Two Cruise Ships Needed the Coast Guard in the Same Week

Two cruise ships made news on November 5 for the same reason: a passenger who needed to get to a hospital faster than the ship could manage. Cruise Hive reported that Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas diverted for a U.S. Coast Guard airlift during its first transatlantic crossing, days before its arrival in the United States.

Separately, Cruise Hive reported that the Coast Guard airlifted a medically ill passenger off Norwegian Bliss off the coast of North Carolina. The two events were unrelated, and neither report suggests a problem with the ships themselves; they are examples of how the cruise industry’s medical emergency system works when a vessel is far from shore.

In practice, a ship’s medical center can stabilize a patient but cannot always provide the care needed. When it cannot, the captain can request help from a coast guard or rescue coordination center, which may send a helicopter if the ship is within range or ask the vessel to move closer to land. Diversions like Legend of the Seas’ can change an itinerary, so passengers may notice schedule changes.

For travelers, the takeaway is to check that your travel insurance covers medical evacuation, since an airlift off a ship is not always covered by a basic policy, and to bring medications in carry-on bags. If you have a chronic condition, it is also worth locating the ship’s medical center on day one.

Sources: Cruise Hive, Cruise Hive