Thrown off Ship in Turkey

[newhampshiregirl]

Just saw the previous poster who asked about contacting Princess. I thought a lot about that today and wondered if I should write them (tried to find a senior exec's e mail at Princess with no luck) now or wait until my Mother got home. Also wondered if I should call someone at Princess...but again was not sure who to call. Any thoughts on this from posters out there?

Thanks again everyone.

[hillslife]

I am sure this was very upsetting for you and your mom - but as a nurse, you have to look at the ships liablity. Their hospital and staff can treat 1-2 critical patients if it is absolutely necessary, but they are not set up for long term care. If your mom and friend stayed on the ship and it turned out there was internal bleeding involved, since you mentioned vomiting blood (there is a difference between spitting up blood and vomiting up blood!) then they would not be able to control that, may not be able to keep him stable, may not have hit another port with adequate medical facilities for a couple days and your post may have had a much sadder ending.

 

We obviously don''t know all the specifics of how the exit from the ship went or who said what, etc. but just wanted to give the medical side and the rational. They were obviously looking after your mom's well being as well as the ships and its other passengers. If medical evacuation by helicopter needed to happen, that is also a very dangerous thing to do at sea on a moving ship and could have endangered hundreds of passengers also.

 

If your mom was treated rudely, unjust, etc. that is not right in any circumstances.

 

Sounds like a difficult time for all involved. Hope things turn out ok for your mom's friend.

[newhampshiregirl]

In fairness, we are only getting one side of the story.

 

Now let's look at what we do know. They were "escorted" off the ship. Did the ill woman not want to go to the hospital? If so what was she thinking? Throwing up blood. She easily could have had something fatel if not treated.

 

If she was refusing to go to the hospital the cruise line had no choice. If she was refusing to go thus the "escape" concern. Was the health issue the reason she could not re-board or something else? Was Mom's friend less than nice? Need all the facts.

 

Here's the side of the story as told by my Mom who was there:

-The ill friend (a gentleman) did not refuse to go the hospital. He understood that it might be serious. HE was thinking that the Doctor was crazy when he said 'don't try to escape' when my Mom's friend said "may I use the restroom."

-My mom and her friend were shocked when they 'escorted' her to her cabin and told her to pack up.

-My mom and her friend are in their 70's. They are always concerned about health issues on a regular basis (although neither have issues) and did not refuse medical help. They were not 'less than nice"

-We do not know why Princess staff told them they could not board even if cleared by the Doctor.

-My mom and her friend are very kind and gentle souls...it would be highly unlikely and nearly impossible that either of them caused a scene. According to my mom they were terrified.

 

These are the 'fact's' as told to me by my Mom. I am only praying that they are able to get home safely and soon.

[johnlcruise]

Just saw the previous poster who asked about contacting Princess. I thought a lot about that today and wondered if I should write them (tried to find a senior exec's e mail at Princess with no luck) now or wait until my Mother got home. Also wondered if I should call someone at Princess...but again was not sure who to call. Any thoughts on this from posters out there?

Thanks again everyone.

 

This being Friday night.

I would wait till Monday Morning to call anybody at the Princess office.

If you call during the weekend all you will get is the parttimers or weekend help.

The real person who you will need to talk too, I'm sure works Monday - Friday.

Although it might not hurt and call. So that they have a record that you allready called about your mother and the way they treated her.

Be sure to get names of eveybody you speak to and there ext. number.

When calling ask for the supervisor do not deal with anybody other then the supervisor on duty.(And be sure to get the supervisor, bosses name and ext number)

Good Luck :)

[Hflors]

I can't believe a cruise line can "dump" PAYING passengers in a foreign country! IF I were you I would contact the local tv station and ask if they are interested in a story.

 

I would call Princess and ask if they could contact my mother on the ship. Tell them it's an emergency and you have been unable to locate her and are afraid something terrible has happened to her. (Maybe she fell off their ship or was pushed!)

 

Then I would start at the bottom of the ladder at Princess and work my way up until I got a refund! and not just for the last six day, but for the whole trip!

 

I would be on every news show yelling about the cruise line dumping my 70 + year old mother in a foreign country!

 

Good lord my blood pressure just rose twenty points reading these posts and writing my reply.

 

Wheeew! I'm glad I got all that off my chest.

 

Please, please let us know what happens!

 

Oh no I don't want to get started again. I had better end this message.

Our thoughts and prayers are with your mom and friend they they return home safe and sound.

[OyVey]

Wow! I hope they get home safely.

[coolcat12]

NewHamphshireGirl:

I have empathy as I have an 81 year old mum. The thought of her trying to get home from Turkey is unimaginable. Hugs to you.

Keep us updated.

Jill

[comfortcove]

THat is a disturbing way to treat people. I hope your Mom is a young 70 year old, so many seniors are. However, to be worried about your companion, forced off your dream ride, and have to deal with foreign medicine and make travel arrangements in Turkey is a bit much for any aged individual. Shortly after 9/11 (my relatives stayed at the same Comfort Inn or whatever it was in Maine where the hijackers stayed and found out later, no kidding), my older aunt and uncle went on a canadian cruise. My uncle had a stroke at dinner, a small one. They were good on the ship, airlifted to a hospital, they flew back home asap. The big problem was the documentation for the travel insurance. They eventually reimbursed erverything, but it was a long hassle and they made my aunt jump through hoops. I sure hope your Mom and friend get home soon. Nancy

[RevSmith]

Sounds like a legal case...but the way that America sues for everything...the cruise ships are getting really good lawyers, just like the major corporations and you better have a lot of money a great lawyer and time on your side. (It's the time thing I am worried about...make sure everything is written down by the people who were victimized and signed in front of a notary.

[cloveygrl]

 

Given your mother's age and that her friend vomited a bit of blood, I'm not surprised they were asked to leave the ship. Princess, and I'm sure other cruise lines, do not want to deal with any potentially severe health issues, particularly in older folks and children.

 

Alice

 

haha...throwing a sick person out the "door" into the ditch as your driving away dosen't exactly reduce your liability or make for very good customer relations..what if something had happened to her in Turkey? They should have made sure they were able to make it to a hospital.

[smeyer418]

How do you not buy insurance for a 77 year old on a med cruise? Medicare does not cover outside the US. There has to be more to this story. Istanbul is not that difficult to get back to the US although it might be expensive. Istanbul has non- stops to JFK but I agree that a 77 YO or eaven a 77 year young person would have trouble so far from home. I hope she makes it home ok and that she gets at least a free cruise out of it...

[WCAB]

I can understand why the cruise line might want a sick passenger off of the ship as to not expose others. Could it be the ship did not trust that the local hospital would give a correct diagnosis and that is why they said you will not be able to get back on the ship? Whatver the reason, Princess owed this couple, any couple of any age, some clear direction on how to get home. It is the only decent thing to do. I am quite a bit younger then your Mom and her friend but would have a hard time coping in a foriegn country without some specific direction as to how to arrange my way home. Sure glad to hear

that they found a resource to help guide the way.

 

Carol

[prarie cruiser]

I see several different issues here. Firstly, the gentleman was vomiting blood and sought the nearest medical advice. He did the right thing, as vomiting blood can be an indication of internal bleeding and can quickly become life threatening. In his case, it sounds as if ultimately it was more minor and that is very good.

 

Secondly, he was told to leave the ship to obtain further medical care. The policy on all ships is to provide immediate care if possible and if further care is needed the passenger patient will be taken off the ship in the next port of call. This is just the way it is, the captain or his designee can decide the fate of any passenger or crew. People have to leave the ships all the time for medical assistance or for misconduct.

 

Thirdly, the person accompanying the ill passenger is told to leave the ship too. Now, I do have a problem with that. Should have been a choice for the passenger who was not ill.

 

Fourthly, it appears no on shore medical arrangements were made for the ill passenger. I find this highly unusual, as my experience is the medical staff usually arranges an ambulance to meet the patient on the pier. Lack of followup arrangements would be seen in the medical profession as poor practice of medicine.

 

Fifth, the well passenger at least, and perhaps the ill passenger also, were treated in an abrupt and uncaring manner by Princess staff, according to the original OP. Again, highly unusual for Princess, and not within their normally accepted standards.

 

Sixth, there is concern about getting the travelers home safely. I doubt if any of the ships do a great job of assisting with this. Once the passenger is onshore, their responsibility essentially ends. Good for the passengers for taking out the travel insurance, as I am sure this will help.

 

Seventh, the OP needs support because it is very frightening to have this happening to an older member of your family and it is so very frustrating to try to deal with this type of situation from a distance. My thoughts go out to you and your family. Hope all this gets a good resolution soon.

[FamilyGuy1010]

While I don't believe Princess can be excused for any rude treatment, the passage contract gives them the right to disembark passengers that they feel are a threat to the ship, real or not, with no refund.

 

This is why travel insurance is important. Not only should the travel insurance cover the medical care and incidental expenses. It should also cover the trip home and a refund of the unused portion of the cruise. can't say for sure since we don't know the source of the insurance.

 

Short of sending Princess a letter regarding the rude treatment, I would not expect any refund from them for any portion of the trip. Maybe they'll send an apology and a credit toward your next cruise a a goodwill gesture.

[CruisinChris]

Perhaps the ship's doc anticipated that the gentleman would require hospitalization - which in fact happened and that's why, in his opinion, he would not accept him back on board. He has the final word and authority on the ship regarding who's fit to sail. Saying that he would deny them boarding even with a clean bill of health is really a moot point in all this because the poor guy wasn't given a clean bill of health - he was admitted to the hospital. This is what travel insurance is for and thankfully they have it.

 

If you read your passage contract they have the right to disembark you for medical reasons. Their responsibility more or less ends there.

 

If the staff were unkind or unhelpful that's disappointing. I would imagine that this didn't happen in the morning and perhaps there was pressure to ensure that these folks were disembarked and off to the hospital asap.

[lvtotrvl1]

This post is almost identical to one started over a month ago. Need to wonder whether the exact same instances can happen to two different people?????

[newhampshiregirl]

Thank you all for your kind words of support. It helped alot. I just heard from my Mom who was apologizing to me for not getting back to me sooner!

 

They are leaving tomorrow (Sunday)- first going to Ismar (?) to take a flight to Istanbul then a flight from Istanbul to Frankfurt and then a flight from Frankfurt to Detroit. They will arrive home on Monday. Another interesting twist...the insurance does not cover my Mom's airfare home---only the airfare for her friend. They said this was because she was not sick.

 

I also thought to ask her if there were others on the ship who were sick. She said yes, but with the international call I didn't pursue any details. I was just wondering if there were others who had the same intestinal issue and if it was contracted on the ship. My Mom said earlier in the week she hadn't felt very good and had milder symptoms similar to her friend.

 

She started crying right before we hung up. I just kept saying is there anything I can do for you. Is there any other help I can provide. She said no, she just wanted to let me know she was ok and apologized for not calling me back earlier (it was about 24 hours since she called the first time).

 

I am really in a dilemma as to how to proceed with Princess. I thought I would wait until Monday and begin to make some phone calls to talk to the right person. I think we will write a letter and get that overnighted immediately with the details etc. I don't want to suggest my Mom get a lawyer...but really feel that Princess did not handle this correctly and there should be some apology and credit at the very least.

 

Again, I do understand the cruise company being concerned about ALL passengers and crew and sending him to the hospital. I don't understand them being cleared by a Doctor and not being allowed back on the ship. I don't understand them providing no assistance at all and it is especially disturbing if there were others on the ship who contracted the same illness while on the ship. These are things we just don't know or understand.

 

At this point I just want to see them home safely. Again, many thanks for your kind words!

[jennew]

I am not sure what Princess will or won't do, but I hope this is resolved for your Mom's sake. It would be nice if Princess would pay for her airfare. I also wonder if the insurance company might still cover it. Maybe you ought to work with them a bit more and see if they change their minds.

[pollyanno]

I think she needs to talk to the insurance provider again too.. sick or not, through no fault of her own, princess wouldn't let her back on the ship to continue her vacation as planned.. she had to get home somehow..

 

anno

[judyjbest]

Insurance always works more promptly for the sick or injured passenger. For traveling companions, you have to jump through a few more hoops to get insurance reimbursement. So, stay on that, and I'll bet you'll get her airfare back. If you have a TA, let them do it for you.

[elsje]

How do you not buy insurance for a 77 year old on a med cruise? Medicare does not cover outside the US. There has to be more to this story. Istanbul is not that difficult to get back to the US although it might be expensive. Istanbul has non- stops to JFK but I agree that a 77 YO or eaven a 77 year young person would have trouble so far from home. I hope she makes it home ok and that she gets at least a free cruise out of it...

 

According to the OP they DID have insurance!

[elsje]

This post is almost identical to one started over a month ago. Need to wonder whether the exact same instances can happen to two different people?????

 

I read that post too! I believe the grandmother, who was traveling alone, was "dropped off" in an East European country. It might be worth searching to see what came from that. I remember the OP being very upset and there were some not so nice responses as well about her thread.

[rebeccalouise]

I guess it is sometimes best to be safe than sorry. Throwing up blood is nothing minor. The facilities on a ship are not used to dealing with these types of issues. Most cruise lines immediately evacuate ill passengers. It is ashame that it spoiled your vacation but this is not uncommon. I have seen people medivaced off ships before. In one instance a woman suffered a miscarriage- she alone was medivaced from the ship. Her husband and the rest of the family had to remain on board. No arrangements for them were made and the woman was alone in a hospital in Vancouver.

[jlp20]

Sorry, but this entire post was started by a story that is second or third hand.

 

The OP tells the story related by het 77 year old mother who is the friend of the person who was sick.

 

The readers here, much less the OP knows what actually happened.

 

Almost all readers here know that ship’s doctors are good for asprin and maybe a stich or two. Anything worse than a broken bone while at port is an automatic off the ship ticket. If you bothered, it has been given to every passenger in the contract:

 

4. RIGHT TO REFUSE PASSAGE.

You will not be allowed to board the ship or be entitled to a refund if You do not have proper documentation. Carrier may refuse to embark You if, in Carrier’s sole opinion, You are unfit for any reason or You will enter the third trimester of pregnancy by the end of the Cruise. If Carrier refuses to allow You on board for any of these reasons, any refund of the Cruise Fare will be made based on the timing of such refusal in accordance with Section 6 and Carrier will have no further liability. If You become unfit to travel for any reason during the Cruise and/or disembark early, Carrier shall not be liable for any refund or damages.

 

As for those wanting compensation for the trip, read the last line of the above contract.

[Murphey]

While I agree that contractually Princess is under no obligation financially, nowhere in the contract does it excuse them from rudeness and a little compassion for their guests.