Marilyn Stone Broke Her Leg On The Brilliance TA

[stonerb]

I'm posting this note here as I have noticed that the Roll Calls are available to members only. On Day 2 of the Brilliance Transatlantic, Marilyn fell and broke her leg. She needed orthopedic surgery that couldn't be done on board. We had to continue to the Azores for that. We would like everyone to know how we were treated by the crew of the Brilliance and by RCI, the company. To often, these boards are filled with complaints of people who have been mistreated by the cruise lines and/or the airlines. We are here to say, that wasn't the case for us. Following is an excerpt from a posting I made on the Roll Call thread for that cruise.

 

We didn't see much of Ashley but then we never go to the shows in the theatre. She seems to be a very nice lady and took the trouble to visit Marilyn while she was in the Ship's hospital and to send a follow up email inquiring about her progress. Her staff, many of whom we have met on previous cruises, were very attentive to Marilyn, visited her in the hospital both individually and in groups, and brought her all kinds of get well gifts. I think we got two of everything thay have in the prize locker, but of course we would have won all that playing trivia with Horace on our team.

 

All in all, the crew on the Brilliance was great to us. Susan Yates helped Marilyn pack, Mauricio sent flowers that were still in her room in the clinic when we finally got to go home, Marcello visited and brought a gift, and even the Captain came to visit more than once.

 

RCI as a company was great to us as well. Joseph Duenas, a "Guest Care Specialist" from Miami who came out to help really took good care of us when we got ashore as did the Ponta Delgada port agent, Martin Lezaola. They made all the arrangements for the orthopedic surgeon, the hospital/clinic, a hotel room for me, taxis between the hotel and the clinic, ambulances for Marilyn, ship to hospital, hospital to clinic and finally clinic to the airport to come home. They also got word to our pal, Ricco Duarte who is on the Spendour so that he could come and visit when the Spendour stopped by last Wednesday. Joseph kept me company the night of the surgery and that was a big help during those long hours when you are waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell you how the surgery went. Martin cut through the red tape and got us the upgrade to business class that we needed on the flight from Ponta Delgada to Boston. I don't know how we would have gotten Marilyn into a coach seat or gotten her out at the end.

 

I only hope that the other RCI ships deal as well with this kind of problem and that the other cruise lines do as well. The moral of the story is "Take the Travel Insurance". We did and are certainly glad of it now. Meanwhile, we are back at home in the good old USA and looking forward to a complete recovery, hopefully in time for our fall cruising schedule as shown below.

[isujim]

Glad to hear this story........always good to hear this. Hope she recovers quickly.........

 

We are on the Grandeur sailing with you this fall.........look forward to meeting you both.

 

Jim

[QTBabyNurse]

Sending many get well wishes to Marilyn.....:)

[tomko2]

Sorry to hear about the accident but very happy to see your post giving a positive reflection on those people both on and off the ship who were part of helping.

Many people do not take the time to give praise where praise is do.

Hope the patient is on the mend and able to cruise again soon.

[Ollie_WA]

Thank you for giving kudos, where kudos are due....more often then none...all we hear about is what RCCL has done wrong. I like to go through life giving out the compliments where needed...I'm glad you do too!

Get Well wishes for Marilyn!

[Cruising89143]

Glad to hear that RCI took very good care of both Marilyn and you. Most folks don't take the time to tell the good. Nice to see this here. Sorry that Marilyn had the accident but glad that she is doing better.

[Lightsluvr]

Thanks for the comments about how RCI handled the situation.

 

We are also crusing with the rolling Stones in September on the Grandeur and look forward to meeting you. We hope Marilyn is fully recovered.

 

LL

[Apoggi]

Marilyn - sorry to hear about your accident but glad you are on the road to recovery.

 

Ann:o

[cruizinmimi]

So sorry to hear about Marilyn Stone's unfortunate accident. But very glad to hear that rcl treated you and Marilyn with care and thoughtfulness.

 

Here's wishing Marilyn Stone a speedy recovery.

 

P.S. Who is Marilyn Stone???

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

Thank you for such a positive post on a bad experience.

 

Get well soon Marilyn :)

 

***

[ILoveScotland]

Roger, so sorry to hear about Marilyn's fall but glad to get your report of how well she was treated by the Brilliance crew.

 

You know, of course, that I'm envious that you were on the Brilliance again since our wonderful transatlantic last fall. I note you'll be on her again next December as well.

 

Love to Marilyn.

 

And, before I forget: Was Iris injured? ;)

 

Beth

[CruiseKeeper]

Best wishes for a quick recovery to Marilyn (and Iris!). We sailed with the Stones on the Grandeur last year and enjoyed sailing and speaking with these nice folks.

 

It's nice of you to follow-up with us about your positive experience with RCI. I hope we get the opportunity to sail together again someday. :)

[cruisenfever]

Marilyn, so sorry to hear of your unfortunate accident so early on in the cruise. Thank you Roger for posting all the positive efforts that were made to help you and Marilyn during this difficult time. It's always heartwarming to read how others stepped up to the plate and handled things and made a very bad situation tolerable for you both.

 

Wishing you a very speedy recovery Marilyn so that you will be all ready for your next cruise. You will enjoy sailing with Jim (isujim) and Rena and Lightsluvr.

[digital_curator]

I'm very sorry to hear about your wife's accident but glad to know that RCI can handle such a difficult situation so well.

 

If I might ask, how did Marilyn break her leg?

 

I hope she has a speedy recovery.

[debalex]

Hello to you and Marilyn!

 

Bob and I were so sorry to learn of Marilyn's accident.

 

We enjoyed sailing with you both on the Radiance in January. :)

 

Best wishes for Marilyn's quick recovery!

 

And it's great to hear how well you were treated by RCCL. :)

[Fran Harp]

I'm posting this note here as I have noticed that the Roll Calls are available to members only. On Day 2 of the Brilliance Transatlantic, Marilyn fell and broke her leg. She needed orthopedic surgery that couldn't be done on board. We had to continue to the Azores for that. We would like everyone to know how we were treated by the crew of the Brilliance and by RCI, the company. To often, these boards are filled with complaints of people who have been mistreated by the cruise lines and/or the airlines. We are here to say, that wasn't the case for us. Following is an excerpt from a posting I made on the Roll Call thread for that cruise.

 

We didn't see much of Ashley but then we never go to the shows in the theatre. She seems to be a very nice lady and took the trouble to visit Marilyn while she was in the Ship's hospital and to send a follow up email inquiring about her progress. Her staff, many of whom we have met on previous cruises, were very attentive to Marilyn, visited her in the hospital both individually and in groups, and brought her all kinds of get well gifts. I think we got two of everything thay have in the prize locker, but of course we would have won all that playing trivia with Horace on our team.

 

All in all, the crew on the Brilliance was great to us. Susan Yates helped Marilyn pack, Mauricio sent flowers that were still in her room in the clinic when we finally got to go home, Marcello visited and brought a gift, and even the Captain came to visit more than once.

 

RCI as a company was great to us as well. Joseph Duenas, a "Guest Care Specialist" from Miami who came out to help really took good care of us when we got ashore as did the Ponta Delgada port agent, Martin Lezaola. They made all the arrangements for the orthopedic surgeon, the hospital/clinic, a hotel room for me, taxis between the hotel and the clinic, ambulances for Marilyn, ship to hospital, hospital to clinic and finally clinic to the airport to come home. They also got word to our pal, Ricco Duarte who is on the Spendour so that he could come and visit when the Spendour stopped by last Wednesday. Joseph kept me company the night of the surgery and that was a big help during those long hours when you are waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell you how the surgery went. Martin cut through the red tape and got us the upgrade to business class that we needed on the flight from Ponta Delgada to Boston. I don't know how we would have gotten Marilyn into a coach seat or gotten her out at the end.

 

I only hope that the other RCI ships deal as well with this kind of problem and that the other cruise lines do as well. The moral of the story is "Take the Travel Insurance". We did and are certainly glad of it now. Meanwhile, we are back at home in the good old USA and looking forward to a complete recovery, hopefully in time for our fall cruising schedule as shown below.

 

Thanks for posting and thanks for the good comments about crew and staff. Brilliance staff always impress me. Please say hello to Marilyn, and we'll see you later this year, I think......

 

Fran in Toronto

[Coralc]

Hi Roger! Thanks for letting us know that Marilyn is recovering and you are both back home safely. I'm sorry we won't get to meet you on Serenade to Alaska, but maybe on another sailing. :)

[mamacat3]

How kind and thoughtful of you to post the good things about RCI and the Brilliance crew. How unfortunate that Marilyn fell and broke her leg. :( I will keep her in my prayers for a speedy recovery. :)

[stonerb]

Hello Beth;

Funny you should ask about Iris. The first thing Marilyn said to me when I arrived on the scene was, "Is Iris OK?" The top to her battery pack fell off and Marilyn could see that but I picked it up before it got stepped on and reinstalled it later with no bad side effects. That was a lot easier to fix than Marilyn. Iris is in disgrace for failing to prevent the accident and is enroute home in a box.

 

How is Harry doing these days? Are you all set for your next cruise?

 

Somebody asked, "Who is Marilyn Stone?" As you can see from the signature, we have been fortunate enough to cruise a lot and have made a lot of wonderful friends in doing so. It has been nice on this thread to see so many people who remember us. Thanks for all the well wishes, whether you know us or not. For those who are expecting to meet us on the future cruises we have booked, thanks for your good wishes, also.

[ILoveScotland]

Hi Roger,

 

We'll say a prayer of forgiveness for Iris.

 

Thanks for asking about Harry. He's had a long recovery but has been home since Christmas and starts outpatient physical therapy next week. And, he's essentially pain free.

 

Yes, we have three cruises booked: Next October on the Galaxy for an Eastern Med/Black Sea 2 week cruise, next January on the Serenade out of San Juan and then late June, 2008 on the Norwegian Jade which is currently the Pride of Hawaii which will be refurbished and renamed and cruise in Europe. We're going out of Southampton and up the Norway coast and around the North Cape.

 

For the next few months we're just taking a couple of weeks to go to the beach so that Harry will be ready for the long flight to Rome in October.

 

Hello to Marilyn. I trust she's mending okay.

 

Beth

[tocanada]

Hi Roger and Marilyn,

I do hope you are recovering well from your fall. Please do not be too tough on Iris. I am sure it was not her fault.

I am looking forward to seeing you all again on the Brilliance T/A.

best wishes,

andrew

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Hi Roger, We played Trivia together on Brilliance. Glad to hear that Marilyn is doing better. Hope to sail with you both (and Iris) again some day.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

HI ROGER!!!

 

I hope you stop by our thread and say hello...SORRY to hear about Marilyn...how awful. Give her our best from all THE ROYAL JEWELS!!!

 

PUNA PUNA!!! :D

 

ROSS

[sailinglisa]

Roger and Marilyn - I don't know you (yet!) but I am looking forward to meeting you on the Jewel TA this fall. I hope Marilyn heals quickly and completely..............but if she needs any help on the Jewel TA, please call on me......I'm a nurse and more than willing to help out if needed.

[travelteam]

Hi Roger,

 

We'll be shipmates in December...................heard you are excellent triva players.............we look forward to meeting you both then.....stop back and give us updates of Marilyn's recovery...............and be gentle with Iris.............regards till we see you in Barcelona.

 

Dee