anyegr

AlessandraZoe wrote: "your airline asks for next of kin".

Really? Maybe the big airlines do? Or maybe it's an American thing? But I've never been asked to provide that info when flying inside Europe with Ryanair or Norwegian. I've also never been asked when boarding a ferry in the UK. Or when I go with a tour group.

But, yes, it probably is a good idea to provide the info. Accidents can happen to anyone at any time. That's one reason they're called accidents.

nytraveler

Um - I've flown about a million times and no one has ever asked me for a next of kin.

Which airlines? Which countries?

Can't be sure on the only 2 "tours" I have done - too long ago - but I really don't remember them asking about next of kin.

janisj

>>Um - I've flown about a million times and no one has ever asked me for a next of kin.<<

I agree, most airlines do ask for a contact person but it is optional and I've never seen it required. Nothing about 'next of kin'

AlessandraZoe

I cannot understand the anger against this poster one bit.

My mother is being talked into a cruise as I write over my dead body, but I would still have assumed, given my experience with younger "active" people cycling tours, that these big cruise companies, whose clientele ages far older, would certainly "kick it into gear" in a sensible way.

As others are suggesting above, a good hotel behaves better.

I am asked for a contact "other than a person traveling for you" for every overseas air flight I make. How do you think airlines notify families in case of crashes? ESP?

Let me explain once again--the cycling trips we take certainly take NO responsibility for one's medical health. These companies do everything to make sure that you buy medical/evacuation insurance, most going so far to include it in their trip price but giving you the option to get your own.

But even if you don't get health insurance, the company reps are not going to drop you at the nearest health clinic and let you die there, either, without contacting someone back at headquarters.

One guy we cycled with many years after the fact was air-lifted out of the country where he had a head-on collision with a bad driver. His pelvis was destroyed; he was unconscious. He is totally loyal to the cycling company because they "got on it" ASAP in the right way.

More specifically, the guides got him to the nearest medical service, contacted headquarters, made sure he was still breathing and had people around him who were willing to make sure he was still breathing--and they went on to guide the tour with a delay of around three hours.

The company headquarters had someone speaking the local language within the hour to assess what needed to be done. The guides checked in by phone from the road to make sure everything was on task.

As this fellow cyclist said, medical insurance isn't worth anything unless there is someone who isn't comatose able to contact the medical insurance and/or contact someone back home.

So whether you are on a cruise or not, think about who is going to be able to kick your medical insurance into gear.

So I question again any anger against this poster. He provided a good red alert for all of us.

IMDonehere

Um - I've flown about a million times and no one has ever asked me for a next of kin.
_______
Whenever I book a flight, they ask who to contact in the event of an emergency.
__________________________________________________ ______

I cannot understand the anger against this poster one bit.
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The people on these boards are the direct descendents of Cotton Mather.

Cranachin

Did you know that Cotton Mather played a major role in promoting inoculation against smallpox, at a time when most people were afraid of and opposed to the practice, even as the disease wreaked havoc on both the Native American and Anglo-American populations of the British colonies?

latedaytraveler

"After all, most honest and diligent companies have some sort of protocol."

Agree with ALEXANDRA ZOE.

On a solo Insight tour of Britain in 2010, I fell returning to the bus in York - beautiful day, mid morning - who knows? Really hurt my left wrist but thought I could tough it out.

When the tour director saw me he said, "I am taking you to the hospital in York", but I insisted that we should press on to Edinburgh. It was a long ride but I made it with a "little help from my (new) friends" who offered assorted aspirin, sympathy, and the like.

Took a cab to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh where my wrist was put in a loose cast which gave great relief. Told to return the next morning. The young doctor and staff were great but suggested immediate surgery. "No thanks, doctor, I will return to Boston tomorrow." Side note - money was never mentioned and the admitting person would not take my US insurance cards.

Returned to the hotel, met with the tour director and bus driver. Told them of my decision. He presented paper work which I signed indicating the reasons for my departure. Thanked him, gave both guys a nice tip (had plenty of £££s left at this point), and asked for the trip survey on which I praised his efforts. He really appreciated this last gesture.

I had taken out insurance but I totally had forgotten about it at this point - all I wanted was a return flight home. By now I was groggy. The concierge at the Hotel Roxburge in Charlotte Square was great - he arranged flight back to Heathrow and home for the next day. British Airlines put me in first class which I really appreciated. Had surgery at Mass General a few days later. Clean break and healed rather quickly.

It was only after I returned home that I remembered the trip insurance - lengthy complicated process but I was compensated for the days on the tour that I missed.

Just another hairy travel story...

AlessandraZoe

Thank you, Latedaytraveler and IMDonehere for validating not only my thoughts but those of other posters above.

A cruise is my idea of one more step towards death. But I have made the mistaken assumption that the attractiveness of a cruise is a sort of safety net.

I just took a look at employee complaints (NOTE not customer complaints) for GC.

Hmmm-
Big turnover.

Let's contrast. My go-to cycling companies, even though they employ at the guide level relative life-transient youngsters, still have an employee stability rate over time. Many of these youngsters who choose no longer to be "on the road" start staffing back offices.

No one is allowed to be "on the road" without an extensive interview period and extensive emergency training. So whoever goes on to staff back offices still has training.

Cruises? Think twice.

As to contact info:
I do not know who the heck so many of you have flown with. I don't actually care. FYI, USA airlines file "profiles" for every frequent flyer, and if you fly them and you want your FF miles, you HAVE informed them of other contacts.

If you have not, the person at the check-in desk plunking your luggage on the belt has been trained to ask you for that information.

If EasyJet and Ryan Air do not ask that information of you: Think TWICE.

Yes, we now return to the poster's message:

--Do not assume that a cruise has a safety net.

--Do not assume that travel/medical/evacuation insurance solves all.

My suggestion after this post? If you travel alone on a cruise, find two or three people that seem nice, buy them some drinks and say, "If I'm injured, could you notify these people for me."

adrienne

<< My suggestion after this post? If you travel alone on a cruise, find two or three people that seem nice, buy them some drinks and say, "If I'm injured, could you notify these people for me." >>

This seems like a really good idea and I would be willing to do this for someone but how could it be done?

The two river cruises I thought about taking didn't have internet connectivity on the boats. I don't have a cell phone that works in Europe. The only way I can think of is to ensure the tour leader notifies the family. But I would not be able to notify the family directly.

lincasanova

Has anyone contacted this or any cruise company to ask what protocol is? I am curious.

latedaytraveler

Another "ladies who do lunch" precaution: I photocopy my passport then write a message on the reverse side identifying myself, home contacts, names and dates for all hotels, including those used during a land tour. I also list flights. Who knows when an accident/health incident can happen?

When I went to Paris and Normandy, I translated this info "en francais" using freetranslations.com. I have a copy in my purse and another one in my hand luggage. The next time I would also include the name of travel insurance company and their emergency number.It all fits on one piece of paper....

IMDonehere

Did you know that Cotton Mather played a major role in promoting inoculation against smallpox, at a time when most people were afraid of and opposed to the practice, even as the disease wreaked havoc on both the Native American and Anglo-American populations of the British colonies?
___________
Yes, I did and was also responsible for laying the foundation for the irrational fear of the Salem witch hunts. Additionally in Richard Hofstadter's Pulitzer prize winning book Anti-intellectualism in American Life, he lays the blame for this systemic problem on the colonial Puritans and other colonial religious groups.

Micheline

Thank you AlessandraZoe for saying so well what I wanted to say. It's not at all surprising that some new posters don't come back. I learned a lot from this post.

IMDonehere

I think the most document anyone who posts here needs is a DNR.

adrienne

Do you mean this thread or this board?

IMDonehere

More and more these boards.

travelhorizons

OP makes a good case for making sure you have travel insurance when you travel (at least a low-priced "zero line" policy) or, better, MedJet Assist which would have flown her back to her hospital of choice stateside for surgery, etc.

AlessandraZoe

travelhorizons--

You may have missed this point: Medical/travel insurance has nothing to do with a basic failure to report back home to next of kin or another contact person on the part of the cruise line.

This little old lady could have had ten policies. As another poster indicated above, he/she certainly had the required medical insurance. Those are worth nada unless someone responsible for the injured will communicate and will put the policy into action.

Luckily, the OP's little old lady in question was a plucky sort--and she was conscious!

-----------------------------------------

Adrienne, an inability to be connected in an emergency is why people should shell out for a local SIM anyway if traveling by oneself, although I certainly had not thought it was needed on a darn cruise--<u>and that is exactly why this post was such a great wake-up call for all of us</u>.

Getting a cheap GMS phone in Europe is not brain surgery, nor is it costly. It's only 20-30 Euros for a GMS phone and local SIM--WITH TIME!--that will do text and calls throughout Europe.

How many thousands for a cruise???? How much for travel insurance? Over two weeks, a cheapie phone costs almost nothing.

The poster's title warns "Think Twice".

I shall. If my mother goes on a cruise (again, over my dead body), then my sister and I will hand her one of our GSM cheapies with one of our latest SIMs with our numbers, local emergency lines, and cruise hotlines in the address book.

Based on this post, we also will call the cruise line to make sure there is a protocol that they will follow.

And we will let them know that we will hold them accountable to follow that protocol.
------------------------------------------------

IMDonehere--OMG, you made my husband's day.

Your "DNR" put him under the table laughing--and I'm worried. He's REALLY old (I keep telling him he's "cruise ready" as it is). I sort of want to keep him around, so I fear I can't let him read yours or Cold's remarks anymore.

With affection,
AZ

adrienne

The local phone is a very wise idea for cruises. And let's hope the boat is not out of range of the phone!

One thing I travel with is the AT&T Direct codes so you can dial an English-speaking operator in the US and place a collect call to home. This is old-fashioned "technology" but one that works in the absence of a cell phone or internet.

lauren_s_kahn

This is why everyone should have Travel Medical Insurance. When you take a group tour, it is generally included in the price. I buy a policy once a year because I go out of the country 1 or more times each year and don't want to think about it. It is basically a medical evacuation policy--and everyone should have it.