A word to the wise about going to the doctor on Oceania Riviera

[RJB]

I’m not surprised either. Extra services and products usually do cost more on a ship. Where else you going to go? Ever compare what toiletries cost onboard vs. at your home retailer. Twice as much sometimes.

Not because they pay more but just because they can. Not fair.

[buggins0402]

Not because they pay more but just because they can. Not fair.

 

With the staffing and overhead costs to maintain medical facilities onboard for such a small population (particularly R ships), I sincerely doubt the medical facilities are profit centers for the cruise line....they are probably just looking for some cost recovery.

[LHT28]

Not because they pay more but just because they can. Not fair.

if you do not like the prices then just do not buy the items

 

Simple as that

[RJB]

if you do not like the prices then just do not buy the items

 

Simple as that

Not as simple as you want to make it. Sometimes we have no choice. Called a monopoly. Illegal in most places.

[LHT28]

Not as simple as you want to make it. Sometimes we have no choice. Called a monopoly. Illegal in most places.

seriously

 

It is a business

 

If you go to a restaurant & order a coffee for $2 is that illegal ?

No it is a profit for that business ...you are not forced to shop there

 

 

just choose a different vacation venue if cruises operate illegally in your opinion

 

It is your money ...no one is forcing you to buy the products onboard or book a cruise

 

 

JMO

Edited April 29, 2017 by LHT28

[MarkieMarkNYC]

Some very interesting posts here. It's always strange to see healthcare compared to a cup of coffee.

Additionally, I don't know that Oceania (and other cruise lines) publishes their clinic fees so that potential customers can make an informed choice.

It's also very strange to see people defending extremely high medical costs when there is a obvious, clear lack of available competition. I guess it's fair to some until they get burned. But as long as others are getting burned and not me, who cares, right?

[azam71209]

Not as simple as you want to make it. Sometimes we have no choice. Called a monopoly. Illegal in most places.

 

A specific cruise ship is not "most places." Hard to imagine being given a choice between multiple medical centers on a single ship. You can choose which cruise line you prefer and which cruise ship you want to go on. If you don't mind less fancy food, for example, you can choose a cheaper ship. If you want cheaper medical care, you can choose a cruise line that runs a budget medical center. The perfect question to ask on the various cruisecritic boards. But once you choose a cruise line, ship, and itinerary, that is the package you have chosen.

 

You might have some legal recourse if you found out that the ship doctor had lost his license or was dispensing out of date medications, etc.

 

Mary

[MarkieMarkNYC]

A specific cruise ship is not "most places." Hard to imagine being given a choice between multiple medical centers on a single ship. You can choose which cruise line you prefer and which cruise ship you want to go on. If you don't mind less fancy food, for example, you can choose a cheaper ship. If you want cheaper medical care, you can choose a cruise line that runs a budget medical center. The perfect question to ask on the various cruisecritic boards. But once you choose a cruise line, ship, and itinerary, that is the package you have chosen.

 

You might have some legal recourse if you found out that the ship doctor had lost his license or was dispensing out of date medications, etc.

 

Mary

How can we find out which cruise lines offer a "budget medical center"?

[LHT28]

Some very interesting posts here. It's always strange to see healthcare compared to a cup of coffee.

long past comparing medical care

I was commenting on products in the shops that RJB reported is a monopoly & illegal

 

 

DH was very ill on one cruise temp of 103F the doctor even came to the cabin to check on him

 

We were very lucky he got better with treatment & did not have to leave the ship & fly home mid cruise

 

I am thankful they had a good doctor onboard & antibiotics to treat DH

 

we never leave the Province without trip/medical insurance

 

YMMV

[Toranut97]

Some very interesting posts here. It's always strange to see healthcare compared to a cup of coffee.

 

Additionally, I don't know that Oceania (and other cruise lines) publishes their clinic fees so that potential customers can make an informed choice.

 

It's also very strange to see people defending extremely high medical costs when there is a obvious, clear lack of available competition. I guess it's fair to some until they get burned. But as long as others are getting burned and not me, who cares, right?

 

 

That last paragraph is a rude and unnecessary comment. No one here has demonstrated an uncaring or condescending attitude towards those who are ill on a cruise. The attitude seems to be that it is a great thing to have medical care available. It is sad that the cost of care is high. The caveat to take away is that travel insurance is a really, REALLY good idea to have. And the smart cruiser will carefully shop insurance plans based on potential need. If one has a chronic illness, one will seek more coverage. Otherwise, roll the dice, I guess.

 

What kind of competition should there be? On a 1200 passenger ship, should there be two clinics across the hall from each other?

 

You want the table of clinic fees? I imagine you can request that before boarding. Will that change your cruise choice?

 

I have a hard time evaluating whether the cruise medical care system is "fair." What is fair is that, if you have a heart attack in the middle of the ocean, you might well die. Aren't we lucky that our treatment is better than"fair?"

 

 

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[RachelG]

Actually, they will tell you the fees upfront if you ask. They are posted in the clinic on some ships . The cost of a doctor visit onboard a ship S not out of line with what you would pay on land in the US if you walked in without insurance. In my office (I am a gynecologic surgeon), to see me would be over $200 for the most basic visit. And that does not include lab and X-rays. To see my nurse practitioner would be at least $100.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

Actually, they will tell you the fees upfront if you ask. They are posted in the clinic on some ships . The cost of a doctor visit onboard a ship S not out of line with what you would pay on land in the US if you walked in without insurance. In my office (I am a gynecologic surgeon), to see me would be over $200 for the most basic visit. And that does not include lab and X-rays. To see my nurse practitioner would be at least $100.

Posting the fees in the clinic is a bit late for those who, as has been suggested, should check fees before booking.

And how does one predict what ailment they might get while cruising? I doubt many cruisers would need the services of a gynecologic surgeon. Should cruisers contact various cruise lines and obtain, in advance, what they might have to pay for a skin laceration? Angina? A broken bone?

[LHT28]

Should cruisers contact various cruise lines and obtain, in advance, what they might have to pay for a skin laceration? Angina? A broken bone?

Some people should if they are worried that the cruise line might rip them off if the unexpected should happen

 

 

:D

[RDC1]

Not because they pay more but just because they can. Not fair.

 

 

Actually a large part of cost deals with inventory turns. A land based major pharmacy gets 12-18 inventory turns. That means that in a year they get 12-18 times their margin on a product as gross profit (prior to subtracting overhead, G&A, etc.)

 

I would be surprised in the store on a cruise ship gets more then 6-9 turns. That means to make the same annual profit as a land based pharmacy they would need twice the margin. Or in other words atleast a 30-40% higher price on common toiletries. When you consider the vendors that run the stores probably don't have the purchasing power of major pharmacies, the rest they pay the cruise line, the ratio of employee costs to product sales, I would exect markup even higher then that resulting from just a net margin/inventory turns calculation.

[RDC1]

Posting the fees in the clinic is a bit late for those who, as has been suggested, should check fees before booking.

And how does one predict what ailment they might get while cruising? I doubt many cruisers would need the services of a gynecologic surgeon. Should cruisers contact various cruise lines and obtain, in advance, what they might have to pay for a skin laceration? Angina? A broken bone?

 

 

Get an idea of prices from your local hospital emergency room for uninsured patients. It will be similar.

 

Bottom line if you don't have insurance you will not like it if you have to use it.

[RJB]

Get an idea of prices from your local hospital emergency room for uninsured patients. It will be similar.

 

Bottom line if you don't have insurance you will not like it if you have to use it.

You can spin it any way you want, it is a rip off by Oceania and the doctors they employ.

[ronrick1943]

Sorry don't agree, when you need it your very happy it's on the ship. I'm thinking it was wroth every penny and the staff was good when we needed it.

[RJB]

Sorry don't agree, when you need it your very happy it's on the ship. I'm thinking it was wroth every penny and the staff was good when we needed it.

They overcharge you because they can. After a hurricane if you have to spend 25.00 for a bottle of water because you need it you also might be very happy to get it. It would still be a rip off and not right.

[Noxequifans]

For those who feel that the O medical facility is too pricey there are obvious options. 1. Don't cruise on O, 2. If you cruise on O have travel insurance to cover the medical costs, and 3.Don't use the medical facility.

[MarkieMarkNYC]

There was an excellent letter in the WSJ (yesterday I believe) in which the writer related that when he experienced chest pain, he called a doctor friend who told him to go the ED. He did so and within a few hours was in the OR having bypass surgery. The writer asks if, at that time, he should have shopped around for rates, doctor experience, hospital morbidity and mortality rates, etc.

He makes the good point that a) it's unpredictable when you might need medical care, b) rates can widely vary, and c) being an "informed" patient only goes so far in that doctors have vast amounts of information and skills that lay people don't have - and the outcomes are far more serious than if you buy the right car, order the right entree, etc.

The ridiculously high prices found on cruise ships mirror what is found in most American healthcare facilities for all those reasons. Providers of health care know that these differences exist and unfortunately use them to gouge customers, I think even people on the far political Right in the US understand that prices are often way out of line with actual costs to the provider.

Norwegian is a huge corporation and could, if they wanted to, negotiate for reasonable drug and lab fees. But they know that there will always be cruisers who will essentially be apologists for the prices they charge. We see it in this thread - so certainly there are plenty of apologists out there who will accept anything without question.

[JonconOH]

For those who feel that the O medical facility is too pricey there are obvious options. 1. Don't cruise on O, 2. If you cruise on O have travel insurance to cover the medical costs, and 3.Don't use the medical facility.

 

I agree that travel insurance is your best bet for any emergency. We have had 16 cruises on Oceania, and have had to file 3 claims for various situations. In all cases, we were reimbursed for medical, trip interruptions and canceling a cruise due to a family emergency. We are booked for another Oceania cruise.

[p598738]

Are the medical facilities on the ships concessions ? It may we'll be the the lines do not set the fees. It used to be that many ship casinos were concessions.

Edited May 6, 2017 by p598738
Delete signature.

[Toranut97]

Are the medical facilities on the ships concessions ? It may we'll be the the lines do not set the fees. It used to be that many ship casinos were concessions.

 

 

 

I believe someone mentioned that the medical staff/ facilities, like the casino and the spa, are indeed concessions.

 

I will certainly be corrected if I am wrong!

 

Donna

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[LHT28]

Are the medical facilities on the ships concessions ? It may we'll be the the lines do not set the fees. It used to be that many ship casinos were concessions.

I believe the medical team are concessions as well as other positions on the ships

 

you can see the employers for some ship positions @

 

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/careers/shipboard/

[RJB]

I agree that travel insurance is your best bet for any emergency. We have had 16 cruises on Oceania, and have had to file 3 claims for various situations. In all cases, we were reimbursed for medical, trip interruptions and canceling a cruise due to a family emergency. We are booked for another Oceania cruise.

Yes we are between the rock and the hard place. Because the prices on Oceania and most other cruise ships for medical care are so high(Total rip off) than the trip insurance pricing has to be very high. A very bad way to treat your guests when most other services on the ships are terrific.