There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but a comped BLT would never lead directly to bankruptcy. A Minnesota man now owes $47,000 in medical debt after receiving treatment for the flu while on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship. He had won a free cruise and purchased travel insurance from the cruise for up to $20,000 in medical expenses. However, the insurer refused to cover the visit to the ship’s medical center.
Mike Cameron and his girlfriend won a week-long trip to the Caribbean. A couple of days into the voyage, Cameron came down with a severe case of the flu and spent three days receiving treatment. Personnel reassured him that his insurance would cover it. However, that wasn’t the case and the full amount was withdrawn from the couple’s two credit cards on file, maxing out both. Cameron’s girlfriend explained to KMSP, “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.”
Another Norwegian passenger was charged $5,500 for treatment of a severe bacterial infection during a November 2023 cruise. It took six months for her insurer to cover the costs, according to USA Today.
Norwegian is adamant that its medical pricing aligns with the other lines, but the cruise industry isn’t known for taking good care of its customers’ well-being. Last year, 30 cruise passengers boarded a United Airlines flight after a voyage while experiencing flu-like symptoms. They puked so much that the carrier removed the plane from service to be cleaned. CDC records show that gastrointestinal illness outbreaks on cruise ships are at a 12-year high. Last year, cruise lines reported nearly 1,900 passengers got severely ill onboard.
