Cruise NewsCruise Passenger Faces $47K Bill for Flu Treatment, Maxes Out Two Credit...

Cruise Passenger Faces $47K Bill for Flu Treatment, Maxes Out Two Credit Cards

While cruise travel insurance can keep you from a financial nightmare, the benefits don’t kick in immediately.

In a cautionary tale about medical expenses at sea, a Minnesota man was handed a $47,000 bill after being treated in the ship’s medical facility for flu-like symptoms, according to Fox9.

Norwegian Encore
Norwegian Encore. Photo credit: Cruise Fever

The sadly ironic part of this story is that Mike Cameron and his girlfriend, Tamra Masterman were on this cruise because they had won the trip to the Caribbean.

The free 7-day cruise sailed out of PortMiami on Norwegian Encore earlier this month.  But after a couple days on board, Cameron got sick and visited the ship’s medical center.

A few days later, he was feeling much better—that is, until he received the bill for $47,000.

Maxed Out Credit Cards and Travel Insurance

According to Fox, the two credit cards that were on file with the cruise line were maxed out by the charges, and the man still had a balanced owed of $21,000.

Fortunately, the couple did buy travel insurance through Norwegian Cruise Line.  Although, the coverage purchased will only cover medical expenses up to $20,000 and filing a claim takes time.

And then there’s the complexity of receiving the benefits of that travel insurance.

The traveler’s insurance doesn’t want to pay it until we run it by our health insurance. The health insurance doesn’t want to pay it because it’s abroad,” Masterman told the news outlet.

The couple complained to the cruise line about the seemingly exorbitant cost to which Norwegian replied in a letter that their prices are “closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable…”

Mike and Tamra’s story serves as a reminder of the potential issues of medical emergencies while traveling and the importance to review travel insurance policies closely.

Their “free” cruise quickly became a huge financial headache.  Being sick while on vacation is hard enough, and facing a $47K bill on top of it just made matters worse.

Fox9 stated that they reached out to Norwegian and the cruise line is looking into the charges to see if the kind of bill the couple received was typical for treating the flu.

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J. Souza
J. Souza
Jon is the co-founder of Cruise Fever and has been on 50+ cruises since his first in 2009. As an editor, 15-year writer on the cruise industry, and avid cruise enthusiast he has sailed with at least 10 cruise lines and is always looking for a great cruise deal. Jon lives in North Carolina and can be reached at [email protected].
Cruise NewsCruise Passenger Faces $47K Bill for Flu Treatment, Maxes Out Two Credit...
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