Recently on a cruise tour where one of the passengers had an acute illness, a noncommunicable infection. On one occasion we lost time while he sought out a pharmacy, and he had to be "babysat" by tour guides as he was too ill/uncomfortable to participate in any tours. Luckily his illness did not progress requiring him to seek out a clinic or hospital which would have cost the rest of us at least half a day if not more. Did not consult physician before leaving for fear that he/she/they would advise him not to travel. While many of us have controlled pre existing conditions that could flare up at any time so be it random event. I for one would not leave should I have an acute problem, that's what travel insurance is for! Hard to enjoy tour if ill, and would worry about seeking additional medical care if needed, not to mention the possibility of ruining others trip. Thoughts?
Travelling With Acute Illness
4 Answers
In my post below, I ended it with "I'll stop there,,," because I have lots of choice words for the inconsiderate, self-centered, ignorant so and so's who do this...everywhere...not just cruise ships...ask virtually anyone who has to fly....
I wish they would "keep it to themselves" literally.. I am not a fan of sitting in front of (or next to...) the coughing, sneezing, hacking person on the oh so-too-tight bus who chose to share their misery and germs with the group. Traveling ill is one thing, but participating in a group activity is quite another. Ugh
I've actually had this happen. I'm prone to sinus infections and I had one just before going on the cruise. I spoke to my doctor before leaving and said "Look I think I have a sinus infection and I'm leaving on a cruise next week. Can I get some antibiotics?" The doctor said I had a "sinus irritation", prescribed me extra strength doses of allergy meds, and told me I'd be better in 5 days. Boy were they WRONG!
5 days later, and halfway into a 10 day cruise, I'm stuck in my cabin, too weak to get out of bed. When I finally got the strength to go, I marched myself down to the Infirmary, who took one 3 min. look at me and told me my suspicion was correct....I had a sinus infection. They prescribed me some antibiotics and told me I would start to feel better in 3 days. Boy were they RIGHT: we made a stop at Busch Gardens Tampa before heading home and I was already riding all the rollercoasters in the park except one by the time I got home.
I assume you had some sort of conversation with the object of the exercise or someone in his party to get all this info. Rather than be hyper critical, which is easy to do, I WILL say that I honestly believe this happens ALL THE TIME. (Define that any way you like)...Simply not possible to load hundreds of cruise ships with tens of thousands of passengers virtually every day world wide without some percentage being VERY sick with something (communicable or not) and keeping it to themselves. I'll stop there...