Our 11/16 NCL Insurance Experience

In early 2015 my DH and I booked the Dawn for a 9 day cruise out of New Orleans. If you have booked this far in advance, you know the time creeps by so slowly and it seems as though the day of embarkation will never arrive!

Time does go by and 2016 was a hard year for us with family illnesses, two deaths, a divorce, and a major health and job transition for our oldest son. I turned 50 this year and at this age we have growing concerns with our aging parents, don't we?!

Introduce late September, we are getting SO excited about our rapidly arriving cruise. Two days in the French Quarter before getting on the boat and drinking, sunning, snorkeling, eating and laughing with friends on our aft suite balcony. Our happy place is approaching!!!

However, as life is in control, this is not what happened. Our newly turned 20 year old college student son called us on September 26th to tell us he had just been diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. in the following days he had surgery, CT scans of the torso and MRI's of the brain. His final diagnosis was T.C. with metastasis to the abdominal lymph nodes and both lobes of the lungs. Stage III. We had been kicked hard in the gut and as a parent all you want to do is fight for your child to be cured. We pulled him out of college, contacted one of the top specialists in the nation and gathered a team of doctors to treat his aggressive form of cancer. The cost to fight cancer is high, treatments are pricey and just one shot he may need to increase his white blood cell counts would cost $18,000. We have excellent insurance through my DH's employer and are fortunate that we have the financial means to pay.

Honestly, I was sad about needing to cancel the trip and I allowed myself to have short little pity parties over it, I'm human. We made the call to our PCC and he instructed us the next steps to take to receive a refund through NCL's travel insurance, which we ALWAYS purchase. Yes, I know there are other companies out there, yes, I know we could do it cheaper, for better coverage. The simplicity of adding this on when we book our cruise is a convenience we use. Truly, its just EASY. In the meantime, NCL refunded us our taxes, gratuities and other costs we had pre-paid.

An e-mail was sent with a document that we and our oncologist would need to fill out. Our doctor was familiar with the form and handed it off to his nurse. A few days later it was handed back to us completed and it was sent on to the company. An e-mail reply came to us with confirmation they had received our form and they would review our claim. Exactly three weeks later we had an e-mail stating everything was approved and a check was going out in the mail in two days for $xxx amount of money. 100% of our cruise costs were refunded between NCL and NCL's travel insurance. The amount of time it took was just over three weeks.

Rarely have I read on C.C. cases of NCL cruisers taking out NCL's travel insurance and needing to cancel. I wanted to give our story with the timetable for others to refer to in the future.

In addition, our son will be starting his third round of chem on Monday 12/05. As you remember from above, he was staged as three. After his first round of chemo, blood cancer markers were drawn and they were in the NORMAL RANGE!!! He has the most aggressive form of Testicular Cancer yet it is the MOST responsive form to this advanced blend of chemotherapy (BEP). This type of cancer can double in size every 10-30 days. Please, do monthly self examinations! Women, tell every male in your life how important it is to self examine and anything feels abnormal to go to a doctor immediately, do not wait a week, a month. T.C. is the most curable cancer a man can get in his lifetime IF it is caught early, as our sons was. He will be done with chemo on 12/19 and after another month of his parents doting on him, he will return back to college in January, 100% cancer free! As a "Thank God 2016 is finally done!" DH and I are likely jumping on the Getaway in late January.

Moral to the story is two part: Buy travel insurance for all of the WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS and SELF CHECK YOUR BALLS!!!;)

Thank you for posting your experience. I have been purchasing the ncl insurance because as you have said it's easy to do when booking. There are a bunch of health issues in Dh's family and I want to be covered just in case. It's good to know if I need to use it it won't be a huge headache.

Speedy recovery to your son, glad they caught it early!

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Thank you for your story. Glad the insurance worked out.

My son's friend who is 12 is battling Testicular Cancer. YES 12 years old! It can happen even at that age. Best wishes to your son. And yes, check your balls and talk to your kids about it!

Thank you for your story. Glad the insurance worked out.

 

My son's friend who is 12 is battling Testicular Cancer. YES 12 years old! It can happen even at that age. Best wishes to your son. And yes, check your balls and talk to your kids about it!

The average age is 15-35. My heart goes out to that young man and his friends and family. This is a part of the body that males do not like to talk about, yet it is so important to seek help promptly. Our wishes he has a complete recovery.

Thanks for sharing your story. So glad your son is doing well. And now I'll have my son check his balls! Never thought I'd say that on a cruise message board. :)

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Thank you for your post. We, too, always buy the cruise line insurance, after losing a lot of money on the first cruise we booked. We were actually on the cruise, when an emergency back home forced us to leave the ship mid-cruise. We lost all that money. Not sure if insurance could have helped an interrupted cruise, rather than cancelled cruise, but ever since, I always buy the insurance now.

As for your son--so glad all is working out well with him. I know how you are feeling, as something similar happened to us back in 1998. Our son, who was a Captain in the US Army, had just returned from 4 years in Germany and Bosnia, but was experiencing horrible headaches. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I took a LOA to stay with him and help him through 2 brain surgeries and weeks of radiation (I am an RN). Fast forward to today, he is healthy and happy, working in a fulfilling career, and raising his two children (he is a widower). But it was a very scary time as a parent.

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I am so glad your son is responding well to his chemo. Many in my family suffered from CA and I can relate to your angst. I wish your son a speedy recovery and return to college.

We never fail to get an insurance and, yes, have a regular check-up as well.

Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for sharing and I'm so glad to hear about your son. My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer stage 4 in July. He is undergoing chemo treatment now. We have a trip planned in January and purchased insurance incase put doc doesn't approve. We have the coolest Dr at MSK and they told us to wait and see his condition in Jan.

But I agree with you if there is anything abnormal to see the dr. My husband had abdominal pain for months and saw 3-4drs before he was diagnosed properly.

Glad your son is responding so well. You will have much to be joyous about in the new year

Safe sailing

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Thank you for sharing your story. And best wishes for your son.

We, too, take NCL insurance. More because our work requirements change on very short notice. We have had to cancel cruises on short notice (for non-covered reasons) and have taken advantage of the NCL credit back on the cancellation fees. We have also had good luck (and kind agents) who have rebooked us a few weeks later to deconflict emergent work requirements with no penalty.

So glad your son is doing well with treatment and I wish your family the best.

I know NCL insurance is more expensive but evidently much quicker turnaround time. We sailed in September. I had a travel guard gold plan. Purchased within 15 days of initial deposit to cover pre existing conditions. Got sick and needed to see ship doctor. NCL gave me a detailed receipt to submit to insurance company. It was pretty straightforward claim and submitted right after the cruise. It's showing online that my claim has been assigned but not even under review yet. I assume it will eventually get paid but FYI to others it does take a while. Same plan purchased for a cruise in 2015. Our luggage was lost and airline eventually delivered but we needed to purchase some clothing. Also had phone stolen in Venice. I submitted the necessary documentation and receipts. Travel guard initially denied the claim due to insufficient documentation. I re-submitted the exact same documents and they honored it second time around. I figured it was probably just the way they do business and figure that a certain percentage don't follow up after claim denial. I won't be surprised if my current claim has the same process to follow so good idea to keep copies should you need to resubmit. Granted both my claims were very minimal $ wise so I have the luxury of waiting. Not sure if I would be so complacent if the amount due was the cost of a cruise. Glad to hear your experience was much easier, especially with all you have on your plate right now. Sounds like you made a wise decision choosing NCL over travel guard.

So glad you have the peace of mind knowing insurance is covering your cruise. Great lesson to all.

I did 4 cycles of BEP chemo 7 years ago for ovarian cancer (germ cell, similar to most testicular cancers) and am doing great. I hope he has the same results. I was 23 so close to the same age. Sounds like he's doing well!

At 22 my nephew was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was successfully treated. During a routine MRI they found a benign brain tumor also successfully treated. Five years post diagnosis he remains in remission and just married!

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First- best wishes to you and your son. Stay strong. As hard as it is for your son, as a parent you are suffering with him. People do not realize that "stuff happens" and how much hassle it might be to get your money back if you don't have travel insurance. We always purchase Travelguard Gold, and have used it 2x for unexpected illnesses. (Once I was off-loaded from a cruise in Belize with dd when she had an appendicitis attack!) We do not buy insurance from the cruise lines, as they do not cover pre-existing medical conditions, which we have in our family. People do not want to shell out the extra few hundred the insurance costs, on top of a cruise price. However, they are quick to complain when they lose the thousands of dollars they may have paid for their cruise due to unforseen circumstances. Again, speedy recovery to your son!

Thank you for sharing. I am so happy your son is beating this. Prayers for his continued well being.

Hope you have a wonderful cruise - whenever that may be [emoji846].

Maryann

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Oh wow, too horrible of a year for your family!! [emoji17] Praise God your son is alive and responding well to the treatments! what a relief to know the cruise was fully refunded, and I wish you a rejuvenating, relaxing cruise when you are able to go!

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Sorry to hear about your son but glad that he is doing well. You should check out Dan Duffy from St. Louis on the F Book....he has a page. He's also written articles for Huffington Post and has a book available on Amazon called The Half Book. He went thru the same thing and I know he would be willing to give advice if needed.

We had to cancel our honeymoon cruise because my DH had an allergic reaction that put him in the hospital for 2 days. NCL was wonderful. We ALWAYS buy the insurance. Twice, DH has had to go to the clinic on board, and between our insurance and the travel insurance, we've been completely reimbursed for what he was charged.

I am the original poster and wanted to do a quick follow up to my post from December 2016. OUR SON HAS REACHED ONE YEAR CANCER FREE! We've also sailed twice on NCL since then and have another cruise to look foward to this November. As a friendly reminder...males-do a monthly testicular self exam and if you notice any changes call your doctor immediately to schedule an examination. Early detection saves lives!

Happy healthy cruising to all in 2018.

Fantastic news. Wonderful way to start the new year

Safe sailing

I am the original poster and wanted to do a quick follow up to my post from December 2016. OUR SON HAS REACHED ONE YEAR CANCER FREE! We've also sailed twice on NCL since then and have another cruise to look foward to this November. As a friendly reminder...males-do a monthly testicular self exam and if you notice any changes call your doctor immediately to schedule an examination. Early detection saves lives!

Happy healthy cruising to all in 2018.

So happy to hear your son is doing good! God bless, and good health in 2018!

This is wonderful news!! Congratulations!!!

In early 2015 my DH and I booked the Dawn for a 9 day cruise out of New Orleans. If you have booked this far in advance, you know the time creeps by so slowly and it seems as though the day of embarkation will never arrive!

 

Time does go by and 2016 was a hard year for us with family illnesses, two deaths, a divorce, and a major health and job transition for our oldest son. I turned 50 this year and at this age we have growing concerns with our aging parents, don't we?!

 

Introduce late September, we are getting SO excited about our rapidly arriving cruise. Two days in the French Quarter before getting on the boat and drinking, sunning, snorkeling, eating and laughing with friends on our aft suite balcony. Our happy place is approaching!!!

 

However, as life is in control, this is not what happened. Our newly turned 20 year old college student son called us on September 26th to tell us he had just been diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. in the following days he had surgery, CT scans of the torso and MRI's of the brain. His final diagnosis was T.C. with metastasis to the abdominal lymph nodes and both lobes of the lungs. Stage III. We had been kicked hard in the gut and as a parent all you want to do is fight for your child to be cured. We pulled him out of college, contacted one of the top specialists in the nation and gathered a team of doctors to treat his aggressive form of cancer. The cost to fight cancer is high, treatments are pricey and just one shot he may need to increase his white blood cell counts would cost $18,000. We have excellent insurance through my DH's employer and are fortunate that we have the financial means to pay.

 

Honestly, I was sad about needing to cancel the trip and I allowed myself to have short little pity parties over it, I'm human. We made the call to our PCC and he instructed us the next steps to take to receive a refund through NCL's travel insurance, which we ALWAYS purchase. Yes, I know there are other companies out there, yes, I know we could do it cheaper, for better coverage. The simplicity of adding this on when we book our cruise is a convenience we use. Truly, its just EASY. In the meantime, NCL refunded us our taxes, gratuities and other costs we had pre-paid.

 

An e-mail was sent with a document that we and our oncologist would need to fill out. Our doctor was familiar with the form and handed it off to his nurse. A few days later it was handed back to us completed and it was sent on to the company. An e-mail reply came to us with confirmation they had received our form and they would review our claim. Exactly three weeks later we had an e-mail stating everything was approved and a check was going out in the mail in two days for $xxx amount of money. 100% of our cruise costs were refunded between NCL and NCL's travel insurance. The amount of time it took was just over three weeks.

 

Rarely have I read on C.C. cases of NCL cruisers taking out NCL's travel insurance and needing to cancel. I wanted to give our story with the timetable for others to refer to in the future.

 

In addition, our son will be starting his third round of chem on Monday 12/05. As you remember from above, he was staged as three. After his first round of chemo, blood cancer markers were drawn and they were in the NORMAL RANGE!!! He has the most aggressive form of Testicular Cancer yet it is the MOST responsive form to this advanced blend of chemotherapy (BEP). This type of cancer can double in size every 10-30 days. Please, do monthly self examinations! Women, tell every male in your life how important it is to self examine and anything feels abnormal to go to a doctor immediately, do not wait a week, a month. T.C. is the most curable cancer a man can get in his lifetime IF it is caught early, as our sons was. He will be done with chemo on 12/19 and after another month of his parents doting on him, he will return back to college in January, 100% cancer free! As a "Thank God 2016 is finally done!" DH and I are likely jumping on the Getaway in late January.

 

Moral to the story is two part: Buy travel insurance for all of the WHAT IF THIS HAPPENS and SELF CHECK YOUR BALLS!!!;)

Prayers to you and your entire family: what a story you had to tell and special thanks for sharing it with us and for the good advise.

I ADORE follow ups and am beyond thrilled to hear about this one!!! Congratulations to your whole family that your son fully recovered from the scariest illness a mother could hear of. Praise the Lord. Happy adventures and sailings to you as you continue through life's crazy journey.

OP, thanks for sharing your story! I am so sorry to hear about all the tribulations of 2017, but I am SO GLAD that things are now so good for you son. All the best for all of you, and I hope that you have a wonderful and event-free cruise. And thanks for sharing a positive story about customer service/travel insurance. We are always more likely to post complaints, and don't remember as often to post when things work well.

I am the original poster and wanted to do a quick follow up to my post from December 2016. OUR SON HAS REACHED ONE YEAR CANCER FREE! We've also sailed twice on NCL since then and have another cruise to look foward to this November. As a friendly reminder...males-do a monthly testicular self exam and if you notice any changes call your doctor immediately to schedule an examination. Early detection saves lives!

Happy healthy cruising to all in 2018.

This is such great news ! Thank you for the update.