Couple on RCCL cruise put of the ship and stranded in Bahamas.

[Homosassa]

Cruising on the cheap is a risky business for anyone. If one is not prepared (or ignorant of what is needed to be prepared) and prefers to trust luck to save money, one's luck can run out very quickly.

 

I know that someone gifted the cruise to the couple, but maybe that person should have made sure that the women were prepared for unexpected expenditures.

 

As I used to tell my daughter when she was growing up: "Wisdom come from experience and experience from bad judgement."

 

 

[KimPossible1]

11 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

Maybe intellectually handicapped. Would explain some of the helplessness.

That's a terrible thing to say!  Why does everyone feel the need to post their disappointment or disgust with these people?  Read the story...say thats awful, poor them for not knowing what/how to do things and move on....why is is necessary to comment on a thread where obviously the people made a mistake.  They didn't even post their story here, someone else gave a link.  Such negativity about people you don't even know.

[TravisP]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:06 PM, matj2000 said:

I wouldn't exactly call a 3 day cruise a "dream vacation"......

 

Maybe it is not for you, but I can see it being a dream vacation for many less fortunate people out there. 

[Pratique]

20 hours ago, cruisinfanatic said:

What good is having the card if it's no good to fly internationally?

I use the passport card for domestic air travel and entry to federal courthouses because my current driver license is not REAL ID compliant. Even though my state has an extension for non-compliant IDs through October 2020, I don't want to chance a problem with TSA or court security not accepting it. When my license renews in a few years it will be compliant or I could renew early if I wanted it sooner, but the passport card does the trick and doesn't have my address printed on it.

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I use the passport card for domestic air travel and entry to federal courthouses because my current driver license is not REAL ID compliant. Even though my state has an extension for non-compliant IDs through October 2020, I don't want to chance a problem with TSA or court security not accepting it. When my license renews in a few years it will be compliant or I could renew early if I wanted it sooner, but the passport card does the trick and doesn't have my address printed on it.

 

I also like the passport card as a backup to the DL.  Some states take the DL if one is stopped for a traffic violation, which would be really bad if someone got stopped on the way to the airport and didn't have a backup to the DL.

[flamingos]

This is the latest news article I could find, from a Nassau paper.

 

http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/dec/18/stranded-couple-help-us-get-home/

[Pratique]

8 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I also like the passport card as a backup to the DL.  Some states take the DL if one is stopped for a traffic violation, which would be really bad if someone got stopped on the way to the airport and didn't have a backup to the DL.

Agreed. I recently moved and when I went to the DMV to change my address they invalidated my permanent license and gave me a temporary paper license. Took two weeks to get the new permanent license in the mail. With the passport card no worries if I needed to fly without carrying my passport book around with me all the time. I think that the card worth the cost for it's convenience even though I've only used it once to cross the border into Canada and back.

[vacationlover_mn]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:03 PM, shippmates said:

What would make a person think just because a person is on Medicare they are unhealthy.  I am on Medicare and am very healthy.  With speaking with passengers on ships, I am amazed at the number of passengers do not know that Medicare does not cover you out of the continental United States.  Why do people not do some research or ask there travel agent questions.

 

Thanks for posting this... I am still a ways from having Medicare, but had never thought about it not covering us outside the US.  I will remember this, and always make sure to have travel insurance when the time comes.

 

DH was had a VERY bad case of Noro a few years ago, when we were at Couples in Jamaica.  Fortunately, his work health insurance helped to cover the cost of a doctor and nurse coming to our room, his IV, and meds...

[Robb]

While I sympathize with this couple I would never leave on a trip of any kind with out my passport and travel insurance.   RCL should not have to assume any of the blame, it is squarely on the couple.  A hard lesson learned.  

 

50 cruises ago we had a cruise booked and I suffered a heart attack the week prior to sailing, ended up having triple by-pass surgery and thus missed the cruise.  We had no travel insurance so we lost the money we had paid to the cruise line, about five thousand dollars.  What a wake up........I wish someone had told me about the importance of having travel insurance.  We will not have this happen again.......always have insurance AND the valid passport.

 

[pacruise804]

20 hours ago, HollandA said:

 

Oh for Pete's sake. For a lot of people, it is. Seeing as how these ladies were fixed income, it's likely they've never traveled far and may not have even ventured much farther than a couple of states away before. So yes, this could very well have been an absolute dream vacation for them.

 

I think the crux of this issue unfortunately is that you've got two inexperienced travelers who had a one in a million emergency happen while out of the country for the first time. They likely had no clue about trip insurance and even if they did know about it, probably couldn't have afforded it anyway since this trip was a gift. I feel really badly for them and am hoping they're able to make it home with a minimal amount of additional hassle. 

 

I do wonder some if they had spent the money for insurance and passports then had a routine cruise without incident but by spending the money on things that would be a wise just-in-case were not actually needed they then couldn't pay another bill how much grief they would get for that.

 

It sounds like someone meant to do a kind thing by gifting a cruise, but didn't realize the extra costs that can come with a free gift.

 

4 hours ago, shippmates said:

I understand that Medicare supplemental plan F and medicare advantage plans give you limited foreign coverage but for the persons that only have original medicare are not covered.  Here is the explanation of coverage from the medicare website.    coverage under Original Medicare. Medicare coverage outside the United States is limited. In most situations, Medicare won’t pay for health care or supplies you get . outside the U.S. The term “outside the U.S.” means . anywhere other than. the 50.

 

Was the italicized portion from the website?  I've seen some people stating lower 48, some including HI and territories (no mention of AK).  What about DC?  It isn't a state, but I would guess there is coverage.  If not, maybe I need to look at travel policies for if we visit the Smithsonian or monuments again. (not being snarky, genuinely curious)

[MrsKC08]

On 12/18/2018 at 9:05 PM, fyree39 said:

I read this article this morning.  I don't really have much sympathy for them nor am I contributing to their Go Fund Me account.

I feel the same!

[Charles4515]

27 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

 

Was the italicized portion from the website?  I've seen some people stating lower 48, some including HI and territories (no mention of AK).  What about DC?  It isn't a state, but I would guess there is coverage.  If not, maybe I need to look at travel policies for if we visit the Smithsonian or monuments again. (not being snarky, genuinely curious)

 

Medicare coverage is all 50 US states and US territories. That includes DC. Also Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. Not naming all the territories but there is also Guam and American Samoa. 

 

 

[Charles4515]

7 minutes ago, MrsKC08 said:

I feel the same!

 

I have sympathy for them.  I would not contribute to their Go Fund account because I don’t know them from atom. If we were friends or friends of friends I probably would. 

 

 

 

 

[Pratique]

17 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I have sympathy for them.  I would not contribute to their Go Fund account because I don’t know them from atom. If we were friends or friends of friends I probably would. 

 

 

 

 

I understand that not everyone appreciates the risk associated with traveling without insurance, and medical emergencies are by nature unpredictable. Even when I shop for travel insurance I'm not sure how much coverage is enough, except to ask myself how much I can afford to spend if something unexpected happens.

 

With respect to the passports, I am somewhat less sympathetic. Royal Caribbean provides an entire page of information to every guest in advance of the cruise indicating: "We strongly recommend that all guests travel with a valid passport book, even when not required." It's printed in several places. Perhaps they didn't have the time or means to obtain passports in advance, but they should have been aware of the risk in advance and not come across as being so surprised by it (maybe this is just the way the reporter framed it in the story). But they knew enough to bring the birth certificates so they must have done some research. I suspect that this sort of thing happens a lot in the Bahamas so hopefully it can be resolved quickly and they can get home safely and soon. Wishing them the best....

[Kingofcool1947]

1 hour ago, MrsKC08 said:

I feel the same!

Regardless of the Fund Me request,

The PAX had a serious life threatening medical emergency that required hospitalization and surgery in a foreign county.  And,  you  have no sympathy 

for her medical or financial  plight?    So, you blame the PAX and her wife for the unplanned medical emergency and financial situation?  

Wow,  so many heartless comments in this thread showing lack of human compassion.   Unbelievable.   

I pray for their safe return.

Merry Christmas.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Kingofcool1947

[MrsKC08]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I have sympathy for them.  I would not contribute to their Go Fund account because I don’t know them from atom. If we were friends or friends of friends I probably would. 

 

 

 

 

I truly don't feel sorry for them, basically, this is a lesson learned...period! Granted, it is an expensive lesson, but one that they now know should they ever cruise again but chances are they won't after an experience like this. 

I can appreciate the fact that they were not experienced cruisers and probably had no indication about the insurance thing, but when you travel without a passport you take the risk. I may be wrong, but I feel that this is a ploy for wanting the cruise line to reimburse them for some if not all of their expenses and it's not the fault of the cruise line.

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Regardless of the Fund Me request,

The PAX had a serious life threatening medical emergency that required hospitalization and surgery in a foreign county.  And,  you  have no sympathy 

for her medical or financial  plight?    So, you blame the PAX and her wife for the unplanned medical emergency and financial situation?  

Wow,  so many heartless comments in this thread showing lack of human compassion.   Unbelievable.   

I pray for their safe return.

Merry Christmas.

I have plenty of human compassion when warranted! I feel for the fact that she got sick while on vacation. That truly sucks, but do I feel sorry for them that they are stuck in the Bahamas without a passport? Absolutely not! The cruiseline makes every effort to let people know about proper documentation.

Do I feel sorry for them that their US federal government paid medical "insurance" won't cover their expenses in a foreign land...why would I? When you travel to another country whether for 3 days or a week or longer, you take on the risk of anything happening. They both are on disability, which we know could be anything from COPD to ALS and a multitude of other things that can warrant it. Trust me, I have several family members (who also live in Lexington, KY by the way) who are on disability who truly are fooling the system. But I digress...

You either insure yourself against it, or you take the risk. My husband and I have yet to purchase insurance for any of our cruises, but as we get older those times are changing and we will purchase for any future cruises. But it amazes me that someone, let alone a "couple" who are both disabled and on a fixed income, which means no disposable income in an emergency, would travel without protection.

You do your research (trust me, there is plenty of information out there). 

 

[sfaaa]

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Regardless of the Fund Me request,

 

Wow,  so many heartless comments in this thread showing lack of human compassion.   Unbelievable.   

I pray for their safe return.

 

They don't need your compassion and prayer. They want Go Fund Me. Either do it or move on.

Edited December 20, 2018 by sfaaa

[Kingofcool1947]

18 minutes ago, MrsKC08 said:

I truly don't feel sorry for them, basically, this is a lesson learned...period! Granted, it is an expensive lesson, but one that they now know should they ever cruise again but chances are they won't after an experience like this. 

I can appreciate the fact that they were not experienced cruisers and probably had no indication about the insurance thing, but when you travel without a passport you take the risk. I may be wrong, but I feel that this is a ploy for wanting the cruise line to reimburse them for some if not all of their expenses and it's not the fault of the cruise line.

I have plenty of human compassion when warranted! I feel for the fact that she got sick while on vacation. That truly sucks, but do I feel sorry for them that they are stuck in the Bahamas without a passport? Absolutely not! The cruiseline makes every effort to let people know about proper documentation.

Do I feel sorry for them that their US federal government paid medical "insurance" won't cover their expenses in a foreign land...why would I? When you travel to another country whether for 3 days or a week or longer, you take on the risk of anything happening. They both are on disability, which we know could be anything from COPD to ALS and a multitude of other things that can warrant it. Trust me, I have several family members (who also live in Lexington, KY by the way) who are on disability who truly are fooling the system. But I digress...

You either insure yourself against it, or you take the risk. My husband and I have yet to purchase insurance for any of our cruises, but as we get older those times are changing and we will purchase for any future cruises. But it amazes me that someone, let alone a "couple" who are both disabled and on a fixed income, which means no disposable income in an emergency, would travel without protection.

You do your research (trust me, there is plenty of information out there). 

 

Guess the couple believed bringing their birth certificates was sufficient.  

[Kingofcool1947]

6 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

They don't need your compassion and prayer. They want Go Fund Me. Either do it or move on.

And they finally got the funds.  You approve?

Edited December 20, 2018 by Kingofcool1947

[sfaaa]

1 minute ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

And they got the funds.

Cool. I respect that.

[shippmates]

3 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

 

I do wonder some if they had spent the money for insurance and passports then had a routine cruise without incident but by spending the money on things that would be a wise just-in-case were not actually needed they then couldn't pay another bill how much grief they would get for that.

 

It sounds like someone meant to do a kind thing by gifting a cruise, but didn't realize the extra costs that can come with a free gift.

 

 

Was the italicized portion from the website?  I've seen some people stating lower 48, some including HI and territories (no mention of AK).  What about DC?  It isn't a state, but I would guess there is coverage.  If not, maybe I need to look at travel policies for if we visit the Smithsonian or monuments again. (not being snarky, genuinely curious)

Yes the italicized is from the Medicare website.  I know we are covered for 80% but I always worry that they will bill us for the cost of the medical evacuation.  

[pacruise804]

Thanks.  I think I found the site where you got your information and my confusion was from it being a partial quote.  This is what I found:

 

This fact sheet explains coverage under Original Medicare. Medicare coverage outside the United States is limited. In most situations, Medicare won’t pay for health care or supplies you get outside the U.S. The term “outside the U.S.” means anywhere other than the 50 states of the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. This fact sheet explains some of the exceptions that would allow you to get coverage outside the U.S. under Original Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance).

[NavyCruiser]

On 12/18/2018 at 8:06 PM, matj2000 said:

I wouldn't exactly call a 3 day cruise a "dream vacation"......

Wow.

Our very first civilian cruise (out of 30+ by now) back in 1991, was a 3 day "dream Honeymoon vacation".

Just came back from a horrible 9-month "cruise" from the Persian gulf, caught 24 hr MAC flight across country from Pearl Harbor, wedding, then finally went on our 3-day cruise. 

Being on a ship that doesn't rock, no 6-hour watches, no general quarters, no flight ops, no Marines onboard, unlimited meals with real food, YES, it was really a 3 day "dream vacation"!!!

 

Count yer Blessings, Shipmate!!!

[Kingofcool1947]

8 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

Wow.

Our very first civilian cruise (out of 30+ by now) back in 1991, was a 3 day "dream Honeymoon vacation".

Just came back from a horrible 9-month "cruise" from the Persian gulf, caught 24 hr MAC flight across country from Pearl Harbor, wedding, then finally went on our 3-day cruise. 

Being on a ship that doesn't rock, no 6-hour watches, no general quarters, no flight ops, no Marines onboard, unlimited meals with real food, YES, it was really a 3 day "dream vacation"!!!

 

Count yer Blessings, Shipmate!!!

 

So did you long for a plate of S.O.S.  on your “dream vacay”?  

 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Kingofcool1947

[Rala]

On December 18, 2018 at 8:29 PM, emdia43 said:

Both are reported as being on Medicare, so not  healthy.  The report says they are on disability, so it's foolhardy to travel outside the US without travel insurance, IMO.

Being on Medicare does not necessarily mean that they are not healthy.  It only means that they are 65 yrs old or older and are eligible for Medicare benefits  which include doctor visits i.e.. check-ups, also flu shots, etc..  Being on disability probably means they might have some health issue(s).  :-)

Edited December 23, 2018 by Rala
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