By Ship….

On an Atlantic crossing there is no where to go…..

This is our third transatlantic cruise. Cruises such as this one are essentially repositioning cruises, meaning the ship needs repositioning from one part of the world to another part. These longer itineraries, heavy on sea days, are offered at discounted prices and can be a great value for those who can travel in a slow, unrushed way.

Given that description, any wonder that repositioning cruises attract a more mature crowd, folks toting oxygen tanks, strutting with walkers, and roaming the ship in wheelchairs.

The downside of appealing to a way over 70 crowd is that some people embark on these cruises in less than optimal health, many way less.

While our itinerary did not include a stop near Bermuda, two days out of port, that’s where the ship headed. Early in the morning another cruise ship sent by lifeboat one of its gravely ill passengers who joined an ill passenger on our ship, both needing hospital level emergency care.

Pilot rescue boats. Thankfully, they exist but who wants to use them….

Health emergencies at sea aren’t rare. A couple of years ago the ship we were traveling on to Europe shifted course toward Bermuda after a guest experienced a heart attack. Bermuda sent a rescue boat toward the ship while the captain sailed toward Bermuda. When the two vessels met up, the guest was transferred at sea and transported to a Bermuda hospital. And today, two more passengers are under emergency care —but on the ship because we are so far from land the ship must go forward toward land.

As we and other passengers watched the brave sailors on the pilot rescue boat edge closer to our huge ship, battling rough waters as they positioned for the transfer of patients and their families, I wondered what type of person sets out across the ocean in such a vulnerable state of health.

It is well known to ship crew that people die on cruises, especially on longer itineraries. On round-the-world cruises, a guest dies about once every two weeks according to crew. Those cruises draw a much older group, many quite sick. Perhaps the lure of one more adventure, one more interesting port, one more meal… is stronger than thoughts of safety.  Perhaps someone drawn to adventure can’t quite give up the thrill.