior to COVID, some ports forced pax with communicable diseases to be mandatory disembarked ashore into Govt mandate quarantine. This happened to us back in 2008 in a Chinese port.

 

Cruise ship medical centres are not crewed to provide prolonged hospitalisation of a patient. Therefore, if you required hospitalisation, or treatment not available on the ship, you are medically disembarked at the next port with facilities.

[donaldsc]

If you have this problem there are insurance policies such as MedJet that provide medical evacuation to your home hospital as soon as you are medically able to travel.  Check them out.  Now if you are so sick that you can not travel there is no ship out there that has the on board medical facilities to handle your problems.

 

DON

[jsn55]

8 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

If you have this problem there are insurance policies such as MedJet that provide medical evacuation to your home hospital as soon as you are medically able to travel.  Check them out.  Now if you are so sick that you can not travel there is no ship out there that has the on board medical facilities to handle your problems.

 

DON

Absolutely!  I wouldn't leave home without MedJet, to quote Karl Malden/AmEx years ago.  We've needed it only once ... in Paris with a broken hip, and it was worth 100 times what we pay in annual premium.  Not only the evac itself, but the tremendous support I received while being terrified half the time and worried about money the other half.  I have trip insurance through Chase Reserve and that was a great benefit as well. 

[Hlitner]

16 hours ago, Tablelamp said:

Does anybody know if any ports are still insisting you are disembarked should you catch Covid whilst still onboard.  The thought of being made to do this on a longer cruise is very disturbing and I wouldn’t be able to cope with a flight home.

We actually saw it happen this May when we were in Lisbon.  It was on a 14 day Seabourn Ovation TA cruise from Miami to Lisbon and then on to Monte Carlo (where we debarked).  We had quite a few cases of COVID on the crossing (it started within a day of leaving Miami) and those folks were quarantined in a suite for 1 week and than let "out of jail."  But a couple of drinking friends got COVID about 4 days out of Lisbon and could not serve out their full quarantine before we got to Portugal.  They were forced to disembark (and miss the next cruise on which they were booked) and finish their quarantine at the Lisbon Intercontinental.  They did not rejoin the ship, so we assume they spent some time in Europe before flying home.

 

Hank

[CPT Trips]

14 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

With the virus mutating into less lethal variants that are, for the most part, producing flu-like symptoms, I suspect this will become less of an issue as time goes on.

So far. But nobody knows how the virus will mutate going forward.

[CPT Trips]

11 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

I have travelled the world and am comfortable in different languages. The difference is I get to choose where I go and when I go. Not so much when a cruise line determines they'd rather have a COVID+ passenger off the boat. You get left where THEY choose. 

I don’t understand the problem. You choose to travel on a cruise that stops in ports you choose to visit. Do you have the same fears if you come down with some other medical ailment that requires treatment off the ship?

[K32682]

24 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

I don’t understand the problem. You choose to travel on a cruise that stops in ports you choose to visit. Do you have the same fears if you come down with some other medical ailment that requires treatment off the ship?

 

I am choosing to travel on a cruise line that stops in ports but not one that leaves me there. With COVID there is a concern whether it is about treatment or dumping a positive passenger to reduce the risk and/or inconvenience to other passengers as noted in posts #17, 14, #12, #8.

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by K32682

[LHT28]

3 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

I am choosing to travel on a cruise line that stops in ports but not one that leaves me there. With COVID there is a concern whether it is about treatment or dumping a positive passenger to reduce the risk and/or inconvenience to other passengers as noted in posts #17, 14, #12, #8.

 

 

If you have  a heart attack  & need treatment that the ship cannot give you   should they just  keep you onboard & hope for the best  until they get to a port you prefer ??

[K32682]

25 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

If you have  a heart attack  & need treatment that the ship cannot give you   should they just  keep you onboard & hope for the best  until they get to a port you prefer ??

 

We aren't talking heart attacks. We are talking COVID and there are examples of passengers who test positive being put off and left to fend for themselves. Therefore, I am not going to run to be tested should I come down with symptoms that are mild but might be COVID. 

[jsn55]

28 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

If you have  a heart attack  & need treatment that the ship cannot give you   should they just  keep you onboard & hope for the best  until they get to a port you prefer ??

It would seem to me that catching the virus on a cruise is far more possible than having a life-threatening emergency like a heart attack.  Few people travel if they're worried about their health, and all that usually works out well.  But the virus hysteria is absolutely scary and I can understand why people are worried about catching it and not being treated well. 

[d9704011]

7 hours ago, jsn55 said:

It would seem to me that catching the virus on a cruise is far more possible than having a life-threatening emergency like a heart attack.  Few people travel if they're worried about their health, and all that usually works out well.  But the virus hysteria is absolutely scary and I can understand why people are worried about catching it and not being treated well. 

What is the scary thing to you?  The virus or the hysteria?  Now I don't know whether you think the virus concern is what people may be considering when deciding what to do or the hysteria has taken over and tainted rational decision-making.

[klfrodo]

11 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

We aren't talking heart attacks. We are talking COVID and there are examples of passengers who test positive being put off and left to fend for themselves. Therefore, I am not going to run to be tested should I come down with symptoms that are mild but might be COVID. 

So, what I'm hearing is that it's more about you and the other 2500 passengers and crew can fend (or not) for themselves.