ACA has a go at the industry

[Star-Man]

anyone just see ACA's "story" about cunard?

 

An older couple went on the QM2 for their wedding anniversary, DH fell when the ship listed and hurt himself. The ships doctor gave him pain killers and told him to stay in the cabin.

 

When the ship got to india, they sent him for x-rays at the local hospital and they found he had broken his back. The hospital wouldnt let them leave, and the ship couldnt hang around because it had a schedule to keep.

 

Now they are demanding their money back from Cunard, should be going to their insurance company instead.

 

Also, ACA couldnt resist pulling out the file footage and stories from previous incidents with a few lines.

[AuzzieCruiser]

I suspect the terms and conditions stated that they would not receive a refund in the event of leaving the cruise for any reason. Sure, it was unfortunate that they were stuck in India, but if he was in so much pain, it was better for him to be on land.

I hope they had travel insurance, but at $12,000 each, I'm sure they did. I just hope that their particular policy covered them for these expenses and loss of the unused cruise fare. Always read the fine print. I've claimed on travel insurance before, and was grateful that we had the cover. I was in Emergency in San Francisco for 6 hours, and the final bill came to $5,500USD:eek:.You never know when you may need to use it.

What was that Rainbow coloured boat??? Never seen that one before?:confused:

[kaseyoz]

wow, emergency care is expensive in the usa isnt it? I would not travel to America without insurance for that sole purpose.

we get free travel insurance from my mastercard but i took out extra for our america trip just in case.

i have had to get insurance for MIL (77) and the questions they ask.apparently menopause is classed as a preexisitng condition, what older lady does not have that!!

 

maybe the gent in question thought it was too expensive but i suppose the old rule of if you cant afford insurance you cant afford to travel

 

karon

[Matre]

I was very confused at what the "story" was exactly.:confused: The cruise line had every right to keep going and as a general rule of thumb they do not refund monies. My husband kept saying that it was simple really - just claim it on travel insurance.

 

Perhaps they did not take it out and if that was the case then ACA did another brilliant job of bending, distorting and hiding the fact that this cruise story fundamentally had no story.

 

Sick to death of both ACA and TT. That Anna Corin is worse than Naomi, both ladies very painful to watch and would never make it as "real' journalists.

 

Maria

[Star-Man]

Sick to death of both ACA and TT. That Anna Corin is worse than Naomi, both ladies very painful to watch and would never make it as "real' journalists.

 

Hence the reason they are working for (and have worked on) current affairs shows.

 

I spent pretty much the whole story laughing or yelling at the tv.

 

The rainbow ship, from what i saw of it, looked like the Southern Cross. Which is the ex Sun Princess, now sailing as the New Flamenco

 

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/217296.jpg

[Guest012]

Accidents can and do happen especially where motion is concerned and unfortunately not all folks and conditions are insurable....for instance ...you can suffer from high blood pressure and be covered allbeit more expensive cover.... but if you suffer from arrythmia problems.. even if controlled by meds.... they wont touch you as i personally can attest to..... Having said that I have had the problem fixed and am going to attempt to get travel insurance for our trip on the Rhapsody..... just maybe the gent was uninsurable as far as liability goes... goodluck to them if they have Cunard found accountable..... cheers

[Matre]

Not all conditions are insurable....for instance ...you can suffer from high blood pressure and be covered allbeit more expensive cover.... but if you suffer from arrythmia problems.. even if controlled by meds.... they wont touch you as i personally can attest to..... Having said that I have had the problem fixed and am going to attempt to get travel insurance for our trip on the Rhapsody..... just maybe the gent was uninsurable..... cheers

 

Good luck badgerbill, I could not face travelling without it. Having said that I was a TA for over 20 years and I went through insurance with a fine tooth comb with people. When obtaining travel insurance it pays to look at more than one company as some companys conditions are different and what one company won't cover, another one will.

 

Having said that, I am sure that the risks of travelling without insurance would have to have been explained to the couple in question, and I believe they would have known the consequences should a problem have arisen. In this case I don't believe it to be the case as it was from an injury sustained from a fall during the holiday and to my knowlege it was not a pre-existing ailment.

 

This was just another cruise attack from where I sit. At some point some responsibility for cause and effect needs to lie on individuals. Perhaps the couple made the wrong decision in embarking on such a holiday.

 

Again just my 2c worth.

 

Maria

[Cooee_Kid]

Having said that I was a TA for over 20 years and I went through insurance with a fine tooth comb with people.

Maria

 

So Maria, with so much research, which insurance do you recommend?

[Star-Man]

So Maria, with so much research, which insurance do you recommend?

 

Thats not really a question that any one can answer. You need to compare the different plans from different companies to decide which one is right for you. Some may cover things that others dont and these things may be what you need covered most.

 

It all comes down to what suits you.

[The Fox]

Thats not really a question that any one can answer. You need to compare the different plans from different companies to decide which one is right for you. Some may cover things that others dont and these things may be what you need covered most.

 

It all comes down to what suits you.

 

excellent advice Sam.People should look at it every cruise and just dont assume its the same as last time.different destinations ,different circumstances ......shop around:)

[Matre]

So Maria, with so much research, which insurance do you recommend?

 

We used to use in house insurance eg Harvey World, Jetset etc which were underwritten by different companies. Ultimately, I had to push the in house but where we hit a brick wall we explored other options eg: Private Health covers often had great coverage, as well as recommending that people checked with their home insurer as some of them also offered Travel Insurance but never advertised it. My suggestion was never to just accept that you can't be insured as there are other options. Conditions like cancer, lukemia etc will not be covered by anyone and cover for heart conditions will vary according to risk.

 

I personally would not embark on a big trip if my health were not good. Sometimes, we just need to accept that we are not the same as we were at 30 let's say.

 

My point in all of that is that if you are unable to obtain cover then you need to weigh up the risk associated with travelling uninsured. If you decide to go ahead with your trip then you need to be aware that the responsibility of cost lies soley on your shoulders. Like every other type of insurance, companies are reluctant to cover "high risk".:( :(

 

Maria

[Matre]

Sorry, just whilst we are on the subject of insurance. Do not automatically assume that all Credit Card insurance covers you as well as the purchased type. They too are very varied and very different. Please read the fine print and compare them carefully. If you are paying thousands of dollars for your holiday, don't muck up on travel insurance for the sake of a few dollars more. The old saying is that if you can't afford travel insurance, then you really can't afford to travel.

 

I have had to use travel insurance on many trips and have been more than grateful that it was there for me to fall back on.:)

 

Maria

[Matre]

Thats not really a question that any one can answer. You need to compare the different plans from different companies to decide which one is right for you. Some may cover things that others dont and these things may be what you need covered most.

 

It all comes down to what suits you.

 

You have hit the nail right on the head Star-Man. Very smart for such a young fella!!:cool: :cool:

[Guest012]

Well said Maria I agree with you totally..and thanks for kind comments...after surgery my surgeon said i was cured....hooray.......so if i stay doctor free for the next couple of months I have insurance again.... My husband has an annual travel policy so at least one of us has cover...lol cheers

 

Forgot to push Quote...... this post relates to your earlier comment ..:o

[NSWP]

If you are going o/s be very aware of credit card travel insurance. Most have the words 'we will pay reasonable expenses' they do not put a $ amount. We have a platinum ANZ Visa card, I got the 'free travel insurance policy and read the fine print..yes..'reasonable expenses only.'

Conferred with a golfing mate who is an insurance broker..he advised me to take out 'real travel insurance for my trip' so I did with 'Covermore' which do provide $ amounts., in most case unlimited $ for medical.

 

The drama is: say if you have to seek hospital treatment in USA, expensive as outlined in abve posts and cost is say $10,000 the credit card co.may say $5,000 is reasonable expenses as per their policy and you cough up the rest. The credit card insurance would be OK for domestic travel where you have medicare back up but not overseas big time. Worked out what a helicopter medivac from your cruiseship by the US Coastguard say off Florida would cost you ? zillions.

 

Hope this helps...as for the media beat up of cruiselines...sick of it, Carnival bosses who own P&O, Princess, Cunard etc must be having nightmares.

Those people on QM2 in India should have claimed Travel Insurance - end of story, not the cruise lines problem.:cool:

[aussiedisneyfan]

Thanks for that tip. We have been relying on the ANZ gold card insurance. It didn't cover us last for our cancelled cruise last year but when I rang around a few insurance cos none of them would have covered us for that circumstance.

[kaseyoz]

i certainly took out extra insurance on top of my credit card insurance for my america trip especially seeing as it included a cruise. you do hear so many horror stories these days of american medical bills, now i am wondering if i should get more insurance for our NZ trip

 

karon

[NSWP]

Kaseyoz, Karon..with your NZ trip if land only. I am sure NZ provides medical treatment to Aussie citizens as we do for them, same with the Poms and a couple of other countries, check with DFAT...but NOT USA and not on Cruises, even if you are cruising Australian Waters say circumnavigation of Australia, Medicare will not cover you... Les:cool: