JustinandMaria

4 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree. Imagine if the cost if was a Hospital ER. My Daughter was Lucky Financially getting sick on 2 Different Cruises during post Covid startup 2021 & 2022. Bad Virus and other one was a Sinus Infection. Each time Quarantined for couple days of Neg CV tests, Initial Infirmary Visits, Meds inc Antibiotic and Daily Cabin Visits by Nurse, was no Charge for anything. Plus Free Room Service, though we Brought her Dinner from Main Dinning after we ate, plus she and her Family was issued 2 days and 3 Days refund from their Cruise even though was just her staying put in the Cabin

Did travel insurance cover it?  My niece the same on NCL and they charged. Not just the cruise but quarantine on land.  Luckily the insurance reimbursed. 

I thought this was an interesting article buying insurance in pieces, ie counting credit card insurance, then medical, then medjet, etc. https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-complete-guide-to-buying-cruise-travel-insurance

9 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

I've had experience with this with a family member who became ill on a cruise and was taken off, with travel insurance. You are somewhat at the mercy of your travel insurance provider regarding evacuation back to the US. Insurance would much prefer you recover enough to fly home commercial. So you may spend a period of time in a foreign hospital. And they will want to be paid. I would not recommend being cash poor in this situation. Travel insurance did eventually reimburse for all those on the ground expenses but you have to have the space on a credit card up front. I don't care how healthy someone is, always get the insurance. This would have been well over $100K without insurance. Royal's shore side support was very helpful through this by the way. Perhaps because we had the insurance they did not ask for payment for the onboard care prior to evacuation. I believe that part was handled directly from the insurance company.

Do you know the insurance company they used? I expect not all insurance companies are the same. Thanks

From what Ive seen the cruise line requires us to pay first and then we have the right to claim from insurer.
 

 Insurance is so complicated so I hope when time comes I did everything right.  If anyone has a good link as to educating on the nuances would love to see it.  
 

States have different requirements as well as age plays into it. In Florida the insurance I called has 15 or 30 days where preexisting is covered.  And thats assuming you were well when you put down the first deposit, even if refundable. Hence my initiating my insurance for 2026 cruise. 
 

I checked Canada and here's some of the reasons for denial. https://bestquotetravelinsurance.ca/blog/7-reasons-why-travel-insurance-claims-are-denied

13 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

There is a grace period on most credit cards.  If we pay our full credit card balance on time each month we don’t pay any interest.  By paying this way we do not go into debt for a cruise yet we get certain payment protections from the credit card company plus extra member benefits (cash back, travel insurance, etc).  Retailers pay a transaction fee so credit card companies can make a profit even if we don’t pay interest.  Of course, plenty of people carry a balance on their credit cards; they may pay substantial interest.

Also some credit card offer no interest for purchases for x months or as attached, payments monthly.   So it’s very difficult to make blanket statements or to “judge”.  But only a financial advisor that knows a person’s situation can give good advice.  But I agree “in general” unless zero or very low interest rates better to wait to be able to pay off the debt/credit card. 

1 hour ago, alfaeric said:

Fwiw, we found that an annual medical focused policy is pretty cheap, all things considered. Just a few hundred bucks for a year, and the evac coverage is really high. 

if you only travel once, taking the risk *might* work, but multiple times a year?  Especially the older you get and the injuries change. 

 

The expensive part of travel insurance is any reason cancellation. And for that, I would suggest to look into your CCs, as some have really good coverage included on the card. 

I believe there’s add on too, at least with Travelers Insured.  So if you want to add interruption it can be an added on for that specific trip.  Then there was also a limit for 45 days per trip.  Someone posted a broker that specializes in travel insurance I will need to call once I purchase.  But I agree seems very inexpensive. My trip happens to be in 2026 so I had no choice but to purchase individual policy. 

Here’s another example how quickly the cost can increase.  https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/investigations/10-investigates/cruise-infirmary-treatment-costs-couple-28000-travel-insurance/67-a5998cb0-07f8-4069-afe8-12b71ef7a6ed

4 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Been long time but saw a couple taken off in handcuffs by Sheriff Deputies, they ran up over $10K in charges and didnt pay, but this was 3 decades ago. Then another couple they owed $900 they couldnt pay and Royal made them sign an IOU to pay within 10days. That one was about 18yrs ago. Neither these were Medical expenses though. 

You got me curious so I see they sometimes hold on to luggage as well as the IOU.  And that would be more reasonable to me to have them sign something acknowledging they are leaving before final bill is settled than asking a man who stopped breathing (?) to settle his account.  I hate to see how they presented a bill to the family whose daughter fell off the ship.  Some compassion is all Im saying while still retaining the right to collect.  

3 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Respectfully, I don't think that was the article's point; rather, I think they were hoping for handouts.  

Since epilepsy qualifies for disability Im very thankful he’s out there working and looking for a better life. Or he could declare bankruptcy.  While he may not gotten the trip insurance right I applaud him for trying to do the right thing, trying to pay the bill.  

12 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The medical center is a third party vendor, they want to get paid. If they got spa treatment instead would those be forgiven too? 

No one is saying it should be forgiven.  It was a reasonable charge. Its an emergency.    I would think the reason for the article was to educate others.  

19 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

How could RCI have handled it better??? This is 100 percent on the couple and specifically the guy who had the seizures. That is one of the biggest problems in the USA these days. Too many people want to blame others instead of taking personal responsibility when something goes wrong. 

They could have handled it better by not presenting the bill to someone who is being emergency evacuated off the ship. Poor taste IMO. What would they have done if they didn’t have funds?  Frankly any approval of amounts I would think would be in duress.  They wouldn’t be in the right mind. 

15 hours ago, pghflyer said:

Interesting article about a new cruiser who had no health insurance or travel insurance and had a medical event. Honestly, compared to my local medical facilities, his charges on board are actually lower than I would have expected.

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/05/21/1252428534/he-fell-ill-on-a-cruise-before-he-boarded-the-rescue-boat-they-handed-him-the-bi

Wow.  Poor guy.  Most kids his age don’t get travel insurance. And as the article mentioned easily missed as it was a gift.  He wouldn’t have had credit card insurance since he didn’t book the trip.  RCCL could have handled a bit better IMO. 

37 minutes ago, broberts said:

 

Simply bookmark your roll call thread in the browser you use.

 

You could also copy the URL and paste it on your desktop for immediate access without first having to start your browser.

 

 

 

Thanks!  I also found in activity just now but not too friendly. Workable though.

It seems we used to be able to access roll calls quickly.  I don’t want to scroll through find your roll call each time.  Is there a feature?  I think because of this more people are moving over to another forum. Thanks!