My husband died on the breakaway

cabin 9732 8/25/17 my husband died on the breakaway 30 minutes after we left

Bermuda. NCL would not return to port I was forced to stay on the ship from Friday until it docked in NYC on Sunday. My husband died Instantly. He was not ill when we boarded. I was charged 9800.00 to my credit card. It was left on my door.

I don’t know how I am going to pay this and tired to dispute it but I signed for them to try to save him. Anyone would. Money is all they care about. I guess the crew that packed me up knew they weren’t getting a tip in my state so they stole multiple items from me.

That’s horrible, sorry for your loss.

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do you have travel insurance? most insurance covers medical expensive

cabin 9732 8/25/17 my husband died on the breakaway 30 minutes after we left

Bermuda. NCL would not return to port I was forced to stay on the ship from Friday until it docked in NYC on Sunday. My husband died Instantly. He was not ill when we boarded. I was charged 9800.00 to my credit card. It was left on my door.

I don’t know how I am going to pay this and tired to dispute it but I signed for them to try to save him. Anyone would. Money is all they care about. I guess the crew that packed me up knew they weren’t getting a tip in my state so they stole multiple items from me.

I remember when you posted this back in October.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=54373120#post54373120

Again, sorry for your loss however medical services are going to bring about medical bills. Either your regular health insurance or, if you had it, travel insurance should cover the bill. Did you not have either of those?

If there is financial issues for you as you suggested it's probably better that they kept you and your husband on board and took you back to the states. The care in Bermuda and getting the body home would have cost you a fortune.

I sincerely hope it works out for you.

Sorry for your loss. I guess you also need to file a report on your stolen items.

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No we did not. Either of us felt

The need as there were no medical problems

I am sorry for your loss, you say August, this is December. I am sure his estate is in process of or has been settled? Any owed monies for final expenses should be paid out of that. Life insurance policies? Travel insurance? Do you have an estate or personal attorney..maybe you should get one....he should be taking care of this. Any medical expenses that occur on ship, will be added to your shipboard account...to be settled at the end of the cruise. As with any medical intervention you will be billed accordingly and the bill must be paid. I am going to assume that your credit card was billed and that bill needs to be paid. You can probably submit any expenses to any insurance program you have for reimbursement of some charges, but I am sure you will be held responsible to get these expenses paid.....sorry

Maybe someone should set up a "go fund me" page to help you pay those bills

Sorry for your loss. Really.

Medical expenses are in fact, medical expenses.

Theft of course is not acceptable.

As to not returning to Bermuda. They save you a great deal of money and trouble. Having to deal with the effort and money of transferring a loved one back to the states would have been very difficult.

Sorry.

OP, wonder if they ever found your glasses or your husband's license, that you reported missing?

I am soooo very sorry for your loss. Your situation reminds us how precious life is and that we never know when our time is going to come. If you did not have travel insurance, but had medical insurance, file a claim. When I had to go to the ship's doctor for a UTI, my ins co reimbursed me for all but my co-pay. I hope this helps you.

No we did not. Either of us felt

The need as there were no medical problems

So very sorry. Unspeakable nightmare.

The medical facility on the ship is contracted by NCL, think of it as an ER. My daughter was in a bad car accident, due to the condition of her vehicle she was taken to a trauma center as a priority one. She was lucky and just ended up with cuts and bruises. She was there, in total, for two hours, $20,000+. She didn’t ask to be taken, the EMT’s on the scene made the decision. That’s what health insurance is for.

Did you submit the bills to your health insurance? Sorry for your loss. Folks that pass away in hospitals still have to pay the bills.

Condolences to the OP; the last thing someone needs when dealing with the loss of a loved one is dealing with financial issues. To avoid that, for the rest of us, we need to do some planning.

Consider trip insurance, or trip medical coverage at least, for vacations outside of the US. Medicare does not pay for coverage outside of the US, and most private health insurance won't cover you in foreign countries and/or "on the high seas" on a ship. Had the OP returned to Bermuda and required air transportation to a US hospital that could run into the tens of thousands by itself. If the loved one had already died, "repatriation of remains" can run more than the bill from NCL's medical staff.

It's OK to self-insure if you are aware of what the total costs could be. Life insurance of 200,000 for a healthy person in their 40's is pretty cheap, and taking $25 to $50,000 of that to pay your trip related medical bills is not a bad alternative to trip medical coverage.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss :(

I have to agree with all other posters, travel insurance is really important. I'm young and always buy it. Not just for if something goes wrong on my trip, but also if I need to cancel or cut my trip short because something happens at home (my grandmother get sick while I'm away, apartment burns down, etc).

On my cruise this past August, one of our roll call members had a family emergency day 2 of the cruise and had to fly home. Travel insurance covers this and makes sure you are reimbursed any unused portion of your trip (depends on the policies). We never like to think that something bad happens to us, but its so important to make sure that your health/travel investment is protected.

I am heartbroken for you at your husband's passing. Your experience must have been an absolute nightmare and I'm sure you are still in pain. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your husband's loved ones.

I can't even imagine how you must feel, but if I was in your shoes I would also be looking for some kind of acknowledgement from NCL (and others) about the way your husband's passing was handled. More than the medical bill, I'm shocked and saddened that NCL seemed to leave you on your own at such a tragic time. While I'm not privy to the details, just the fact that you FELT abandoned and alone means they didn't do enough (in my opinion.) I'm also amazed (but shouldn't be shocked) at how many people couldn't hold themselves back from telling you that "this is why you get insurance!" :eek: I'm not sure how that is comforting, but I guess it makes them feel smarter.

The only thing I can offer you besides my condolences is a suggestion to write to NCL's executive team, if you have not already done so. If I were in your position, I would just be looking for someone at NCL to say "we let you down."

And I get why you felt trapped on the ship back to NY vs. being taken back to Bermuda. At least in Bermuda you could have had family or friends fly in to be with you during those first critical hours after your husband's passing. Again, I am so sorry you went through this and I HEAR YOU. I will remember you in my prayers & wish you peace.

I am amazed at how many think travel insurance is the answer.

Travel insurance does not solve the medical problems and eventual death. (it only reduces the dollars)

Travel insurance does not resolve the issue of having to travel back to NYC with a deceased husband.

Travel insurance probably would not fix the loss of theft from crew packing. (might help, but forms, proof, hassle, pain, etc?)

Her husband died. Nobody can fix that.

So sorry, shame on NCL.

What a nightmare. So sorry for your loss. Prayers.

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I am so very sorry about your loss.

Keith

NCL should have had someone looking out for you and making sure you were okay. Such as phone use or internet help for you to be in contact with your family etc. Making sure you were eating etc. Assisting in getting off the ship, etc. Hopefully they did some of that.

But I think that staying on the ship for less then 2 days probably was easier than the alternative- foreign county, possible legal matters with a death, having to find flight arrangements for yourself and your husband, etc. I feel sure at least one night in a hotel, if not more, would have been needed. Who knows what red tape happens with a death situation. Possibly NCL knew or at least thought that staying on the ship was the best.

Sorry for your loss. Please file the medials bills with your normal health insurance company. A good bit of that should be covered. And if it truly makes you feel better, email NCL and discuss the way you felt thing were handled. If nothing else they need to know the way you felt treated, or ignored.

Again, sorry for your loss.

Not to be disrespectful but the expectation of no medical bills when a patient dies is no where close to reality. You would have the same scenario at any hospital. It is an insurance issue.

Deepest condolences. Perhaps NCL did the best they could for you.

My good friend lost her father during a trip to Italy. She had a very long, difficult and trying time getting paperwork ready (had to go before a judge) to be allowed to return the body back home. The time and heart ache to go through the wrangling also cost her about $50,000 (she felt like so many hands were trying to get money). Being left in Bermuda on your own might have been worse.

Again, so sorry for your loss.

For those of you who didn't bother to read the thread and the link to the her post made several months ago, the stolen items appear to be a pair of glasses and her husband's driver's license.

You must be new here. The peanut gallery has several throw down phrases that a few posters chime in within minutes of any post like this:

"Too bad so sad....you should have had travel insurance". Or how about when someone is life flighted off a ship: "I sure hope they had travel insurance".

"Supply and demand"

"Its not nickel and diming its about choices"

"You will not be missed" (when someone posts they are leaving)

"Its not fair" (any Haven vs non Haven question)

 

 

These phrases will go on for page after page. I think some of them may be robots :confused:

What's really sad is the OP did not ask anyone for ANY advice NOR did she say she didn't believe NCL had a right to bill her for medical services. THAT is the problem, no one really read her post and understood what she was trying to say. She did not post "Do you think I should have taken the insurance?", "Does anyone want to pay my bills?", "How dare NCL for billing me!!" "Why didn't the other passengers chip in and pay my bill?!!" THIS is what I took from her post:

1) My husband tragically and suddenly passed away on our vacation. (Not sure about anyone else, but I would be shocked, extremely emotional and scared if this happened to me.)

2) I was not offered any OPTION of how to handle his remains (stay on the ship, return to Bermuda.) Regardless of the "better' choice, she wasn't given ANY choice.

3) The enormous bill was not delivered to her in person (with sensitivity), but instead was left outside her door (as if she just ran the bill up in the casino or gift shop and it was no biggie.)

4) Her things were packed with such disregard, that she is missing items.

4) She is posting this on a public forum because she is feeling powerless, and wants other people (including maybe NCL) to know what she experienced. And even if NCL doesn't acknowledge her, she'll perhaps have some satisfaction that she shared her story about the way this terrible tragedy was handled.

So based on what I took from her post, I am appalled at some of the responses to her in this thread and it is no wonder she hasn't been back!

What's really sad is the OP did not ask anyone for ANY advice NOR did she say she didn't believe NCL had a right to bill her for medical services. THAT is the problem, no one really read her post and understood what she was trying to say. She did not post "Do you think I should have taken the insurance?", "Does anyone want to pay my bills?", "How dare NCL for billing me!!" "Why didn't the other passengers chip in and pay my bill?!!" THIS is what I took from her post:

 

1) My husband tragically and suddenly passed away on our vacation. (Not sure about anyone else, but I would be shocked, extremely emotional and scared if this happened to me.)

2) I was not offered any OPTION of how to handle his remains (stay on the ship, return to Bermuda.) Regardless of the "better' choice, she wasn't given ANY choice.

3) The enormous bill was not delivered to her in person (with sensitivity), but instead was left outside her door (as if she just ran the bill up in the casino or gift shop and it was no biggie.)

4) Her things were packed with such disregard, that she is missing items.

4) She is posting this on a public forum because she is feeling powerless, and wants other people (including maybe NCL) to know what she experienced. And even if NCL doesn't acknowledge her, she'll perhaps have some satisfaction that she shared her story about the way this terrible tragedy was handled.

 

So based on what I took from her post, I am appalled at some of the responses to her in this thread and it is no wonder she hasn't been back!

A tragedy indeed but as with any other typed post on the internet people it can be interesting how people translate what was written. Yes, too many people went on about the insurance. That happens in tons of threads around here because people don't take the time to read the what others have posted. It is annoying.

However, there is one short, emotional side of the story being presented here, lacking many details that would probably make more sense to a lot of people. I don't need to go through those one by one, since they are obvious and probably not needed for this thread. Most people like to save their "shame on you's" until they know the whole story. (not a dig at you).

I doubt there is one single poster here who doesn't feel bad for the OP.