Contagious day of cruise?

[Tinkmom]

Hopefully this will not be an issue, but since we cruise on Thursday and my son was diagnosed with strep yesterday I realize that the difference of a couple of days could have been HUGE. His pediatrician says he should be fine to return to school on Wednesday, and cruise on Thursday. Not only feeling that we (hopefully) dodged that bullet, but wondering what would happen if he suddenly begins running a fever Wednesday night......

What would happen if the night before or the morning of the cruise my son had suddenly gotten sick with something contagious? Would DCL offer/require us to rebook for another time without any sort of penalty? Or would we be out of luck entirely, and have to submit a claim if we had travel insurance which covered the cancellation of the entire trip? What if he got sick after we got onboard, would we be restricted to the cabin for the duration?

We booked this three-day cruise through DVC on reservation points left over from a resale contract, purchasing the more limited policy which would pay for medical treatment, evacuation, airfare, etc., but not reimburse us for the points used.

 

[3mickeys&me]

actually if he was already dx and is on meds I wouldn't worry so much about the what ifs. He is not contagious after being on the meds for 24 hrs. so you are in the clear there. Take the meds and take some motrin or tylenol with you just incase he does get a fever. I am sure he will be fine. My youngest ds has gotten strep and after 24 hrs on the meds he was a new guy.

Go and have a great time!!


The ship has a dr on board if you run into any problems.

 

[outahere]

When we checked in both times, they asked us if any of us had anything contagious or had not been feeling well within the past 48 hours. I'm not sure what they would have done if we had said yes, but that's one reason we always buy trip insurance that covers everything.

 

[TootyJane]

actually if he was already dx and is on meds I wouldn't worry so much about the what ifs. He is not contagious after being on the meds for 24 hrs. so you are in the clear there. Take the meds and take some motrin or tylenol with you just incase he does get a fever. I am sure he will be fine. My youngest ds has gotten strep and after 24 hrs on the meds he was a new guy.

Go and have a great time!!


The ship has a dr on board if you run into any problems.

Hmmmm, must be going around. My youngest ds had strep just last weekend. As 3mickeys&me said, he is not contagious after being on meds for 24 hours. As far as Motrin or Tylenol, I'd stick with Motrin as it helps with the pain that accompanies strep throat and was recommended by the doctor to use instead of Tylenol. After startinging the meds, the next day my ds was much better. HTH.

 

[Tinkmom]

Sorry if my questions weren't clear. I understand that he should be fine for this trip -- my question was what if it had hit on the very eve of departure, or if he DID indeed relapse, how would DCL handle it and what would our options be?

 

[tecdavidt]

If he would of been hit hard on the eve of departure you would have had to answer the question with a yes and I would guess you would have been denied boarding. By bringing on a sick child with a contagious illness you would be exposing other children. It would be no different than schools or preschools. Here if a child has strep they have to stay home until the doctor gives the OK they can go back to school. Thankfully you are safe for your cruise. Another reason for trip insurance: if you have young children you never know when they are exposed to an illness that might prevent boarding.

Have a great cruise. Kathy

 

[dletz]

I'm think you wouldn not be allowed on, and DCL would not be required to reimburse you. I think you would loose the cost of the cruise. That is what trip insurance is for.

 

[Tinkmom]

Has anyone actually dealt with this issue, or knows DCL's official policy?

I would not expect that they would deny boarding with no offer of delaying the cruise or any other compensation. DCL obviously wants people to be honest and if there might be a gray area then people would tend to minimize any potential illness. ("Well, little Johnny was a little under the weather yesterday but it's probably nothing and if I say yes then we are out of luck, sooo, nope, no sickness here.")

I vaguely recall people being offered a rescheduled cruise and/or to spend the time at WDW. As we have cruised several times and expect to cruise several more I am interested in what my options would be if we had a contagious last-minute illness. Anyone who has had this experience, or definitely knows what DCL would do?

 

[aprilgail2]

I am so glad I bought trip insurance!! My daughter has had strep 6 times in the past 3 months! She has had fevers 25 out of the last 30 days! We are due to leave next Saturday and I hope she is going to be semi-healthy for that! We go to the DR on Tues for out pre-trip check up and antibiotics perscription....the pharmacy gives them to me unmixed and if she needs them I mix them right up and give them to her! I am hoping once her tonsils come out in June we will be over all this!

 

[aprilgail2]

I am so glad I bought trip insurance!! My daughter has had strep 6 times in the past 3 months! She has had fevers 25 out of the last 30 days! We are due to leave next Saturday and I hope she is going to be semi-healthy for that! We go to the DR on Tues for our pre-trip check up and antibiotics perscription....the pharmacy gives them to me unmixed and if she needs them I mix them right up and give them to her! I am hoping once her tonsils come out in June we will be over all this!

 

[MomofM&M]

Sorry, but as a medical person I couldn't help but put in my two cents.
If your son was diagnosed with strep on Monday and started on antibiotics then 24 hours after starting his meds he is no longer considered contagious if he clinically shows signs of improvement, eg no fever, feels better. The chances of him getting strep on top of being on antibiotics already are very slim. Strep has developed some resistance to some antibiotics, usually the ones prescribed for people with a penicillin allergy, and if your son doesn't feel better or defervesce after being on antibiotics, then it would be time to go back and see your doctor.
If your son has a fever greater than 100.5 48 hours before boarding, you'd have to truthfully answer that he's contagious since although lots of people with viral infections are contagious and don't have fever, if you have a fever, you're considered contagious. Hope this helps.

 

[Tinkmom]

My question is not about trip insurance or about my son's likelihood of being denied boarding. I mentioned those aspects just as personal notes of why this issue came to my mind, but that just confused my question I am afraid.

My question is, to those who have been there, done that, how DCL would respond to a last-minute contagious illness. I am sure that they would deny boarding, but is there policy to offer an alternative (which I would expect from Disney to encourage honesty and cooperation) or is it a case-by-case situation and what exactly has happened to people in those situations? I am curious of the mechanics of what would happen and what our choices might be since it could happen to anyone.

Just curious since it may matter one day.

 

[aprilgail2]

As of this point I am carrying a Dr's note with me stating my child is NOT contagious.....she was diagnosed today with Fifths disease and since she has already broken out in a rash she is no longer contagious but the rash may be around for a week or two...I figure its safer to bring a letter with me than to have them not let us board!

 

[Karel]

My question is, to those who have been there, done that, how DCL would respond to a last-minute contagious illness. I am sure that they would deny boarding, but is there policy to offer an alternative (which I would expect from Disney to encourage honesty and cooperation) or is it a case-by-case situation and what exactly has happened to people in those situations? I am curious of the mechanics of what would happen and what our choices might be since it could happen to anyone.

I have not been in this situation but I think that Disney would say 'too bad. So long.' I don't think there would be any choice. It's all spelled out in the fine print. That's why they sell trip insurance. I guess there's an outside chance that Disney would let you use your payment towards a new cruise.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

To answer your question, I was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 days before our first cruise. It was not something I'd seen coming. DCL was wonderful. A supervisor told me not to worry, that they would apply every penny toward a future cruise should I decide not to go, and that I could call as late as the morning of my scheduled cruise to cancel. We did go and had a great cruise, but it was nice to know in an emergency there were still options. That's why I like to book through DCL directly.

 

[jdm]

I remember someone posting a while ago about this situation happening to her. Evidently, her son felt OK that morning but had vomited the day before and she admitted that honestly when they asked. They did deny her boarding.

I seem to remember that they put her up in a Disney resort with passes to the World. If I remember correctly, she was upset because she felt the resort they put her in was not up to par with what she felt she had paid for (balcony) on the cruise. I think she was offered the option of rescheduling the cruise but paying any difference in fare. Because they had already traveled to Florida, she went with the WDW option but was extremely disappointed.

You seem to want a really difinitive answer to this question (and I'm sure there are many of us who do). Have you thought about calling them directly and asking what your options would be in a case like this? If you decide to do that, please post their response.

I'm glad that your son is on meds and the mend. Have a great time!

Jenn

 

[arlenesp]

While going thru the preboard questions, I asked the rep what would happen if we said yes to the medical ?s and she said we would be denied boarding and arrangements for future cruise would be made. They don't fool around and hopefully everyone is honest.