Medical Evacuations Aboard Ships .......

[localady]

My goodness BillS, although we love to cruise with you and Virginia, you have had some unusual luck with your HAL cruises from onboard fires to near medical evacuations. :eek:

Lucky, the only thing the 2 of you came home with last time was a bad cold!:)

Tell Virginia hello from the Jones!:cool:

[Me & Him]

Please disregard this question if you do not care to respond, but I think it would be so very helpful if you would share with us what travel insurance covered in your emergency situation. IF Coast Guard sent a bill for their services.

 

It might reinforce for people who are undecided, that merely the costs of cancelling a cruise are not the only thing to consider when deciding whether to purchase travel insurance.

 

In such a medical emergency, no one wants to also have to worry about how to pay for it.

 

There was no cost from the Coast Guard because that is part of their mission. The other cost associated with me being in the hospital for 18 days and having to remain in Daytona Beach for another three days was all covered by our travel insurance (we used and continue to use Access America). They paid for my DW hotel, meals and other expenses. They paid for our transportation back home and covered medical bills that were not fully covered by our insurance. They were in daily contact with my DW to see if there was anything she needed or they could do as well as contacting the hospital every day. The paid for our days that we lost from the cruise. The one thing I can say about insurance is to buy it within ten days of booking your travel so it will cover preexisting conditions.

[rodree]

My wife had a medical emergency while aboard and I can`t say enough for the treatment and the dedication of the medical staff.

After recognizing a life threatening problem she was admitted to the infirmery. The doctor stayed by her side all night and made arraingements for an ambulance to meet us at the next port for her to be admitted to the local hospital.Fortunately , this was near the end of the cruise ,the port was in the U.S. and the hospital was a cardiac teaching hospital.

Here she was treated and after several days allowed to return home.

She is now recovered and thinking about another cruise.

The point I want to make here is the excellent professional care given

by the medical staff aboard cruise ships.

After she returned home the doctor sent me an e mail inquireing as to her current status.

As we age the possibility of medical problems increase and it is comforting to know that professional care is only a few decks away.

[sail7seas]

There was no cost from the Coast Guard because that is part of their mission. The other cost associated with me being in the hospital for 18 days and having to remain in Daytona Beach for another three days was all covered by our travel insurance (we used and continue to use Access America). They paid for my DW hotel, meals and other expenses. They paid for our transportation back home and covered medical bills that were not fully covered by our insurance. They were in daily contact with my DW to see if there was anything she needed or they could do as well as contacting the hospital every day. The paid for our days that we lost from the cruise. The one thing I can say about insurance is to buy it within ten days of booking your travel so it will cover preexisting conditions.

 

Thank you for sharing this info with us. It isn't often that we actually hear first hand about which company did what for insured cruisers. It sounds very impressive what Access America covered and the assistance they provided.

 

I'm very happy for you that you had such excellent coverage.

 

Good advice about covering pre-existing conditions.

CSA has added a new policy which can be written at the time of final payment and pre-existing conditions will be covered.

 

If I were you and booking another cruise, there is no question in my mind, I'd be taking a policy with Access America. After the excellent experience you had with them, why switch??! Hope you never need to place a claim again.

 

Happy, healthy cruising.

[obriendan]

Just a note on insurance that is appropriate to add to this thread. We have purchased insurance for all of our 10 cruises. Until the cruise we have just booked, we have gotten the insurance from the tour agency. This time we used InSureMyTrip.com. The price was about the same, perhaps a little less but the convenience and particularly the several choices you are offered recommends this route. Further, the site allows you to directly compare the different policies that are available not just from a price point of view but also concerning the extent of coverage. The coverages are each explained carefully. Try the site and get an example quote to see how easy it is. But whatever route you take, as this thread amply emphasizes, buy insurance!

[Copper10-8]

Can't say enough about the military helicopter crews who handle the medevacs from cruise ships that are being discussed here. These men and women are all heroes in my book! We witnessed a similar medevac off the Keys on the Zaandam in MAR 03. Capt. Timmer turned the ship around to meet the USCG helo from Coast Guard Ar Station Miami. Once on scene, the Dolphin lowered their rescue swimmer on the bow of the ship, and started an orbit. The rescue swimmer secured the patient in a litter and stokes basket and the patient and swimmer were both hoisted on board the helo. Capt. Timmer later announced that the patient, who had suffered a heart attack, was in stable condition at a Miami hospital. The HAL deck crews, fire team, officers and medical staff also did an awesome job and were obviously well prepared for the emergency. On just about any cruise you take you can see them hold crew-only emergency drills. Great job!