Did you visit the Ship Doctor?

[dwjoe]

And MY health insurance company doesn't cover out-of-network expenses... so I wouldn't be covered out of the country. Or out of the state, for that matter! It says "true medical emergencies only" are covered out of network.

 

Doesn't really matter-- I wouldn't travel without trip insurance!

It does matter IMO... there is no point buying insurance for coverage you already have.

[dwjoe]

Anyone ever had to deal with large health care charges on a cruise? say thousands of dollars?

[Steamboat Holly]

Yep. I came down with a severe case of Pernicious Dandruff. The Ship Doctor shook his rattle over me and pronounced that I had evil spirits in me. I told him that I didn't drink that cheap hooch. I think it was about 11am. He charged me a chicken. All I had was a turkey, so he gave me a duck in change.

 

I started reading this before I looked at who wrote it. I knew immediately who wrote it!

 

PS...I think you got too much change, you should have gotten a cornish game hen!

[Warm Breezes]

:rolleyes:I was wondering if any of you have had to visit the Ship Doctor...what time was it? How much did he charge you?

 

DCL Wonder, mid-morning, $0. I had a rash on arms & legs...I think it was an allergic reaction to detergent on sheets. Was given a tube of hydrocortizone.

[Cruzinnana47]

Got sick on our last cruise (NCL GEM) to Canada and back. I saw the ship dr. the day we were in port in Quebec. The charges for the dr. and medicine totalled $245. Medicare did not cover, my medigap insurance did not cover, but thank goodness we always get travel insurance. This time was through the cruiseline. I submitted the claim (along with denial from Medicare) and the claim was covered and I was reimbursed for all charges. Would never travel and/or cruise without travel insurance. Incidentally, this was the 1st time we ever had to put in a claim -- well worth the price, IMHO.

Edited March 14, 2013 by CRUZIN'NANA

[kollegekreed]

Got on the ship in January with a cold...full blown respiratory infection by day 2. Stopped by the med center and was told Dr was only there 10-11 and 5-6, and it was 105 copy. No thanks. Paid a doctor 50 bucks cash in St Maarten, and paid he pharmacy $15 for a ZPack.

[pyrrhus]

You are probably right. Can you imagine the nightmare if someone were hospitalized in port and the tangle of red tape if you did not have trip insurance?

 

Better to just buy it and be able to relax and enjoy the trip!

 

Depends on the port. If it is a port with good nationalized healthcare, might not cost a dime.

[clwalkermn]

Question on trip insurance though - a bunch of you commented that you take out the trip insurance. Well, I always take out the regular trip insurance that covers cancellation, interruption, etc, but that typically doesn't cover medical expenses. I have considered taking out the separate medical insurance, are many of you saying that you take out the trip interruption insurance as well as the medical insurance??

[sdmike]

Mike, I'm with you. Never purchased insurance on any of our 8 previous cruises, but I feel like we are tempting fate. I almost pulled the trigger on 3d party insurance before our Epic cruise but after reading the fine print, it didn't seem to cover the things I was most worried about, like missing a flight.

 

Yeah, feels like I've been living too far on the edge based on these posts :)

[djmess]

Yeah, feels like I've been living too far on the edge based on these posts :)

 

I had not bought insurance until about 2 or 3 cruises ago. I have some Elderly Grandparents, so decided to go ahead and purchase the NCL insurance for the last couple cruises and all my future cruise. Now the true test will be to see what if anything is reimbursed for my son's medical visit on the ship from last week. Started the claim process. Well, the process is to submit a request for a claim form. So the wait begins, then I will fill out claim form and wait some more.

 

I know for a fact my personal insurance will not cover as the cruise ship is not In Network. Will see if I have to get a reject from personal insurance before the NCL insurance will do anything.

[thecatsmeow]

Question on trip insurance though - a bunch of you commented that you take out the trip insurance. Well, I always take out the regular trip insurance that covers cancellation, interruption, etc, but that typically doesn't cover medical expenses. I have considered taking out the separate medical insurance, are many of you saying that you take out the trip interruption insurance as well as the medical insurance??

We always take out the Book Safe policy that NCL sells. It covers medical too.

[Barb Nahoumi]

Never did and hope that I never have to.

[a1moty]

Got on the ship in January with a cold...full blown respiratory infection by day 2. Stopped by the med center and was told Dr was only there 10-11 and 5-6, and it was 105 copy. No thanks. Paid a doctor 50 bucks cash in St Maarten, and paid he pharmacy $15 for a ZPack.

Well, if the Doctor is only "IN" 2 hours a day that explains why at 11:15 am I was quoted $145.00 for an 'after hours call'. On our 02/24/13 Star cruise I had an upper respiratory infection going on and was on a z-pack..but still felt like crap. I went down 24 hours in advance and ask to cancel a NCL shore excursion and the Customer Service gal told me I would need to see the doctor and have him advise me not to go, for $145.00 since I wasn't giving them 48 hours notice....but she thought I should just take some throat lozenges and I'd be fine. Interestingly, a couple of days later, NCL canceled our next shore excursions without warning or apology because of weather. :rolleyes:

Edited March 14, 2013 by a1moty

[JerseyGem]

So.... So you just show them proof of the insurance or do you pay and then submit for reimbursement?

 

On NCL (and I assume most lines), the fees are charged to your onboard account. You're given a receipt to submit to your own health insurance company or trip insurance when you are home. If you receive medical care off-ship at a port, you pay right then (and later submit receipts). We also always carry a credit card with a fairly high credit limit just in case we need to pay for some very expensive medical care. DD's BFF had an emergency appendectomy in Punta Cana; they would not operate until the two pooled their credit cards to reach the cost of the operation (which they were able to negotiate down to $5000).

 

Even if your medical insurance will reimburse you for doctor visits & medical procedures, trip insurance will help with associated costs- medical evacuation (including a return flight to your home for you and everyone travelling with you), hotel/meals for those travelling with you while you're in a hospital, etc. We always get trip insurance!

[jt72978]

I have anthem insurance and when I called them, they told me they have an agreement with all cruise lines for the cruise line to bill anthem directly so that we have no out of pocket costs while on the ship. I wonder if that's accurate, after reading all if these posts.

[dwjoe]

Just want to mention that it's not the $100-$500 onboard doctor visits that create the need for insurance - that's minor. It's the $14,500 hospital stay, $48,000 medevac at sea, or $120,000 emergency brain surgery that I am concerned about. It's the risks that could financially ruin you that you want to make sure you are covered for.

[dwjoe]

I have anthem insurance and when I called them, they told me they have an agreement with all cruise lines for the cruise line to bill anthem directly so that we have no out of pocket costs while on the ship. I wonder if that's accurate, after reading all if these posts.

It may be true, but what about foreign hospitals ashore? That is the greater financial risk IMO.

 

The part you should get in writing is, do they cover international expenses, what limitations apply, and is there an out-of-pocket maximum that you can afford?

Edited March 14, 2013 by dwjoe

[mommaof 3]

I did work with a gentleman who had a heart attack while in Mexico on vacation. He was fortunate to survive, but after the hospitalization and medivac home, the bill was over $100K.

 

Also,wanted to add that I was looking at what is required to work on cruise ships. The nurses and Drs. have to have experience in trauma and critical care, I found that to be reassuring if there was an accident.

 

It seems worth a couple hundred dollars for the peace of mind insurance provides.

[a1moty]

Don't get me wrong--I am sure that the ship doctor are well qualified--I am not saying anything against them and I am very thankful they are there. In fact, as we pulled into one of our ports, we noticed an ambulance evacuating someone from our ship. So we are very thankful that the medical staff was on board to help that person in need. Also, everytime we cruise we do get the insurance and thankfully have never had to use it, so quite frankly, it never even occurred to me that a little thing like this would even be covered (our personal health insurance also will not cover ship board claims)....what tripped me up was that at 11:30 in the morning it was an afterhours visit. And then I read on here that it is because office hours are only two hours a day. That is all I was saying. For someone with no experience in this area, this was a real eyeopener for me. I posted my question here because I was puzzled. Thanks for clearing it up for me the 'afterhours' issue for me. I am truly grateful that "there is a doctor in the house" each time I cruise! :)

Edited March 15, 2013 by a1moty

[raylene5]

DH got very sick on our Pearl Alaska cruise in July. It was food poisoning...we think from the BBQ at sail away. It was so bad that he had to go to the doctor onboard. They asked for a detailed list of what he had eaten before getting in the ship and then what he ate once he was onboard.

 

We were never billed for it and my guess is that it's because it was due to NCL food.

[nursemommy7578]

just got off the Gem on Wed, had to see the dr onboard twice...was never charged for either visit.

[Medtech2]

It really all depends on your provider and the plan you're in. A lot of HMO's won't pay for out of network treatment. Some make an exception for "emergencies" suffered locally or possibly outside your local area. PPO's and other similar programs tend to provide broader coverage but with higher co-pay, deductibles and out-of-pocket minimums. It really all depends on what you're in.

 

FWIW, I had not purchased travel insurance in the past but likely will going forward. All these recent threads on medical issues and getting bumped off ships has me worried. :p

No one in my family had ever purchased trip insurance before, and my father used to travel extensively all over the world flying space available as retired military.

 

Then one day he fell ill in Russia. $8000 in cash later he was back home ( and that was 15 years ago price). For whatever reason the Russians would not take his credit card. My mother had to wire cash...

 

Bought insurance ever since. It's kind of like AAA for my car. Carried it 28 years now and only used it 3 times, but man, were they doozies....

[coffeecat]

My dad got into respiratory distress (acute congestive heart failure) while snorkeling at GSC. He has a history of heart problems/heart attack in the past. He got insurance through Steve Dasseos and trip insurance store dot com after booking which covered preexisting conditions (I highly recommend this company-they are awesome).

 

He swam outside of the ropes at GSC (stupid I know) and to the other side of the large rock formation there. A passenger saw he was in distress and swam back to shore to get the lifeguards. This passenger, who we never met, saved his life - of this I am certain.

 

The life guards got on their jet ski and pulled him from the water. He was blue and his oxygen sats were 70%. The nurse at GSC administered oxygen and they loaded him onto the tender which left immediately for the infirmary. In the infirmary he got lab work, CXR, EKG, lasix and supportive care. Spent the day there. Total bill was $1400 which was reimbursed promptly in full.

 

We always get travel insurance. NCLs staff was amazing through this whole event and he was just so well taken care of. Their quick actions (from the guards, to the nurse, to the ship physician) were amazing and they took great care of him. I feel like they saved his life-it could have had a much different ending were it not for the passenger that saw him and the subsequent actions by the crew and staff.

 

My husband also had a knee injury while sailing (we later found out that this was just a gout attack) and we saw the ships doctor for that. It was a couple hundred bucks...we had travel insurance but lost the bill or something so this was never reimbursed.

 

Needless to say, we are booked on the Breakaway this summer and everyone has cruise insurance! It is worth it's weight in gold for the peace of mind and something I hope we don't ever have to use!

[Dragonfly2girls]

My 7 year old was sitting in the window of our cabin and she fell back and hit her head on the platform of the bed on Norwegian. She didn't tell anyone, she didn't cry. Saw blood all over the bed and the ladder. Checked her over and found she gashed her head open. Took her to the medic and they did an x-ray and then cleaned her up and stitched her wound closed with her own hair (took bundles of hair from either side of wound and tied together then sealed with glue). It healed fabulously. They were wonderful. Its been almost a year, and I haven't received a bill.

[FLAHAM]

On 3/13/2013 at 9:55 AM, punkincc said:

Surprised to hear that your "home" insurance provider will cover charges incurred outside the country. I thought this was generally not done

 

My Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy pays "preferred provider" rates for out-of-country medical care worldwide.