I had to see the ships doctor for the flu.He only listened to my chest and gave me antibiotics.I got charged 250.00 dollars.Someone else on my cruise had to pay1000.00 dollars.This is a rip off.
The key words are TRAVEL INSURANCE. For $100 or so you'd be covered for a flu shot, or if something serious happened and you have to be evacuated from the ship by a helicopter for a medical emergency.
Just for the record kuki I purchased insurance.Thats not the point I was trying to make.The POINT KUKI is that the cost to see the ships doctor is outrageous.Medicine that I pay $12 for at home I was charged $30 for.Not all of us are wealthy kuki, some of us save all year for a cruise.
I bought insurance independantly from the cruiseline. Does the ship bill the insurance company or do I have to file the claim and get reimbursed later? BTW, I've read lots of his posts and Kuki is always extremely helpful. You may not like his advice, but please don't be mean to him. I'd hate it if he quit posting on these boards and helping people out because some people vocally don't appreciate it.
Location: Wisconsin....about 100 miles south of the Frozen Tundra and 70 miles east of Camp Randall
Posts: 9,382
Re: Dont get sick on board!!!!!
You will need to pay for the medical care before you leave the ship (they will provide receipts, etc.) and then you must submit it to the insurance company. It is a hassle, but you will get reimbursed.
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Crown Princess 1/18/14....the NEW Me, Myself and I cruise!
OMG - if that one is true I really am in trouble :o) especially after they factor in my waist size as well - considering that is where they seem to migrate to when I'm not wearing my superstructure!!! TTFN Jennifer
I spent 18 hours in sick bay on one of our cruises and then was taken off ship by the Italian coast guard to a hospital in Messina. (I was pronounced okay by a Sicilian doctor). The ship charged $5000.00 to our AX card for the sick bay. We had travel insurance, but our Blue Cross policy paid for everything. By the way, after spending the night in Messina and watching Mt. Etna erupt from our lovely little hotel, we returned to the ship two ports later to resume our cruise..had to take a boat train from Sicily to the mainland and then another train back to ship from Rome.
Thanks all for the medical advice. I just booked a cruise on the Sea Princess for Dec 3, 2005. I would like to buy medical insurance this time but wonder which one to get? I see that there is a web page called insuremytrip.com but even there you have to choose among so many. We have no medical problems other than my artificial hip. We will be 55 yr and 59 yrs when we sail. Can anyone steer me to some good insurance? Please email me direct as well as post here for others to see.
Thanks
Mary
Here's some suggestions before you go on a cruise so you don't get sick and have see the doctor and pay big bucks. Of course these are not 100% but...........I take an antibiotic for 10 days before leaving. Might help with not catching any bugs. Take vitamin C. Get a prescription for lomotil for diarrhea or bring some pepto bismol or Kaeopectate. If you have heart burn buy some over the counter Prilosec and bring that too. Can't hurt right?
HAS ANYONE ELSE HEARING ABOUT ALL THE SICKNESS ON BOARD SHIPS LATELY?
GOING ON A CRUISE , FEB 17, 2004, THE CELEBRATION, AND ITS SEEMS LIKE EVERY WEEK YOU HERE IN THE NEWS OF SHIPS HAVING TO CUT CRUISE SHORT DUE TO ILLNESSES OR VIRSUS CAUSING 50 TO 250 PEOPLE GETTING SICK.
HOPE THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN TO US, IS THERE ANY WAY TO PREVENT IT?
Nyla, my only caution with your regimen is the antibiotic. Antibiotics should never be taken unless there truly is a bacteria present. If taken as a precaution resistance can build, and your future antibiotic choices may be reduced.
That's true Quitecontrary. You shouldn't take antibiotics all the time because of the reason you stated. But if you don't take antibiotics all the time it won't hurt. This was told to me by a doctor who went to Mexico once a year and always got sick from the food and drinks.
Please see my own experience with selecting a travel insurance.
You can find out in the "Cruise Gripes" section in practical advice,
I labeled the post: What does the insurance really cover?
Check it out. I saved money and got good coverage.
I have to agree with quietcontrary. You don't have to take antibiotics all the time for resistance to develop. Resistance can happen with just a few doses if you happen to have the right bug. Hence the current problems with antiobiotic resistant tuberculosis, staph and others.
Please do not medicate yourself with anitbiotics just for cruising!
All drugs were made to be taken for a reason, not just for cruising.
This is how a person builds up tolerance to a drug, then it becomes useless to them when they really need it. Leaving little left out there on the market to help you in your "TRUE" time of need. Please consult your doctors before playing this
dangerous game with your health!!!!!!!!
the main reason you are hearing about more sickness on cruise ships this time of year is because its flu season. The "bug" is brought aboard by a passenger and being that cruise ships are closed quartered it spreads. The same thing happens on airlines, but it doesn't make for sensational journalism.
Use common sense precautions. Wash hands often, use Purell or any other hand sanitizer, keep yourself well rested and well hydrated. Keep a distance from folks who are obviously sick ( coughing, sneezing etc), Use kleenex, and cover your mouth if you cough.
I just got back to this message board...sorry about that. I don't know what Celebrity would have done, but we had to show them our insurance cards and documents and also took this hit on our credit card. Since we travel so much we now have American Express travel insurance on top of the cruise insurance we purchased through our travel agent. The funny thing was that our own insurance (Blue Cross) reimbursed us for all of the medical expenses. We didn't think they would do that out of country so we were very surprised. The travel insurance paid for our hotel in Messina and the train (which was quite reasonable) to Rome. Had I needed to be immediately transported back to the US then the travel insurance would have kicked in. I had an episode with atrial fibrillation, which was not serious, so I was very lucky.
I agree about the antibiotics...Never take them as a precaution, only when needed. They have No affect on a virus, only bacteria. If you use as a preventative you may find yourself victim of a "super-infection" The bacteria has the ability to learn as they say, and we are running out of affective antibiotics. Just a word to the wise.
TIP! Take a can of Lysol to spray all surfaces (phone, door knobs, faucets, remote control, etc.) in the cabin. This is also a good idea when staying in any hotel.
I am looking into travel insurance with a company advertised in a cruise/travel magazine. The company is called Travel Guard International and the prices they quote are half the amount offered by the cruise line with the exact same benefit/coverage. Believe I'll use them.
I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and know they pay for medical in and out of the US and my credit card company provides $250,000.00 travel insurance for all modes of transportation charged to the card (medical/lost luggage, etc on ship/air/train/whatever....). But, what I want insurance for....is for reimbursement of my cruise should there be a death in the family or illness last minute. I was injured badly in the gym 3 days before leaving on a southern carribean cruise and had not purchased the insurance. I had to go on the cruise wearing a Tins-Unit and heavily medicated/could barely walk and do not remember much about that trip! Insurance....Insurance ......Insurance! :o)
I believe you can buy strictly "trip cancellation" insurance through Travel Guard. I have purchased insurance with them for non-refundable airline tickets for my elderly parents and also for our cruises. Travel Guard is the insurance company that my TA recommended. I hate insurance companies, but they sure do come in handy at times.
It is VERY dangerous to advise ANYBODY to take ANYTHING without knowing their medical history and current medication. Eg. PeptoBismol should not be taken by anybody taking warfarin (which a lot of older people do take). There are many drug interactions which work fine for one person but not another because of (eg.) liver problems.
In the above example, a person taking warfarin with an INR of 3.0 at the start of the cruise, could take PeptoBismol, then eat something which also alters liver metabolism (eg. asparagus) and over the space of a 2 week period could have their INR increase to 4 or more. Not a problem untill they fall over and bang their head and die from a brain haemorage.
Rather like people suggesting that you antibiotics. Each TYPE of antibiotic is targetted towards a specfic bacterial strain. Somebody suffering from tonsilitis who takes the wrong type of antibiotic could cause their immune system to go into overdrive (ie. Body is fighting the tonsilitis anyway, and then it's told to fight another bacteria as well!!). Result: Body ends up in civil war and destroys all(ish) it's white blood cells leaving the 'patient' defencless. At which point they are left with the lengthy task of building up their natural defences.
Pete, very good advice. I actually cannot believe that a doctor would recommend to the previous poster that she take 10 days of antibiotics prior to cruising. With no bacterial infection present, those antibiotics are useless.
People who do things like that are just creating problems for those of us who seldom use antibiotics. Drugs have become so resistant from overprescribing. Even if I opt to not use antibiotics unnecessarily, those who do are ruining it for me.
We've only had to visit the ship's doctor once. My husband was not sure if he had a toothache or a sinus condition that was mimicking a tooth problem. He'd spoken to his personal physician before we left because of the pain and was taking a prescribed anitbiotic. The doctor he saw on the Horizon was very helpful - told him to take ibuprofen until the anibiotics kicked in. The doc was correct in his diagnosis, hubby was fine and we didn't have to go looking for a dentist in St. Thomas! Our bill was no higher than what we would have paid at home without insurance. I feel much more confident in the medical care found on ships. I can only speak from our one experience, Also, the nurse didn't mind me checking my blood pressure in the waiting room. My blood pressure was much lower than usual.
My mom went on a cruise last spring that made me see the need for travel ins-although her med expenses were small ON the cruise, if the doctor on the ship had been paying attention she would have been airlifted to a hospital in Italy. She had a ruptured colon that req. a colostomy the day she flew home from her cruise.
On another note, travel with a friend or someone who knows you well enough to tell when you are really sick OR if you find a cruise partner here, make sure they know enough about you to understand if you are too ill to speak up for yourself. My mom found a travel partner here, a nice lady, but I guess her new friend thought my mom was a hypochondriac or something because my mom was too out of her mind with pain to advocate for herself to the doctor and her friend just thought she had a tummy ache. Had I been there I would have recognized that my mom was truly ill. What she had was a ruptured colon and, by the time she got home, advanced peritonitis. My mom is normally very healthy and physically strong, which is the only reason she survived.
We will be going on her 3d and my 2nd cruise in April. I hope she finally gets a good cruise, cause she is kind of beginning to think she shouldn't cruise (the first one we were gonna take was cancelled the day before!-Leaving on April fools day seems to be asking for trouble!)
Since she survived (and it was very iffy for a few days) and has since gotten everything re-connected and is healing well, I am glad she didn't have to go through this alone in Italy, but there is a good lesson here for travelling with a friend, with insurance and be ready to fight for your life when you know something is wrong. Don't be shy about telling the doctor you know something is truly wrong.
lysol and other sprays do not work for noro! the only way to prevent it is to wash you hand, before eating, after the bathroom, try not to touch too many things that are touched by other people, remember, you might wash your hands, but many don't.
noro is probably one of the worst virus, i've had it. it's the only time you're glad your bathroom is small and the sink and toilet are close together!!! there's no medication for it, it lasts from 48-72 hours, and you MUST be quarantined, as it is so highly contagious. nothing irritates me more that people knowing the have it, and still walking around the ship, that's how i caught it.
I had to see the ships doctor for the flu.He only listened to my chest and gave me antibiotics.I got charged 250.00 dollars.Someone else on my cruise had to pay1000.00 dollars.This is a rip off.
The cruise ships ARE not covered under the US's blanket for medical care. You pay for the convience of having access to a doctor in the middle of the ocean. Which means that just because your copay is $25 at your regulaur doctors office, you should not expect it to be so on board a ship. These doctors do NOT accept insurance and their fee's are set by the ship lines. This is no more a rip off then what one who does not have health insurance must pay for a normal office/ER/or Urgent care visit here.
I posted in the Ask Cruise Mates about how to file claims and what to provide for the filing. I work as a claims processor for an health insurance agency. Please read that prior to going on board if you have any health issues or if you think you might run into problems. I would suggest bugeting an extra amount for any medical mishaps if possible.
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Dont get sick on board!!!!!
Not meaning to brag.
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