Seriously thinking of not getting Princess insurance....am I wrong?

[voljeep]

I'll let y'all know soon - had a medical 'situation ' on Regal on Saturday 1/29/22 - on ship - on deck while in Grand Turk and at sea after that. - The medical center bill was $1,200 + charged to On Board Account, which we paid when account settled on 1/31/22.

 

We got a copy of the itemized bill from the medical center ...

 

We have medicare, and AARP United Healthcare Medical Advantage PPO supplement.

Also had PVP Insurance - Platinum ( $39 per person on this cruise )

 

waiting on final room folio ( on board account ) to be emailed by Princess ? to submit for insurance reimbursement(s)

[Kmkub]

47 minutes ago, voljeep said:

I'll let y'all know soon - had a medical 'situation ' on Regal on Saturday 1/29/22 - on ship - on deck while in Grand Turk and at sea after that. - The medical center bill was $1,200 + charged to On Board Account, which we paid when account settled on 1/31/22.

 

We got a copy of the itemized bill from the medical center ...

 

We have medicare, and AARP United Healthcare Medical Advantage PPO supplement.

Also had PVP Insurance - Platinum ( $39 per person on this cruise )

 

waiting on final room folio ( on board account ) to be emailed by Princess ? to submit for insurance reimbursement(s)

 

Oh wow. In Jan, 2020, my husband had a serious flare up in his feet. (This was before he had a proper diagnosis, so we didn't know what it was."

 

On MSC Divina, we went to the doctor, who spent 20 minutes with us. He gave my husband a steroid shot and a few pills.  The entire bill was $129. We didn't even bother submitting to insurance.

 

We thought stories of outrageous medical bills on cruise ships were tall tales.

[Sea Hag]

On 1/22/2022 at 6:26 AM, MudderBear said:

My payment for Alaska cruise tour will be due next month.  I never got the Princess insurance, and I am thinking of not getting it.  What benefit would I be missing?  My husband and I have very good health insurance.  Should I take the risk?  With inflation and the market down, I just don't feel like shelling out $500 for insurance.

I wouldn't say that you'd be wrong in not getting Princess insurance. But I will say that I, personally, would never plan a cruise without CFAR from Princess or another source. Unexpected things happen unexpectedly. Once, our cat got sick two or three days before a cruise, and without CFAR we would have been out the entire amount. As it was, we got a credit to account. Also, my husband has had some medical problems pop up out of the blue that would have caused us to do a last minute cancelation if those had happened right before a cruise. 

[voljeep]

24 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

 

Oh wow. In Jan, 2020, my husband had a serious flare up in his feet. (This was before he had a proper diagnosis, so we didn't know what it was."

 

On MSC Divina, we went to the doctor, who spent 20 minutes with us. He gave my husband a steroid shot and a few pills.  The entire bill was $129. We didn't even bother submitting to insurance.

 

We thought stories of outrageous medical bills on cruise ships were tall tales.

my bill was far from outrageous .. before we got the statement - we thought it would be way more than that ...

 

paramedic to on deck

IV and bloodwork

transport to medical center

observation and evaluation by medical staff

x-ray(s)

4+ hours total

and ...

[Kmkub]

9 minutes ago, voljeep said:

my bill was far from outrageous .. before we got the statement - we thought it would be way more than that ...

 

paramedic to on deck

IV and bloodwork

transport to medical center

observation and evaluation by medical staff

x-ray(s)

4+ hours total

and ...

 

Oh, wow! That's a bargain, then.

 

We had to take my husband to an ER, because nothing else was open. He had an ear bud stuck in his ear. We saw the nurse for a few minutes, but the doctor was in the room less than 60 seconds. It was almost $4,000.

 

 

[FlaMariner]

2 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

We have also gotten annual plans from GeoBlue.  However, researching for upcoming travel I found they do not cover medical evacuation for COVID.

 

Thinking thru this.....

 

I'm not sure why I would want to be "medically evacuated" if I got Covid?  Nor would anyone do that?

 

(Don't you just stay in the cabin/hotel room/ship medical center/local hospital until it passes?  I'm not seeing the coast guard plucking me off the ship if I have Covid...that would be a major "spreader" event...LOL)

 

 

 

[Steelers36]

For us, once we reach FP Date, we are going, so have not bought the PVP for several years (we have very good out-of-country medical coverage and don't need that from Princess).  So, that leaves CFAR as the only reason for us to purchase PVP package.  I might consider for our trips this Fall at FP Date if there is still uncertainty with Covid-19 and not out of pandemic.  OTOH, we just might be cancelling if that is the case and push it out another year as don't want to be dealing with port restrictions and such.

[PrincessLuver]

30 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Thinking thru this.....

 

I'm not sure why I would want to be "medically evacuated" if I got Covid?  Nor would anyone do that?

 

(Don't you just stay in the cabin/hotel room/ship medical center/local hospital until it passes?  I'm not seeing the coast guard plucking me off the ship if I have Covid...that would be a major "spreader" event...LOL)

 

 

 

The ship medical team will make the determination if you are to be put off the ship not the passenger......

[ChutChut]

Not a question of wrong or right. It's a risk/reward analysis. If you can pay out-of-pocket for any expenses if you have to cancel, etc. and you think the risk is negligible, don't get insurance. If you think there's a fair chance you may need the insurance, get it. Either way, it's a gamble. If you don't get insurance but need it, however, understand you took a risk and lost.

[FlaMariner]

15 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

The ship medical team will make the determination if you are to be put off the ship not the passenger......

 

any intel if a passenger w/Covid has had to be "medically evacuated"?  

 

(I'm thinking I am fine w/the risk  if my travel insurance does not cover "medical evacuation" due to having Covid)

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

I think the "key" word here is "good". I work at a small place and our insurance has really bad coverage outside of the US and on a ship.

 

Correct. "Good" is the key word.

 

While Medicare would not cover emergencies on a ship (unless it is in USA waters), many MAP and Medi-gap policies do cover such emergencies.

[capriccio]

8 minutes ago, FlaMariner said:

 

any intel if a passenger w/Covid has had to be "medically evacuated"?  

 

The child of a friend of my brother was diagnosed with a serious case of Covid on an Alaska cruise this summer.  Child and parents were medevaced back to the East Coast.

[caribill]

1 minute ago, capriccio said:

The child of a friend of my brother was diagnosed with a serious case of Covid on an Alaska cruise this summer.  Child and parents were medevaced back to the East Coast.

 

Medivaced from the ship or from land?

[capriccio]

Just now, caribill said:

 

Medivaced from the ship or from land?

Treated locally and medivaced from land

[brisalta]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Correct. "Good" is the key word.

 

While Medicare would not cover emergencies on a ship (unless it is in USA waters), many MAP and Medi-gap policies do cover such emergencies.

Medi-gap policies only cover co-pays/deductibles  based on what Medicare pays for.

[bafinegan]

13 hours ago, Torfamm said:

I would disagree. Many, many American policies do not, nor does Medicare. Everyone needs to ensure that they understand their individual policy’s coverage https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/travel

Luckily, my medigap insurance covers "Foreign Travel Emergency

80% of cost of emergency care that begins during the first two months of each (you pay a $250/year deductible)

Up to $50,000 in lifetime". 

But I still get travel insurance.  Purchased Princess this time for our upcoming Alaska cruise, Mainly for Covid and cancel for any reason benefits

[Torfamm]

12 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

Thinking thru this.....

 

I'm not sure why I would want to be "medically evacuated" if I got Covid?  Nor would anyone do that?

 

(Don't you just stay in the cabin/hotel room/ship medical center/local hospital until it passes?  I'm not seeing the coast guard plucking me off the ship if I have Covid...that would be a major "spreader" event...LOL)

 

 

 

That would depend on how sick you are. Odds may be low but need for hospital care or especially a ventilator is a case where I would rather be near home over almost any port.

[caribill]

8 hours ago, brisalta said:

Medi-gap policies only cover co-pays/deductibles  based on what Medicare pays for.

 

Some good ones do.

 

6 hours ago, bafinegan said:

Luckily, my medigap insurance covers "Foreign Travel Emergency

 

80% of cost of emergency care that begins during the first two months of each (you pay a $250/year deductible)

Up to $50,000 in lifetime". 

 

 

[gerig]

On 1/22/2022 at 9:26 AM, MudderBear said:

My payment for Alaska cruise tour will be due next month.  I never got the Princess insurance, and I am thinking of not getting it.  What benefit would I be missing?  My husband and I have very good health insurance.  Should I take the risk?  With inflation and the market down, I just don't feel like shelling out $500 for insurance.

I buy an annual policy which cost me $750 but they had one for $450 to cover my 7 cruises in one year.  My concern is evacation costs.

 

[brisalta]

13 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Some good ones do.

 

 

 

No, that is not how medi-gap policies work. Please stop spreading disinformation.

[Shelly97060]

Several years ago we had back to back cruises scheduled and had made final payment. One of our adult children became seriously ill and required surgery a week before our cruise.  Thanks to PVP we were able to get a full refund ( minus cost of insurance of course) for both cruises. 
 

Unexpected things can happen that’s why we like to have insurance. There’s no right or wrong answer, in the end it becomes a personal decision regarding how much risk you are willing to take. 

[scooter6139]

Last cruse we took to Alaska (NCL Encore Aug 2021) they turned the ship around to head closer to shore to get a medivac flight off the ship halfway up.  Canadian Coastguard.  Guessing private insurance doesn't really cover that so I would check your policy.  Either 3rd party of Princess does.  Just like all insurance, it's a bet that nothing will happen.  Don't lose that bet.

[grizzle-bizzle]

We had to use the medical services on board a Princess ship once and were surprised by how reasonable the prices were. It would have cost more to go to urgent care at home. And a ton more to go to the ER. Of course they are pretty limited in what they can do but I wouldn't be too scared of a massive bill from them. Especially if you are used to seeing hospital bills these days. Course medical evac is a whole different thing.

[grizzle-bizzle]

Also - if you are concerned about just medical coverage, a couple can get a travel medical policy for one week for only around $30-65 (depending on age) which is much more reasonable than I would have expected. 

[Paula_MacFan]

Just read this on the Norwegian forum.