Medical Evacuation

[Katesowner]

After a totally unexpected, couldn't-be-put-off surgery popped up in my life while not traveling, I realized this could have happened on our upcoming SA cruise. Has anyone experienced something similar while on board ship & had to leave the ship for surgery in a foreign country - or an early flight back home? If so, do you have any advice on insurance protection?

[terrymtex01]

The only advise I can give you is to check with your current insurance provider to see what they cover when you are traveling. My insurance covers me for any and all emergency care, including emergency evac off of a ship, however we still purchase travel medical insurance just in case. That way we are covered for whatever my insurance might not pick up. Believe me, it's worth the few dollars the travel medical insurance cost. I would recommend going to insuremytrip.com to find the insurance that is right for you.

[Turtles06]

I agree with the poster above. For most cruises, it's a good idea to have travel insurance, and the cost of adding emergency evacuation coverage is not that great in the grand scheme of themes. (There are other threads on travel insurance; we use Travel Guard.)

Whatever policy you are looking at, read the coverage terms carefully before you buy and make sure you know what you are getting. Without a rider or clause allowing YOU to decide what medical facility you want to be in, some policies may limit you to medical care in a foreign facility that THEY determine is adequate. If you need surgery or care for something serious, you'll want to be the one deciding where that happens.

Have a great trip, and let's hope you never need to use the coverage!

[DMH15]

Hello, earlier this year we were on our SA trip and a lady in our M&G had thyroid surgery a few weeks prior to the cruise. Well, within a day or two of sailing it got infected. In remote Puerto Chacabucco she had to have follow-up surgery. Guess what, she said they were wonderful AND affordable. I seem to recall she said it cost $7,000. She said it would have cost many times that in the U.S. She was able to continue the cruise, but was very, very limited in her activity. Lovely lady.

[coffeecat]

My dad landed in the ship's infirmary aboard the Pearl last spring after having way to much fun snorkling at Great Stirrup Cay (he swears the Barracuda scared him!). When we booked I pressured him to get travel insurance which he did. I think he paid a couple hundred bucks for it for him and his fiance and, upon returning to the states he got his total medical bill reimbursed with in a week and it was completely hassel free (I think it was about $1400 but he had EKGs, labs, a CXR and was in the "hospital" all day our last day at sea). Fortunately he didn't need to be medivaced off the ship. The bill for the ships medical fees would have been something he could have afforded to pay back...the multiple thousands of dollars to fly off the ship though would have been a very large financial burden. The docs, nurses, and NCL staff were absolutely fantastic through the whole thing! He purchased through tripinsurancestore.com.

Even if we never had to use the travel insurance, for me, it just offers so much peace of mind and is worth it for that for sure.

We have a cruise coming up on the Gem and I am thinking of buying NCLs insurance (they have a cancel for any reason 75% cruise certificate if you don't make it to the pier and I think it is 100% cash back if it is for a covered reason). I think you can still get NCLs insurance before final payment date which i think is 75 days out. A lot of carriers won't cover preexisting conditions if you buy it greater than 2 weeks after purchasing the vacation.

Good luck!

[familyof4cruising]

Last April we cruised with my parents. My father had a kidney stone attack on the ship. His kidneys were not functioning.

The ship's bill was $1400 for the doctor. My parents got off the ship to go to the hospital in St Maarten. They couldn't do anything for him. They flew home on a last minute flight that cost $ 2000 for both of them. My parents insurance paid for everything. They also paid for the 2 days that they lost on the ship.

Trip insurance is complete peace of mind. I will never cruise without it.

[sand7sea]

Also, check with your major credit card - some include medical evacuation insurance as one of the benefits. We would never leave the United States without it!

[Sparkylok6]

I buy my insurance from insuremytrip.com and make sure that I have "hospital of choice" so that we can be brought back to the US for treatment. We are covered for Medical Evacuation for $1,000,000. My DH had a heart attack 3 years ago and I don't want to take any chances that we are unable to get him (or even myself) good medical care. I always make sure that I purchase it right after the initial payment is made so that pre-existing conditions are covered.

[Katesowner]

I will doublecheck what NCL offers. Hadn't thought about checking Master Card or Visa. We definitely will get extra coverage for anything unexpected happening thousands of miles from home.

Thanks to all for your experiences & advice!

[gbcruise]

My mom's tour bus was hit by a concrete truck & rolled over into a ravine. Her injuries were severe. Without trip insurance it would of been 75K without the additional expenses for additional surgeries. Dont leave home without trip insurance, cosider it part of the initial cost.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We always get insurance, partly due to elderly parents with health problems, and have had to use it several times--not for us, but for family health emergencies. No emergency evacs, but we're covered if it's necessary.

The importance of insurance really hit home when my husband developed severe chest pain FIVE days after returning from 3 weeks in Kenya and Tanzania. It turned out to be his gall bladder, for which he had surgery here at home, but we still say a grateful prayer that it happened here and not in Africa. We would have been very grateful for our high limit insurance.