Doctors on cruises

[2kitties]

Has anyone had any experiences with doctors on cruises? I did recently and was very pleased with the outcome. Dr Hansen on Holland America Noordam went out of his way when he had to remove my toenail. He is an ER 8 months of the year, but 4 months he works in the medical center on a cruise ship. He was a doll. I just wish there were more doctors like him. That was the last thing I wanted to happen to me, but I felt comfortable when he did the proceedure.

[jhannah]

I'm glad you had a good experience with Dr. Hansen. Fortunately, I have not had to see any ship doctor. Nothing against them ... but I hope I never do! ;)

[fllady]

Our cruise last month on Jewel of the Sea, DH had to see the doctor, hew had gotten a bad sinus infection. Dr Terrance (cna'trember last name) DH was so taken by the wonderful and thorough care he recevied. They gave him an intravenious antibiotic in combination with something else and by the next day he was almost himself. The meds/pills worked very well, and because my DH has multiple health problems they had to be extra cautious. He was feeling back to normal in no time. He is a hard man to please, so this says a lot of the care he received.

[sail7seas]

Sorry you didn't the service of the ship's doctor while on vacation but how good to hear it was such a positive experience. We have met a number of them through the years and almost always am greatly impressed with them. Like Jim, we hope we never need them professionally while aboard!

 

[2kitties]

The medical center on the ship is the last place I wanted to end up, but it is certainly nice to have a doctor available if you do get sick. Dr. Hansen said he had been working on cruise ships for the past 15 yrs. It must be a vacation for him too unless he has to treat a lot of people with the same viral infection and they have to quarantine the passengers.

[fireman845]

It is always nice to know we have such great doctors who are willing to spend some time on a cruise ship instead of an ER...

[DFW-Cruiser]

Both my elderly mother and I required the in-room services of the Oosterdam's doctor last May. He brought with him a nurse who in land life was an ER Trauma nurse who with great expedience hit me with an IV for the day and later came back to check on its slow progress. Even the desk called to check up on us every 2 or 3 hours. After a quick visit at the Medical Center the next morning for a follow-up, we were good to go the rest of the cruise. The surprising part was that for the both of us, including the IV, the cost was less than a single ER visit at home. We would not have received any better or more attention at at home and were both very pleased with the standard of care.

 

Linda

[Frick_&_Frack]

On the 02/16 sailing of the Noordam, my DH required medical assistance and Dr. Johnson and the Nurse (Arnold - I believe his name was - my memory is shot) were outstanding.

 

My DH absolutely is freaked out by doctors and hospitals and still talks of them with fondness.

 

DH is still unable to return to work due to the medical issue; however, our family doctor and the specialists credit Dr. Johnson's care of my DH while aboard with the fact that DH didn't need hospitalization once home and we are able to care for him at home with medications, etc.

 

Bravo to Dr. Johnson and the Noordam medical team! They are truly wonderful and caring individuals!!

 

(PS - a BRAVO should also go to the Neptune Lounge, Perry & Olivia, as Perry took the call from me when we needed assistance and both he and Olivia - and Barbara at the Front Desk late at night - were unbelievable with care, attention and follow up with us as well.)

[the_dylaness]

I've never visited the doctor on a cruise ship, but I'd actually like to just to see what their setup is like!

 

You may find this article interesting; last year it was in a magazine I subscribe to, and it covers a little bit of "what it takes" to be a cruise ship doc. http://www.amsa.org/tnp/articles/article.cfx?id=351

[RuthC]

Many's the time I've had to visit the ship's infirmary. Never a good thing to have to do, but always a good visit.

I was treated for a possible heart attack off the coast of Bora Bora, a bad scalp infection in the Caribbean, and a very bad fall sailing off Cape Horn.

I've always been pleased with the care and follow-up received. No one should ever hesitate to get treatment if they feel the need.

[Bill S]

I've had to visit the infirmary twice on the same cruise. Both times, I was impressed with the care I received from the nurses and the doctor, Dr. Gisela Schlosser. She is great ER doctor who spends several months each year on HAL ships.

She was on the Zaandam last year for our Alaska cruise and it was good to see her socially that time instead of professionally! :)

[2kitties]

Experiencing what I did and hearing from others, maybe we should all book a cruise when we get sick instead of going to our regular doctor. Does that sound like a winner? ;) Like DFW-Cruiser stated, it is cheaper going to the medical center on the ship then going to an ER at the hospital. I went to see Dr Hansen 4 times and called him once.

 

HAL didn't call me to find out how I was doing, but they did send to our room a plate full goodies, which our stomach enjoyed, along with a card saying they were sorry about my injury.

[fireman845]

I've never visited the doctor on a cruise ship, but I'd actually like to just to see what their setup is like!

 

You may find this article interesting; last year it was in a magazine I subscribe to, and it covers a little bit of "what it takes" to be a cruise ship doc. http://www.amsa.org/tnp/articles/article.cfx?id=351

 

 

Great article... Both myself and my husband are nurses and we have been considering travel nurses, (what's better than getting paid to cruise), but we just can't do it at the same time... :( Oh well we will just have to take turns! :)

[newmexicoNita]

I'm glad you had a good experience with Dr. Hansen. Fortunately, I have not had to see any ship doctor. Nothing against them ... but I hope I never do! ;)

We have seen two, one on HAL and one on Princess. I am glad someone had such a wonderful experience. Ours was nice, our problems were not serious and for that I am glad. On HAL the infirmory did follow up the next day to see how I was doing, which was very thoughtful, but the treatment I got was a bit lacking: example, I had a skin infection and was given an antibiotic for a upper respitory infection. DH had a swollen toe when we were on Princess a few months ago. The doctor informed him it was an arthritic (ok spelling bad) toe. Well, if that was the problem it was the only time he has had such a thing. Regardless within a few hours he was fine and has not had a problem since.

 

Nita

[Boytjie]

In February while on the Zuiderdam, after 3 days of scuba diving, I suspected an ear infectiopn and saw the doctor because flying with an infection can be bad. I don't recall his name but he was good. He said it was not infected but asked whether I had problems equalizing while diving, which I did. He diagnosed minor trauma but other than taking a decongestant for the flight back, there was not much else to do. I have since had it checked out back home. The doctor's visit on the ship was only $79 IIRC. Let's see what my medical insurance gets billed for the visit(s) at home!

 

On the same trip a friend had a bad reaction when he put on sunscreen and was immediatley seen by the medical staff. He got some Benadryl (real cheap) dispensed and was good to go.

 

I've never visited the doctor on a cruise ship, but I'd actually like to just to see what their setup is like!

 

They have a lot of equipment is a small space!

[knitter]

We've used medical services on Celebrity- my husband had several lacerations after hitting his head on an abuttment- we were in Estonia and I didn't know what to do- crew on our shuttle to town recommended going back to the ship- he got sutures, all we needed to care for the lacerations, and follow-up care. Our steward made sure he had plenty of ice for his ice pack. On another cruise I developed a pretty severe respiratory infection and ended up going to the infirmary at midnight - they met me with an O2 monitor and I had blood work done immediately and nebulizer treatments for 2 days, as well as all the meds. The medical staff has to care for the crew too, so they are important to the bottom line of the company. We are thinking to avoid crusing on Celebrity- we feel jinxed on that line now!

[sail7seas]

I believe there is a medical team that treats guests and another for crew. I'm sure in the event of huge 'overload' or emergency, there is crossover.

 

 

 

[2kitties]

I saw both staff and passengers on the ship, but I don't know if the staff was being treated or just visiting.

[KAKcruiser]

The ship's doctor on the Amsterdam told us that there was a doctor for passengers and another for the crew. One of them had to be onboard at all times so they took turns going ashore on port days.

[smileycruiser2007]

In 2006 on the Maasdam, my father had a seizure returning from HalfMoon Island. All the HAL staff, both the island staff and the Maasdam, sprang into action to take care of him. The ER doctor, Dr. Stitt, was fabulous and so was the nursing staff. They saved his life on the ship. He was evacuated from the ship during a storm, requiring a great deal of HAL medical staff planning, and a fantastic HAL nurse went with him, keeping him breathing with a manual bag. It took hours to get to a hospital, and she continued saving his life. Everyone was just superb, and though my father can't travel any more, he can enjoy other things. Needless to say, we are very loyal to HAL. I mention this at CC meet and greets and we sent a letter to Mr. Kruse, and any other chance I get because HAL truly excels in this area. We felt the charges for everything were very reasonable for the superb care, but we were still glad we had the insurance.:)

[Colakid]

In May 1991 wilst on the Westerdam II my 16 month old daughter sliced open her finger on a broken peice of glass and required medical attention. My DW bundles up the child and we headed off to seek medical attention in the lower decks. We found it very easily as one of the deck hands knew us and guided us in our momments of frantic hast. The nurse and doctor on duty took us in immediately and began treatment. My DW could not stand to see all the blood so left me to help with the situation. The doctor was an emergency care specialist from Vancouver who handled the case very well and guided us very well through the crisis. After almost two hours of treatment , 9 stitches were in place. That evening in the dinning room our daughter was the toast of the room as she went around and showed off her new war wounds from the cruise. Sixteen plus years later she is all grown up and without looking very closely you can barely see the scar of the injury and she has no permanent damage to her sense of feeling. Head office in Seattle called us a few days after we arrived home from Florida wondering how things were going in the healing process and called a week or two later as well. I still see the care package of extra bandages , tape and scissors every once in a while that the doctor gave us to get us home as we were driving the 1400 miles and taking an extra week. Needless to say we drove straight home in two days as DW wanted her own doctor to look at the finger and repair job. Our doctor was very impressed with the stitches and care given by the on board staff. We do not hesitate to use the medical services on board in the future but have not had to use them since. And by the way all the prices for the services were listed on a chart when we arrived at the office but none was ever charged to our on board account. At that time the policy was if the accident happens on the ship then the ship pays for medical services. I sat there and was adding up the charges and felt it could have cost us many hundreds of dollars. I would say without hestitation that the medical staff does a wonderful job and are there to help the sick and needy. I am proud also that the doctor who helped us is a fellow Canadian. Colakid

[mamaofami]

It's my understanding that there are two doctors on board. One is for the crew and I believe he has a long contract. The other is for the passengers and they come on for as short as two weeks, or longer if they want.

[docksider21]

Hi

 

I had to see the infirmary on the Volendam. The doctor were just great.

After the nurse checked me in, and took vitals, I was seen by the crew's physician, and then seen by the ship's physician.

 

The cost was less than an office visit at home. And my travel insurance

covered it completely.

 

And, the doctors were great!