Apex ..The Good The Bad and the UGLY .

[cdn_tbird]

I'm glad to hear the OP is on the mend and feel bad about the issues they're dealing with but there are a couple of things that I think  need some context. 

 

Civitavecchia is a seaside town of approx. 50k residents that is an hour from Rome so I wouldn't expect the same level of medical expertise as you would find in Rome. It would be like expecting NYC level care in a small town in the US.

 

As for taking the word of a hotel concierge about their healthcare system, how many of us haven't complained about our own healthcare system? Rome has good healthcare but they will try to milk you out your insurance for as much as they can once they know you're a tourist.

[frito58]

42 minutes ago, cdn_tbird said:

I'm glad to hear the OP is on the mend and feel bad about the issues they're dealing with but there are a couple of things that I think  need some context. 

 

Civitavecchia is a seaside town of approx. 50k residents that is an hour from Rome so I wouldn't expect the same level of medical expertise as you would find in Rome. It would be like expecting NYC level care in a small town in the US.

 

As for taking the word of a hotel concierge about their healthcare system, how many of us haven't complained about our own healthcare system? Rome has good healthcare but they will try to milk you out your insurance for as much as they can once they know you're a tourist.

Well actually he knew first hand as he had taken his mother to what he said was the best hospital in Rome and was telling us all the ins and outs of Rome healthcare system. To be honest I am glad I came home . 

[Dar & Bob]

Thanks for your posting and glad you are doing better. 

I hope this gets many people thinking.  We just took out an annual policy that will cover multiple trips for less than the cruise lines insurance for 2 of our trips. Having been on two cruises now where someone we knew had an emergency - we know they want you off the ship with anything serious at all.  They are not equipped to handle it.  You need to be able to get to the best reasonably close facility. That is why we looked mainly at the limits on the medical and not worrying about the costs of the trips so much - after all it's just money vs your life. 

[Baron Barracuda]

All travel insurance (like all homeowners insurance, all health insurance and all auto insurance) isn't created equal.  That's why I rely on the pros at Squaremouth and Trip Insurance Store which are both highly recommended on CC.    If OP has some free time should check out CC's travel insurance forum which has lots of good info.  

[D. B.]

In Most of the world the quality of the Medical Care is relative to your ability to PAY.

 I know in most countries with "Free" medical care the best care is for those who can afford something better.

[cdn_tbird]

1 hour ago, D. B. said:

In Most of the world the quality of the Medical Care is relative to your ability to PAY.

 I know in most countries with "Free" medical care the best care is for those who can afford something better.

There is no such thing as "free" medical care, it is simply paid for through taxes not by funding "for profit" insurance companies. It is also triage based so that access is universal. I'm by no means rich, yet my orthopedic surgeon just happens to have a former Canadian Minister of Defence as a patient. Pretty sure that if there was better elsewhere he would have the means to go there.

 

With a little research you would learn that countries like Canada have contributed a significant number of medical advancements and life saving procedures to the world.

[cruisemom42]

On 11/13/2022 at 4:03 AM, cruisequeen4ever said:

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.

 

Italy actually has a fairly highly ranked medical system. Europe is not exactly a region with developing economies, and Italy is listed in the top 10 countries in Europe for their medical care. (As I am hoping to spend several months each year after retirement in Italy, I have been checking things out....)

 

It's a funny thing -- I actually know some Italians who are afraid to come to the US and end up needing medical care -- they are very afraid of the extraordinary (to their eyes) costs.

 

[frito58]

On 11/13/2022 at 5:13 PM, Baron Barracuda said:

All travel insurance (like all homeowners insurance, all health insurance and all auto insurance) isn't created equal.  That's why I rely on the pros at Squaremouth and Trip Insurance Store which are both highly recommended on CC.    If OP has some free time should check out CC's travel insurance forum which has lots of good info.  

Dear Lord I’m finding that out the hard way . Celebrity insurance is absolutely pathetic . I filed my claim 1 week ago . Was supposed to get forms in 24-48 hours , after 4 phone calls 3 emails still nothing. They claim high volume of claim has them behind lol. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s all not a huge scam . But I will deal with whatever. But definitely never ever take any cruise line insurance ever again. Thanks live and learn I guess. 

[frito58]

15 hours ago, cdn_tbird said:

There is no such thing as "free" medical care, it is simply paid for through taxes not by funding "for profit" insurance companies. It is also triage based so that access is universal. I'm by no means rich, yet my orthopedic surgeon just happens to have a former Canadian Minister of Defence as a patient. Pretty sure that if there was better elsewhere he would have the means to go there.

 

With a little research you would learn that countries like Canada have contributed a significant number of medical advancements and life saving procedures to the world.

We actually did a tour with some people from Canada they were laughing about their so called FREE medical . They were like our taxes so high as compared to what you pay we pay for everything 3X over and then some . They were like it’s ridiculous to live up there . Just sayin what they said 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[Ex-Airbalancer]

9 minutes ago, frito58 said:

We actually did a tour with some people from Canada they were laughing about their so called FREE medical . They were like our taxes so high as compared to what you pay we pay for everything 3X over and then some . They were like it’s ridiculous to live up there . Just sayin what they said 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I have talk to friends in the USA and shocked to hear premiums people have to pay like over $20,000 a year

or your deductible of $5000 on one knee  scope ! 
talk about a ridiculous place to live! 

[cdn_tbird]

7 hours ago, frito58 said:

We actually did a tour with some people from Canada they were laughing about their so called FREE medical . They were like our taxes so high as compared to what you pay we pay for everything 3X over and then some . They were like it’s ridiculous to live up there . Just sayin what they said 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Like I said, who doesn't complain about their own healthcare system? They sound a lot like my sister-in-law who complained that she had to wait 6 months for an MRI. But then she wanted it between 9&5, whereas I was in within 24 hrs when I blew out my ACL because I was willing to take the first appointment available. I could give you a ton of other anecdotal examples where our healthcare excelled and the same number where it failed miserably for the patient involved. It's a triage based system and some people don't like the fact they have to wait because more urgent cases need to go first.

 

Given my role at work I know what my US counterparts pay for healthcare as well as what they pay in income tax, I can assure you we're not paying 3X+ compared to you guys.

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by cdn_tbird

[MLP12]

Wow!  So sorry to hear you had to deal with all of this b.s. in addition to being sick.  This is pretty much my worse nightmare.  My grandson hurt his foot in a freak accident in Mexico that required an ambulance, surgery, etc.  It was also a huge nightmare.  Hope you're doing well now.  

[granddutchess]

I am so sorry to hear of your health concerns and experience while in Rome.  DH and I were in Rome prior to boarding our RCCL cruise in Civitavecchia (September) when I had a health emergency and was transported to a hospital in Rome near the Colosseum.  The care I received was excellent and all of the medical personnel extremely competent.  Language barrier was an issue at times but the ER Doctor spoke very good English.  However, my health issue was not as serious at the poster's.  We always get our travel insurance with the maximum health coverage.  Continue healing and cruising.  

[ArmyCop42]

On 11/15/2022 at 9:23 AM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I have talk to friends in the USA and shocked to hear premiums people have to pay like over $20,000 a year

or your deductible of $5000 on one knee  scope ! 
talk about a ridiculous place to live! 

At lease we have a Bill of Rights..Watch what what you say about other peoples country's

[terrydtx]

On 11/12/2022 at 1:16 PM, frito58 said:

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

Why we always buy independent insurance through my TA's company. My wife tested positive for Covid on our August cruise and was in isolation for the last 5 days of the cruise in Italy. Our insurance covered the missed last 5 days by reimbursing us the cruise fare for both of us. I was shocked, when we filed, we only filed for my wife's missed 5 days, but the insurance company AON, decided to pay for both of us and we got the check last week.

[frito58]

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Why we always buy independent insurance through my TA's company. My wife tested positive for Covid on our August cruise and was in isolation for the last 5 days of the cruise in Italy. Our insurance covered the missed last 5 days by reimbursing us the cruise fare for both of us. I was shocked, when we filed, we only filed for my wife's missed 5 days, but the insurance company AON, decided to pay for both of us and we got the check last week.

AON is Celebrity insurance lol and from what I’m reading hearing they are absolutely garbage. I have read maybe 50 reviews where people say they pay nothing on simple claims . I have heard nothing on my claims so far. But will wait and see. 

[terrydtx]

16 minutes ago, frito58 said:

AON is Celebrity insurance lol and from what I’m reading hearing they are absolutely garbage. I have read maybe 50 reviews where people say they pay nothing on simple claims . I have heard nothing on my claims so far. But will wait and see. 

AON is not owned by Celebrity and we got a $5400 settlement on the $4100 claim we filed, they paid us for things we didn't even file for, but they felt we were entitled for. BTW our claim was for a cruise with HAL not Celebrity in August.

Edited December 3, 2022 by terrydtx

[cruisemom42]

14 hours ago, ArmyCop42 said:

Watch what what you say about other peoples country's

 

Perhaps you should also address that comment to the one who starting casting (unsubstantiated) aspersions about other countries' healthcare?

Edited December 3, 2022 by cruisemom42

[frito58]

6 hours ago, terrydtx said:

AON is not owned by Celebrity and we got a $5400 settlement on the $4100 claim we filed, they paid us for things we didn't even file for, but they felt we were entitled for. BTW our claim was for a cruise with HAL not Celebrity in August.

I didn’t say it was , that’s just the company u get when u buy their insurance. 

[ArmyCop42]

6 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Perhaps you should also address that comment to the one who starting casting (unsubstantiated) aspersions about other countries' healthcare?

To be honest..You right...Want to talk about lousy healthcare...It"s called the US Dept of Veteran Affairs.....The Vietnam Veterans had a Saying "if you haven't been to Nam, Shut your Mouth"...Possibly we should apply that to all of us in regard to badmouthing each other Country's healthcare unless we have personal experience 

 

To the OP. I was a EMT in a foreign country and i helped a lot of Foreign Tourist..I hope you get better and I am sorry for your Lousy Experience 

 

 

[Obobru]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:51 PM, frito58 said:

Well actually he knew first hand as he had taken his mother to what he said was the best hospital in Rome and was telling us all the ins and outs of Rome healthcare system. To be honest I am glad I came home . 

Italy has far better healthcare then the US which consistently scores low, you just got unlucky with a small town medical clinic. 

 

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1290168/health-index-of-countries-worldwide-by-health-index-score/

[davekathy]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:56 PM, ArmyCop42 said:

To be honest..You right...Want to talk about lousy healthcare...It"s called the US Dept of Veteran Affairs.....The Vietnam Veterans had a Saying "if you haven't been to Nam, Shut your Mouth"...Possibly we should apply that to all of us in regard to badmouthing each other Country's healthcare unless we have personal experience 

 

To the OP. I was a EMT in a foreign country and i helped a lot of Foreign Tourist..I hope you get better and I am sorry for your Lousy Experience 

 

 

The DVA VA Healthcare greatly improved ~2016 especially for us with a service connected disability.  When I first rotated back to the world I use to refer to it as the Dept. Of  Veterinarian Healthcare. 👎

 

Back to the topic. We will be on the Apex March 2023. First time on an E Class ship in a DPV. Looking forward to the intinaries and the ship. 

Edited December 10, 2022 by davekathy

[whirlybird3]

On 11/12/2022 at 9:42 AM, 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.

 

On 11/12/2022 at 9:33 AM, 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. 

Oh my goodness!!!  The ship doctor was correct on the diagnosis and referred you to ashore for medical cree that was not available on the ship.  Unfortunately, the hospital was a huge disappointment and thank heavens to were able to fly home safely and receive the care you needed.  

On 11/12/2022 at 2:20 PM, verizon said:

I never leave home without Med-Jet and GeoBlue.

Trust me I have used both.

I remember looking into Med-Jet in the past, however I think there are restrictions that does not cover COVID diagnosis if you were sailing on a cruise ship.  I agree to look into independent and also read the fine print ... Especially when it comes to cruising.