Incident on DCL at sea?

[karen4546]

she's on a DCL ship for sure, she's been posting pics of food and the atrium.. but she's the type that craves attention so maybe she's making it up I dunno..I agree with what everyone says here that there's no way they'd bring a helicopter to retrieve a body... I'll ask her when she gets back

i hope she is not a member of these boards and sees your quote. She was probably just mistaken.

 

[71 Truck]

Could be a Medevac but the person died after leaving the ship. The passenger would likely be in very serious condition for a Medevac rather than pushing to a nearby port.


I believe there is a code... maybe “rising star” or something. It may depend on circumstances whether that gets announced.

The term they use for a medical emergency is a "bright star alert". They are one of the few announcements you will hear in your cabin after you set sail. We have heard several over the years. We have been diverted a few times over the years to evacuate medical emergency's.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

wow... do these things get announced on the PA system? it's pretty dark if they went 'someone died on the ship today'... I'd rather they'd keep it under the radar and let CM's inform during dinner or something.

In my experience, when airlifts have been necessary, an announcement along the lines of "due to a medical emergency the ship will be slowing today to allow for a helicopter rescue". No specifics about the "medical emergency".

 

[smmco]

DCL death stats are probably low for the industry, because of the average age of guests, but guests dying of natural causes on cruise ships is a very common occurrence.

People love cruising in retirement. On our Disney TA, I would say more then half the ship was over the age of 65. The middle of the Atlantic ocean isn't a great place to be you need urgent medical attention.

 

[truck1]

wow... do these things get announced on the PA system? it's pretty dark if they went 'someone died on the ship today'... I'd rather they'd keep it under the radar and let CM's inform during dinner or something.

Generally no. In most cases you wont even know about it. What you will hear, is a medical call on the ship, man overboard searches, and upper decks closed temporarily for a helo evac., etc.

We were on the Wonder when some nit wit got into a fight with his wife on the Carnival Sensation, and jumped overboard. Capt John was onboard, and after I had figured out what had happened,( we were in our cabin and I happened to notice what I thought was lightening. Turned out to be the strobes on planes) went out on our balcony in time to hear, then Staff Capt Guus announce over the pa that the man overboard had been located and was being retreived and that people on the open decks could resume speaking again, as I looked down and realized that not only were we not moving but the Sensation was no more then 500 feet away from us not moving either. This was our last night coming in from CC. Next morning on the news we got the full details.

 

[DisneYE]

i hope she is not a member of these boards and sees your quote. She was probably just mistaken.

No, she was very specific about it claiming that it took place in the middle of the ocean (!!) and that it was traumatizing. that's what made me skeptical about it. it just sounds so far fetched.

This is kind of common on social media
Once on the FB group for our summer cruise to San Juan a woman claimed the protests that took place there turned into violent riots & several ppl were shot and died & she was glad DCL canceled the stop at SJ....When I called her out she claimed she read that in Spanish.. I asked her for a link to those claims (I can read/speak spanish) and then proceded to delete/suspend her account. some ppl are in desperate need of validation at any cost.

And then I could also be wrong and the death in the high seas did take place with a helicopter evac & I'm an idiot. Entirely possible.

 

[bumbershoot]

Is it possible that they would do a medevac if the person who passed away was an organ donor? Maybe heart or kidneys needed? I don't know if they would be able to get there quickly enough, though, even with a helicopter.

Unlikely.

 

[Marc D]

Is it possible that they would do a medevac if the person who passed away was an organ donor? Maybe heart or kidneys needed? I don't know if they would be able to get there quickly enough, though, even with a helicopter.

That would be a no. Even for kidneys, the easiest organ to transplant, the circumstances of death must be well-known and controlled for the donor to be considered, then the donation must be processed by a local organ distribution plan, based on medical history of the donor and compatibility factors. The medical team receiving the body would have no sufficient knowledge of the donor‘s medical history and fitness to give at the time of death, the circumstances of death, etc. The care given to preserving the organ until it reached the hospital fitted with the proper medical team to do the transplant would also be a major issue.

Even when death occurs in a major city with transplant doctors available, many donors are refused based on those reasons.

 

[Rob1872]

Another fellow DISer said when one cruiser was disembarked due to a medical issue they had to inform as that affected the itinerary. in that case it makes sense.
But you're right, if someone dies on the ship I'd rather not know.

Agreed with an itinerary change. I was referring to just a passenger passing away from natural causes.

 

[NC Mountain Cruiser]

No, she was very specific about it claiming that it took place in the middle of the ocean (!!) and that it was traumatizing. that's what made me skeptical about it. it just sounds so far fetched.

This is kind of common on social media
Once on the FB group for our summer cruise to San Juan a woman claimed the protests that took place there turned into violent riots & several ppl were shot and died & she was glad DCL canceled the stop at SJ....When I called her out she claimed she read that in Spanish.. I asked her for a link to those claims (I can read/speak spanish) and then proceded to delete/suspend her account. some ppl are in desperate need of validation at any cost.

And then I could also be wrong and the death in the high seas did take place with a helicopter evac & I'm an idiot. Entirely possible.

This is one of the many reasons I do not do social media!

 

[lorimay]

There is not an announcement when someone passes away on the ship.
We have been onboard and saw it first hand. There was a call for help, crew came from everywhere and surrounded the person and CPR was performed on her until the Doctor came. Sh was put on the gurney and taken away, but nothing was ever mentioned, we did not stop anywhere. We went to the next port. We knew she had passed, my husband is a first responder and went over to help until the doctor arrived and said it didn't look good. It was really sad, felt bad the entire cruise.

 

[AquaDame]

The term they use for a medical emergency is a "bright star alert". They are one of the few announcements you will hear in your cabin after you set sail. We have heard several over the years. We have been diverted a few times over the years to evacuate medical emergency's.

This happened on our last cruise... even though it was getting late in the evening too. I hope that person was OK in the end.

 

[Kaleidodad]

This is one of the many reasons I do not do social media!

Well what do you think you're doing here at at the DIS??

 

[monarchsfan16]

Medical emergencies at sea happen more often than most of us care to realize and rarely make the news.

 

[Otimon]

Have seen a couple of helicopter evacuations from the ship over the years. Never knew what happened to those folks but aways sent a prayer out for them.

 

[NC Mountain Cruiser]

Well what do you think you're doing here at at the DIS??

Okay, this and Youtube I guess slightly qualify. No Twitter, no Facebook, and none of the others (Instagram, etc.)

 

[DisneYE]

Have seen a couple of helicopter evacuations from the ship over the years. Never knew what happened to those folks but aways sent a prayer out for them.

Wow. so it does happen. When I read about it I thought there's just no way that can happen.
Where does the helicopter hover? over the top deck or the side? Do they close the deck entirely to ppl? That would be my guess.
As eerie as it sounds I'd like to see a helicopter maneuver close to a ship.

 

[lorimay]

Wow. so it does happen. When I read about it I thought there's just no way that can happen.
Where does the helicopter hover? over the top deck or the side? Do they close the deck entirely to ppl? That would be my guess.
As eerie as it sounds I'd like to see a helicopter maneuver close to a ship.

It happened on our Fantasy cruise in 2014. I am pretty sure it hovered and we watched from the pool.
Everyone cheered when they brought the man into the helicopter, it was something to see.

 

[DisneYE]

Lucky. I've never seen a helicopter hover in real life. That is so cool.

 

[Dug720]

I believe there is a code... maybe “rising star” or something. It may depend on circumstances whether that gets announced.

"Bright Star" - though that is any medical emergency. I've heard it used when someone fell and broke their ankle or leg.