Apex ..The Good The Bad and the UGLY .

[frito58]

We flew to Rome on Oct 15/16 for our first European and Celebrity cruise. Itleft out on the 17th we had B2B cruises booked in a Retreat room we were so excited and it once we boarded we were not disappointed, it was fantastic. Our butler Albert was there for every need, Nancy our room gal was wonderful. We were in sky suite 8206 perfectly located . The Luminae was so great we loved eating there along with all the specialty restaurants. It was like my 30 something cruise and Joyce, my partner 12th or so but all the stops were just awesome. The Apex is as great a ship we have ever sailed just the perfect size . If I could sail this size ship every cruise I would .
 

Everything was going great UNTIL I woke up on our what was supposed to be our first sea day back with chest pains . I sat there for a minute BTW NO history ever of heart problems. I am a stage 4 colon cancer survivor of about 18 years. We are both widowed and have lost our spouses so we know what it is to face these things. So I am getting worse Joyce calls 911. They take me to medical. I won’t bore u with all the medical but I ended up staying there for the last 2 days . Their reading was I needed immediate angioplasty once I got off the ship between 48-72 hours of my presumed heart attack. They assured me they were in contact with the “hospital “ and a cardiologist.

 

Once in port of Civitavecchia we were taken by ambulance and were told we couldn’t take but 2 bags so somewhere we have 3 bags of luggage missing somewhere , which is now like finding Waldo . Anyway we are taken to the port hospital and we pull in and nothing, nobody was expecting us, the hospital was filthy, one nurse that I saw for like 5 minutes spoke broken English they ran a couple of test a Dr looks at me and says NO Angioplasty. They stick me in a hallway for 5 hours. Me not being a one that takes BS finally loses my temper just says BS on all This and says I’m leaving. They sent a guy supposedly a to help but basically all he wanted was to make sure we paid our bill $1200 . We can’t get back on the ship, Joyce contacts  a celebrity rep at the port who says he’ll call us right back and never did.

 

The liaison  arranges our transportation to Rome for the Bargain price of $230 euros.. it cost me $130 in a private van to get there . We have no place to stay . I go back to the Hotel we left . Sold out they send me down the street. One room left he says he can let me have it for $539 euros which I know is like 200 more than it’s worth on what I paid when came but I’m tired so whatever. So we stay 2 more days, hire a private doctor for 300 euros to clear me for flying and prescribed a nitro patch in case I needed it, flew home and now I’m dealing with insurance…..Oh on the ship customer service told my we HAD NO insurance. They said what I bought only covered canceled cruise which I knew was totally BS. I always take cruise insurance which I know covers medical. So now about 20k later the insurance is like a total PITA . I have called them 3 times they won’t email the forms I need . I used to be a TA so it’s not like I am clueless on how to do these things . It’s just frustrating dealing with what was supposed to be the best cruise of our life.
 

Oh BTW I did have another heart attack after I got home last Friday had a 100% blocked artery , I shutter to think what would have happened if I had to have surgery In Italy . The Dr on ship were right but they basically just get you off so they don’t have to deal with it. I do believe someone was looking out for us got us home and now I’m recuperating here . Dealing with the aftermath. Just never ever get sick outsiders the USA .LOL . Even our concierge at the hotel told us it wouldn’t be wise to go to. Rome hospital unless I was having some BAD symptoms.  . Sorry so LONG everyone .But stay well & happy sailing. 

[Nashna]

Oh my...what a horrible experience.  In the future you might want to check out Medijet.  The insurance covers you when you are traveling.  They would have arranged for your care in a respectable hospital and would have flown you home.  You were very luck to survive the experience.  I hope you will have another opportunity to sail on the Apex.

[dlh015]

Best wishes on your continued recovery!!

[mahdnc]

34 minutes ago, frito58 said:

.Oh on the ship customer service told my we HAD NO insurance. They said what I bought only covered canceled cruise which I knew was totally BS. I always take cruise insurance which I know covers medical. So now about 20k later the insurance is like a total PITA . I have called them 3 times they won’t email the forms I need . I used to be a TA so it’s not like I am clueless on how to do these things . It’s just frustrating dealing with what was supposed to be the best cruise of our life.

 

We had a couple on our roll call that had a medical emergency when Constellation was at the Azores on Oct 28.  I believe that they are finally in a position to fly back home this weekend.  Anyway, they were also wrongly told by Celebrity that they did not have insurance.  Not sure if it's identically the same situation as yours, but I thought you might find it interesting.  Below is the link to the post.

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2022 by mahdnc

[TeaBag]

I'm so sorry the cruise of your lives turned out badly.  Nice to know the Dr on the ship diagnosed you correctly but it would have been nice if they had followed up and made sure you were being looked after.  I hope you stay well now and that the insurance company comes through for you.

[mahdnc]

37 minutes ago, frito58 said:

The Dr on ship were right but they basically just get you off so they don’t have to deal with it.

 

It's more like they got you off the ship because they are not equipped to deal with it.

[frito58]

34 minutes ago, Nashna said:

Oh my...what a horrible experience.  In the future you might want to check out Medijet.  The insurance covers you when you are traveling.  They would have arranged for your care in a respectable hospital and would have flown you home.  You were very luck to survive the experience.  I hope you will have another opportunity to sail on the Apex.

Thanks that’s good to know , I was googling to see if there was something like that for the future. 

[frito58]

11 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

We had a couple on our roll call that had a medical emergency when Constellation was at the Azores on Oct 28.  I believe that they are finally in a position to fly back home this weekend.  Anyway, they were also wrongly told by Celebrity that they did not have insurance.  Not sure if it's identically the same situation as yours, but I thought you might find it interesting.  Below is the link to the post.

 

 

 

Well obviously I was in medical, I do all of our travel bookings , but I knew that Celebrity only sells one insurance but they told her BS story that she something yada yada that only covers cancellations, I laid there I was like that’s wrong . It’s a shame they don’t wth they sell . 

[BigAl94]

Clearly you did not have adequate travel insurance

[frito58]

42 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

Clearly you did not have adequate travel insurance

So buying Travel insurance from the cruise line that CLEARLY states u have MEDICAL is not adequate. Thanks for input. But whatever. 

[BigAl94]

10 minutes ago, frito58 said:

So buying Travel insurance from the cruise line that CLEARLY states u have MEDICAL is not adequate. Thanks for input. But whatever. 

Always buy independent - never trust a cruise line. I wish you well but with proper insurance you would have been well looked after. Excellent private facilities in Europe including Italy if you have access to them through private medical travel insurance.

[kathynorth]

frito58, thanks for posting your experience. I hope you are feeling better and on the way to a full recovery! Your post has pushed me to check on comparing insurances to be sure we choose the best fit for our needs.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

What was the bad and ugly part of the ship? 

[mahdnc]

I think the ship was the good

[Crazy planning mom]

I am sorry to hear about your illness and your experience with Celebrity's insurance.  After reading yours and others experience, I think I will definitely get MedJet for our next cruise. Hope you continue to feel better.

[frito58]

41 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What was the bad and ugly part of the ship? 

Oh there was no ugly part of the ship we LOVED it . I believe the ugly was how it finished lol . But I’m alive so it’s all good. 

[frito58]

2 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

Always buy independent - never trust a cruise line. I wish you well but with proper insurance you would have been well looked after. Excellent private facilities in Europe including Italy if you have access to them through private medical travel insurance.

You know it’s actually my fault probably, kind of get lazy and just click at the end when I book it figure wth nothing will ever happen. Live and learn . 

[drakes2]

5 minutes ago, frito58 said:

Oh there was no ugly part of the ship we LOVED it . I believe the ugly was how it finished lol . But I’m alive so it’s all good. 

Glad you're ok. That's all that matters.

[verizon]

4 hours ago, frito58 said:

We flew to Rome on Oct 15/16 for our first European and Celebrity cruise. Itleft out on the 17th we had B2B cruises booked in a Retreat room we were so excited and it once we boarded we were not disappointed, it was fantastic. Our butler Albert was there for every need, Nancy our room gal was wonderful. We were in sky suite 8206 perfectly located . The Luminae was so great we loved eating there along with all the specialty restaurants. It was like my 30 something cruise and Joyce, my partner 12th or so but all the stops were just awesome. The Apex is as great a ship we have ever sailed just the perfect size . If I could sail this size ship every cruise I would .
 

Everything was going great UNTIL I woke up on our what was supposed to be our first sea day back with chest pains . I sat there for a minute BTW NO history ever of heart problems. I am a stage 4 colon cancer survivor of about 18 years. We are both widowed and have lost our spouses so we know what it is to face these things. So I am getting worse Joyce calls 911. They take me to medical. I won’t bore u with all the medical but I ended up staying there for the last 2 days . Their reading was I needed immediate angioplasty once I got off the ship between 48-72 hours of my presumed heart attack. They assured me they were in contact with the “hospital “ and a cardiologist.

 

Once in port of Civitavecchia we were taken by ambulance and were told we couldn’t take but 2 bags so somewhere we have 3 bags of luggage missing somewhere , which is now like finding Waldo . Anyway we are taken to the port hospital and we pull in and nothing, nobody was expecting us, the hospital was filthy, one nurse that I saw for like 5 minutes spoke broken English they ran a couple of test a Dr looks at me and says NO Angioplasty. They stick me in a hallway for 5 hours. Me not being a one that takes BS finally loses my temper just says BS on all This and says I’m leaving. They sent a guy supposedly a to help but basically all he wanted was to make sure we paid our bill $1200 . We can’t get back on the ship, Joyce contacts  a celebrity rep at the port who says he’ll call us right back and never did.

 

The liaison  arranges our transportation to Rome for the Bargain price of $230 euros.. it cost me $130 in a private van to get there . We have no place to stay . I go back to the Hotel we left . Sold out they send me down the street. One room left he says he can let me have it for $539 euros which I know is like 200 more than it’s worth on what I paid when came but I’m tired so whatever. So we stay 2 more days, hire a private doctor for 300 euros to clear me for flying and prescribed a nitro patch in case I needed it, flew home and now I’m dealing with insurance…..Oh on the ship customer service told my we HAD NO insurance. They said what I bought only covered canceled cruise which I knew was totally BS. I always take cruise insurance which I know covers medical. So now about 20k later the insurance is like a total PITA . I have called them 3 times they won’t email the forms I need . I used to be a TA so it’s not like I am clueless on how to do these things . It’s just frustrating dealing with what was supposed to be the best cruise of our life.
 

Oh BTW I did have another heart attack after I got home last Friday had a 100% blocked artery , I shutter to think what would have happened if I had to have surgery In Italy . The Dr on ship were right but they basically just get you off so they don’t have to deal with it. I do believe someone was looking out for us got us home and now I’m recuperating here . Dealing with the aftermath. Just never ever get sick outsiders the USA .LOL . Even our concierge at the hotel told us it wouldn’t be wise to go to. Rome hospital unless I was having some BAD symptoms.  . Sorry so LONG everyone .But stay well & happy sailing. 

I never leave home without Med-Jet and GeoBlue.

Trust me I have used both.

[Covepointcruiser]

Sorry to hear Italy does not have adequate medical facilities.    Always thought we would be okay in the first world countries other than for the language barriers.   Rome should have had an adequate hospital for cardiac procedures and your insurance should have covered it.   

[Nashna]

14 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Sorry to hear Italy does not have adequate medical facilities.    Always thought we would be okay in the first world countries other than for the language barriers.   Rome should have had an adequate hospital for cardiac procedures and your insurance should have covered it.   

I'm sure they do have great facilities in Italy.  The trick is getting access to them.  That is where a company like MedJet can make a huge difference.  Rather than being on his own, the poster would have been given access to top notch care.  Had the care not been available, he would have been transported home.  This is something that one wishes Celebrity Insurance should have done.  However, their insurance is simply not that comprehensive.  I have several trips planned within the year, this post just reminded me to make sure my coverage is adequate.  

[JFontaine]

I'm  sorry that you went through this. Thanks for sharing your experience.  Glad you are doing well now. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m so sorry you have gone through all of that! Thank you for sharing your experience, so we can all go into Med cruises without eyes open. I had thought, based on one Holland America passenger’s experience at a Rome hospital a few years ago, that Italy was actually a safe place to get medical care if necessary. Perhaps they got lucky with the hospital, or perhaps the pandemic wrecked the medical care there. Regardless, it is scary to think of having a medical emergency in many cruise ports. The MedJet idea sounds best to reduce risk. I hope you recover well and quickly! 

[ljk76]

Thank you so much for posting! This spring we have a 15 day Apex transatlantic cruise followed by a river cruise.  We did book trip insurance through the trip insurance store, but reading your story I am definitely layering Med jet on top of it. 
 

I hope you recover quickly and are soon well enough to be cruising again with confidence!

[drakes2]

4 minutes ago, ljk76 said:

Thank you so much for posting! This spring we have a 15 day Apex transatlantic cruise followed by a river cruise.  We did book trip insurance through the trip insurance store, but reading your story I am definitely layering Med jet on top of it. 
 

I hope you recover quickly and are soon well enough to be cruising again with confidence!

I'm doing that 15 night TA on the Apex as well. I'm going to buy a yearly insurance policy in January before my Princess cruise and will thorough check it for what is covered an how much. Typically I take out 2 million of coverage.  As we age the risks are higher even a small incident can set you back in hospital bills.