Medical services on a Disney cruise?

[dpietrobelli]

Hello! We just booked our first cruise ever, the Disney Fantasy, departing on Oct 27th this year. I'm a little nervous about the length (7 days) because with two kids (5 and 1 at time of travel) you never know. Is there a doctor on call 24 hrs or they have a scheduled time? Do you have any illness related experiences on a cruise? We will be traveling with basic medication (fever, etc.) Thank you for your input!

 

[kcashner]

The medical center facilities are better than I've seen in some small hospital ICUs. There are "hours" for non-emergencies, but the doc is on call 24/7 for emergencies. They are well stocked with medications. What they do not have is a lot of personnel. They are designed to stabilize and transport patients who need hospitalization because the do not have the staff to maintain round the clock care nor do they want that responsibility.

The staff is employed by Vanter medical. You will pay for any services at the time (charge to KTTW) and are given the forms to submit to your travel insurance or health insurance for reimbursement.

 

[fairytalelover]

That's good peace of mind

 

[bksaffle]

My son (6 yrs at the time) was really sick on our Eastern Cruise, he ended up in the ship hospital hooked up to IV's, and was monitored and quarrantined for 3 days in the stateroom. When we got home, my comment was, "if you are a kid, the best place to get sick is on a Disney Ship." They took really good care of him, and they checked on him all the time. He finally was able to get off the ship at Castaway Cay to get fresh air and enjoy the last day of our cruise.

They are very good, the medical team is also the medical team that takes care of the entire crew of the ship.

 

[fairytalelover]

My son (6 yrs at the time) was really sick on our Eastern Cruise, he ended up in the ship hospital hooked up to IV's, and was monitored and quarrantined for 3 days in the stateroom. When we got home, my comment was, "if you are a kid, the best place to get sick is on a Disney Ship." They took really good care of him, and they checked on him all the time. He finally was able to get off the ship at Castaway Cay to get fresh air and enjoy the last day of our cruise.

They are very good, the medical team is also the medical team that takes care of the entire crew of the ship.

what was wrong with him?

 

[fairytalelover]

My son (6 yrs at the time) was really sick on our Eastern Cruise, he ended up in the ship hospital hooked up to IV's, and was monitored and quarrantined for 3 days in the stateroom. When we got home, my comment was, "if you are a kid, the best place to get sick is on a Disney Ship." They took really good care of him, and they checked on him all the time. He finally was able to get off the ship at Castaway Cay to get fresh air and enjoy the last day of our cruise.

They are very good, the medical team is also the medical team that takes care of the entire crew of the ship.

what was wrong with him?

 

[dpietrobelli]

Thank you for your responses! I feel "safer" now

 

[bksaffle]

Fairytalelover - thanks for asking, not to scare anybody...but after all of the tests, it came down to...he swallowed too much of the pool water and the chlorine level just tore his stomach up. He couldn't eat or drink for a few days, throwing everything up, and then became dehydrated. He even had a siezure, so they monitored him and had him hooked up to IV's. They took good care of him, we even had several calls from them after we disembarked, and came home.

 

[mdvlprof]

Pool water. Yuck.
20-yr old DD had a reaction to pool water [Carnival]. Didn't have IVs, but had to go to ship hospital.
Ships hospitals get an undeserved bad rap.

 

[foohpah]

We have used the medical center twice. Once was when I got a vicious UTI on the Magic. I waited until the center was open that morning but it was quick and easy to get in and out for the antibiotics and the pain meds I needed - faster than my doctor's office here on land.

The second was this past June on the Dream when my daughter got her thumb smashed in the hinge side of the stateroom bathroom door. They were really good with her. Gave her pain meds, took x-rays, etc.. Thankfully it was not broken - just looked horrible - and they were able to bandage her up and send us on our way. She felt pretty bad for a day or so just because of the pain but I was glad we knew it was not broken or anything more serious.

 

[DisneyOHFan]

My step-father had an heart attack on a 7 day Western 7 years ago. They honestly saved his life. The entire medical team was beyond fabulous. They took him off the ship and had someone stay with my mom until a plane arrived to airlift him back to the US and they constantly stayed in contact with my mom and the US hospital and called our room with updates.