you got to be kidding me!!!!!!

[misty57]

It is hard to ask your child to "buck up"! I also take lots of pharmaceuticals with us, but never would have thought of ambusol. I usuallly take ibuprophen, excedrin, Immodium, pepto, bandaids. DH has to have Tylenol for pain instead of ibuprophen and he forgot to pack any on our most recent cruise. It was $12 for one small bottle! On one cruise DH had a toothache. Now that can ruin the trip. Now I pack oragel. I will add a few more items after reading these posts... neosporin and ambusol.

[joe6666]

When you paid for the ambesol with your Sea Pass card, did they charge you a 15% gratuity?

[Isaboo]

We were charged $250 to have a splinter removed from my 3-year-old's hand once. I believe it was on Radiance. I now know to bring tweezers.

[JenAndDan]

Insurance is great and I buy it every time BUT I bet it takes six weeks or longer to get reimbursed if you have to file a claim!

 

 

FYI - We needed to file a claim on our last cruise. Not medically related (we lost a flip video while jet skiing) but everything was so easy and fast to file the claim and receive the check.

[Aquahound]

First i want to say we just had a great 8 day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas. But.....it was the day before going to our last stop in Labadee and my son came down with a huge canker sore inside his mouth. We tried the salt thing but it wouldnt touch it so we went to the infirmary. They wanted to sell us a small tube of ambesol for guess how much........$90.00 BUCKS!!!!!!!! Ater paying all that money for the cruise plus what we spent onboard......what a slap in the face by RC! :mad::mad::mad:

 

I'm not justifying $90 for Ambesol becasue that really is ridiculous, but I think the slap in the face isn't necessarily by RCI. The med staff is contracted. I'm not sure how much, if any, of the billing goes to the cruise line.

[derftegel]

Hate to see what a condom would cost, but then you could get reimbursed by the govt.

[birdylady]

I agree with most of the posters. I can understand an upcharge, but $90 is absurd and insulting. We too bring a variety of items, like bandaids, immodium, rolaids, neosporin, etc... This year I added the 'dental' fix should a filling/crown come loose. With all my dental work, that would really help impact the enjoyment of a cruise. I think I will add oragel/ambesol to my shopping list for my upcoming trip.

 

And I also used to give hubby a hard time over everything he packed. It never fails, we always end up using at least one item from 'our' mini pharmacy. But to be fair, I would hate to go to the ships infirmary for something that is just 'my system' and they can decide they are afraid it's something like noro and quarantine me. Believe me, if I feel bad, I'll quarantine myself.

 

Erika

[joe6666]

A year ago on a RCI cruise, I went looking for a little sewing kit to re attach a button.

Sure enough, I found one in the little store that sells aspirins, Advil and that sort of thing.

It was $15 and it was so poorly made that after I used it, it went right in the trash. The little plastic snap on top was worthless.

They didn’t really have to beat me twice, but they did.

They sold me a piece of junk at a highly inflated price.

I decided to get even, so I asked our room attendant for and extra bar of soap and I put it right in my Dop kit. I checked my account, and there was no mention of it.

[TXSAIL]

Very smart idea ...

This is exactly why I bring a mini pharmacy along with me on all cruises. My family has always given me a hard time about it, but I like to know that I have whatever I might need (I like my own brands), and didn't pay through the roof for it.

 

Will start packing for our next cruise in a few months. Will show this to my family if they get on my case again.

[Rala]

We were charged $250 to have a splinter removed from my 3-year-old's hand once. I believe it was on Radiance. I now know to bring tweezers.

 

I hope you're driving to the port because the TSA folks do not like tweezers. I know from experience!!!:)

[jlbkty]

We were thrilled to pay whatever the charge when my son fell and dislocated his finger on Rhapsody a few years back. Our medical insurance covered part of it and trip insurance picked up the rest. It took awhile to get all the paperwork in order and get reimbursed though. Yes, the charges were very high, but we were so glad someone was there at 2:00 in the morning to help us. We get trip insurance EVERY trip.

I'm so sorry your son had to deal with a mouth sore though. They are painful.

[ladytaekwondo]

I always pack a mini pharmacy...besides insurance does not help at the time as you still have to pay cash up front and I doubt they would reimburse for an over the counter item. My mother in law got the flu over one cruise and had to admitted for a couple of days due to dehydration (she is also diabetic)...they had to put the costs on their credit cards and settle up with insurance after the cruise...the bill was HUGE!

[ryano]

I always pack a mini pharmacy...besides insurance does not help at the time as you still have to pay cash up front and I doubt they would reimburse for an over the counter item. My mother in law got the flu over one cruise and had to admitted for a couple of days due to dehydration (she is also diabetic)...they had to put the costs on their credit cards and settle up with insurance after the cruise...the bill was HUGE!

 

It would be nice if travel insurance worked like health insurance or most any other insurance where they bill the insurance company directly.

 

Honestly, I have no idea what I would do if I were to get injured while on a cruise as I do not have credit cards I could charge any huge medical bills too.

 

I DO have a health insurance policy that covers me out of country though. Im not sure how it would all work.

[RoyalDiamond]

The vinegar was $95 a bottle

 

Or free in the Windjammer....on the counter by the ketchup packets...

[CMurph]

Wow, that is crazy. I am like some of the other posters, I have my little first aid bag with everything i can think of to take along. But, I admit ambesol isn't on the list, but it will be now!!

[RoyalDiamond]

Did you check the general store on board for any remedies? I don't know what they have, but I think they do have some medications in stock, and there wouldn't be the medical fee with them. Of course, the store may not have what you needed, but it's worth checking.

[booze brothers]

I forgot to pack enough BP medicine on our last cruise.

 

To see the Dr. it was $70. plus $4. for the medicine. I think this is probably why the OP's charge was so high.

 

Ya think that's bad.......I had to have rabies shots and the hospital charged medicare $16,000. Not bad for 12 shots. LOL

[tikif6]

I hope you're driving to the port because the TSA folks do not like tweezers. I know from experience!!!:)

 

But if you pack the twezers in your checked bag then your good. If its on your carry on bag then they will take it away. I know because I pack all the stuff that is no good on carry on into my checked bag and i never have a problem

[RayJacki]

Wow, that is crazy. I am like some of the other posters, I have my little first aid bag with everything i can think of to take along. But, I admit ambesol isn't on the list, but it will be now!!

 

Ambesol was already in my medicine bag (don't ask...) but, after breaking a front tooth opening a packet of shampoo in the shower on my most recent cruise, I will be adding a package of Dent-Temp to my bag too. I was unable to find anything in any of our ports that would work to re-cement the tooth (although one shop-keeper actually suggested Super Glue - YUK!!!)

[jerseyjjs]

I would have to be dieing to go to the ships infirmary and would likely not go even then..........you think your local ER is expensive! NOTHING compared to what you pay on the ship! Of course that about goes without saying on EVERYTHING.

 

Insurance is great and I buy it every time BUT I bet it takes six weeks or longer to get reimbursed if you have to file a claim!

 

 

 

I STILL haven't received a $108 reimbursement check for an infirmary visit from my Princess cruise in Mar. 2010. TravelGuard was the insurance carrier.

[croosinjulie2]

I'm a bit of a mini-Rx person myself. I find that a 3 oz travel bottle of hydrogen peroxide is good for a lot of things. I use it straight with a q-tip on canker sores inside the mouth, and also gargle with it and warm water as a mouth rinse. It kills a lot of stuff!

 

I also take a tube of neosporin and another of hydrocortisone cream. The HC cream is great for skin irritations of all kinds, and clears them up within 24 hours. Always band-aids, anti-acid tablets, and tylenol. Lactaid does double duty for lactose intolerance as well as loose you-know-what. It's basically good at plugging you up!

 

Regarding vinegar: it's an old home remedy as an antiseptic. That's why housewives in the olden days used to clean everything with vinegar and water: it cuts through grease and dirt, and disinfects, too. Good as a hair rinse, too.

[Familygoboston]

Wow, that is crazy. I am like some of the other posters, I have my little first aid bag with everything i can think of to take along. But, I admit ambesol isn't on the list, but it will be now!!

 

It's always been in mine...3 kids with braces in the Okavango Delta...yeah, Ambesol is the best I would be able to do there!;) Luckily, no one had a problem that I've needed it, but I learned when that every camp is served by a nurse on call by radio. When my daughter got a little "touch of tourista" she was very helpful (she was at our camp) and did not charge, and then followed up with us at the next camp by radio- the manager came and asked specific ?s and then reported back. Luckily, dd was just fine, but thats the service you get for $1000 a night... I wouldnt expect that for $100 a night:rolleyes:

 

Im willing to bet the Ambesol is not $90, but the visit with the Ambesol is $90. I always bring the "pain in the neck problems" cures (ambesol, immodium etc, even a course of antibiotics for each person ) in my red first aid bag.

 

Obviously anything serious will be worth any amount of money to treat quickly and professionally, but it is annoying to get hit with a hundred bucks for a cold sore or 50 for motion sickness!:eek:

[marci22]

I always pack Auro Dri for my kids for after swimming, and prescription ear drops, just in case. It is so easy to get an ear infection from a few drops of water stuck in your ear.

[cicfam]

I'm sure I'll be shot down for this, but how about a little empathy on these boards! People don't buy travel insurance to cover Anbesol and bandaids, and the original poster's sentiments re: being ripped off by a cruise industry giant are well-taken. If people on these boards feel $90 for this oral anesthetic is not complaint-worthy, then this board is not for me! Reminds me of the time I DARED to post a mixed/negative review of the Oasis - you would have thought, from the responses I received, that Cruise Critic members had built the ship themselves! Lighten up!

[nelblu]

Did you try the store onboard. They usually sell toothpaste, vaseline, toothbrushes, etc. We usually bring all sort of drugs and other necesseties to tidy us over if needed.