Cruise ships can handle many medical emergencies, but they do not have full hospitals.
That means when something happens that the cruise line can't handle on board, there are a few options. Sometimes the cruise ship may change course and head to an unforeseen port.
Related: Royal Caribbean bans this popular family item
It's not entirely unusual to go to bed expecting to start in the Caribbean and wake up in Miami, Port Canaveral or Fort Lauderdale. It's less common to end up being diverted for medical reasons to a destination in the Caribbean, but it happens.
Sometimes, however, medical convenience requires faster intervention. When it is a matter of life or death, the US Coast Guard can participate in a medical evacuation.
This creates an incredibly dramatic situation depending on the ship. Some ships have helipads and can accommodate a helicopter. In other cases, the rescued person is loaded onto the helicopter without it landing.
Royal Caribbean had an exceptionally busy week when it came to medical evacuations, and Cruise News Today's Doug Parker recounted all the dramatic details.
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Several Royal Caribbean ships need rescue
Transcription:
This is Cruise News Today with Doug Parker.
Good day. Here is the cruise news for Monday, December 16. It was a busy weekend for medical evacuations on cruise ships.
The United States Coast Guard carried out two different rescues of Royal Caribbean ships over the weekend. Now, first, a 56-year-old man aboard the Grandeur of the Seas was airlifted 40 miles southeast of Miami. And on the west coast of Florida, the Coast Guard rescued a young woman with an undiagnosed health problem from the Radiance of the Seas.
She was taken to the hospital with her parents. And on the Gulf Coast, an elderly woman was medically evacuated in Cozumel with symptoms of a stroke or aneurysm, causing Harmony of the Seas to return to Galveston eight hours late on Sunday.
Norovirus outbreak in Holland America; Crew days off
And the CDC has confirmed the ninth norovirus outbreak of 2024 for the cruise industry.
Holland America Line's Zyderdam reported that 74 passengers and four crew members fell ill during a 10-night cruise, which ended Saturday in Port Everglades. The cruise line implemented enhanced health protocols and delayed boarding for the next voyage. The CDC has tracked 12 illness outbreaks on cruise ships this year, and norovirus was confirmed in nine of those cases.
Holland America says most cases in Zyderdam were mild and resolved quickly.
And one crew member is urging cruise lines to adopt a new policy, giving crew members one full day off each month. Rennell Banda, founder of Life on Cruise Ships and a crew member for 15 years, made the proposal after hearing widespread concerns from thousands of fellow crew members on his facebook page.
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Banda says a monthly day off would help the crew recharge, increase productivity and improve the overall guest experience. In a video message, he called on cruise industry executives and CEOs to lead by example.
Currently, most crew members only receive a few hours off at a time and continue to work seven days a week for up to nine months.
If you have a tip on a story, let us know at [email protected]. Have a great Monday. I'm Doug Parker with Cruise News Today.
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