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Zipline Excursion In Samana, Dominican Republic.


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My friend and I are very keen to have a Zipline experience while we are on our cruise in February. The one that Marella is offering looks fun and hopefully a good price. The one thing that we are concerned about is that neither of our travel insurance covers us. Has anyone done this excursion already? Do they offer daily insurance at the site or would it be advisable to take out extra cover. Or, dare I say it, just risk it and hope for the best. Surely if the cruise line is offering this, it must be a very reputable company with great safety record and their own insurance that will cover us. 

 

Thoughts please. 

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"The one thing that we are concerned about is that neither of our travel insurance covers us."

 

You absolutely do not want to have a medical drama in the Dominican Republic without travel insurance cover.

 

Here is a direct quote from the Foreign Office website.

 

"Public medical facilities in Dominican Republic are generally limited. Private hospitals offer good standards of care, although they can be expensive. Dentistry is adequate. A good range of medicines is available, including some normally only available on prescription in the UK."

 

You need to contact Marella and check out what cover is included when you book this activity, and then proceed accordingly.

 

 

Edited by WeeCountyMan
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My husband had a problem on a Dream repositioning cruise a couple of years ago and had to be taken to the medical centre overnight, where he was put on a saline drip, had his blood tested and had his blood pressure taken regularly during the night. when we arrived in La Romana inthe Dominican Republic they arranged for an ambulance to take him to hospital for further tests. They had also contacted our Insurers through Nationwide to ensure we were covered and got the go ahead for any treatment necessary. My husband was concerned as he thought of the DR as an impoverished country and would have preferred our next stop in BVI. We arrived at the hospital just after 10.15am and were seen immediately by a haematologist who took a number of blood samples. We were seen almost straight away by a cardiologist who gave him an ECG He then had a brain scan and then to someone else who did an ultrasound on his neck. Everything luckily came back clear and good. We waited about half an hour and were then presented with our bill along with a typed 3 page report to give to his GP and Insurers along with his ECG record Blood results etc and brain scan film. All the doctors we saw spoke with American accents and had trained in the USA.

We were back on the ship for 12.30 after paying for our own taxi back. The bill was a major surprise as it was two thirds the bill from the ship medical unit. And it wasn't in the thousands!!! The service there was fantastic - so no worries about being treated in the DR. How long would it have taken in the UK? 

That said I would definitely ensure you do have cover for any activities not covered on your basic travel insurance

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I spoke to the Marella Cruise team and they don't cover the excursions.

 

I have found a company that specialises in Top-up insurance for activities that are not covered in normal travel insurance and we bought cover through them. You can also phone them and they will arrange cover on the day if you need it.

 

https://www.protectivity.com/product/activity-topup-insurance/

 

It was not expensive and the staff were really helpful. So if you find you need cover for something you're not covered for at short notice go for it.

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No it wasn't a private hospital as there were lots of locals there and most not that well dressed and queueing BUT of course they knew we would be paying, which we did and claimed it back on our annual insurance policy when we got home.  The insurance company paid the ship direct but we got a copy of the invoice.

I don't think he could have had all that done in 2 +1/4hrs including travel there and back in a private hospital here, never mind the NHS, which was my point.

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"I don't think he could have had all that done in 2 +1/4hrs including travel there and back in a private hospital here, never mind the NHS, which was my point."

 

With respect, the OP's question was about not having medical insurance for a hazardous activity, as these are excluded from travel insurance policies as standard.

 

Your husband was treated as a private patient because he was covered as you have indicated.

 

The FO's advice is clear enough.

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My reply was in connection to your post quoting the possibility of bad care in the DR

and my final comment is below

 

'That said I would definitely ensure you do have cover for any activities not covered on your basic travel insurance'

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I never mentioned the standard of care - the issue was the cost of treatment without insurance cover in the circumstances the lady described.

 

In retrospect perhaps I should have omitted any reference to a specific country - travel cover is a "must have" anywhere and everywhere for travellers.

 

 

 

 

 

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