Bongomauka

Sorry for the confusion. Our primary healthcare insurance provider will reimburse Oceania directly, not us. We received a bill through Oceania’s third party insurance processor but was told by the agent not to pay it directly as he couldn’t guarantee that we would get a receipt that we would need to get reimbursed ourselves. BTW it was another cruise payment more than $100K, hence our stress level.

Now I remember you from the Marina roll call. How is your new life in Paris? I hope the move was as painless and seamless as you’d hoped.

Thank you for post samian0403. Looks like I missed your original posting until your second posting of it with the recent comment, sorry about that. No we did not receive a bill directly from the Portuguese Air Force but received a copy of it from Oceania/NCL Holdings. If we did, that would have simplified the whole process as we would have paid it and made a claim to our 3 insurance policies which would have covered some or all of it. It then would have been settled many less stressful months ago. BTW the bill for the Medivac was north of $100,000 so continue to be stunned as we are we even less experience in these matters as yourself.

From your mouth to God’s ears.

Thank you for sharing your kind words and thoughts. I can’t imagine someone older than us surviving both ordeals one after another.

Thanks for your support and suggestions. My head is constantly spinning with all the details and I have experienced the whole process so expecting someone else to grasp the whole mess would be wishful thinking.

Thanks for spending some of your precious time considering our plight. You may be right about all it but let me put in a detail here that would make your eyes roll. Apparently Oceania/NCL Holdings didn’t pay the bill directly, they instead paid a port management company named Intercruise the monies and they in turn paid the Portuguese Air Force. How’s that for a long paper trail?

Thank you for sticking with this. In answer to your question, No, were not told to send payment from either Oceania or NCLH, in fact the third party agent recommended against that as he could not guarantee we would get a receipt to present to our insurance companies for reimbursement. Neither of our insurance policies are through the cruise line but rather our own health insurance carrier and our traveler insurance independently purchased through our travel agent. We were told that a third party insurance processor is handling our claim and the confusion they had and miscommunication with the cruise line no doubt was not helpful in our quest for a resolution. Now it's just an issue of our getting a receipt of some kind from Oceania/NCL Holdings demonstrating they paid the bill.

Sorry, I forgot to address your comment regarding our secondary insurance, Generali, which has taken a secondary claim position since this is a medical claim. Our dealings with them have bee relatively pain free and we no complaints about their service and response level. Even if Kaiser denies the claim due to their own judgement or because Oceania/NCL Holdings is not forthcoming with adequate documentation, we may have run out of time since the window for filing a claim for both Kaiser and Generali is one year. You'd think a whole year would be plenty of time but with all the foot dragging, misinformation, misdirection, and outright lies, we are actually surprised we are this far along. The looming deadline is what keeps us up at night. Thanks for your support.

Thanks for posting. The Kaiser third party insurance agent has told us that they will approve full payment of the costs of the medivac and only need documentation from Oceania/NCL Holdings that they paid. Our initial interaction with Kaiser was certainly frustrating and full of misdirection and wild goose chases but once we finally got the right person at the right department at the right third party organization, we made progress. That’s why it’s so frustrating and irritating that this one step is being impeded by Oceania/NCL and therefore the target of my angst and anger.

We have responded and was told that she will look into the matter. We await her response.

Hope that helps in understanding our apparent “overreaction”

That’s a good question and may put this all in perspective. The bill for the evacuation is well over $100,000.

I apologize for the omission but another poster mentioned the cruise ship staff and their role. The exemplary service to my partner and me throughout the medical emergency, medivac, and subsequent disembarkation was outstanding. My disappointment is with Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings who have made the insurance claim process a hellish nightmare not the ship’s staff. The Oceania Marina’s amazing concierge, the housekeeping staff, the medical staff, even the food service staff who helped with the helicopter evacuation as well as the rest of the crew were amazing. They were so kind, supportive, sympathetic and respectful and I’m sure we got through that ordeal relatively intact because of them.

Thank you babysteps and TRLD for your much appreciated support and advice. We’re already in contact with Elliott and have been preparing to contact a local tv consumer watchdog team. I will definitely keep this thread updated as to further trials and tribulations and hopefully a happy resolution.

Thank you for your well considered post. The exemplary staff aboard the Marina helped me research both our primary healthcare insurance and travelers insurance onboard the ship, even assisting me in opening the travelers insurance claim before the evacuation of my partner took place. Our almost daily communications with Oceania is through their third party insurance processor from whom we received the Portuguese Air Force invoice. We have reached out to several executives at Oceania/NCL Holdings including Mr Del Rio and have talked to their executive office via telephone and letter. We have also contacted the promissory note department, Executive desk department, and Oceania guest services. We have so far received a reply from Ms. Leon-Meredith, Director of Financial Services at NCLH stating the situation and that she has put requests for documents. Thank you so much for your valuable insight into how an attorney letter may throw a further wrench into our struggles. We will need to hold off on that option in spite of several posters suggesting otherwise.

Thanks. Yes our travel insurance policy (Generali purchased from our travel agent) explicitly states that our healthcare insurance is primary and that their policy will not apply till the primary declines the claim. We haven’t yet reached out to the TA but plan to as soon as the holiday is over. Thanks again.

You are right! A dreadful waste of 9 months. Unfortunately it goes on. I’m sorry for giving the impression that the advice is all being rejected. I hope I’ve demonstrated my gratitude for all the support and suggestions. Some of the suggestions we have already put in motion and are waiting for them to work, other advice we have taken to heart and have started, like contacting Elliott.com and have renewed our search for an attorney who can help us. As to spending time on this post, I feel that having asked the community for input, I feel responsible that every post should be answered as thoughtfully as I’m capable. While I’m here posting, my partner is hammering away trying to resolve this issue with frequent input from me, much of it from advice gotten here. But you are right, that approach is seemingly now all consuming and so your advice is well taken. Thank you.

Thanks stan01 for your fortitude in slogging through many of these posts. I’m afraid I’ve become redundant in an attempt to respond to all the kind support and helpful advice. We have indeed sent letters to the corporate higher ups in hopes of resolving this frustrating issue. I also am confused as to why our letters aren’t working. Those that get a response usually say they will look into it. We have been waiting for response or action for close to 3 months. It would seem that there would be some documentation of NCL paying the Portuguese AIr Force which is all we need.

I must apologize but I’m sure I am angry and frustrated after 9 months of having to unfruitfully deal with this claim. Also I apologize for not putting all the information in one post as I was hoping posters would have read previous posts with the rest of the pertinent information but realize that might be expecting too much given the sheer number of posts. If you find my posts to be too much Oceania bashing, I certainly can understand. I am exceedingly angry with Oceania/NCL Holdings for prolonging this process, especially given my partner’s now compromised health. I hope I did not imply that the staff on the Oceania Marina were anything less than stellar. Under the circumstances, the concierge staff, the medical staff, and the housekeeping staff were all exemplary. And to your well taken point, yes this may be a one off and I sincerely hope it is, but I also hope NCL’s handling of this situation is also one off and not their typical corporate response in similar situations where their assistance is required. Lastly, you are right, this is my side of the story, NOT Oceania/NCL Holdings or their third party insurance processor, our primary insurance company or their third party claims processor, or our independent travelers insurance company, and certainly not my partner’s. I would be more than happy to read/share their side of the story should that be forthcoming. I will pledge to include their comments should I receive them in future posts.

Thank you for your post. I’m sure I am indeed venting. After 9 months of dealing with this almost daily, my frustration and anger has become second nature when I talk or write about this situation. I’m totally in agreement, with now firsthand experience, with insurance settlements taking years. What is most infuriating is that all of my insurance policies that would cover this claim expire after just one year and yet all parties involved insist on stalling the process, thereby threatening the loss of my coverage.

Sorry I pressed submit prematurely. #6 we purchased our travelers insurance from our online travel agency. It was Oceania who actually sent the PAF invoice to us through their third party insurance company processor. Thank you for responding and any thoughts you may have would be gratefully received.

Thanks for your post. What you have outlined is correct except #4, Oceania has not yet asked us to pay, in fact we were advised not to pay by Oceania’s third party insurance agent as he could not guarantee that we would be able to get a receipt to use for reimbursement. #6. Yes we have additional travelers insurance which was purchased through our on line travel agency. It was Oceania that sent th

I’m not sure what you mean in regards to my jumping to conclusions but any case, I thank you for your input.

I hope you are correct but my trust in both insurance companies and Oceania has been severely tested n the past 9 months. By the way you are not correct. I do need documentation from Oceania. And I need that documentation to get to my insurer. What I don’t need is to end up paying for triple insurance coverage and not being able to use any of it to cover this expense. Oceania doesn’t need to give it too my insurer as they will hold me ultimately responsible for the bill My primary insurance doesn’t need the documentation because getting it means that they are responsible for paying the bill and I imagine would rather not be responsible. So you see I do need this documentation.