I developed appendicitis on board Carnival Ecstasy... My story

[bigdog1958]

Not correct.

 

My insurance provides me the same coverage when I am traveling/cruising as when I am home. Of course, if I need medical care, it is unlikely any in-network providers would be available, which would mean I might have to cover the difference between the actual charge and my insurance companies allowance, but deductibles and maximum annual out of pocket would apply so I am not worried at all about health insurance when we cruise.

 

Be sure to check whether your coverage would pay for an air ambulance back to the US. Most will not, they will pay for ambulance to nearest hospital. So, if docked on any island, you may only be covered for transportation to that islands facilities. I guess if you are happy being operated on at one of the islands it wont matter, but I would want to get back to the US.

[crusinpsychRN]

People think ship MD's are inferior. I was in medical for something else and the MD told me I should be on a certain blood pressure med my MD never prescribed--he just changed the order every 3 weeks and none of the meds helped. Told him what the ship MD said, changed to that and my BP has been under control since--a year.

[ducklite]

People think ship MD's are inferior. I was in medical for something else and the MD told me I should be on a certain blood pressure med my MD never prescribed--he just changed the order every 3 weeks and none of the meds helped. Told him what the ship MD said, changed to that and my BP has been under control since--a year.

 

 

 

Just like anywhere there will be good and bad. Unfortunately unlike onshore where you can "fire" a doctor if you feel you are getting bad care, or get a second opinion, at sea you are stuck with the doctor at hand.

[Shmoo here]

I think each of us should understand our own personal insurance options prior to automatically spending extra to insure an upcoming cruise. My health insurance covers me outside the U.S. so I feel spending extra for trip health insurance would be a waste.

 

Read your insurance policy details before assuming you need to spend more to be covered on a cruise.

 

But that's not the norm for health coverage. Most US health plans do not cover "out of country", which is where you will be once you board the ship. Most notably, Medicare doesn't. Also, even if the medical is covered, most times you'll have to pay up front and be reimbursed once back home.

 

And, while medical care may be covered, many time evacuation won't be, and that can be really costly.

 

But, I agree, read your policy to find out what, if any, coverage you might have (and read up on the steps necessary to get that payment).

Edited September 25, 2016 by Shmoo here

[jebhoward3]

We have dined with ship Medical Dr.'s on both Princess and Holland America. Both said that they have regular employment where they live either in Hospital or private practice and that they sign up with an agency that sets them up with 1 or 2 cruises. They are required to have ER experience. It is a vacation for them and their wives with regular office hours and on call hours.

[kpacinsc]

So glad you're feeling better!

[Purvis1231]

There are some misunderstanding about air evacuation by the US Coast Guard for medical emergencies from a ship. By law there is no charge for this.

[Mary Ellen1]

We have dined with ship Medical Dr.'s on both Princess and Holland America. Both said that they have regular employment where they live either in Hospital or private practice and that they sign up with an agency that sets them up with 1 or 2 cruises. They are required to have ER experience. It is a vacation for them and their wives with regular office hours and on call hours.

 

We dined with the medical staff (1 Dr. and 2 nurses) several times on Carnival, and they were aboard the ship on 6-month assignments. This was 5-6 years ago... The dr. was from Pakistan and the two nurses were from Australia.

 

They were very happy to be invited to the MDR, which came about when a couple of seats at our table opened up unexpectedly. Two members of our party had to leave the cruise -- one at the doctor's orders (a 15-year-old friend of the family, who broke his leg on the first night), and the other being my 21-year-old nephew, who escorted the teen home from Grand Cayman.

[Cushing985]

You crazy child! I get you wanted to get back home and go to a local hospital but I don't think I would have done that. Your recovery probably would've have been faster but who knows? You know your body (and you're a nurse) so you probably played the odds.

 

I've also have had experience with Carnival's medical staff and they're great. Couldn't ask for better treatment!

 

So, in closing, nurses hold a very special place in my heart. In my book, they can do no wrong. Glad you're feeling better and take very good care of yourself!

[DebJ14]

We have dined with ship Medical Dr.'s on both Princess and Holland America. Both said that they have regular employment where they live either in Hospital or private practice and that they sign up with an agency that sets them up with 1 or 2 cruises. They are required to have ER experience. It is a vacation for them and their wives with regular office hours and on call hours.

 

We too had the ship's doctor assigned to our table on HAL. He was great. We hit it off as he and his wife were the same age as we were, while most of our other tablemates were 30 years older. We went ashore in several ports together and had lots of late night chats. He was an ER doctor from California and for his vacation every year took back to back longer cruises as the ship's doctor. We agreed that we wished our doctors were more like him and would have had no qualms about getting medical care on any ship on which he was the doctor.

[CarolinaCookieman]

But that's not the norm for health coverage. Most US health plans do not cover "out of country", which is where you will be once you board the ship. Most notably, Medicare doesn't. Also, even if the medical is covered, most times you'll have to pay up front and be reimbursed once back home.

 

And, while medical care may be covered, many time evacuation won't be, and that can be really costly.

 

But, I agree, read your policy to find out what, if any, coverage you might have (and read up on the steps necessary to get that payment).

 

On my first 7 day cruise out of Port Canaveral in August, 2007, I had a medical emergency. During the evening and night of Day 5, I had trouble breathing, and a very fast, irregular heartbeat. The next morning I went to the ship's medical center, where the nurse found a very elevated heart rate and very high blood pressure. The Doctor quickly found that I was in Atrial Fibrillation.

I spent 22 hours in the ships medical center, and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance from the port. The medical bill for treatment on the ship was over $23,000, and I spent almost a week in the hospital in Cocoa Beach.

 

Thank goodness I had purchased trip medical insurance, as they paid the whole bill, including lodging and food for my wife while I "extended" my vacation in the hospital. My regular insurance paid for the hospital stay.

 

I am a firm believer in trip medical insurance, and always buy it.

[thinfool]

But that's not the norm for health coverage. Most US health plans do not cover "out of country",

 

While this is more or less true, there have been several CC members reporting that their coverage extends beyond US borders. So, while not common, it still exists and each cruise passenger would do well to verify what they actually have.

 

In my case, my anthem-blue cross coverage covered cruises when I was insured.

 

Now I have medicare...no coverage, but my medigap still has coverage out of the US.