Long Duration Cruise Question

[PurpleDuke]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to the site and have only been on 2 cruises, each 7 days long. I have a question for those who have been on longer cruises, including world cruises, about medical attention on the ships. I know that all ships have at least one doctor and nurses to cover medical emergencies ect but is there medical staff member who are trained in orthopedics? I was wondering about those people who suffer any ankle sprain on the trip and still have 8 days left of their vacation, do they get any sort of rehabilitation to get them better for the rest of their cruise? Or those who are on a cruise that have pre-existing conditions, knee replacements, orthopedic surgery that might need to do their rehab. on the ship.
Would someone who is trained in that area of medicine (such as an athletic trainer) be helpful? On the longer duration cruises, that tend to have an older population vs the family population would someone who is trained to help with post-surgery rehab. and to develop exercise plans be something a cruiser would be interested in?
Any information and input would be greatly appreciated!

[Mike M]

Cruise ships do not staff doctors in specialty medicine. The doctors are usually general practitioner level doctors.

Take care,
Mike

[Marc]

We are in the midst of a 25 night cruise. As Mike said, the doctor and nurse are generalists but well trained in emergency medicine. I have no doubts that they could tend to a sprained or evern broken ankle. However, if it was anything "serious" or even something you might consider minor but they are unsure of; they will make you get off the ship.

As for rehab, your best bet is the fitness instructor. For a fee, they can set up a regime using equipment onboard. REMEMBER that they are fitness instructors and not physical therapists. If your PT provides descriptions of exercises, I believe there may be enough equipment onboard.

[AF1]

I was on Allure of the Seas in Jan. I was with a group of 20, one of the ladies in my group broke her leg on the zipline. The medical staff onboard did a great job; they took xrays, put her in a cast, and had a wheel chair and crutches for her to get around; unfortunately she had to leave the ship in St. Maartan and fly back home. She had nothing but good things to say about the medical staff.

[CA Cruiser]

We toured the whole medical center on the Golden Princess on our 2 week r/t Hawaii cruise and we were very impressed (we have worked at the VA since 1974) It has 2 medical beds and 2 ICU beds and is fully contained and equipped to do almost everything except offer hemodialysis. Both physicians were surgeons, 1 nurse practitioner and 1 ER nurse. We felt very well cared for there. In the gym there were 2 personal trainers and one offered to help DH keep up with his knee physical therapy at no charge. He was very interested in keeping fit.