This weekend saw some excitement involving the Oasis of the Seas.
On Saturday night, PTZtv (which operates the web cam for the Port of Ft. Lauderdale) began tweeting that the Oasis, which had just left port in Ft. Lauderdale, was quickly heading back to port after a cruise passenger had experienced an injury on the cruise ship.
After the gigantic cruise had transferred the passenger to a pilot boat which met the Oasis a mile or so from port, the ship set sail again. But to the surprise of those following the Oasis on AIS tracking 
services, the ship quickly turned around a second time for another medical emergency.
There was speculation that a passenger had suffered a heart attack (possibly fatal). This time the Oasis elected to enter the port and dock.
In situations like these, there inevitably is talk of passenger inconvenience, demands for compensation by those supposedly “inconvenienced” and other similar nonsense.
It takes a great amount of fuel to turn a ship like this around. There is always pressure on the captain and officers to be on time and make all of the ports on the itinerary as scheduled. But it’s important for the ship doctors to be free to make medical decisions for the health and safety of the passengers and crew free from such financial issues and corporate meddling.
Read this case where the Oasis of the Seas didn’t take the necessary steps to respond to a serious medical emergency and the disastrous effects on a cruise passenger.
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Image Credit: BFMunchkin via Twitter