Hello Everyone!
Today we will be attacking a less beautiful topic when it comes to cruising. This isn’t something you normally think of when you are looking at those beautiful beaches for ports of call or laying by the pool with a Pineapple Dream Cocktail. I’m going to start this off by saying that I have cruised many times and what happened to me would not prevent me from sailing again (I currently have 2 more sailings lined up). I do think that it would be a nice eye opener.
This was a 7 night Southern Caribbean cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas for those of you just joining me! This occurred on the the fifth night of my cruise. My day port was Antigua for this particular day. By the time my friends and I finished on the island around 2pm, we headed back to the ship. We wanted to catch the end of the lunch buffet before we went and laid out by the pool. After the buffet and pool, I headed back to the cabin for a little cat nap.
That little cat nap turned into a 3 hour nap oddly enough when I awoke to realize it was 7:30pm. When I woke up, my stomach felt a little nauseous. I’m never get sea sick so I figured something may have hit me wrong. I ended up throwing up shortly there after and felt better. However in another 20 minutes, I got sick again. I rallied and was working my way down towards dinner in the main dining room. I asked my waiter for some rice and broth as I wasn’t feeling well (he was more than happy to accommodate what I needed).
Before he could even return, I left the dining room to throw up again. Deciding that three times was enough, I headed down to the Medical Office on deck one. The doctor’s consult was $189 but at that point, I did not care. I was down there for about 2 hours. They hooked me up to an IV so I wouldn’t get further dehydrated, gave me a shot of zofran, took a blood sample and gave me some antibiotics. They told me I would have to stay in my cabin for at least 24 hours.
After the shot I had felt better for those few hours, little did I know, I was in for one hell of a night. I barely slept, purging my insides another 10 plus times. I was completely sick inside and out. I couldn’t keep water down and just felt like I had nothing left to give.
By the time morning came, the puking had stopped. My stateroom attendant was told to not let me leave my room. He informed me that room service was aware of the situation and I could order anything that I needed (they give you a special diet to reintroduce food). A gentleman from guest services also called to inform me that I was entitled to complimentary pay per view, bottles of powerade, ginger ale and whatever else I needed to be more comfortable. He also informed me that I would be receiving a cruise credit for the day that I missed (St. Kitts).
My takeaways are pretty simple. You need to keep an open mind: I had a drink on the island (beware of ice) not thinking or it could have been something from the buffet. The staff was extremely accommodating and I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I was definitely very glad that I had a balcony cabin because I did sit out there quite a bit. Anything can happen when you are around a lot of people from all over the world and while you are traveling the world.
If this ever happens to you, just remember to take it easy and don’t be afraid to use the services on board. $189 is a lot cheaper than getting shipped off to an island hospital and being flown home. If you want more details about this, I participated in a podcast with Royal Caribbean Blog’s, Matt Hochburg, discussing this experience. I will list the link below!
http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/01/25/dealing-being-sick-royal-caribbean-blog-podcast
Stay tuned for the next island video!
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