medics on board

[minximom]

Sorry if this is a question that has been dealt with before. I read somewhere that on cruises you have to pay if you need to see the onboard doctor. Is that the case on DCL for say something that isn't too too serious? Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Sorry if this is a question that has been dealt with before. I read somewhere that on cruises you have to pay if you need to see the onboard doctor. Is that the case on DCL for say something that isn't too too serious? Thanks

If you need to utilize the health center (staffed with a doctor and nurses) you will most likely be charged. Sometimes not (not often), depending on what you need done. The charge is placed on your onboard account.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Sorry if this is a question that has been dealt with before. I read somewhere that on cruises you have to pay if you need to see the onboard doctor. Is that the case on DCL for say something that isn't too too serious? Thanks

Yes. They'll charge it to your account, then you can get reimbursed by trip insurance or health insurance. Not sure how that would work with your coverage from the UK.

 

[minximom]

Thank you. Here's hoping there is no need for a doctor....

 

[southerngirl528]

Like any other medical clinic, barring any unusual circumstances, you will indeed pay at the time services are rendered, as said before. Our daughter & her hubby did a zip-line excursion in Skagway, Alaska, and she got a little over-confident after a few "zips", and ended up with a badly sprained ankle. I believe they were going to charge about $150 to see her as I recall.

On the October 2012 Hawaii cruise, I got to chat a couple of times with one of the physicians, a very nice German gentleman, who had what sounded like excellent background experience/credentials. Nice to know they have medical professionals onboard should they be needed.

 

[Capt_BJ]

on most cruise ships the clinic/doctor is a contracted service just as are the spa and the shops and the casino workers.

The doctors may not be licensed in the US .. the medical services they provide are provided outside the US so the US has no jurisdiction or monitoring. I'm not saying the care provided is bad or poor, just mentioning something that many do not realize when they cruise from a US port on a non US flagged ship.

With regards to your medical insurance covering the cost - u might want to CHECK FIRST - (OP is from UK so I dunno about them at all, but) for many with US health insurance the coverage applies IN THE US only which is a reason to consider extra travel insurance

 

[southerngirl528]

What Capt BJ said? Absolutely.

 

[pjacobi]

I took my wife to visit the ship's doctor on the Fantasy. While my wife was being examined, I got to chat with the woman doctor. I learned that she was from South Africa, but was schooled in all British medical terms. This caused a slight communication problem as she had never heard of a Q-tip, but knew only the British term of "ear bud".

That caused me to relate my experience of attempting to find the British wonder-drug, Paracetamol in the U.S. I was a bit disappointed when I discovered it was just the British name for acetaminophen/Tylenol.

She put my wife at ease with the diagnosis that the medical problem was not serious.

I believe we were charged $300 to on-board account. We were given all paperwork which we submitted to U.S. health insurance. A couple months later we recieved a check, less co-pay.


-Paul

 

[Mrsjvb]

I had a sore throat once, due to sinus drippage. what i really wanted were some lozneges or throat spray. when I went down to the clinic the nurse was like: you can see a doctor and it will cost you $150 just to have your temp and blood pressure taken or you can have a few of these packets of fizzy stuff you mix with water like alka seltzer cold medicine that were sitting in a basket at the reception desk

figure the odds which option I went for. it helped enough that I wasn't miserable the entire time.

 

[Beth D]

My father had a severe bloody nose right before we sailed 2 years ago. The local ER doc here gave him a plug type thing to stop the bleeding, and it needed removed the day after we boarded. One of the docs on board removed it while the other watched, as it was a new procedure for him/her to see.

My parents were charged around $150 (on your stateroom account) and claimed it after the fact when they returned home. I believe a portion was covered by their insurance.

They can do quite a bit onboard if needed, but expect it to cost at least $150 and up...

 

[Namsupak]

The medical facilities on board are pretty nice. I have looked at them on each ship and they seem to be adequately equipped to handle most emergencies. To be honest they are better equipped then some small ICUs. The charge is pretty nominal and actually if you need medications for simple things like a child's ear infection for example (has happened to us twice), they have some different choices and those are affordable as well.

As a PP poster said the doctors onboard are often not US doctors. The physician I work with actually came from this industry and he still goes and does a few trips each year. Most US docs wouldn't want to spend a whole career doing this as the pay is not that great. But there are extra benefits such as free travel and often physicians on the ship have better living quarters. Depending on the line your spouse may travel with you for free. Also your schedule can be relatively light depending on the cruise.

 

[TChrist05]

The way I look at it is that its great that they are there if needed....and if it is something serious you just don't really care what they charge as long as the hopeful result is there.

 

[Chilly]

For those wondering about UK travel insurance, everyone pretty much has that here when travelling abroad and most cover you up to £10 Million/$15 Million in medical costs.

 

[wallskm]

My son cut his head on our last night and needed a stitch to close it up. They were able to do it, it cost about $560. We had trip insurance so we will be able to file it.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

On our first cruise, our DD got sick in the middle of the night, just once. We had to call to have the bathroom cleaned. We got a call from medical services the next day that they wanted to see her. They asked us some questions and cleared her. We were not charged.

 

[littlethelen]

My daughter had her elbow slammed in the stateroom door with the verandah open (careful, the vacuum can be strong). Anyway, we overreacted, thought it was broken and went down right away. The assistant saw us in the waiting room, had her move her arm, wiggle fingers etc. we decided not to see an MD at that point. They have us ice packs, a sling, ace bandage and some tips to return if swelling, pain etc got worse.
No charge at all.
But it was good to know that they do have an X-ray in the ship if needed.
We happened to be just pulling up to port so we weren't sure if we would need to find land services quickly or if we could wait and see what happened and see the ship Dr if needed later.
They did tell us hours for later, so I'm not sure if we had requested the Dr right then if it would have been an emergency call since it was outside of their hours.