Warning regarding medical issues

[surebeatssailing]

There is a huge amount of info on the travel insurance forum. Prior to each trip we contact TripInsuranceStore.com & discuss our trip which usually includes a cruise + several land based days .

We are on Medicare so our biggest concerns are medical care & evacuation coverage . The people at the included website steer you in the direction for the coverage you will need for that particular trip.

The travel insurance plans they provide give assistance services including the use of a multi-lingual 24 hr emergency hotline which you can call collect from anywhere in the world.

There are several travel insurance websites that are discussed on the insurance forum.

[Snit13]

There is a huge amount of info on the travel insurance forum. Prior to each trip we contact TripInsuranceStore.com & discuss our trip which usually includes a cruise + several land based days .

We are on Medicare so our biggest concerns are medical care & evacuation coverage . The people at the included website steer you in the direction for the coverage you will need for that particular trip.

The travel insurance plans they provide give assistance services including the use of a multi-lingual 24 hr emergency hotline which you can call collect from anywhere in the world.

There are several travel insurance websites that are discussed on the insurance forum.

 

Thank you for supplying this information. I will check it out. Silly me, thought what I bought from Celebrity/Royal would cover.

[bobsfamily]

Wow, So sorry for what happened. We used to never carry insurance but as we have aged a bit we now do... but it has been thru the cruiseline. This shows me what folly that may be.

 

Thanks for the heads up! Will be more pro-active in the future.

[varoo]

There is a huge amount of info on the travel insurance forum. Prior to each trip we contact TripInsuranceStore.com & discuss our trip which usually includes a cruise + several land based days .

We are on Medicare so our biggest concerns are medical care & evacuation coverage . The people at the included website steer you in the direction for the coverage you will need for that particular trip.

The travel insurance plans they provide give assistance services including the use of a multi-lingual 24 hr emergency hotline which you can call collect from anywhere in the world.

There are several travel insurance websites that are discussed on the insurance forum.

We have also consulted TripInsuranceStore.com (as well as some others that have been suggested), but find that most of the time it is not worthwhile for us to spend extra money purchasing any additional travel insurance, since our Medicare Advantage plan, plus the travel insurance from our credit card company used to purchase the cruise, between them provide all the coverage we really need.

 

However, we are among those who are very willing to self-insure for the cost of the cruise itself, and only want the insurance coverage in case of a major emergency, (even though the credit card coverage would reimburse a good part of the cost of the cruise itself, were we to lose that).

 

A friend who sells travel insurance confided that selling unnecessary additional insurance policies to frightened cruise passengers is a huge profit maker for the insurance industry, since most cruise passengers who buy additional travel insurance policies end up paying to duplicate coverage they already have.

 

Even if we were to lose the total cost of any future cruise, we would already be far ahead with all the money we have saved through the decades by not purchasing unnecessary additional travel insurance.

 

Throughout all our years of travels, we have only twice encountered serious situations requiring hospitalization, and our own existing insurance coverage worked well for us.

They also covered an out-patient visit to an emergency room on one occasion, and a visit to a dentist on another.

 

 

When it comes to travel insurance decisions, what is right for one person will not necessarily be right for another.

Some will only buy additional evacuation coverage if they feel the limits on their regular policies are too low.

 

But for anyone, it is always a good idea to be aware of what coverage you already have before throwing away money to buy additional insurance than may only duplicate your existing coverage.

[Sandtrap328]

My wife, daughter, and I were on the Zenith (1990) and in Cozumel, I sustained a dislocated shoulder while snorkeling off a boat. I was taken to the ER and was given some mighty fine Mexican painkillers and the shoulder was treated. The hospital gave my wife the bill to get me out. She had no credit card on her and only $46 cash. The hospital said "OK, that is enough".

 

The ship agent had been called by the hospital and he called the ship. He drove us to the pier, got a tender to take us to the ship and would not take anything but Gracias! The ship held sailing for about 30 minutes for us. The ship doctor came to our cabin to give more painkillers - although the Mexican ones were better!

 

Not an experience I want to repeat ever but Celebrity, the Cozumel hospital, the port agent, and the Mexican painkillers all did a remarkable job.

[JackieJ]

What happens if one does not have the ability to pay the medical expenses up front? I will throw out an example: One of us is really ill and the ship doctor sends us to the hospital at the next port... we will say Mexico since that is our next cruise. The hospital costs are $5000 and we only have access to $2000. We have to arrange travel back to the USA after the hospital visit. In this example we would be over insured with travel insurance. In the example I am making up dollar amounts.

 

I am asking because some of the experiences listed here would be way out of our financial ability to pay up front.

 

The hospital bill was very low, but I did have to pay it the day before we left. I don't think they were taking any chances waiting for the weekend ;) I was able to use a credit card, but had to pay cash to the doctor and the lab. A nurse we had in Miami said we were lucky Dominica hasn't become wise to what we pay in the U.S. She told us other countries have and she's had patients who had to guarantee $5,000 up front before treatment in Mexico and St. Martin. Not sure if it's true as it's second had, but she said one of them was a relative.

[JackieJ]

My wife, daughter, and I were on the Zenith (1990) and in Cozumel, I sustained a dislocated shoulder while snorkeling off a boat. I was taken to the ER and was given some mighty fine Mexican painkillers and the shoulder was treated. The hospital gave my wife the bill to get me out. She had no credit card on her and only $46 cash. The hospital said "OK, that is enough".

 

The ship agent had been called by the hospital and he called the ship. He drove us to the pier, got a tender to take us to the ship and would not take anything but Gracias! The ship held sailing for about 30 minutes for us. The ship doctor came to our cabin to give more painkillers - although the Mexican ones were better!

 

Not an experience I want to repeat ever but Celebrity, the Cozumel hospital, the port agent, and the Mexican painkillers all did a remarkable job.

 

That sounds like it's how it's supposed to go. The documentation officer told me that we would be getting back on the ship and that they would not leave us there even if they had to leave late. She also said that the port agent is supposed to take care of all the arrangements and make sure I got to/from the hospital/hotel. The doctors and nurses kept asking where he was because they normally stay at the hospital with the patient/family and said I wasn't supposed to be running around Dominca alone.

[surebeatssailing]

Varoo... we only insure what is a nonrefundable cost. Our credit cards cover trip delay, baggage loss, & the usual things.We always get hotels that can be canceled within 24 hrs.

We do not usually insure airfare as long as we can use an airline voucher within the usual 1 yr time frame.

If we had to swallow the cruise cost we could although we would not be happy.

Our major focus is medical costs & evacuation because we have traditional Medicare & not an Advantage plan.

So I guess we may over insure but I don't want the surprise of a large medical bill like friends of ours had....$10000 for multiple tests & CT scans in a foreign country + hospitalization costs. Whatever your level of comfort is is the way to go.

And we did have to cancel a cruise 2 days before it left due to a death in the immediate family...completely covered without hassle when we filed the claim.

[Tudorcruisers]

Thank you for sharing this with us and I'm so glad your DH is ok. This scenario is something I've often thought about and wondered what would happen as DH and I travel alone. I'm just horrified at how you were treated. I naively thought Celebrity would be more sympathetic and helpful. It must have been terrifying for you, that taxi driver was an angel in disguise. I hope any future cruises will be ok.

 

Thank you for all the tips and I will certainly have extra cash with us on our next cruise in August.

[JackieJ]

Thank you for sharing this with us and I'm so glad your DH is ok. This scenario is something I've often thought about and wondered what would happen as DH and I travel alone. I'm just horrified at how you were treated. I naively thought Celebrity would be more sympathetic and helpful. It must have been terrifying for you, that taxi driver was an angel in disguise. I hope any future cruises will be ok.

 

Thank you for all the tips and I will certainly have extra cash with us on our next cruise in August.

 

You are so right about the taxi driver, I don't know how I would have gotten thru it without him!

 

I never could have imagined being treated the way I was by Celebrity :(

[Tiggertastic]

Thank you for sharing this, makes me glad we take out good insurance. We never leave home without 2 people having a full itinerary etching at home in case of emergencies and we have money on standby. Although we don't know how good the insurance is until we have to use it.

[laurac22]

You are so right about the taxi driver, I don't know how I would have gotten thru it without him!

 

I never could have imagined being treated the way I was by Celebrity :(

 

Thank God he was a good guy! Terrible things could of happened had he not been, knowing how vulnerable you were, someone could have taken serious advantage of you.

 

So disheartened about Celebrity, Its one thing to make a mistake (everyone does) Its another how you handle it when you do. Celebrity failed miserably in your case, all the way around.

[HokiePoq]

We had a similar experience with HAL when DH was taken ill as we docked in Shanghai a few years ago. He was taken off in an ambulance, but I was not allowed to leave until I had packed everything to leave the ship. It was an overnight stop, so I could well have gone to hospital with him then returned later to pack. They just put me in a taxi to the hospital on my own.

 

He had to sign consent to have surgery before I arrived at the hospital but luckily I arrived just in time to see him before he entered the operating room. I was able to contact our insurance company and they looked after everything from there on. The HAL port agent visited us several times, but when we were leaving the hospital, they asked us for money. I didn't have enough currency, so they said they would take me to a bank to get some. I had no idea I had to pay them, and it wasn't mentioned earlier. I asked our hospital contact what to do about it and they told me not to pay. i never heard any more about it.

 

Our experience wasn't as traumatic as the OP's, but I don't really think HAL performed any better than X. It was our insurance company that saved the day for us. We couldn't have asked for better service once we had contacted them.

 

Sheila

 

 

Sorry you also had a bad experience. It does sound like the HAL port agent was better than the one the OP described.

We recently were on a land tour in Peru when one of the tour group became ill. One of the tour guides accompanied him to the hospital and stayed with the man and his wife, translating, and returning him to the group when his condition was improved. What a difference!

[HokiePoq]

Sadly, Celebrity's focus in these cases seems to be on minimizing their potential liability. If you present a risk, they do not want you on board; if they provide assistance once they put you off the ship, they might have some liability...and so on. What happens if you take a turn for the worse and they now have to divert somewhere for an emergency evacuation?

 

It's an understandable focus....just not one that we all would like them to have.

I certainly would be very unhappy the way Celebrity acted....and I can feel the OP's pain and frustration.

 

I'm not condoning Celebrity's actions....just trying to put them in perspective.

 

You are right that liability drives this issue. However, there is no perspective to justify the way the OP was treated in an emergency.

We were on a HAL South Pacific cruise which first went to Hawaii. Before leaving Oahu, the captain came on the PA and said that anyone with health issues should get off the ship now as there would be no medical facilities before we got to Tahiti. We did see several people getting off and know another who had to get off in Tahiti. Good thing as we then had ten days before we reached San Diego. I am taking OP's advice and preparing better each trip and biting the bullet on making our cell phone work overseas which we've never done before. I am also going to stop cruising when I think either of us has a high risk of this happening. No one can predict the first time severe illness or accident occurs but after that it's not worth the risk.

[eddiethekub]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience.

We had a different experience with X. We were on Silhouette last fall. On a sea day, sailing towards Athens. DW had a vision problem that was suspected to be a detached retina. Saw the ship doctor who was not equipped to confirm the diagnosis. Doc suggested bed rest and made arrangements to see an eye doctor the next morning in Athens. Assuming we would not be re boarding, we packed our luggage. X arranged for an ambulance to meet us at the pier. X alerted the hospital where we were taken.....they were expecting us! Detached retina was confirmed. Alternative was surgery in Athens with no flying for a month, or get home ASAP. Taxi to the airport, throw down the credit card and say....get me to NY......sometimes you just have to fend for yourself....and sort things out later.

However, X was terrific with follow up. Pre paid Excursions and speciality dinner charges were refunded immediately. Reimbursement for unused cruise days was quick. Airfare took a bit longer, but in spite of the ridiculous one way same day prices, we were reimbursed every penny. This was with X's insurance.

The only money we needed that day was minimal charges from the hospital, under $100, and they accepted credit cards; and taxi fare to the airport....reimbursed by X's insurance. All in all, we were very satisfied with how X handled everything.

Edited June 8, 2015 by eddiethekub

[Jetswdo]

I now know that if ever some kind of emergency would happen to one of us on a cruise ship, to immediately pack everything in the event that we would have to leave the ship, as what happened to Jackie.

 

Also it never occurred to me to make sure that when we are on medicare (not yet) to make sure that our supplement will cover medical out of the U.S.

 

We usually pay for cruise with Costco AM EX, which of course will be no more after March, 2016 (being replaced with visa)--or with AARP credit card-- had no idea to see what coverage is offered by credit card used. Now I will check that out.

 

From reading on cruise critic people's experience with travel insurance, we found for people in their 50's or older, to join med jet and combine that with cruise ship insurance, as at least you would get 3/4 of what you paid for cruise in the form of a 1 year voucher- like the airlines. I also for the first time started to get the insurance for the airlines, which is actually very cheap, to at least cover change fees. Currently our regular medical insurance does reimburse for out of US. Unfortunately Travelguard Gold, just became much to expensive once we got older. But every one's individual circumstances are different.

[Redtravel]

Last year we were sailing on the Eclipse with another couple. The man died on the ship while it was docked in St. maarten. His wife was escorted off with the body. Celebrity made arrangements for a ship agent to stay with her in St. maarten while she completed necessary arrangements to have the body flown home. Celebrity paid for everything....hotels, food, taxis, funeral expenses in St. maarten and in Indiana. Celebrity paid for their car to be moved from Ft. lauderdale to Indiana. Celebrity even refunded the fare for the remaining 4 nights of the cruise. The insurance was essential. Celebrity went over and above what anyone would expect. Buy insurance.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

Thank you OP for sharing your experience and to all the posters for your thoughtful input. This is important information. We don't really want to think of things like this when we're excitingly preparing for our vacations, but we really must be mindful of the potential challenges should we be faced with an adverse situation.

[JackieJ]

Thank you OP for sharing your experience and to all the posters for your thoughtful input. This is important information. We don't really want to think of things like this when we're excitingly preparing for our vacations, but we really must be mindful of the potential challenges should we be faced with an adverse situation.

 

True . . . be prepared for the unexpected.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

What happens if one does not have the ability to pay the medical expenses up front? I will throw out an example: One of us is really ill and the ship doctor sends us to the hospital at the next port... we will say Mexico since that is our next cruise. The hospital costs are $5000 and we only have access to $2000. We have to arrange travel back to the USA after the hospital visit. In this example we would be over insured with travel insurance. In the example I am making up dollar amounts.

 

I am asking because some of the experiences listed here would be way out of our financial ability to pay up front.

 

Very thankful it all worked out well for the OP. Many many years ago a friend of my parents had a heart attack on vacation and died in a foreign country. I decided to be prepared for every possibility when I travel. Some of this is probably overkill but it gives me peace of mind and it doesn't get in the way.

 

I use Travel Guard Platinum which has 24/7 phone assistance for everything from medical needs to passport replacement to travel and hotel arrangements in an emergency. Or even if I just needed a lost prescription refilled. Calling them would be the first thing I would do so they coordinate everything. Travel Guard Platinum will even make a deposit payment to the hospital if they require payment before you leave. It's tremendous peace of mind for me.

 

This is a separate issue but I also use MedJet which does medical evacuation back the US to any hospital of my choice as soon as stable enough to be moved.

 

Before I leave on a trip I find out how to call the US from every country I'm going to be in. Even if my cell phone doesn't work I can use a local phone.

 

In one of the visible spaces in my wallet I have a note on top that says "Medical and Emergency Information" and under it is the business card of my primary care physician, my medical insurance card, and a blank card on which I've written the name of the ship, hotels & airline flights, and my travel insurance details including policy number and their contact phone number. My travel companion also carries this information to shut me up from nagging her about it :)

 

Ashore I carry a couple of hundred dollars in small bills buried in my purse not in my wallet, a credit card, two day supply of meds, bottle of water and a couple of protean bars, clean pair of panties and socks tightly squashed into a ziplock baggie, and either my passport or a photo copy depending on where we are and if the ship has my passport. I also have the port agent information.

 

Something that plays into this for me is that my father was an airline employee and I grew up with the assumption that airline and cruise line responsibility for me ended when I went through the doorway. Hopefully I'm set for everything that might happen to me or my traveling companion short of utter disaster :)

Edited June 9, 2015 by Cruising Is Bliss

[cruiserone]

JackieJ, thank you for posting this.

 

Although we do have insurance we never think "it could happen to me". Silly, of course.

 

So sad the way Celebrity handled the situation. Not like the cruise line that I have come to love. Makes me wonder why Azamara can take care of thier passengers but Celebrity not in this situation. Sounds to me like it may have been the personnel on this ship. The other poster had a different outcome.

 

Thanks for opening our eyes to traveling that some of us would rather not think about.

[JackieJ]

JackieJ, thank you for posting this.

 

Although we do have insurance we never think "it could happen to me". Silly, of course.

 

So sad the way Celebrity handled the situation. Not like the cruise line that I have come to love. Makes me wonder why Azamara can take care of thier passengers but Celebrity not in this situation. Sounds to me like it may have been the personnel on this ship. The other poster had a different outcome.

 

Thanks for opening our eyes to traveling that some of us would rather not think about.

 

We always get insurance too, mainly because we live in a cold climate and you just never know if you're getting out during the winter/spring.

 

The inconsistencies in everyone's different experience does make you wonder! Better treatment should be equal for all.

[mbsails]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experience.

We had a different experience with X. We were on Silhouette last fall. On a sea day, sailing towards Athens. DW had a vision problem that was suspected to be a detached retina. Saw the ship doctor who was not equipped to confirm the diagnosis. Doc suggested bed rest and made arrangements to see an eye doctor the next morning in Athens. Assuming we would not be re boarding, we packed our luggage. X arranged for an ambulance to meet us at the pier. X alerted the hospital where we were taken.....they were expecting us! Detached retina was confirmed. Alternative was surgery in Athens with no flying for a month, or get home ASAP. Taxi to the airport, throw down the credit card and say....get me to NY......sometimes you just have to fend for yourself....and sort things out later.

However, X was terrific with follow up. Pre paid Excursions and speciality dinner charges were refunded immediately. Reimbursement for unused cruise days was quick. Airfare took a bit longer, but in spite of the ridiculous one way same day prices, we were reimbursed every penny. This was with X's insurance.

The only money we needed that day was minimal charges from the hospital, under $100, and they accepted credit cards; and taxi fare to the airport....reimbursed by X's insurance. All in all, we were very satisfied with how X handled everything.

 

For eddiethekub: I was alerted to your very helpful message about your experience with Celebrity and "X's insurance." That will take me back to look at all the comments in this thread. What I want to be completely clear about is your saying "X's insurance." And did you mean that "X's insurance" is the insurance covering everyone who is a paid cruise passenger? Or is it some other add-on insurance purchased from Celebrity?

[SkystheLimit]

This a very helpful post. Thank you to all for their information.

[SeaHunt]

What happens if one does not have the ability to pay the medical expenses up front? I will throw out an example: One of us is really ill and the ship doctor sends us to the hospital at the next port... we will say Mexico since that is our next cruise. The hospital costs are $5000 and we only have access to $2000. We have to arrange travel back to the USA after the hospital visit. In this example we would be over insured with travel insurance. In the example I am making up dollar amounts.

 

I am asking because some of the experiences listed here would be way out of our financial ability to pay up front.

 

Funny you used Mexico in your example - if you haven't seen this yet, read this article about a Mom on a Carnival Cruise who had a son with appendicitis and who were "stuck" in Mexico - with only $21 left in her wallet :eek::

 

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/news/boy-mother-stuck-in-mexico-after-cruise-sickness/nmWJY/