Removed from ship after food poisoning. No refund.

[RJM]

On the second day of our 8 day cruise, my wife and I both got food poisoning. Thanks RCL. Mine was mild, but my wife got so bad, she got an infection which the ships medical could not control, and sent her to the hospital. We had to leave the ship on day 2. Not only were they uninterested in covering any of our hospital or hotel expenses. They refused to give us a refund or FCC. This is abysmal service. You should all be aware of how they treat passengers who get sick on board. And I am certain it is their food that made us sick.

[Matt]

Sorry to hear about your experience and most importantly, hope your wife is better.

What did the hospital diagnose your wife with?

At the end of the day, getting your wife to medical attention is the first priority. I think you'd agree getting her the necessary medical care is more important than anything else.

One thing for the future, travel insurance would have likely covered a scenario like this to cover a refund of time lost.

[CrimsonCruiser]

That sounds like a really tough time. I do hope you and your wife recovered well.

 

Like Matt, I would recommend Travel insurance for ANY future cruise you take, even if you opt to not do Royal again. Most lines (if not all) will not cover the costs of care and transport in events like these. (In fact, I'd like to direct your attention to this line in your cruise contract which you would have agreed to when getting your Set Sail Pass: "c. Payment for Medical or Personal Care Services. Passenger shall pay for all medical care or other personal services requested or required, whether onboard or ashore,  including the cost of any emergency medical care or transportation incurred by Carrier and any costs associated with the provision of medical services as provided in the CLIA Passenger Bill of Rights. If Passenger is unable to pay and the Carrier pays for such expenses, then Passenger shall reimburse Carrier for those expenses."

 

 

Food poisoning is difficult to prove (I say this as one who has had it before) and if only your party was affected it can be easily assumed that you caught something else that was not directly related to Royal's food. This may be why Royal is not immediately offering compensation.

[berkeleykel]

Given so many people are eating the same food, if you two were the only ones who got sick, and in light of the fact that it happened so early on in the cruise, I’m not sure how you could be so certain it was the food that made you sick. What food in particular do you think it was?  

[Ryan79]

You are going to need proof that it was food poisoning and that you ate the afflicted food on the ship. Food poisoning on a ship isn’t just going to affect 2 people out of thousands. Thousands of other people ate the same exact food as you did and I doubt there was lots and lots of other people in your same situation with getting sick. Since this happened so early in the cruise, how can you be 100% positive it wasn’t something you ate before you even boarded the ship? Food poisoning doesn’t always happen within a few hours. 

[almondmilktea]

Did you pay with a credit card that includes trip interruption coverage?  Check with your credit card to see if that could be another avenue to get some reimbursement.

[Spang1974]

Pleas let us know more details? Ship? saying date? Destination/Ports? It would be helpful to let others know.

2 hours ago, RJM said:

On the second day of our 8 day cruise, my wife and I both got food poisoning. Thanks RCL. Mine was mild, but my wife got so bad, she got an infection which the ships medical could not control, and sent her to the hospital. We had to leave the ship on day 2. Not only were they uninterested in covering any of our hospital or hotel expenses. They refused to give us a refund or FCC. This is abysmal service. You should all be aware of how they treat passengers who get sick on board. And I am certain it is their food that made us sick.

Please let us know the details? What ship? Sailing Date? What Destination/Port? Where you ate? What you ate? It would be helpful to allow others the chance to avoid the same fate.

[mistertomatohead]

Yes, please provide details so others can report if they got sick. These things are very unreported. I can remember the good old days of norovirus outbreaks. I was on a cruise (not Royal) earlier in the year and got a bad stomach ache. It was not “fun.” Thankfully it only lasted the night. I’m pretty sure it was some sketchy fish I ate in the main dining room since I only ate cruise food. Nothing in Mexico.

[Pattycruise]

1 hour ago, berkeleykel said:

Given so many people are eating the same food, if you two were the only ones who got sick, and in light of the fact that it happened so early on in the cruise, I’m not sure how you could be so certain it was the food that made you sick. What food in particular do you think it was?  

Royal will never admit if it’s one person, 10 people or 100 people etc, sick on a ship.  They don’t report Covid #’s per sailing, why  report on this? There is no way to find out if there were large amounts of people who may have gotten food poisoning.  It’s not like a restaurant in NY where the department of health might be made aware of multiple cases, (if people choose to report it).  Unless there’s a Facebook group for the sailing, or other social media for the sailing where they can all discuss an illness there will be no way to know.  Even if there is such a group for the sailing I don’t see them getting very far, unless maybe there is an agency that takes complaints for food  poisoning on a ship.

[Ampurp85]

I am sorry to hear about your wife, I hope she is doing well. 

As other have stated without an actual outbreak, tracing a food borne illness to one source is often hard to prove. Everyone's body is different, so it could have been a reaction to the food on board, the issue is no one knows for sure. Since this is the case, there would be no reason for Royal or any company to provide a refund or any compensation. Which sucks, but this is where having trip insurance/travel protection from a card comes in handy. 

[smokeybandit]

How did the ship doctor determine what the infection was and how was it deemed something that couldn't be controlled on board ship?

[Ray]

3 hours ago, RJM said:

 And I am certain it is their food that made us sick.

If my wife was the chef then i would agree 100% 

Hope you are both feeling better.

[Rose City Cruiser]

Sorry to hear your vacation was abruptly ended.  I am glad you both received the medical attention you needed.  As other have stated, travel insurance (medical and non-medical coverage) is something to look into on your next vacation.  If you used a credit card to pay for the entire cruise, I would call them to see if you have any coverage.  

[Al.]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

Sorry to hear about your experience and most importantly, hope your wife is better.

What did the hospital diagnose your wife with?

At the end of the day, getting your wife to medical attention is the first priority. I think you'd agree getting her the necessary medical care is more important than anything else.

One thing for the future, travel insurance would have likely covered a scenario like this to cover a refund of time lost.

 

I just recenty booked a cruise for November and I opted NOT to take the insurance. Last night, I watched your video on the top 15 things you weren't sorry you purchased on a cruise and insurance was one of them. After listening to that and especially, after reading the above, is it too late for me to opt in for insurance for my cruise and if not, how would I go about it? (by the way, I love this site: it's so helpful - like this gentleman's post) and to RJM: sure hope you and your wife are feeling better!!!

Al

[J3N]

 

 

When is your cruise?  You can look online and see what companies are offering insurance for your trip and you can still get coverage.  

[CrimsonCruiser]

53 minutes ago, My3rdAct said:

I just recenty booked a cruise for November and I opted NOT to take the insurance. Last night, I watched your video on the top 15 things you weren't sorry you purchased on a cruise and insurance was one of them. After listening to that and especially, after reading the above, is it too late for me to opt in for insurance for my cruise and if not, how would I go about it? (by the way, I love this site: it's so helpful - like this gentleman's post) and to RJM: sure hope you and your wife are feeling better!!!

Al

Not at all too late. You can add it on via Royal or purchase 3rd party with someone like Allianz. I think for the Royal one, if you don't have a TA, you may need to call - it's been a couple years since we handled our own reservations so I don't know what the new planner looks like. If you have a TA they may also have an insurance program they partner with.

[Matt]

56 minutes ago, My3rdAct said:

is it too late for me to opt in for insurance for my cruise and if not, how would I go about it?

Generally, not. 

A good starting point is https://www.insuremytrip.com (I have no relationship with them, just easy to browse plans)

[ChessE4]

55 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Not at all too late. You can add it on via Royal or purchase 3rd party with someone like Allianz. I think for the Royal one, if you don't have a TA, you may need to call - it's been a couple years since we handled our own reservations so I don't know what the new planner looks like. If you have a TA they may also have an insurance program they partner with.

Yes, I agree with adding coverage.  The only limiting factor is coverage of pre-existing conditions.  In order to have pre-existing conditions covered, insurance must be purchased within a specific timeframe, like perhaps 2 weeks after booking the cruise.  Purchased later, the policy wouldn't have that additional coverage.  For this reason, we typically purchase insurance right away. Knock on wood, we haven't ever needed it for pre-existing conditions.

[Paid4c4]

Glad you are both well, sorry you lost your cruise.  We always purchase travel insurance when we book our cruises.  Our TA always compares and purchases the best insurance for a particular cruise.  Have you ask your TA to reach out to RCCL on your behalf regarding some consideration for your cruise?  Might be worth a try.

Bill