A woman’s son complained of a sore throat on their Norwegian Cruise vacation. She couldn’t believe how much they charged her for his care and encouraged others to book travel insurance.
In a post with over 365,000 views, TikToker Shannon Tries (@shannon.tries) shared her receipt from the Norwegian cruise clinic. The total was $4,366.65 out of pocket, with treatment listed as $2,759 and medicine listed as $1,605.
In the caption, she shared that the clinic staff diagnosed her son with COVID-19 and tonsillitis. However, when they returned home, he was later diagnosed with mono instead.
“Thanks for nothing, Norwegian,” she wrote in the caption. She shared that they had Allianz travel insurance, which luckily “covered everything.”
Why Is Cruise Ship Medical Care So Expensive?
Cruise ship clinics are frequently out-of-network with health insurance companies, which means passengers could be on the hook for the cost of their care, per travel insurance company Yonder. However, some travel insurance plans can cover some or all of the cost of cruise clinic care.
In the comments of the r/Cruise subreddit, other travelers share the high cost of receiving care onboard. One passenger says they were charged $12,000 for the diagnosis and treatment of the flu.
“I broke my arm in 4 places last year on an NCL cruise. All in just short of £2000,” another shared. “I had to pay on the ship and claim back later. Always have enough travel insurance to cover all costs and always travel with any empty credit card !!”
“I got quite ill on HAL’s private island. Cost was around $700,” another said.
Other Passengers Share Their Experience
In the comments of the viral video, viewers said they also benefitted from adding travel insurance to their cruise trip.
“I always have Allianz travel insurance . Used it once several years back when we flew home a day early to avoid hurricane . They covered new flights back and taxi to airport. Love them,” a viewer shared.
Another said, “I NEVER travel without Allianz, they’ve saved me so many times and never once fight me about claims!”
“We had to take my son to the ship doctor on the Disney Wish, he ended up with an antibiotic and ear drops for $220,” a third shared. “Then I got home and turned that into my cruise insurance company and was reimbursed.”
Others said they were shocked how expensive cruise medical care was when they needed it.
“I passed out and they charged me $800 just to be ported to the infirmary. Yall could have left me there for all that,” one said.
“My grand daughter had an ear infection and got prescribed antibiotics and the total was 250,” a second wrote.
BroBible reached out to Shannon via TikTok and to Norwegian Cruise Line via email. We will update the story when they reply.
