I mentioned that we had 2 medical emergencies requiring airlift on Grandiosa

[Stockjock]

I posted a few seconds of video showing the helicopter airlift, but couldn't post the longer version due to bandwidth constraints.  Here's the longer version.
Medical Emergency Airlift on MSC Grandiosa.

[Cruise5life]

Glad I’m getting add on coverage for medical and evacuation for my upcoming cruises in 2023.   Being at sea for 29 days worries me a bit.  
I have the basic cruise line coverage and getting extra med and evac.   Cheap insurance for a year policy.      250k evac and 500k med 

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, Cruise5life said:

Glad I’m getting add on coverage for medical and evacuation for my upcoming cruises in 2023.   Being at sea for 29 days worries me a bit.  
I have the basic cruise line coverage and getting extra med and evac.   Cheap insurance for a year policy.      250k evac and 500k med 

While I have some baked-in coverage from my American Express Platinum Card, we did purchase standalone travel insurance as well.  Fortunately, we didn't need it.  Worth the expense for peace of mind, imo.  

No one expects the unexpected, but if things go south, it's nice to have a plan in place.  I'm quite sure that the 2 passengers airlifted off of Grandiosa never expected that to occur.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Stockjock

[iwtobek]

Peace of mind is key! Vacations are not for stressful questions starting with “what if”.

Get insured.

[Ergates The Ant]

Travel insurance for UK cruisers is an essential. The NHS does not cover us for any medical treatment outside the country, or on a cruise ship. I’ve always wondered whether the medical cover that US citizens take out to cover their medical costs at home can be claimed on even if the treatment is needed overseas? Is that why so many say they cruise without insurance, because they do already have cover for medical emergencies? Obviously not for emergency evacuation though!

[Stockjock]

11 minutes ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Travel insurance for UK cruisers is an essential. The NHS does not cover us for any medical treatment outside the country, or on a cruise ship. I’ve always wondered whether the medical cover that US citizens take out to cover their medical costs at home can be claimed on even if the treatment is needed overseas? Is that why so many say they cruise without insurance, because they do already have cover for medical emergencies? Obviously not for emergency evacuation though!

In terms of medical air evacuation, I think my USA private medical insurance would cover that.  Further, because I booked using my American Express Platinum card, I think they would cover me for up to $1,000,000 USD if my medical insurance didn't cover me.

That said, buying travel insurance was cheap ($150 USD for the two of us) and covered a number of other potential occurrences that might arise, and likely wouldn't be covered otherwise.  One of my primary concerns was failing the pre-cruise covid test and having to quarantine in Europe for a week or two out-of-pocket.  Could I afford to pay for a hotel and expenses in Copenhagen for a week or two?  Sure, but I'd rather not.

My travel insurance was cheaper than a 1 night's stay, which I thought was reasonable.  As mentioned elsewhere, I got such a cheap quote by substantially lowering the "cost" of my cruise.

MSC has a Cruise with Confidence program, so I figured I was mostly covered on the cruise cost.

I used frequent flyer points to book the air travel, which could potentially be re-credited to my account without cost.

When I added all of that up, I lowered the "travel cost: by at least a couple thousand dollars, which provided a cheap quote that I suspect would have still provided for my needs, if things went wrong.

Edited September 24, 2022 by Stockjock

[77red96]

17 minutes ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Travel insurance for UK cruisers is an essential. The NHS does not cover us for any medical treatment outside the country, or on a cruise ship. I’ve always wondered whether the medical cover that US citizens take out to cover their medical costs at home can be claimed on even if the treatment is needed overseas? Is that why so many say they cruise without insurance, because they do already have cover for medical emergencies? Obviously not for emergency evacuation though!

That's not actually true, perhaps you were unaware of this. I've linked the website so you can go on and get the relevant health insurance card.

 

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic/

 

You should of course take a cruise insurance policy in conjunction with this that covers you for med evac, COVID cover etc. 

 

I've not had to use this personally, however I was travelling with a friend who had an accident, when the hospital was presented with his travel insurance and his EHIC card they handed the travel insurance back and used the EHIC to cover all his medical costs. Several months later the NHS sent him out a statement showing his card had been used and how much they had paid to the Spanish hospital.

 

Definitely worth having the card.🤞none of us ever need it.

[awhcruiser]

8 hours ago, Stockjock said:

While I have some baked-in coverage from my American Express Platinum Card, we did purchase standalone travel insurance as well.  Fortunately, we didn't need it.  Worth the expense for peace of mind, imo.  

No one expects the unexpected, but if things go south, it's nice to have a plan in place.  I'm quite sure that the 2 passengers airlifted off of Grandiosa never expected that to occur.

What does Amex Platinum cover?

[awhcruiser]

Just now, awhcruiser said:

What does Amex Platinum cover?  Did you buy insurance through them?

 

[Ergates The Ant]

Thanks, 77red96. I was aware of the EHIC / GHIC cards, and in fact, most UK insurers specify that we should have them as well as insurance, presumably to reduce some of the costs they might otherwise have to pay out for. 

However, that was a very timely reminder! I got ours out in case needed, very pleased to see I had already renewed them, and will be valid for another two years.

thanks again

[Homosassa]

4 hours ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Travel insurance for UK cruisers is an essential. The NHS does not cover us for any medical treatment outside the country, or on a cruise ship. I’ve always wondered whether the medical cover that US citizens take out to cover their medical costs at home can be claimed on even if the treatment is needed overseas? Is that why so many say they cruise without insurance, because they do already have cover for medical emergencies? Obviously not for emergency evacuation though!

Like anything else in life, one gets what they pay for.

 

For  those of us where being forced into Medicare was a downgrade in our medical insurance coverage, our former primary insurance became our supplemental policy and covers all other expenses not paid for by Medicare (including foreign medical care or evacuation).

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, awhcruiser said:

 

I did not buy insurance through Amex Platinum, but rather, it's a feature of the card.  The price of the card isn't cheap at $695 USD per year, but I receive it "free" (reimbursed) through my employer, a big Wall Street firm, only as a customer rather than as an employee.

As with any insurance, there are exclusions, terms and conditions that are important to understand, which is why I also bought supplemental insurance.  But in order to potentially trigger the benefit, the full cost of the trip must be put on the card.  If one is flying, even with airline points, just putting the taxes and fees on the card could be enough to potentially trigger the benefits.  

Certain benefits *must* be coordinated through their global assist hotline, like medical evacuation, I believe.  Other benefits might not require that.

I did a NYE cruise on Celebrity.  My return flight was cancelled and I had to stay in Miami for an extra day.  I wasn't sure if it would be covered for the trip interruption/delay, but it was.  Turns out, things like labor issues and covid wouldn't be covered under my circumstances.  However, delays/interruption due to mechanical failure or weather were covered (again, those pesky terms and conditions).  

Amex had me provide proof that the delay was related to weather or mechanical issues.  Southwest Airlines sent me a message showing that the flight cancellation was due to "labor shortages and wintery weather over north Texas."  Labor shortages alone wouldn't have triggered the coverage, but because they mentioned weather it was a covered event, so they reimbursed me for hotel and meals for a day.

Here's some more specific information, if you are interested.
https://www.americanexpress.com/idc/en/benefits/the-platinum-card/platinum-insurance.html

Edited September 24, 2022 by Stockjock

[awhcruiser]

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I did not buy insurance through Amex Platinum, but rather, it's a feature of the card.  The price of the card isn't cheap at $695 USD per year, but I receive it "free" (reimbursed) through my employer, a big Wall Street firm, only as a customer rather than as an employee.

As with any insurance, there are exclusions, terms and conditions that are important to understand, which is why I also bought supplemental insurance.  But in order to potentially trigger the benefit, the full cost of the trip must be put on the card.  If one is flying, even with airline points, just putting the taxes and fees on the card could be enough to potentially trigger the benefits.  

Certain benefits *must* be coordinated through their global assist hotline, like medical evacuation, I believe.  Other benefits might not require that.

I did a NYE cruise on Celebrity.  My return flight was cancelled and I had to stay in Miami for an extra day.  I wasn't sure if it would be covered for the trip interruption/delay, but it was.  Turns out, things like labor issues and covid wouldn't be covered under my circumstances.  However, delays/interruption due to mechanical failure or weather were covered (again, those pesky terms and conditions).  

Amex had me provide proof that the delay was related to weather or mechanical issues.  Southwest Airlines sent me a message showing that the flight cancellation was due to "labor shortages and wintery weather over north Texas."  Labor shortages alone wouldn't have triggered the coverage, but because they mentioned weather it was a covered event, so they reimbursed me for hotel and meals for a day.

Here's some more specific information, if you are interested.
https://www.americanexpress.com/idc/en/benefits/the-platinum-card/platinum-insurance.html

Thanks...  I love AMEX!

[roxette]

If I ever need emergency medical attention, hopefully it is without a crowd with cameras.

[Stockjock]

3 hours ago, roxette said:

If I ever need emergency medical attention, hopefully it is without a crowd with cameras.

When the helicopters hover over the ship for 15-20 minutes, there will always be a crowd with cameras.

Always.

[iwtobek]

4 hours ago, roxette said:

If I ever need emergency medical attention, hopefully it is without a crowd with cameras.

While they don't tamper with it, I would be glad to provide for a free show if ever this would happen to me.