Any positive experiences with Medical Services onboard?

[justcruisin]

Has anyone had a positive experience with the medical services provided by DCL?

 

[Jeanny]

My daughter was on the Magic in February 2002 and twisted her ankle as she was leaving dinner one night.... She went to Guest Services and they called the Doctor on duty and took her to the infirmary... they took care of her ankle, gave her a ankle brace and crutches and took her back to her cabin in a wheelchair... my nephew, who was 5 at the time, waited up because he said "I was so, so worried about you, Jacqui!!"

I know this has nothing to do with the Norwalk, and other ailments along that line, but the attendants on her cruise were good.... of course, it cost her $175, but she was reimbursed by her insurance company!

 

[eek40]

My experience was great, I felt that they were well staffed, clean, and knew what they were doing. Very supportive, understanding, and even called to check on my nephew several times.

Aimee

 

[kcashner]

Ok, true confessions....I'm a physician. I met one of the two ship's doctors in the atrium one evening. She was wonderful...described her work schedule, etc, and invited me to tour the medical facility. The "infirmary" is really quite impressive. They have a small ICU area, and are equipped to handle the vast majority of issues they are likely to encounter. They are essentially like a well equipped emergency room, plus handling the medical needs of the crew...and having the facilities of a very small hospital "just in case." It is not their desire to provide any long term care, but they are equipped to manage things well until the next port of call or the return to Port Canaveral. Most of the crew are fairly young and healthy...but some are away from home for the first time, and all are subject to the same minor illnesses that may affect us all. A big issue is the possibility of an ill crew member infecting passengers.

The nursing staff that I met on the tour was also very friendly. I didn't go into detail as to their experience, but they seemed competent and knowlegeable as I was shown around. They were very willing to answer my questions, etc.

The physicians are not employed by Disney...they are hired by an outside service and assigned to DCL, of course meeting the standards that Disney requires. Disney actually has more stringent requirements than many cruise lines, and isn't interested in having people who want to play cruise doc for a few months or a year...they are interested in fully trained docs who want to do this as "permanent" employment. I don't know who actually employs the nursing staff.

So...guess this is a positive experience....yes, everyone is a bit hyper about the Norwalk issue. Again, their main idea is to protect the largest number of passengers and to keep the medical aspects of the cruise running as smoothly as possible.

 

[CruisinKate]

I had a very minor complaint our last cruise in September 2003 and went to the medical center for some medication. They were very helpful, reasonable and competent.

It is too bad that the Norwalk scare and its contagiousness has forced them to be labeled as the bad guys.

Kate

 

[brack]

In my 2 DCL cruises I visited the infirmary once (my 1st cruise) with an upset stomach. (something I ate on shore) They were very helpful.

 

[Miss Eeyore]

I've cruised three times, and our family has needed the services of the doctor on two of them. One experience was great, and the other life=threatening.

On our first cruise teen daughter developed UTI, and was miserable. She was seen in the clinic, quickly diagnosed and administred medicine. She quickly felt better.

On our last cruise, the notorious fire cruise of 2001, I became very ill aboard. I had screaming headaches, coughing and developed a 103 degree temp. I visited the clinic, the doc decided I had a sinus infection, prescribed a nasal spray and sent me on my way. I left my room only about once a day. I was dizzy and sick and my speech was slurred. I went again to the clinic (another $200 charge) and was told the same thing.

I flew to Boston after the cruise to work at the Boston Flower Show, and promptly landed in the ER and then admitted with a BRAIN INFECTION. You should have seen the look on the ER doc's face when he found out that I had just flown. By the time I was admitted they were fearful that I had had a stroke, since my speech and balance were way off. A simple blood test revealed the infection, and antibiotics took care of things. On board, even though I had presented with the same symptoms and a 103 degree temp, the doc did not even do any check for infection. This nearly cost me my life.

 

[Alex]

WOW Miss Eeyore...
What scares me about that post is they seem to handle everyday stuff well but screw up in a crisis, I would prefer the opposite!

We are one and one. Our DD had an ear infection and they handeled it fine.. on this last cruise we had a not good experience, it's in my summary here

 

[mjvans]

in a local clinic diagonsing the wrong ailment and given me the wrong medication.......I don't think it matters if one is on a cruise or on land, there are incompetent doctors everywhere that don't diagnosis correctly.....unfortunately, on a ship, you are at their mercy and can't seek a second opinion........very scary!!! Glad everything turned out for you and you are fine!
Michelle

 

[awatt]

Did my residency with a guy who had been a cruise ship doc for a year. By the stories he told,ships are very well equipped and the staff has to be well trained,not just adequate , as they never know what sort of emergency they will encounter. That includes heart attacks,strokes,codes etc.

I would not judge the line or the industry based on one experience.

 

[Keggy]

I had to visit the infirmary on our second cruise. I was having severe lowere back pain during the middle of the night. We called and the nurse tried to get me to wait until morning. An hour later we called back and apologized but the pain was too severe to wait. When we got downstairs the doctor was absolutely wonderful. He was from Palm Beach and he made me fell very comfortable. The medication he ended up giving me was extremely affordable. It was cheaper to get it from the ship than had I paid my co pay at a drug store. It was more expensive to go during the night, but my insurance comapny did reimburse me.

Kelly

 

[brack]

Miss Eeyore: we were on that same cruise (fire of 2001) and I was sick from something I ate on shore. I was at my worst during the actual fire experience in the middle of the night. It was not a pretty sight in Animator's Palette (our muster station). I am glad that mine was so simple and not as life threatening as yours. Thank goodness everything turned out alright.

 

[inkkognito]

A while back, on our first 7-day Magic cruise, my knee cap popped off while I was dancing at the 70s Party. It had never happened to me before, so I had no idea what was going on...just that it was PAINFUL! This was after hours, but the doctor and nurse responded immediately. I was taken to the medical center, and they performed a "closed reduction," which basically means popping that sucker back in place. They had to dope me into dizziness to do it, as I wasn't the most cooperative patient. They casted it in a velcro cast and provided me with crutches. I was also given a wheelchair to borrow for the rest of the cruise, since that is an immobilizing injury.
When we got home, my ortho doc said they had done a good job on the ship, and our insurance company reimbursed us for the entire amount. I didn't find the fees to be excessive, but make sure that you have a charge card with some room on it for emergencies. I think the cost was around $700.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawayclub.com

 

[Alex]

I just wanted to add that I DO agree that you can find good and bad medical care everywhere. I have seen screw ups from the back woods of Pennsylvania to the snottiest teaching hospital's of Boston.
I think the cost is very reasonable. Doctors and Nurses don't come cheap and they have to be paid for all the time they aren't doing anything.
The question was asked about experiences and sorry but I have seen them mess up. I'm really not known for pulling punches on things like that
That is not to say that there aren't screw ups everywhere or that the DCL medical staff is any worse than anyone else.

 

[vgaskin]

On our first cruise, it was a land/sea. Right before we left, the kids got a cold and of course I got it. By the time we left, I just had the congestion. This was in the spring so I was so afraid someone would think I had SArs. By the time we landed in Orlando, I was miserable, the plane ride was unbearable. I kept trying to treat it over the counter, by the time we got on the cruise I was in tears. But I was so afraid they would think it was Norwalk or Sars. Finally I went down. They got me in and out in like 20 minutes or 1/2 an hour. She agreed that it was a sinus infection and had me on meds and out of there asap. It was $90 for the visit and $3 for the medicine. I did not get reimbursed but it was counted as a deductible. I was feely mostly better by the time we flew home and the flight was much more bearable. They were great when I went. This was the Wonder in April 03.