Medical emergency leaves couple on cruise stranded in the Bahamas as hospital bills pile up

Kristine Solomon
Michelle Manuel and Rose Johnson found themselves stuck in the Bahamas without passports when Johnson’s sudden illness forced them off their cruise ship and into a hospital to seek medical treatment. (Photo: GoFundMe)
Michelle Manuel and Rose Johnson found themselves stuck in the Bahamas without passports when Johnson’s sudden illness forced them off their cruise ship and into a hospital to seek medical treatment. (Photo: GoFundMe)

A couple in Lexington, Ky., thought they were embarking on their dream vacation when they boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise ship to the Bahamas on Friday, but the trip quickly turned into a nightmare when a medical emergency derailed them, leaving the couple stranded without passports in a country that wouldn’t accept their health insurance plan.

Michelle Manuel and her wife, Rose Johnson, live on a fixed income but had always wanted to go on a cruise. Their friends Dillon Ray Roberts and Dewayne Hutton decided to give the couple the ill-fated getaway as a combination Christmas and honeymoon gift. “We were looking forward to it. We’ve been planning it since the summer and we were just really excited to leave,” Manuel told CBS affiliate WKYT in Lexington. “I know I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise.”

But midtrip, Johnson started vomiting and became “deathly sick,” Roberts told Yahoo Lifestyle. A doctor aboard the ship intervened and gave her medication for motion sickness and a shot for vertigo, Roberts said, but the treatment had no effect. So Johnson was transferred to a hospital in Nassau, Bahamas, where her U.S. Medicare was not accepted and she would be forced to pay out-of-pocket.

“[The hospital] wanted me to give them $2,000 cash or else they weren’t even going to see her at all,” Manuel told WKYT. “They said I had to pay $750 dollars cash right then, or they won’t even send her out for the CT scan.” But Johnson and Manuel are on disability, and Roberts said he believes the women don’t have access to such money from the Bahamas — or even at all. The only cash in their possession was a few hundred dollars they’d brought as spending money.

While doctors continued to run tests on Johnson to determine what was ailing her, the cruise ship was preparing to leave the port. Johnson would only be able to board the ship home with clearance from a doctor, but by the time it was pulling out doctors were still preparing to transfer her to a second hospital. “We asked if [cruise directors] could just quarantine her, but they said no because they would be liable,” Roberts said. So he lent the couple more cash, and Manuel was allowed onboard to retrieve their belongings and prepare to stay overnight in Nassau.

Royal Caribbean told Yahoo Lifestyle that its Care Team provided transportation to the hospital and one night of accommodations for the women. A spokesperson confirmed, “[Johnson] was initially treated in our medical facility, but required additional and urgent medical attention that could only be provided in a hospital in Nassau, Bahamas.”

By Sunday, Johnson was diagnosed with an obstructed bowel, Roberts confirmed to Yahoo Lifestyle. He said that she’s been released from the hospital in stable condition and ordered to return home for surgery, though she’s still nauseous and vomiting. But the homecoming won’t be that easy, as neither Manuel nor Johnson have passports in their possession. Royal Caribbean only required U.S. citizens to carry birth certificates on the three-day cruise; passports weren’t needed for entry into the various ports where the cruise ship docked, Roberts said.

So, since Dec. 15, Johnson and Manuel have been stuck in Nassau without cash or a way to get home — including no access to money for international plane tickets to the U.S., though Royal Caribbean told Yahoo Lifestyle its care team will assist with booking flights home and getting to the airport. The women were headed to the U.S. Embassy Tuesday morning to apply for passports, Roberts told Yahoo Lifestyle, but he hasn’t heard whether they were successful. He said the U.S. Embassy accepts applications every morning except for Christmas and New Year’s Day.

In the meantime, Roberts set up a GoFundMe page to help the women get home and pay off the medical bills they’ve accrued overseas. The page has a goal of $10,000 and has raised almost $4,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. Roberts says he’s also been wiring the women money, but it can be hard for them to retrieve it on the island. He says the women are grateful for the funds but are “very stressed” as they fight their way out of the predicament. “They’re safe at a motel but they’re overwhelmed,” Roberts said. “[Manuel] says she feels like her head is about to blow up!”

Manuel told WKYT that the most valuable takeaway from this incident — and the advice she wants everyone to hear — is to always prepare for the worst-case scenario. “I guess, come prepared more for expenses that you’re not expecting,” she said.

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