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What can cruise ship doctors do?

Doctors on the ship can prescribe medications to be dispensed and taken while on board, and treat serious illness either until passengers improve or as a stopgap measure until a passenger can be brought ashore, depending on the scenario.



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How Much Does it Cost to See a Doctor on a Cruise? A medical consultation on a cruise usually costs around $100 (£85) if during medical centre opening hours. This price rises to around $165 (£137) for appointments outside of opening hours and can rise as high as $205 (£170) if a doctor needs to visit a guest's cabin.

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Being airlifted off a cruise usually costs at least $20,000 and this can rise into the hundreds of thousands depending on location and other factors. This is one reason why taking out travel insurance with good medical cover is essential when cruising. Do not EVER cruise without travel insurance.

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Cruise ships can treat a wide range of illnesses and injuries on board. Some onboard medical facilities look like urgent care centers, while others are more like doctor's offices. Health insurance often does not cover medical care on cruises, but travel insurance might.

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Original Medicare (Parts A & B) may cover medically necessary health care services on a cruise ship, if the ship you're on when you receive the care is in a U.S. port or no more than 6 hours away from one when you get the services. That means the ship can be in the water, but must be within six hours of a U.S. port.

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The medical staff on cruise ships can diagnose and treat some illnesses on board and prescribe medications. While cruise ships typically stock a broad range of meds, including antibiotics, there's only sometimes a large supply. Doctors may give you a prescription you can fill at a pharmacy in the next port.

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Ships from the main cruise lines all will have at least one doctor and two nurses onboard. Many larger ships sail with two doctors and three or four nurses. According to American College of Emergency Physician guidelines, ships must have medical staff on call 24 hours.

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The morgue is usually found on the lowest ship deck, away from guests. It is a refrigerated room made of stainless steel with individual compartments. Generally, the bigger the ship, the more shelves are found in the morgue. Morgues tend to be small and can typically hold three to six bodies.

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For those with a degree in hospitality, among the highest-paying cruise ship jobs are executive chef, cruise director, chief purser, hotel director, and human resources manager. While the positions of captain and safety officer pay more, they require graduation from an accredited maritime training institution.

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Unfortunately, illness can strike even on a cruise ship - of course, it's a huge bummer when it does. Luckily, all cruise ships have a medical facility onboard to treat a variety of illnesses and conditions.

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For each cruise there is a dedicated dialysis unit onboard each ship where your dialysis treatments will take place. You will be cared for from the beginning to the end of your cruise by a qualified Nephrologist and nurses who will be on board for the duration of your cruise.

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Depending on the size of the ship and number of passengers and crew members, each RCG ship has two to three licensed doctors and three to five licensed nurses available to passengers and crew members 24/7. Our doctors do not have NPI numbers, as that is a US-based requirement, instead they use tax IDs.

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