What if you are sick before boarding?

[kaykels]

What happens if a family member is throwing up ? Do they deny boarding? And if so, do you lose your money?

[geocruiser]

If I were throwing up I would not go on the cruise. We canceled a cruise this past March because my husband and I were getting over very bad chest colds. We were feeling all most OK, but we felt it was not fair to others on board the ship that they might get our colds. Our Dr also thought it was good for us not to go. We all ways get ins. Got our money back.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

A very good chance of being denied, in fact I would say you would be denied. At embarkation you will be asked to fill out a health questionnaire. One of the questions is for stomach and diarrhea type symptoms.

 

As for you losing your money.....did you buy insurance?

If not, then you lose your money.

 

Hope the family member feels better. :)

 

***

[klingoncruiser]

Hope you bought insurance. If they suspect you are sick or you tell them so, you will be denied boarding.Wow, tough break.:eek:

[kaykels]

I bought Trip Insurance yesterday because of "trip delay" and "medical evacuation" with the storm brewing. I think they will find it fishy if suddenly my daughter is sick the next day. What a week!

[KirkNC]

Yes you would be denied boarding.

[Gonzo70]

I bought Trip Insurance yesterday because of "trip delay" and "medical evacuation" with the storm brewing. I think they will find it fishy if suddenly my daughter is sick the next day. What a week!

 

Likely the storm was considered a pre-existing condition and would not be covered. Remember travel insurance is sold by companies that make a profit off of selling insurance - they are not going to sell a policy that covers a known event likely to lead to a payout. Hopefully it is just a 24 hour bug and your daughter feels better tomorrow. I also suspect the the insurance company would be reluctant to pay out for canceling due to sickness when you purchased the policy last minute - there likely are provisions in the fine print protecting them.

[sandy toes]

Hoping your family member feels better. So sorry. I learned a hard lesson w/ins purchase years ago and ALWAYS buy it up front with deposit now. It covers everything under the sun, especially and pre-existing conditions. Again, do hope your DD feels better.

[dz9yvr]

Doea anyone really answer yes to any of the questions on the health form?

[setsail]

http://www2.cruising.org/PDF/swineFlu/CLIA-Pre-Boarding%20Health%20Questionnaire_Rev7.pdf

[ctcruiser1721]

Doea anyone really answer yes to any of the questions on the health form?

 

That's what I'm thinking. I also bring my own Pepto and Immodium just in case as they don't sell GI meds in the gift shop. The reason, obviously, is that they want you to have to go to the ship's doctor for an evaluation if you have any of those symptoms.

[SMASHROX]

Hoping your family member feels better. So sorry. I learned a hard lesson w/ins purchase years ago and ALWAYS buy it up front with deposit now. It covers everything under the sun, especially and pre-existing conditions. Again, do hope your DD feels better.

 

Also, you can find affordable trip insurance online. You don't have to buy it from your TA (as I have found it to be double the price at times).

[ckrobyn]

A few years back as we were waiting in line outside the terminal in San Juan to board the AOS, a family with 3 teenagers were waiting to board as well. One of the teen girls didn't look very well, and within minutes I watched her run around the corner of the building just as she was starting to puke - she had her hands cupped around her mouth. 10 minutes later she was back in line still looking quite green.....

 

Fast forward to day 3 of the cruise, outbreak declared and all buffets are now operated by crew. This lasted ALL week and was a huge inconvenience, although I understood the reasoning behind it. The buffets did not re-open for self service until day 2 of the next cruise. I was on a B2B.

 

I don't know for sure that the teen in question started this chain of events, but I'm pretty suspicious. She boarded the ship sick and touched everything in her path - and was in close contact with other passengers.

 

If you are sick, stay home. SO unfair to put everyone else at risk.

[Trekker954]

Also, you can find affordable trip insurance online. You don't have to buy it from your TA (as I have found it to be double the price at times).

 

I was under the impression you can't buy last minute travel/medical insurance for a cruise. I thought there was a deadline (by final payment?)

[My2Kitties]

PLEASE STAY HOME IF YOU ARE SICK

 

Noro is the same as what we know as a "24 hours virus" and is HIGHLY contagious and has a very short incubation...so if I have it today, most likely you will have it tomorrow...so within an hour you infect tons of people and that is why Noro is such a problem on the ships...

 

Buy insurance by final payment and do not come to the terminal sick...

 

I actually got swine flu one year 20 days before sailing and I wasnt cleared to sail until 2 days before...trust me we were not even packed as we did not think we were going...and I would not have gotten on without a doctors ok...

[Gonzo70]

I was under the impression you can't buy last minute travel/medical insurance for a cruise. I thought there was a deadline (by final payment?)

 

You can, but generally it is more restrictive in what it covers. You cannot purchase it lat minute to cover something that is already a known concern.

[vickiw0318]

Have to laugh at the insurance buying scenarios. My company sold various health insurance plans - including dental insurance. We got so many calls for coverage from people who'd just been told they need extensive dental work. I've had people get mad at me when I'd tell them that the pre-existing diagnoses wouldn't be covered. One even told me that it wasn't fair because the insurance company had so much money and could easily afford to cover his claim. Another wanted to pay all the premiums for the pre-existing condition time period so he could go ahead and have the work done. (Don't think so.)

 

Insurance just isn't sold to cover known events.

[spookwife]

What happens if a family member is throwing up ? Do they deny boarding? And if so, do you lose your money?

 

if someone is throwing up I would HOPE that they would DO THE RIGHT THING and not subject the rest of the passengers to the illness. your cruise insurance should cover this eventuality.

 

you should not put the ship's medical personnel in the position of having to play the bad guy and deny boarding to you. nor should you lie about the issue in the hopes of getting on board anyway.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I was under the impression you can't buy last minute travel/medical insurance for a cruise. I thought there was a deadline (by final payment?)

 

 

This is true if you purchase insurance through the cruise line.

Any outside 3rd party insurance can be purchased up to a day or so before sailing.

 

***

[nrdsb4]

I bought Trip Insurance yesterday because of "trip delay" and "medical evacuation" with the storm brewing. I think they will find it fishy if suddenly my daughter is sick the next day. What a week!

 

You might want to check the details of your policy. Once a storm has been named, most insurance companies would NOT cover losses caused by a storm which had already been named and documented at the time you bought the policy. And really, why would they?

[Familygoboston]

Have to laugh at the insurance buying scenarios. My company sold various health insurance plans - including dental insurance. We got so many calls for coverage from people who'd just been told they need extensive dental work. I've had people get mad at me when I'd tell them that the pre-existing diagnoses wouldn't be covered. One even told me that it wasn't fair because the insurance company had so much money and could easily afford to cover his claim. Another wanted to pay all the premiums for the pre-existing condition time period so he could go ahead and have the work done. (Don't think so.)

 

Insurance just isn't sold to cover known events.

 

You are so right! If you ask for insurance after you know you need care, it wouldn't be called insurance it would just be called free medical care! "This is what's wrong with me, will you pay for it?":rolleyes:

 

 

 

if someone is throwing up I would HOPE that they would DO THE RIGHT THING and not subject the rest of the passengers to the illness. your cruise insurance should cover this eventuality.

 

you should not put the ship's medical personnel in the position of having to play the bad guy and deny boarding to you. nor should you lie about the issue in the hopes of getting on board anyway.

 

These forms are useless! First, some people have gastric disturbances that are not contagious at all! My DD used to get sick on every plane ride, if I reported her nervous air sickness, we could have been denied, despite it not being infectious. Some people have diarrhea related to what they ate, or just from travel and eating different foods- that's not infectious either. Also, many people who have had symptoms recently are no longer infectious, despite symptoms earlier in the week and many who are infected, but don't have symptoms the day they board, are already infectious to others. ( right there in the boarding area!;))

Then on top of all that, infectious people lie on the form and board anyway!

 

Obviously, if you know you have something infectious you shouldn't travel (or for that matter go to work, or as my hair stylist recently told me, get your hair cut! Really! She said people call her all the time "I'm home sick today, so I thought I'd fit in a hair cut:eek:)

But the forms are worthless as a public health tool!

Also, if it were me and I had something infectious, and was insured, I would either have them deny me boarding ( if I didn't need to fly) or get a Drs note; I'm pretty sure writing to the insurance company saying I cancelled because I threw up is not going to be covered.

[DebJ14]

Likely the storm was considered a pre-existing condition and would not be covered. Remember travel insurance is sold by companies that make a profit off of selling insurance - they are not going to sell a policy that covers a known event likely to lead to a payout. Hopefully it is just a 24 hour bug and your daughter feels better tomorrow. I also suspect the the insurance company would be reluctant to pay out for canceling due to sickness when you purchased the policy last minute - there likely are provisions in the fine print protecting them.

 

Once the storm has a name and the track is published they will not issue insurance that will cover storm related losses. As for the daugher being sick - she will have to take her to a physician for treatment, because a doctor will have to fill out the claim form. The doctor will have to fill in the date of onset of the illness and certify that she is too ill to travel.

[Nan1052]

Yes, PLEASE DON'T GO ON THE CRUISE! It's people that board the ships sick that cause others to become ill. If this is the Norwalk-like virus, it spreads like wild-fire. And if you haven't been sick onboard a ship, you haven't lived! It's HELL!

 

Consider this a lesson learned - think worst case scenarios and don't be cheap when it comes to insurance. It can save you a lot of money in the long run.

 

If you didn't buy insurance, call your Travel Agent to see if she can plead your case for you. Odds are not in your favor, but worth the try. Or, get a sitter for your daughter and the family can travel. Although, if this is a virus, odds are you will all be coming down with it soon. Sorry!

[DebJ14]

If I were throwing up I would not go on the cruise. We canceled a cruise this past March because my husband and I were getting over very bad chest colds. We were feeling all most OK, but we felt it was not fair to others on board the ship that they might get our colds. Our Dr also thought it was good for us not to go. We all ways get ins. Got our money back.

 

Thank you so much for your consideration of others. So many have the "Its my cruise and I'll do what I want attitude."

We cruised 3 times this year and 2 out of the 3 times were sick for a long time afterward. On a cruise in May a table mate said she was fine, but clearly had a miserable cold. By the end of the cruise everyone at the table was sick. We hacked for 6 weeks after and missed a trip to San Francisco that had been scheduled for a year because we did not think it was fair to infect a plane load of people.

In August we cruised again and got a table for 2 to avoid that problem. We were fine until the next to last day. We requested a table for 2 at breakfast and were seated at a table for two that was only inches from the next table over. Sure enough the lady sitting at that table closest to me had a bad case of laryngitis and a horrible cough and hacked all over me. I immediatey got up and left, but the damage was done. Fast forward to 4 days after the cruise and I had the exact same thing. It took 3 doctor visits to get rid of it and I am left without any sense of smell or taste. My life is ruined because they didn't have the sense to call room service. The doctor has tried several different meds and nothing is working so it looks like my sensory loss is going to be permanent. I go back to the doctor next week to get test results, but am not optimistic.

[Morecruisesplz]

Doea anyone really answer yes to any of the questions on the health form?

 

If they had ever been on a cruise where the flu spread like wild fire, yes... they would. No one every wants to go through that after having done it once. Seeing green-faced people in the buffet line, throw-up bags on the railings, tables, etc. and (although it is too little too late) the crew gets serious about hand sanitizer and the captain makes announcements about washing your hands.

 

Honesty is the best policy.