Most people don’t think about the ship’s medical center when they’re packing for a cruise. But if something goes wrong out at sea — a bad fall, a seizure, chest pain — that little onboard clinic is what stands between you and the nearest actual hospital, which could be hours away.
Here’s the part nobody tells you upfront: cruise ship medical charges are typically added to your onboard account, and that balance is generally required to be paid before you’re allowed to leave the ship. Billing practices can vary by cruise line, but experts say this is the norm — not the exception.
And your regular health insurance probably won’t help. Most health plans don’t cover medical services on board, which means you’re paying out of pocket — and the bill can run anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on what happened.
So what’s the move? Travel insurance — specifically the kind that covers medical emergencies — exists exactly for this situation. It’s not glamorous to think about before a vacation, but neither is handing over your credit card to a ship nurse while you’re still in a hospital gown waiting to board a rescue boat. That’s a real thing that happens to real people.
If you’re heading on a cruise, look into travel medical insurance before you go. Ask specifically whether it covers onboard treatment and emergency evacuation — those are the two big ones.