Anthem of Seas medical visit on ship free or not?

[kitty9]

Curious as to what cruise line this was; perhaps it varies from line-to-line. I trapped my hand pretty badly when a sliding door closed on it. As far as I was concerned it was an unfortunate accident - no blame. I was treated in the medical facility on the Allure, including x-rays. I had trip insurance plus my primary insurance, and did not pay anything. My insurance also did not pay - RC said they would take care of it, and they did, including PT and x-rays at home. Not sure why RC paid, as I said I considered it an accident, but treatment and follow up was excellent.

 

Mine was on Royal Caribbean. What was interesting is that on my cruise, we were in the Royal Suite, which was right next to the bridge----you know that smaller bridge that juts out of the main bridge. I was sitting on the balcony with my wrapped foot propped up and one of the officers asked what happened. Told him the story and included the fact that the doctor refused to give me a wheelchair to use for the rest of the cruise. Well, within 10 minutes, there was a knock at the door, and a wheelchair was brought in.

 

Mom's was on Celebrity. It was so bad that when the ambulance drivers came on board, when she had to be evacuated off the ship and flown back to the US, the driver asked who was responsible to pay the ambulance bill. The doctor said, and I remember this clear as day, "We are NOT paying. Get it from them." Mom had to have hip replacement and weeks of therapy.

 

Thank heaven for American Express, who gave both my sister and I a $250K amount on our cards in case we needed to cover the bills before submitting them to insurance. Everything had to be paid up front from the ambulance, to the medical evacuation jet to the hospital bills.

Edited August 2, 2016 by kitty9

[Grandma Dazzles]

Thanks for explaining further. I suppose it's another vote for travel insurance (personally wouldn't go without).

 

Have had an ER in the US ask for payment, even though we had insurance. It's unfortunate and distressing when this happens and you are injured/sick.

[Dayenu]

We had to call 911 (yes, ON the ship) from the cabin when a relative got sick. The nurse on duty came to give a shot. Paid out of pocket and got a copy of paperwork for insurance reimbursement. I think the charge was in the $100-$120 area.

[53sunset]

Only if it is gastro related. When I had norovirus on the Rhapsody and Radiance, I recieved complimentary treatment by the nurse. This is also the same for Celebrity cruises. However on Princess and Cunard I noticed gastro related treatment was not complimentary. :)

 

I was on a Princess cruise and had gastro problems and there was no charge.

[IsanTom]

You maybe able to wander down to the medical office and ask for a tour! If they accommodate, ask them a medical question and if they answer it would be free. If not, you'll have to pay $160.

[Geldhart]

My DD11 had bad ankles on our Freedom OTS cruise and we actually brought her manual wheel chair on board. For the first 5 days everything was fine. Then I got a call from Adventure Ocean that she couldnt stand. The ship had been rocking a bit.

 

They were going to summon the nurse, but I told them not bother as there wasn't anything to do. I brought the chair up, picked her up and brought her back to the cabin and iced the ankles like we were told to do.

 

Took her down to medical, explained the issue them asked if I could use the phone to call my insurance to pie approve treatment. Told it wasn't necessary. Waited for a bit as there were two ahead of us. The ships safety officer came down asked some questions then confirmed we wouldn't need to pay as it "happened on the ship".

 

Xrays showed a minor crack. Casted up and we left. No bill ever came. As a Canadian we were freaking a bit over the thought of having to pay US rates for a medical visit.

 

I guess it all depends on the cruise line and what exactly happened (and who makes the final decision)

[Geldhart]

Should have also said that after being in the cabin and treated like we normally do for two hours she was still in much more pain than she normally was. And severely aggravated by normal movement which is why we went to medical.