Joy - Injured on Shore Excursion

[TACoor]

Just off (4/27) a great 12-day cruise on the Joy. The short version - if you are injured on a NCL excursion, (1) get the names of any witnesses, (2) report it to the Shore Excursion desk the same day, and (3) save your excursion ticket. The long version:  this was a snorkel and beach break on Curacao. At the end of a row of chairs, there was a sandy path to the beach with a lava rock boulder in the middle of the path, so go the the left or to the right. I had been back and forth to the beach a few times, but this time, my bare foot hit another solid immovable rock under the sand, it hurt like crazy, I lost my balance and went down. The result was a bunch of painful punctures and tears on the bottom of my left foot and a huge bruise on my right wrist. Relatively minor injuries, but due to unsafe conditions. Another Joy passenger helped me up and made sure I was okay. There shouldn't be a well-used path with unseen hazards. I was going to let it go, but my husband was determined to address the hazard to protect future visitors. We spoke to the snorkel crew, then the tour operator then (the next day) the excursion desk on the ship. The officer in charge of that group arranged for me to be evaluated and treated in the medical center at no charge to me.  The receptionist in Medical asked why I hadn't come in as soon as I arrived back on the ship, and she and the security office who interviewed me both asked for my excursion ticket, which we had thrown away at the end of the excursion. They also asked about witnesses but I hadn't gotten the name of the person who helped me. They did treat me anyway. By the way, we had signed waivers with both the tour operator and the snorkel crew so they bore no liability, that was understood. We only reported it in hopes that the hazard might be addressed, not expecting anything as a result. But I was glad to have been treated to reduce the chance of infection after hobbling around on a sandy beach after the accident.

[FlGoodShips]

Sorry you hurt your foot. But, on beaches in Carrib, I always wear water shoes...lots of lava or coral type rocks.

Even at Great Stirup Cay, wear water shoes.

[TACoor]

Thanks, good advice.

 

[BirdTravels]

Sorry that you decided to walk without foot covering and subsequently injured your foot. 
 

Lesson learned: wear your water shoes when walking because there are rocks on the beach. And to watch where you are walking versus gazing at the scenery. 

[Yesimapirate]

You guys are being too hard on the OP.  She clearly wrote no one had any liability and she wasn't looking for compensation.   She alerted the crew and the tour operator so they can fix the issue, find another tour operator, ignore her or whatever they choose but it was obviously am attempt to prevent others from getting hurt.

[Charles4515]

39 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

You guys are being too hard on the OP.  She clearly wrote no one had any liability and she wasn't looking for compensation.   She alerted the crew and the tour operator so they can fix the issue, find another tour operator, ignore her or whatever they choose but it was obviously am attempt to prevent others from getting hurt.

I would not want anyone to fix it. The lava boulder is a natural feature. They should leave the natural beach path alone. And I doubt that the tour operator could fix it except by not having a beach excursion there. Tour operators usually don't own the beaches they take you to. If the ship found another tour operator to the beach that would not fix anything. The only fix for the ship is not to have excursions to that beach. I have been to seven or eight beaches in Curacao and have yet to find one that did not require water shoes. I never take my Tevas off on the beach or in the water. The beaches there are rocky. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Charles4515

[ChiefMateJRK]

I'm not a big beach fan, but if I want to enjoy a beach I book an itinerary that includes GSC.  Sure, the stop might be skipped, but I'll just enjoy it the next time.  In defense of the OP, many (myself included) may have only been exposed to US beaches, so first time on a non-US island may be something they aren't prepared for.

[Seminole1975]

Just put water shoes on my travel packing list. 

 

[TACoor]

Gee thanks, folks, for the critical sarcasm. Just to be clear, this was not an "oh poor me, I stubbed my toe, I want lots of attention." The point was that NCL seems to want to know if a passenger is hurt on a sponsored excursion so they can decide how (or if) to handle it going forward, so I gave a little advice as to what might be helpful for them to know and when. I did not ask, nor did I expect to see a doctor - the officer in charge asked me to get evaluated.  To be honest, I didn't see a single person wearing water shoes at this beach or at GSC so I guess they were all equally reckless - but now we're all aware of the advisability of footwear on the beach. Have a good day.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Water shoes should offer protection from sharp rocks and stinging jellyfish.  

[DCGuy64]

17 hours ago, TACoor said:

Gee thanks, folks, for the critical sarcasm. Just to be clear, this was not an "oh poor me, I stubbed my toe, I want lots of attention." The point was that NCL seems to want to know if a passenger is hurt on a sponsored excursion so they can decide how (or if) to handle it going forward, so I gave a little advice as to what might be helpful for them to know and when. I did not ask, nor did I expect to see a doctor - the officer in charge asked me to get evaluated.  To be honest, I didn't see a single person wearing water shoes at this beach or at GSC so I guess they were all equally reckless - but now we're all aware of the advisability of footwear on the beach. Have a good day.

The way your initial post came across to me was like a PSA, like "hey, just be aware when you're on one of NCL's excursions that there might be some sharp rocks beneath the sand on the way to the beach." I'm not sure why so many others chose to castigate and blame you. I guess a few people on here need to chill out and go on a vacation!

[TACoor]

14 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

 

 

@TACoor, I was a bit blunt, I suppose. I just don't like when people want to change nature. Having safety signs, papers stating to wear water shoes...well that would be completely appropriate. I hope your foot and wrist have recovered!! 

Thanks, I appreciate that. I wasn't suggesting that the boulder should be removed. Still a bit of a limp but nothing major. And as most things in life, it was a learning experience.

[All-ready2cruise]

[All-ready2cruise]

Amazon has pretty inexpensive water shoes... I know, sorry it's a little late but, next time... right?

[Homosassa]

21 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm not a big beach fan, but if I want to enjoy a beach I book an itinerary that includes GSC.  Sure, the stop might be skipped, but I'll just enjoy it the next time.  In defense of the OP, many (myself included) may have only been exposed to US beaches

You obviously have never been to the rocky beaches of the north shore of Long Island, NY.

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Homosassa said:

You obviously have never been to the rocky beaches of the north shore of Long Island, NY.

You are right!!!  (note my comment "I'm not a big beach fan")  My beach time has mostly been Southern California, and I don't ever recall encountering such hazards.  We were in the Caribbean in January and went to that beach where you watch airplanes land (I can't remember the island, but somebody else may clarify).  It was not a particularly enjoyable experience.  The path from the restaurant/bar area to the beach was a stinkin' accident waiting to happen.  Not because of rocks, but some awkward chunk of concrete foundation that just kind of stuck out over the sand and made it very difficult to even step down to the beach.  Of course, I also encountered the unexpected rocks as I walked anywhere.  I'll either don the protective gear mentioned by @BirdTravels or just skip such places next time.  That means I'll just skip them.  As I mentioned, GSC has never presented such obstacles and also has free food and booze and a quick return to the ship whenever I'm ready.  That will be my play going forward. 😎

[sanger727]

If this occurred on the shore excursions boat or on NCL's ship due to unsafe conditions that they created or didn't remedy (unmarked wet spot on floor, flooring peeling up causing a trip hazard, etc.) then there should absolutely be a report made and an expectation that NCL should be aware of the problem and be responsible for fixing it.

 

A rock on a natural path at beach - No one is responsible for fixing that. Natural paths on beaches have rocks. 

[Peachypooh]

When traveling outside the US please be aware that safety features do differ. For example no guardrails on the stone bridges at Xcaret. I too hurt myself on Curacao using a day pass to a local resort.

The dock had steps but no white strip at the edge to mark them  so   I tripped and scraped up my arm pretty badly. I always travel with a first aid kit so I was able to patch myself up.

[ontheweb]

20 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You are right!!!  (note my comment "I'm not a big beach fan")  My beach time has mostly been Southern California, and I don't ever recall encountering such hazards.  We were in the Caribbean in January and went to that beach where you watch airplanes land (I can't remember the island, but somebody else may clarify).  It was not a particularly enjoyable experience.  The path from the restaurant/bar area to the beach was a stinkin' accident waiting to happen.  Not because of rocks, but some awkward chunk of concrete foundation that just kind of stuck out over the sand and made it very difficult to even step down to the beach.  Of course, I also encountered the unexpected rocks as I walked anywhere.  I'll either don the protective gear mentioned by @BirdTravels or just skip such places next time.  That means I'll just skip them.  As I mentioned, GSC has never presented such obstacles and also has free food and booze and a quick return to the ship whenever I'm ready.  That will be my play going forward. 😎

I believe the beach you referred to is in St. Martin.

[sanger727]

2 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

When traveling outside the US please be aware that safety features do differ. For example no guardrails on the stone bridges at Xcaret. I too hurt myself on Curacao using a day pass to a local resort.

The dock had steps but no white strip at the edge to mark them  so   I tripped and scraped up my arm pretty badly. I always travel with a first aid kit so I was able to patch myself up.

 

We went to ek-balam in Mexico.  There were some ruins that you could climb to the top of. One of the highest ones we went up had a "guardrail" at the top. it was 4 wooden posts with a piece of string between them. Certainly wouldn't have been legal in the US. But as you said, different rules in different countries. 

[Laszlo]

On 5/1/2023 at 9:45 AM, TACoor said:

Just off (4/27) a great 12-day cruise on the Joy. The short version - if you are injured on a NCL excursion, (1) get the names of any witnesses, (2) report it to the Shore Excursion desk the same day, and (3) save your excursion ticket. The long version:  this was a snorkel and beach break on Curacao. At the end of a row of chairs, there was a sandy path to the beach with a lava rock boulder in the middle of the path, so go the the left or to the right. I had been back and forth to the beach a few times, but this time, my bare foot hit another solid immovable rock under the sand, it hurt like crazy, I lost my balance and went down. The result was a bunch of painful punctures and tears on the bottom of my left foot and a huge bruise on my right wrist. Relatively minor injuries, but due to unsafe conditions. Another Joy passenger helped me up and made sure I was okay. There shouldn't be a well-used path with unseen hazards. I was going to let it go, but my husband was determined to address the hazard to protect future visitors. We spoke to the snorkel crew, then the tour operator then (the next day) the excursion desk on the ship. The officer in charge of that group arranged for me to be evaluated and treated in the medical center at no charge to me.  The receptionist in Medical asked why I hadn't come in as soon as I arrived back on the ship, and she and the security office who interviewed me both asked for my excursion ticket, which we had thrown away at the end of the excursion. They also asked about witnesses but I hadn't gotten the name of the person who helped me. They did treat me anyway. By the way, we had signed waivers with both the tour operator and the snorkel crew so they bore no liability, that was understood. We only reported it in hopes that the hazard might be addressed, not expecting anything as a result. But I was glad to have been treated to reduce the chance of infection after hobbling around on a sandy beach after the accident.

Sorry you got injured... but come on, your in a natural environment and things happen. You know now to wear the proper shoes. 

[rnfulk]

Thanks for the advice, OP. 
I think it is smart to bring this type of issue up with NCL so they can do whatever is needed to help prevent future injuries. Improvements can’t be made without information. The change may be something as simple as adding a statement to the excursion disclaimer that there are sharp rocks and water shoes are recommended so that future cruisers are prepared. 

[Dorhead1230]

On 5/2/2023 at 10:19 AM, Homosassa said:

You obviously have never been to the rocky beaches of the north shore of Long Island, NY.

Lol, yeah, our beaches are more like rocks bordering water with some sand sprinkled in between 😂

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, rnfulk said:

Thanks for the advice, OP. 
I think it is smart to bring this type of issue up with NCL so they can do whatever is needed to help prevent future injuries. Improvements can’t be made without information. The change may be something as simple as adding a statement to the excursion disclaimer that there are sharp rocks and water shoes are recommended so that future cruisers are prepared. 

NCL does not have to do anything.
 

What you suggest is like McD putting a warning on their coffee cup that coffee is hot. You want every ShoreEx ticket to come with 20 pages of warnings about what happens in nature? rocks on road? Branches in trees that scratch? Bugs that bite? Look both ways before crossing the street? Don’t forget to tip?

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL does not have to do anything.
 

What you suggest is like McD putting a warning on their coffee cup that coffee is hot. You want every ShoreEx ticket to come with 20 pages of warnings about what happens in nature? rocks on road? Branches in trees that scratch? Bugs that bite? Look both ways before crossing the street? Don’t forget to tip?

Yes, but doesn't McDonald's coffee now come with that warning ever since someone sued them and won?

 

But I do agree with you that this can be taken to ridiculous extremes with an attempt to warn about anything that could possibly happen.

Edited May 4, 2023 by ontheweb