rimmit

I’d be impressed if RCI went back to smaller ships.  Back in the 80s and 90s nearly all cruise lines were the same, except carnival.  They were all super high class and expensive.  It wasn’t until the Voyager and the cruising boom of the early 2000s that cruiselines really started to separate themselves out and focus on different demographics.  Now you really have 3 very family friendly focused lines like NCL, CCL and RCI and the more exotically older crowd focused lines like X, PCL, and HAL.   Each line has found a niche and target demographic they like.  
 

For RCI to go back and start producing smaller ships with less bells and whistles, I dont think that will ever happen as it goes against their target market.  Maybe something like a Freedom sized ship, but the Radiance  and lower are almost never gonna happen again.  I’d love to see them though as I like smaller ships more, and have been on expeditions with as few as 48 pax and really enjoyed them.

11 hours ago, mjmiller said:

Thanks so much! Your detail is fantastic. I'm looking forward to reading more - as you stated, it's difficult to find reviews of Star Trek cruises.

Yes.  I couldn’t find any so we went into it blind just basing off what we heard at conventions and the Star Trek Facebook groups.  Hopefully, this will help people make a decision in the future.

10 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

This looks like it was fantastic!

 

My husband and I used to go to various conventions when we were younger. I don't know that we'd ever find a good time to do this one, but it's nice to have a peek in on what it was like.

 

Did they change up the food?

The food is the exact same as a typical cruise, They did have some Star Trek themed cupcakes but that’s about it.  I will talk more about the food when I get to that portion of the review, but unfortunately, per ECP it is very difficult to change to themed foods and menus.  They state the bar staff is very nimble and can adapt easily to new themed drinks but food is a whole nother logistical ball game.

It was absolutely incredible and worth the premium cost,  we had an absolute blast.  Best cruise we’ve been on and we’ve done a lot.

1 hour ago, Kayla103 said:

Thank you! I don't plan to use AO often either, but would like it to be an option for him if he wants to go play with other kids.

Our kids love AO.  More so than being with tbh.  Lol.  Our daughter always asks to go and would rather do that then be with us doing Trivia or something else, so you may find yourself using it more than you think.

19 minutes ago, DavidMutchler said:

Thanks, very helpful!  Do they ever fill up and have to turn away kids?  If so, how often and how does that work?

It is possible to fill up.  How often is totally dependent on how many kids are on the boat, and how often they us AO.  Some cruises have 5 kids.  Some have 1k.  Just depends.

For those that have never been on a charter cruise this is my review of the Star Trek: The Cruise Charter by ECP (Entertainment Cruise Productions) from Feb 24 - Mar 3 on the Navigator of the Seas out of LA.  This was my first charter cruise, but have been on 40+ cruises, am D+ on RCI, and been cruising since 1990, so I have a decent amount of comparison.  On a charter cruise, C&A status does not matter and there are no benefits.  That being said I have only been on one cruise since March of 2020 so limited comparisons for the post pandemic cruising experience.   I normally do not write cruise reviews, but I could not find a review of the Star Trek: The Cruise prior to going so thought I’d make one for anyone considering it.  This will be a pretty long and comprehensive review so it will be broken down into parts as I find time to write it.

This is our first cruise I have gone on since my wife was run over a car last June in Zimbabwe.  It’s been a long recovery road and we booked this cruise as it was a bucket list thing and because the entertainment is the highlight so we wouldn't have to worry about her mobility as we were uncertain where she’d be in her recovery.  Thankfully she is able to walk, albeit painfully, around the ship in short bursts, and only required a wheelchair going through the airports.  So making progress!  

TL;DR - WE LOVED IT AND WOULD GO AGAIN!!!

Cost and Booking Process

By the time we decided to go on the cruise it was sold out.  These cruises traditionally sell out 9-10 months in advance.  At that point you need to join a Facebook group for the cruise and find someone that can't go and have them transfer the reservation to you.  There is a $500 reservation transfer fee, which is typically paid by the seller of the cabin.  The cancellation policy is brutal and the only way you can get any money back is by selling your cabin.  There is no point of return when you book a Star Trek  Cruise.  The only way out is to find someone to take the cabin.  So we transferred an inside cabin to our name and the transferee paid the $500 dollar fee.  The total was $4960 dollars all in cost for an inside cabin for 2 people on a 7 day cruise to Mexican Baja with stops in Mazatlan, Cabo, and Puerta Vallerta.  So definitely NOT A DEAL for those deal hunters.  However, if you are going on a chartered theme cruise, you are obviously not deal hunting and going for the experience and energy.  We had previously done these ports on the Vision in 2008 before RCI pulled out of LA so we truly were doing this strictly for the Star Trek experience.  

If you are a previous ECP cruiser you can get a discount which equates to around $500 dollars for an inside cabin but we were not.  The $4960 includes a $350/person fee that covers port taxes, fees, and gratuities.  So ALL gratuities are paid to ECP.  No gratuities are paid to RCI at all.  There is no daily charge to the cabin.  It is totally done via ECP.  The fee covers everything a typical cruise would cover including most ECP Entertainment.  It does not cover actor signatures, photos with the actors, and some of the actor led activities that involve resources such as wine tastings, tequila tastings, charity breakfasts, stocking decorating, cupcake decorating, etc.  These are extra and only about 75-100 people will be able to do those.  Those are all booked ahead of time and sell out in minutes once going live, so you cannot book those once boarding.  Really the only thing you can book after boarding are photos and signatures.  

Embarkation

Well this was a total disaster.  Not RCI’s fault as it was just bizarre weather in LA for the couple days prior and the day of embarkation.  On embarkation day it was 40’s, there were flood warnings for LA, hail, and POURING the rain with 20-25 MPH winds.  We landed at Long Beach airport rather than LAX as it was closer to the terminal.  For those that don't know, LGB is primarily an outdoor airport, as in you walk outside between buildings, there is no jetway, baggage claim is outside, etc.  So minimal cover from the elements when getting off the plane and going to baggage claim.  OMG, we got poured on in the rain getting our luggage, and walking to the cab stand as it’s all outside with no cover.  They are clearly not equipped to handle poor weather at all.  We walked to the taxi stand and went straight from Long Beach to the cruise terminal.  

At the port it was still pouring the rain, and they used a small tent to corral people until embarkation is opened up.  This is a very small tent.  We had the first embarkation time available at 1100 and arrived right on time, but there was no space left in the tent.  Needless to say, us and several hundred people were in a line outside the tent getting poured on in 40 degree weather with 20-25 mpg winds in LA.  It was actually warmer in our hometown in KY ironically.  Not exactly the way to start our vacation, but we didn’t care.  This was our first real vacation without kids in years, and our first cruise since the accident, so as far as we were concerned we might as well have been in heaven.  Everyone despite the rain was in relatively good spirits as everyone was just so excited to go on the cruise.  The energy was palpable just waiting in line to board.  

After about 30 minutes of freezing and getting soaked we finally made it into the terminal.  As with any RCI embarkation these days it is incredibly efficient with a bunch of people on iPads, just checking people in.  For a charter cruise, your C&A status does not matter.  You get zero benefits. No priority embarkation, no drink vouchers, absolutely nothing.  All you get are the cruise points for the cruise. But it really doesn’t matter as there is zero line once inside the terminal  and once you get past security it's not even 5 minutes to board.  My wife was impressively able to walk all the way through the cruise terminal and to Windjammer with no assistance.  There were wheelchairs available, but she was determined to do it and she made it!

Not exactly LA weather.

Inside, warm and changed.  Much better!

Demographic

Given the peak of Star Trek popularity was in the 90’s, not surprisingly the average age of people on the ship ranged between 45-60.  I was definitely one of the younger ones on board, and I am 41.  There were maybe 10 teenagers at most that were not part of the guest talent on board by my best estimates.  The crowd definitely came to party for sure.  Much more so than any cruise I’ve ever been on out of the US.  Most people are either empty nesters, or Adults without kids or Single with no kids, but we did meet some couples that had kids being watched at home by a grandparent, but that was rare.  Not surprisingly, a large contingent of people I met were in science related fields, but there was quite the variety of people on board.  More so than a normal cruise in the off season.  Not quite as diverse as a Spring Break cruise where you get all sorts of families from everywhere on board.  People came from all over the world for this cruise, with the farthest I heard being New Zealand.  Most of the people on board have cruised before, but I’d say the majority have only done Star Trek Cruises.  Eighty percent of the boat is composed of previous Star Trek Cruisers so it has a VERY high repeat rate.  If they were not exclusive Star Trek Cruisers, as in someone who has ONLY cruised on Star Trek: The Cruise, the average number of cruises seemed to border between 4-7 for experienced non exclusive cruisers.  I did not meet any pinnacles on this boat, but since there is no C&A status or really any status of any kind on this boat except for a very small VIP program (only 200 can buy that package option), everyone is equal.  Makes for a very utilitarian environment.  

The VIP program is new for this cruise, and many were worried it would impact the experience.  I can say it did not impact my experience although I had never been on a Star Trek Cruise before.  Everyone I talked to who had been on the previous 5 said the VIP program did not impact their experience either.

Theming

The theming starts when ECP sends you a really nice thick booklet prior to boarding called “Mission Orders” that lists all the actors and actresses and basic info about the cruise about a month before the cruise.  This definitely starts to get the excitement amped up. 

Once you board you get another large thick Star Trek themed pamphlet printed on nice thick paper stock giving a general schedule of the next 7 days with all the major headlining events and times along with a general daily schedule that is subject to change, the itinerary for the boat, bios of the actors, etc.  It’s basically like playbill for when you go to play except the size of a magazine.

ECP did an excellent job doing their best to theme the boat where they could.  From placing Star Trek Signage on elevators and windows, having the interactive screens displaying Star Trek signage and graphics, playing Star Trek Music, overlaying windows and store fronts with Star Trek references, they did a very good job.  Also placed Large Star Trek signs etc around for photo ops.  They had a prop museum of the new show Star Trek: Picard take up the teen area.  All the lounges and restaurants were rethemed and renamed.  There are too many too list on the retheming but the only ones with original names were Cosmopolitan Club, Windjammer and Royal Theater and the MDR.  Pretty much everything else was renamed with a signage overlay.  

Elevators were themed to turbo lifts.

There were Star Trek themed drink menus in all bars.  

This included all of Playmakers which was themed to a Star Trek Baseball team that existed in the show, the main screen by the pool, and ALL Screens everywhere, including the elevator screens.  

The daily cruise compass was also themed to Star Trek.  These were delivered daily to the cabin without asking your cabin steward. 

The stateroom TV had 12 channels devoted entirely to Star Trek shows and movies which was really nice.  When you walked the hallways, you heard Star Trek Music.  They had Star Trek Boardgames and books in the Library.  Nearly every shop, bar and restaurant were renamed for the cruise with new signage.  The company had door and window decorating contests so about 20-25% of doors that you passed had some type of Star Trek Decoration on it which was nice. Some with VERY elaborate overlays with puzzles, giveaways, etc.  Overall it definitely felt very Trekkie.

If there was a screen they'd stick Star Trek on it.

On Embarkation day they also had a Star Trek Themed cake.

Still to come, next time on Star Trek: The Cruise...

Entertainment

Ports

Cabin

Ship

Service

10 minutes ago, Candleonwater said:

This is worrisome. Before we booked, we were assured there's a selection of vegan options each night.

They did have vegan chocolate chip cookies on the buffet one night.  I am not vegan but tried one.  Not for my taste, personally.  It was there though.

2 hours ago, BHappy2Day said:

Leaving next month on Serenade with a one-year-old. 

 

1.  Does Radiance class have water play area for babies still in diapers (underneath waterproof diaper cover, of course!). Expecting not, but would like to know. 

2.  For good reason, we can’t take food off the ship. But how about the baby’s food?  She will be with us in Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan. Do RCCL and the ports make an exception?  
3.  Any experience and/or tips with the nursery on board?  Do you know the price?  
4.  Is in-room baby sitting available?  Price?
 

 

1. There is no baby splash pad on the radiance.

2.You can take processed food off the boat typically.  Fresh Fruits, veggies, etc are a no.

3. Nursery back when we used it which was from 2011-2018 was $6/hr during the day.  $8/hr at night.  Not sure if they raised it since 2018.  Ultimately, they typically give you X amount of hours that you are allowed to book on day #1.  After a day or two they open up the bookings completely, and you can book as much as you want.  We spent thousands in the nursery with our kids.  The nursery was awesome and I highly recommend it.  We used it a lot especially around nap time.
 

4. They no longer have in room babysitting.  That went away several years ago.

I found when the MDR actually got our order right decent.  I am not a foodie though.  My issue is they NEVER got our order right in 5 nights we went to the MDR in one try.  Not once did we get out of the MDR without a mistake to our or our table mates order and the service in the MDR was the worst in my 33 years of cruising. The waiters were bizarrely argumentative  when we argued we got the wrong item, or argued if something was vegan or not etc.  It was just a bizarre experience.  One table mate said his entree was still frozen as well and sent it back.   Never seen that in 30+ years.

It wasn’t spectacular food but I didn’t notice it was notably different than before in the MDR.  I do miss the option for the sirloin everyday though.

I noticed significant cutbacks in Cafe Promenade and the WJ though.  To the point I struggled to find things I wanted to eat in the WJ and Cafe Promenade.  I think RCI knows that they can fill the shop no matter what and are just gonna keep cutting back.  They have taken the Disney approach to business.  Keep raising the prices and cut back until the bottom line shows that the guests are unhappy.

1.). He could be in AO unlimited as long as there is space.  On spring break and holidays the number of kids can max out and then you have to wait for someone to leave.  Otherwise no limits.  Prepandemic they offered adventure time dining where a couple nights a cruise they would take them to WJ and eat from 5-7 bridging that gap.  I am uncertain if that has returned.

2.). That is highly variable.  There are always family friendly activities like sports competitions and things, but specific “family friendly” activities you can do in AO is variable and if done tends to be done during the lunch hours on a sea day.

3.) This kinda depends on the ship, the the main shows in the theater are  always kids friendly.  If you are on a vision or radiance class the activities can be limited but my kids always enjoyed watching the bellyflop competitions and things on the pool deck.  Obviously if you are on the oasis or quantum class the options open up a bunch.  
 

4.). This is vague.  Can you be more specific.l?  I could word vomit a bunch about the kids club but easier if you have a specific question.

4 hours ago, kruzerci said:

It’s incredible to me that people on social media will defend absolutely every cutback blindly no matter what it is. The blind loyalty people have to this company is perplexing. I used to love their product, but was also logical. 

This!

Or if anyone has a current AO daily planner from Mariner that has the kids club ages as well.

2 hours ago, poocher said:

My suggestion?  Stay closer to home for the near future!!!!

Lol.  I am ungodly stubborn.  At some point a vacation will happen without an interruption/cancellation.  Maybe not the next one, maybe the one after that, but some day, but soon.

3 hours ago, 1interpreter said:

OMG, I just read your story from your link. That whole experience was horrible. I can't even begin to imagine what you all went through. Certainly makes you appreciate our health care here much better. I'm so sorry this happened to her.  I hope she is doing much better.

She is.  Thanks.  She’s making great progress in PT.   She walked inside the house from the car two days ago with minor assistance, and PT is wanting her to start actually walking into physical therapy next week, much to her horror.  I know she can do it though.

In regards to her most recent illness, After 6 days of being sick she turned the corner and is doing much better now but still fatigued.  
 

I have filed my claim and am awaiting an adjuster to contact me.  Of my whopping 5 Travel Insurance claims outstanding,  I still have my biggest one for about 62k that has NOT EVEN BEEN REVIEWED yet and I submitted this at the beginning of July, one has actually paid out finally for a minuscule amount, I just resubmitted more documents for 2 other claims, and this most recent one I am waiting for it to also be reviewed.

Does anyone know the current kids club age groupings on the the Mariner?

Previously, AO was divided into 3-5,6-8,9-11.  Some ships have moved that age range on the oldest group to 9-12.  Has that occurred on the Mariner?  Thanks.

On 10/8/2022 at 2:44 AM, 3kidsncats said:

Your trip did start — you left your home and went to Disney.  As soon as you loaded up the car and drove away from home, your trip started.

 

 

Unfortunately, I called travel insurance and said since we didn’t take a flight, the trip starts at the cruise.  Also calling my CC company, they also state this is considered a trip cancellation and not interruption as we never got on the boat. The CC said I can still file the trip cancellation claim if RCI doesn’t get me an FCC.

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Nonsense 

If this were the case EVERYONE (myself included) would buy cruise-line insurance, since you are guaranteed a pay out. 

On top of that the insurance company would now REALLY look for any reason to deny a claim knowing the holder would be less likely to fight it out.

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Totally a business decision. I everyone has a sad story on why they can’t go on a cruise. Including “the dog ate my passport”.  
 

Having a policy makes it easy. Fraud investigation goes to the insurance company. If you bought  insurance through the cruise line, and the insurance company denies your claim, the cruise line will give you FCC. 

I was not aware of this.  So The cruise line insurance provider if they deny the claim RCI will give the policy holder an FCC?  Where does it state that? 
 

I always get multiple third party quotes and pick the best bang for buck coverage for each individual trip but if that’s the case I will look at RCI policy some.

2 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

All cruise lines have the same refund policy I believe, at least all of the mass market ones.

Disney currently allows cancellation for covid/covid sxs with full refund.

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/flexible-refund-policy/covid-19-health-concerns-qualify-for-refund/

We debated between Disney Fantasy oct 6-10 and Indy oct 7-10.  Fantasy was $2400 for 4 nights inside cabin.  Indy $2000 for inside cabin for 3 nights.  Terrible price for an RCI cruise but we are so desperate for a vacation we didnt care.   Disney was actually the better per night deal and had a better cancellation policy.  We had FCCs we wanted to use and are D+ and didn’t want to drive to Miami from Orlando.  Mainly because that meant on disembarkation we’d have a 16.5 hour drive home Vs 13 hours.   In the end it doesn’t matter as well either get our FCCs back or cash via insurance.  Disney still has their covid refund policies though.

29 minutes ago, JupiterTwo said:

 

What I find disappointing about this aspect of the story is what was RCI thinking? They used to ask on the questionnaire whether one had a runny nose, a cough, diarrhea. I always wondered what they would do if I ever answered yes to any of those.

 

But with your wife's symptoms (vomiting, fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, runny nose), what are the odds of things getting worse rather than getting better, especially with her preconditions? What are the odds of her illness progressing beyond the point of the medical center's ability to properly address it? What are the odds of having to divert the ship to handle an extreme emergency situation knowing her condition at the terminal versus canceling your cruise and refunding the cost of two fares?

*edit* Sorry thought you were stating that we should have gone on the cruise given the odds were low something bad would happen.

I’m sure they have bean counters that know that exact answer.  Lol.

19 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

I agree. I’m sure the OP will agree after some time has passed, and the disappointment fades a bit.  I got the flu on the first trip my husband and I went on together, and my poor husband had to drive 5 hours back home with me sick.  I just wanted to be in my own bed, and he made that happen. It is awful to be sick when away from home.

 

OP, I am so sorry you guys have been thru all these struggles, and I am thankful your wife isn’t doing any worse than she is, given the awful situation in Zimbabwe.  I hope you are both able to enjoy time away soon. I understand the disappointment over not being able to cruise.

I’m already over it at this point.   After having 4 vacations this year interrupted, it’s become the new norm sadly.   This one stung particularly bad due to some personal reasons that brought us to FL to begin with.  Time to plan the next vacation that will almost assuredly get interrupted as well.  Each vacation has gotten shorter in time from beginning to interruption.  We got 10 days into the Galapagos, 3 days in Peru, 1.5 days in Zimbabwe and 0.5 days this time.   We’re not leaving the house before the next one gets interrupted.  Lol.

20 minutes ago, twangster said:

Sorry for everything that has happened up to this point and I hope your wife begins to feel better soon.  

 

As far as Royal's position it does appear they should work on their wording which appears to suggest you should board with whatever possible infection may be present as long as it isn't "COVID-19".  There has to be a better way to handle this scenario independent of the financial impact of no refund/no FCC which clearly they should not be expected to provide.

 

Perhaps they are hesitant to state you shouldn't board as that implies they are instructing you not to cruise which could have implications in a legal or financial sense.  For example if they "deny" you boarding (by telling you not to board) then a credit card company could look at that as if Royal failed as a merchant to provide the service you purchased.  

 

Disney charges outrageous prices so they can bury losses and still be profitable.  As a company that is their prerogative to take this approach.  That doesn't mean every other company on the planet should follow the Disney way.   

 

As a consumer I don't want to overpay for my purchases so that others can not follow policy.   I feel terrible for everything your family is going through but I don't think Royal should deviate from their policy and grant you a refund or FCC.  I state this as I myself will probably walk away from a cruise in a week knowing all I'll get back is port fees and taxes.  My personal situation has changed since I booked this cruise and now with a week to go I accept that's on me.  No refund, no FCC, no attempt will be made to lie or fake a false positive or any other means to weasel a refund.  At this point unless there is a pop up hurricane induced refund option I will lose my money and I accept that is on me.  

We have taken hits on cruises before that were on us, in the days before we we’re buying travel insurance and only got back our port fees and taxes, so this is not the first time.  That was completely our fault and I accepted that wholeheartedly.  
 

I never said they should take that approach.  Simply stated it can be highly profitable as some on here have implied RCI would go bankrupt if they were more flexible with their policy exceptions goodwill gestures.   Goodwill gestures are in every industry from my mechanic that works on my car, to retail, medicine, law, etc.

Again, I state this was just salt on some very tender wounds (figuratively and literally).   Dating back to December, we caught covid in Galapagos and got stuck in Ecuador, I had to leave the Inca trail mid trail in April to deal with an emergency on the home front, my wife was run over by a car in Zimbabwe, and our impromptu Disney trip lasted 1/2 day (a whole day shorter than the Zimbabwe trip) before we had to eject from that.  I am 0/4 on recent trips.  Dealing with travel insurance is not fun.   The Galapagos claim went through shockingly fast,  but I’m still waiting on the rest and I call weekly, but they state “they have no estimated time to review the claims.”   
 

At this point if I dont get an FCC that is a deviation from the policy, as she did end up with Covid and per policy we are due a FCC so I am unsure what you mean by that.   I am sure the FCC will be totally messed up though as all of my other ones have been.

(continued from above.   For some reason it uploaded before I was done and wouldn’t let me edit)
 

Ultimately, it’s RCI’s policy to enforce and I accept that, just sad that RCI flipped back to their normal old strict policies so fast when we are still at the waning end of a pandemic.   People are assuming a business would go broke because of the handful of people that would try and abuse a more lenient policy.   The opposite would argue that they could charge more and thrive due to improved customer service and just consider the abuse the cost of doing business which is what most businesses do.   The amount Walmart’s and Lowe’s return policy gets abused is absolute madness.   Walmart doesn’t care as they know if they get you in the building you are spending money.  Lowe’s has some of the most expensive prices in the home improvement industry.
 

Disney charges an absurd amount for anything these days, as the Disney guest service is top notch and I have never left upset with them.  I have no doubt some of their policies get abused and they know that.  
 

Policies are in place everywhere,  but they are bent on many occasion as well, on a case by case basis.  You put a policy in place in a hospital so you have something to stand on when you don’t want to comply with a patient or families request.  We bend them in extraordinary circumstances, but enforce them 98 percent of the time.
 

2 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

Indeed. Problem is, the cruise lines know that a blanket policy of giving a refund or FCC to anyone who claims to be sick would be widely abused. I’ve seen many posts right here on CC encouraging people who want to cancel last minute to falsely claim they have Covid. If there’s a loophole, it’ll be exploited.

 

Far better, in RC’s eyes, to play hardball and have people who are genuinely sick claim on their travel insurance which, after all, is exactly what it’s intended for.

I agree they need to play hardball.  Just impressed how fast they went to hardball after a pandemic, thinking there may have been a period where they’d slowly start being less strict and having some goodwill gestures. 
 

The number of times we have had things go wrong at Disney and they always make goodwill gestures is more than I can count.   They always bend policies just to make you feel better when things go bad.  For example,  when we had to leave the park early due to her being sick we had to miss a reservation.  That came with a $10/person penalty.  We talked to a cast member fully expecting to pay it, but they said no charge and not to worry about it.  I know it’s a big difference between that and a 2k cruise, but that’s just not the only time and the sheer number of times I have been OVERCOMENSATED by Disney for inconveniences is unreal.   
 

Ultimately, it’s RCI’s policy to enforce and I accept that.  And all’s well that ends well.  Have two options to get my money back so at least one will go through hopefully.

5 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

Well he kinda did. Right in his title.    But I understand wanting to vent.   
 

I’ve read his entire blog and this post.   Such a nightmare for sure.    
hands down the main reason you make sure to get insurance.    
honestly I wouldn’t be able to put out the close to 50k cash for evac with out having some time to get it together that’s for sure.   
I have a big 30 day trip coming up in Jan and not only am I getting  the ships insurance I’m also buying a separate medical policy as cheap back up coverage with GeoBlue.    
 

wishing the OP and his wife the best and speedy recovery.    

The title really didn’t indicate blame I felt, but if it did, again I apologize for the misleading title. Thanks for the well wishes.  She’ll get there.  She’s a fighter and very determined to walk again.