Troubles on Norwegian Sun

:mad::mad: Sorry to all the readers it took me so long to write about my problems on the Sun cruise we took in Oct 2011 (which was our last cruise), but it has taken me a while to be able to write this. This was the fifth cruise my wife and I had taken with norwegian and I had purchased travel insurance from them each time. It is too bad we were not given a copy of their policy before we cruised. If we had a chance to read the policy things might have been different. We were on a Norwegian sponsored shore excursion, on the second day of our seven day cruise, in Casemel mexico when my accident occurred. The excursion was learning how to cook mexican food. Of course while we were cooking they provided us with alcholic drinks. I am not used to drinking and as a result when we left the air conditioned building and started walking around. The heat and alchol hit me and I fell. This fall resulted in my being paralized from the chest down. Through many months of reabilitation I am able to walk once again. Now to the meat of the problem. The travel insurance being sold by the insurance company used by Norwegian states that if ANY alchol is involved, the policy does not cover the accident. So if you have one drink on board or anywhere while on your cruise and have the misfortune to get hurt the insurance will not pay for it. So to all cruisers either don't drink at all or don't bother purchasing travel insurance. My wife spent many hours in communications with Norwegian Cruise officals trying to get some reinbursement for the rest of our unfinished cruise. We had prepaid for shore excursions and gratuities for the whole cruise. They rejected all of her requests. The only thing Norwegian offered us was a few hundred dollar credit for a future cruise which we whould have to have taken within a year. If we accepted the offer, we could not say anythong about the accident. At the time I was not able to travel at all. Even now I will never cruise with Norwegian again. I am not happy at all with Norwegian cruise line at all. :mad:

Wow, what a terrible thing to happen! So glad you are now able to walk again.

We have used NCL insurance in the past, but usually purchase our own through Travel Guard or similar. We always download a copy of the policy itself to review. It is available on the NCL website or through a link in your confirmation. Sometimes it is very difficult to interpret for a layperson, but I feel it is our responsibility to try to do so. I imagine many people, like yourself, never look at the policy. I must confess, I don't remember seeing or hearing about this "alcohol" clause before. I sure will check if out next time!

It might be worth having an attorney take a look at the coverage and the circumstances of the accident if you have not already done that. It seems to me that depending on the amount of alcohol consumed, and any record of such, it might be difficult for the insurance company to prove that it was alcohol related.

Thanks for the heads up.

So sorry for your accident and glad you are back, no pun intended, on your feet.

Unfortunately not receiving a policy really is no excuse, did you ask for one?

I certainly would like to know what is in a policy I purchased. It is kind of pointless to purchase something if you are not going to get a copy of it and read it. Not being given a copy really is not an excuse, you should have asked for one and made a point to have read it. Like they say ignorance is no excuse.

With that being said I would consult an attorney but this being international it is going to be very difficult if not impossible to collect from NCL.

This really is not a NCL issue, this would have happened with any ship on any line.

We did go to an attorney with the insurance policy. He stated in his legal oppinion there was nothing we could do about the insurance. We also showed the final letter we received from norwegian offering us a fwe hundred dollar credit but only if we never said anything about accident. You would think after cruising with Norwegian for five cruises they would have treated us better than they did.

Wow, that's terrible, I am really sorry you were so badly injured. But, you drank beyond your known limits and got sick and injured, and somehow this is NCLs fault? I don't blame the insurance carrier for not covering alcohol related injuries. Can you imagine the claims they'd get?! Again sorry for your injuries but I ain't buying it. This is either a farce or the biggest case yet of failing to take personal responsibility for ones actions.

And by the way I'm pretty sure it's an underwriter and not NCL providing the coverage so blaming them is misguided. Especially when there are dozens of travel policies available for purchase. Caveat emptor.

ps I really doubt having one drink EVER voids the policy. If that were the case 95 percent of cruisers are uninsurable.

Pss I'd take the credit, book another cruise, and don't drink.

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No insurance policy is going to cover drinking too much and injuring yourself in the process. The onus is on you to know your limits. I'm sorry you were injured, but you were at fault, not NCL.

While it is a shame that you had to go through the health issues you did, it is not NCL's fault. You had every opportunity to get a copy of the policy prior to travel I am sure. Also, you were the one that drank and even in your post you said you don't normally drink that much. Plus you are in a foreign country and the liquor is normally stronger to begin with. I feel there is some personal responsibility that needs to be taken here.

This to me is in no way NCL's issue and you should count yourself lucky that NCL even offered you any money. And I highly doubt that they said to you if we give this to you don't ever speak of it again.

We did go to an attorney with the insurance policy. He stated in his legal oppinion there was nothing we could do about the insurance. We also showed the final letter we received from norwegian offering us a fwe hundred dollar credit but only if we never said anything about accident. You would think after cruising with Norwegian for five cruises they would have treated us better than they did.

Since you went to an attorney...

-->Did NCL perform as required by the Guest Ticket Contract?

-->Was the credit offered by NCL something they were contractually obligated to do, or did they offer that where they didn't have to?

-->Does your attorney think that NCL is legally liable for what happened?

-->You are asking for money back because you missed part of your vacation. NCL also missed having you onboard. If you are not onboard, they lose the opportunity to make money. In your discussions with NCL, did you offer to reimburse NCL for their missed income opportunity, or was the discussion only about putting money in your pocket? (I'm just wondering if ALL parties who lost out were going to be compensated).

Did your insurance cover the medical/transportation back home aspects?

Ouch! Some of you guys are so harsh.

WOW, what a horrible experience. So glad you recovered. This is a freak chance to be so hurt from an excursion learning how to cook Mexican food.

Besides the cruise money recovery, did the cruise insurance pay for any of your injuries? Or did they completely cut you off because you drank alcohol.

I guess we all learned something here and thanks for sharing your story. So if you are cruising, had a drink, and then fell and break your leg... hold your breath and tell them you never drank alcohol ;)

He was not hurt learning how to cook Mexican food, you make it sound like a jalapeño leaped out and bit him on the ear, he was hurt because he underestimated how much of an effect the alcohol and the sun would have on him and fell. This is no ones fault but his.

Ouch! Some of you guys are so harsh.

WOW, what a horrible experience. So glad you recovered. This is a freak chance to be so hurt from an excursion learning how to cook Mexican food.

Besides the cruise money recovery, did the cruise insurance pay for any of your injuries? Or did they completely cut you off because you drank alcohol.

I guess we all learned something here and thanks for sharing your story. So if you are cruising, had a drink, and then fell and break your leg... hold your breath and tell them you never drank alcohol ;)

He was not hurt learning how to cook Mexican food, you make it sound like a jalapeño leaped out and bit him on the ear, he was hurt because he underestimated how much of an effect the alcohol and the sun would have on him and fell. This is no ones fault but his.

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there! :D

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there! :D

I agree...and I also agree with the post in general.

What has happened to personal responsibility??

1) Knowing when to stop drinking.

2) knowing what your travel insurance policy covers.

The title of this thread should not be Troubles on the Norwegian Sun, it should be Troubles With Tequila.

(and now I have the Sound of Music song in my head: How do you solve a problem like Tequila?)

I agree...and I also agree with the post in general.

What has happened to personal responsibility??

1) Knowing when to stop drinking.

2) knowing what your travel insurance policy covers.

 

The title of this thread should not be Troubles on the Norwegian Sun, it should be Troubles With Tequila.

 

(and now I have the Sound of Music song in my head: How do you solve a problem like Tequila?)

Thank you very much...now I have that in my head!:eek:

He was not hurt learning how to cook Mexican food, you make it sound like a jalapeño leaped out and bit him on the ear, he was hurt because he underestimated how much of an effect the alcohol and the sun would have on him and fell. This is no ones fault but his.

You want to exaggerate the point. The OP did not pass out drunk on the road and get hit by a car. To get paraylzed from the waist down and need major rehab is not some typical "I had too much to drink" report. What if the OP had an allergic reaction to something in the drink in Mexico? What happens if someone got sick on bad tequilla. I guess you would be there to throw your hachet and start the blame game.

The OP was simply stating something that many did not know that situations like this can void an insurance policy. I appreciated learning that.

The OP just was able to walk again and instead of support or sympathy... the OP gets blamed "it is your fault."

Just imagine if your own medical insurance policy had the same clause. You were at a night club and slipped and fell on the floor and needed medical treatment. Sorry, it was your fault! Isnt that the purpose of taking out an insurance policy in the first place? Personal responsiblity of course! But someone can have a bad reaction to just the heat. My sister has M.S. and we had to cancel a Mexican excursion because of the heat.

Some are so quick to judge and start in with the blame game. Very sad statement about society.

I am so sorry about your injury.

I find these policies very hard to read and full of loopholes.

I followed what my doctor said was proper procedure, but since I could not get immediate medical help for my injury, the policy would not pay. (We were rushing to catch the plane home.)

Fortunately my cost was 3K, and did not involve such a serious injury, just knee surgery. From now on we self-insure instead of giving money away.

(My experience was not with NCL insurance,) I would consider buying one of those med-evac policies which should cover the most costly possibility.

The OP does not deserve to be attacked on this.

The OP just was able to walk again and instead of support or sympathy... the OP gets blamed "it is your fault."

.

Who's fault do you think it is they he didn't understand his policy or that he didn't know how much alcohol he could consume without being affected? :confused:

just curious.

Sorry to all the readers it took me so long to write about my problems on the Sun cruise we took in Oct 2011 (which was our last cruise), but it has taken me a while to be able to write this. This was the fifth cruise my wife and I had taken with norwegian and I had purchased travel insurance from them each time. It is too bad we were not given a copy of their policy before we cruised. If we had a chance to read the policy things might have been different. We were on a Norwegian sponsored shore excursion, on the second day of our seven day cruise, in Casemel mexico when my accident occurred. The excursion was learning how to cook mexican food. Of course while we were cooking they provided us with alcholic drinks. I am not used to drinking and as a result when we left the air conditioned building and started walking around. The heat and alchol hit me and I fell. This fall resulted in my being paralized from the chest down. Through many months of reabilitation I am able to walk once again. Now to the meat of the problem. The travel insurance being sold by the insurance company used by Norwegian states that if ANY alchol is involved, the policy does not cover the accident. So if you have one drink on board or anywhere while on your cruise and have the misfortune to get hurt the insurance will not pay for it. So to all cruisers either don't drink at all or don't bother purchasing travel insurance. My wife spent many hours in communications with Norwegian Cruise officals trying to get some reinbursement for the rest of our unfinished cruise. We had prepaid for shore excursions and gratuities for the whole cruise. They rejected all of her requests. The only thing Norwegian offered us was a few hundred dollar credit for a future cruise which we whould have to have taken within a year. If we accepted the offer, we could not say anythong about the accident. At the time I was not able to travel at all. Even now I will never cruise with Norwegian again. I am not happy at all with Norwegian cruise line at all.

No, I am sorry he did not come on here to point that out, that is totally not true, he came on here to blame NCL because he bought a travel insurance policy, never asked for a copy of it, something happened that if he read it he would have know was not covered and than when something happened was mad it was not covered.

And yes, I take personal responsability, I do not blame others, geez man up.

It sucks this happened and I said in my original post I was sorry it happened and I was glad he was back up and about but this come down to buying a policy and not reading it and expecting to get paid on something you did not read. Kind of like the state our own country is in now with the healthcare mess lol.

You want to exaggerate the point. The OP did not pass out drunk on the road and get hit by a car. To get paraylzed from the waist down and need major rehab is not some typical "I had too much to drink" report. What if the OP had an allergic reaction to something in the drink in Mexico? What happens if someone got sick on bad tequilla. I guess you would be there to throw your hachet and start the blame game.

The OP was simply stating something that many did not know that situations like this can void an insurance policy. I appreciated learning that.

The OP just was able to walk again and instead of support or sympathy... the OP gets blamed "it is your fault."

Just imagine if your own medical insurance policy had the same clause. You were at a night club and slipped and fell on the floor and needed medical treatment. Sorry, it was your fault! Isnt that the purpose of taking out an insurance policy in the first place? Personal responsiblity of course! But someone can have a bad reaction to just the heat. My sister has M.S. and we had to cancel a Mexican excursion because of the heat.

Some are so quick to judge and start in with the blame game. Very sad statement about society.

It does does not matter who's fault it is nowadays all that matters is that it is not your own.

Who's fault do you think it is they he didn't understand his policy or that he didn't know how much alcohol he could consume without being affected? :confused:

just curious.

I have bought several NCL insurance policies and the OP brings up a good point. They never deliver the policy to you. You must print it out yourself or find it on the NCL site.

I just reviewed my NCL policy for my Getaway cruise.

Near the end of the policy it has "General Plan Exclusions"

Yes, one is being under the influence of drugs or intoxicants. Take note since many cruise and take excursions and drink.

An act of war also wont get you reimubursed for your cruise .

If you act as a pilot or captain in a boat or plane and an accident happens you wont get reimbursed either :)

If you get pregnant and are sick. You wont get reimbursed. Unless the pregnancy requires a hospital.

Interesting list!

I am so sad you had this experience. I am glad to read that your mobility is improving.

So a question. If I book the NCL rum swizzle cruise and take a drink, and something happens I am not insured as "a drink" means that I consumed alcohol and therefore my insurance is void?

:confused:

Plus you are in a foreign country and the liquor is normally stronger to begin with.

What you may find is that the individuals pouring the drinks in Mexico or other international locales are a bit more generous than most bartenders here in the States.

Now that we have corrected that bit of misinformation...

I feel for the OP but NCL is not at fault in this particular circumstance and bears no direct responsibility or liability for the OP's injuries. I do feel NCL should have immediately refunded any pre-paid expenses.

NCL contracts with an independent insurance carrier to issue the policies provided for purchase as part of your cruise package. It's the insurance carrier that stipulated the "alcohol involvement" clause, not NCL. I never recommend purchasing the offered insurance, but rather purchasing your own through any number carriers. This allows you to customize your coverage and have more control over your cost and coverage.

I'd have to look at some of my old travel insurance contract to see if there is an "alcohol involvement" clause included.

I do not think it is that unreasonable that the average person does not read the policy. How many have really read the entire policy, and/or the entire cruise contract? (yea, some do, but not many).

To have a "drinking" clause in a policy pretty much makes it worthless for so many things. Even if this person tripped/fell with only one drink, they would not be covered. Stop blaming the poster!

What this comes down to is insurance is generally a fools bet. You are betting something will happen and it will be covered and you will get some money back from the insurance company.

The insurance company is betting nothing will happen, and if it does, they can avoid paying. Or at least pay a small amount.

NCL, as the cruise line really owes you nothing. The company that does the insurance is to blame here.

By the way, I wish the title of this had mentioned problems with INSURANCE. It is not about trouble son the STAR.

Also, please remember you do. It have to buy NCL insurance, in my opinion their policy is one of the most restrictive out there.

If that or other policy specifically stated "under the influence of alcohol" (or something to that effect) what exactly does that mean? (And no, I am not trying to pull a Bill Clinton)

I would argue that a blood-alcohol screening or breathalyzer test would need to be performed to make that actual determination. Now as to the level then needed to prove "influence" I would imagine going with the numbers of the country in which the accident occurs...but I am not a lawyer so I am talking out of my hat.

(Reminds me of a Franklin and Bash episode from last season.)