Passport-less Family with Sick Child Stuck Aboard Norwegian Ship

[Lem_On_Ade]

1 minute ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

What am I missing, what did this person want NCL to do about her problem?

 

I have to be completely honest, I did not read the article.

 

From what I can gather on her FB post, she just wants someone other than herself to blame. I'm pretty sure she did have travel insurance and once the infection had set in she was told by a ships doctor that she should take her child to a hospital in Mexico. She was then told that Mexican hospitals will not discharge you until your bill is paid in full so she decided to stay on board and continually blame the ship at that point for not getting them home. She ended up with a $13,000 bill on board but was able to raise $9,500 from online supporters. 

[A&L_Ont]

16 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Actually, you are still wrong. Threads (plural) discussing that topic are on, and have been on, the NCL board....THIS board.

 

 

I came to this board to read about Roman, who sailed on a NCL ship.  I rarely visit the NCL boards, except for today.  The only other time would be when Doug did a live review.  

 

I did not know, or would have guessed, that Chloe had been discussed at length on the NCL boards as that incident that occurred on a RC ship.  Any NCL topics on the RC boards get shut down or moved.  As a matter of fact, other than the most recent thread/topic on Chloe, others were locked or deleted on the RC pages.  

 

Thanks for the links.

Edited February 13, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[buckeyefrank]

17 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

Seriously?

 

So you won't let the other poster take the cost of the 10-year passport and express it as a per year cost. However, you then turn around and have no problem taking the $150 cost and multiplying it by the number of people in a family so that you can have a HUGE number for your side of the argument??

 

Isn't that a little bit disingenuous??

 

No matter how many people are in the family, the per person and/or per year passport cost does not change.

Not disingenuous at all.  When you buy a passport, you pay for the entire cost upfront.  For a family of 4, that is $600 out of pocket right now.... plus the cost of the cruise.  My point was not to argue that a passport is not ideal because it is.  My point is 1) There are situations where it might not make sense to get passports and 2) the fee is upfront and can be cost prohibitive for some.

[JamieLogical]

9 minutes ago, Lem_On_Ade said:

 

From what I can gather on her FB post, she just wants someone other than herself to blame. I'm pretty sure she did have travel insurance and once the infection had set in she was told by a ships doctor that she should take her child to a hospital in Mexico. She was then told that Mexican hospitals will not discharge you until your bill is paid in full so she decided to stay on board and continually blame the ship at that point for not getting them home. She ended up with a $13,000 bill on board but was able to raise $9,500 from online supporters. 

 

Well that's about as clear as mud. How was the ship supposed to get them home sort of sailing back to the States? Which they did?

 

If she had travel insurance, won't it reimburse her for the on board medical expenses? Why is she crowdfunding then?

 

Edit, I thought the whole argument about not going to the Mexican hospital was fear of getting "stuck" for the lack of a passport. So passports didn't actually come into it at all? 

Edited February 13, 2020 by JamieLogical

[Lem_On_Ade]

5 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Edit, I thought the whole argument about not going to the Mexican hospital was fear of getting "stuck" for the lack of a passport. So passports didn't actually come into it at all? 

 

Pretty sure it was the money aspect that kept them from going to a hospital and the passport issue was when she asked to be evacuated by the coast guard. 

[Zippeedee]

6 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Well that's about as clear as mud. How was the ship supposed to get them home sort of sailing back to the States? Which they did?

 

If she had travel insurance, won't it reimburse her for the on board medical expenses? Why is she crowdfunding then?

 

Edit, I thought the whole argument about not going to the Mexican hospital was fear of getting "stuck" for the lack of a passport. So passports didn't actually come into it at all? 

She is looking for money and publicity. That poor child did not get care because they wouldn't or couldn't pay for the treatment and wait for the insurance to reimburse them. Now she'll make a profit from the crowdsourced $$.  I know not everyone has huge credit limits but, personal responsibility again. Don't get on a ship with a sick child and no way to pay to get help. Life101.

[A&L_Ont]

11 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Well that's about as clear as mud. How was the ship supposed to get them home sort of sailing back to the States? Which they did?

 

If she had travel insurance, won't it reimburse her for the on board medical expenses? Why is she crowdfunding then?

 

On her FB live video someone asked if she was giving the money back if her insurance covers the charges, and she said she has yet to know if it will.  No confirmation if the funds would go back or not.

 

If the cut happened the night before they boarded the ship it isn't pre-exsisting, as they would have had their medical insurance before that fall out of bed.  At that rate, I don't know why insurance would not cover their medical bills.  I would be on the phone determining if the bills would be covered with the insurance company VS doing a FB live chat about the "situation and poor health care from NCL".  Meanwhile she herself said at the same time "my family members are dealing with the lawyers".  She was at least sitting at the side of her kid's bed at the hospital.

Edited February 13, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[IrieBajan54]

1 hour ago, buckeyefrank said:

It's not $15 a year, it's a one time $150.  there's a HUGE difference to some people, especially when you have 3 or 4 to buy.

 

Why is it that ordinary people from Third World countries can buy a passport but certain Americans who partake in the luxury of cruising refuse to do so?

[IrieBajan54]

6 hours ago, Tapi said:

I started this thread. I used the word “stuck” to bring attention to the media’s inappropriate use of this word. And that’s exactly my point. Most of us that frequent cruise critic will roll our eyes at the use of that word and understand that the media is trying to sensationalize a story that has no reason to be, besides it being a cautionary tale to always travel with a passport. 

.

Stuck sells! Just like when someone goes overboard the media uses the term "fell." Have never understood how a passenger could "fall" overboard.

[SeaShark]

15 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Not disingenuous at all.  When you buy a passport, you pay for the entire cost upfront.  For a family of 4, that is $600 out of pocket right now.... plus the cost of the cruise.  My point was not to argue that a passport is not ideal because it is.  My point is 1) There are situations where it might not make sense to get passports and 2) the fee is upfront and can be cost prohibitive for some.

 

But you are doing it again. It isn't cost prohibitive. It is $150 per person...no matter how you slice it. For a family of 1, it is $150 per person. For a family of four, it is $150 per person. For a family of ten, it is $150 per person.

 

You can't play the "but you can't divide it to get the per year cost" and then turn around and multiply it for a disingenuous argument based on a per family cost.

 

You can afford to take the entire family on a cruise, you can afford to get a passport for the entire family as well.

[A&L_Ont]

12 minutes ago, Lem_On_Ade said:

 

Pretty sure it was the money aspect that kept them from going to a hospital and the passport issue was when she asked to be evacuated by the coast guard. 

 

Totally agree regarding the hospital.  My understanding is you give them your credit card the second you show up at a Hospital in Mexico. If they didn't have the funds available on the charge card, they might not have been allowed to leave until the bill was paid in full.  

 

When my grand mother used her insurance she paid up from and was reimbursed by the insurance company after the fact.  I speculate that there was no charge availability on their plastic.  On the moms FB live talk she said she did not trust the Mexican Medical System, as it is not the States.  I hate to break it to her, but the ship is limited to what they can handle on board, and she already knew that when she declined getting off in Mexico for medical attention.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[SeaShark]

7 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

 

Why is it that ordinary people from Third World countries can buy a passport but certain Americans who partake in the luxury of cruising refuse to do so?

 

A basic question that any newborn chicken can answer . . . 

 

[buckeyefrank]

9 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

 

Why is it that ordinary people from Third World countries can buy a passport but certain Americans who partake in the luxury of cruising refuse to do so?

Why is it that people smoke when the science says it's bad for one's health?  why....why...why?   Every one of us takes certain risks that other people  wouldn't dare take.  Some people pay money to mitigate some risk, others don't think it's worth it.  It is not the end of the world if a person gets left in a mexican hospital without a passport.  They will get home.  It'll take a couple days.

[PTC DAWG]

30 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Not disingenuous at all.  When you buy a passport, you pay for the entire cost upfront.  For a family of 4, that is $600 out of pocket right now.... plus the cost of the cruise.  My point was not to argue that a passport is not ideal because it is.  My point is 1) There are situations where it might not make sense to get passports and 2) the fee is upfront and can be cost prohibitive for some.

In my opinion, if you can’t afford a passport for all travelers, you have zero business traveling out of the country...

[buckeyefrank]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

In my opinion, if you can’t afford a passport for all travelers, you have zero business traveling out of the country...

Are you OK with a passport card?

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Are you OK with a passport card?

 

The most important difference between U.S. passport books and passport cards is that passport cards are not valid for international air travel; they're only acceptable for land and sea border crossings between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

[A&L_Ont]

3 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Are you OK with a passport card?

I would not recommend it.  In this situation it would not have helped the family get home. 

[Cruiser_1977]

Do you all think the case of the couple a few months back that got "stuck" in Mexico played into this?

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/american-couple-got-stuck-mexico-16k-hospital-bill-tyler-perry-n1090161

 

Again, another example of I had the money for the cruise but nothing else....

Edited February 13, 2020 by JennyB1977

[IrieBajan54]

15 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Why is it that people smoke when the science says it's bad for one's health?  why....why...why?   Every one of us takes certain risks that other people  wouldn't dare take.  Some people pay money to mitigate some risk, others don't think it's worth it.  It is not the end of the world if a person gets left in a mexican hospital without a passport.  They will get home.  It'll take a couple days.

.

You mean get home at someone else's expense like this couple a few years ago? No passport and no personal responsibility for their medical expenses?

 

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/medical-emergency-leaves-couple-cruise-stranded-bahamas-hospital-bills-pile-185216471.html

Edited February 13, 2020 by IrieBajan54
question mark

[smplybcause]

13 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Are you OK with a passport card?

 

I personally wouldn't - it's why I haven't bothered with getting a Passport card because I would be carrying my actual Passport with me anyways so why pay more? Though I have seen some places say that my Global Entry card is the same as a Passport Card, but I haven't verified that yet. 

 

I would say the passport cards are a step up from ID and birth certificate in that you've already proved to the federal government who you are so if you did show up at an embassy needing a real passport I would think the card would shorten the time/work to get that. But I could be wrong. 

[purpleally]

2 hours ago, misguy said:

Only if they had travel insurance that would pay for the medevac.  Problem is most people that don't have passports don't have insurance either, saw a news report that they were trying to raise 6K for the medical bills on board.

Why in the hell should anybody pay for their medical bills?  Are we a socialist nation already?  Take responsibility!!!!

[spanishguy1970]

3 hours ago, buckeyefrank said:

You can't pay $15 this year, $15 the next.... etc.  It's $150 up front for each person.  It's a little ridiculous for a family of 4 going on a quick 4 day cruise to the Bahamas costing $800 to put out $600 for passports for one trip.  Everybody has a different situation.  A passport is not a one size fits all thing.

then travel around the US, or stay home...but if your cruise is going out of the US always have your passport.

[ducklite]

4 hours ago, buckeyefrank said:

It's not $15 a year, it's a one time $150.  there's a HUGE difference to some people, especially when you have 3 or 4 to buy.

The passport should be factored into the cost of the trip.  If they can't afford that, how do they think they will afford anything else that might come up in an emergency.  Case in point.

 

Some people need to learn that hard way the difference between wants and needs.  Vacations are wants.  They are never, ever needs.

[ducklite]

4 hours ago, buckeyefrank said:

You can't pay $15 this year, $15 the next.... etc.  It's $150 up front for each person.  It's a little ridiculous for a family of 4 going on a quick 4 day cruise to the Bahamas costing $800 to put out $600 for passports for one trip.  Everybody has a different situation.  A passport is not a one size fits all thing.

My child's health and comfort is worth more then $600.  I'll just leave that there...

[ducklite]

2 hours ago, buckeyefrank said:

Are you OK with a passport card?

Sure if you go back and forth to border communities in Canada or Mexico, or need it to fly because your state doesn't participate in REAL ID.  Otherwise it's useless.