Man wins free cruise but ends up with $47,000 medical bill after getting the flu onboard
A passenger who won a free Caribbean cruise ended up being charged $47,000 after he fell ill with the flu while onboard.
Mike Cameron and his girlfriend, Tamara Masterman from Minnesota won a free sailing with Norwegian Cruise Line that departed earlier this year.
The cruise line’s ship Encore set sail from Miami, Florida, on 5 January on a weeklong tour of the Caribbean.
However, while on the trip Mr Cameron came down with the flu, prompting him to visit the ship’s medical centre for treatment. The holidaymaker managed to recover after three days, he told Fox9.
Ms Masterman said that her boyfriend was “hooked up with catheters and IVs” during the treatment.
The passenger soon found out that the treatment had cost $47,000.
“You start thinking, ‘Are you going to lose your house, are you going to lose your cars’?”, Ms Masterman questioned.
“I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay them off, I’m going to have to, but, I don’t know how,” Mr Cameron added.
The cruise line reportedly charged two credit cards that were on file for the passenger, maxing out each of them. Mr Cameron still has $21,000 to pay.
Speaking to the local news station, Ms Masterman said that they bought travel insurance from Norwegian that covered expenses of up to $20,000, but have had no luck in filing a claim.
"The traveller’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," Ms Masterman claimed.
“To turn around the day we are leaving and get handed a $47,000 bill I just didn’t even know what to do,” Mr Cameron told Fox9.
“Everyone in the medical ward kept saying ‘Don’t worry you have $20,000 coverage, you’ll be just fine’.”
The couple said they received a letter from Norwegian that stated its pricing is “closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable”.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed to The Independent that Mr Cameron was admitted to the onboard medical centre on 9 January and “received appropriate treatment for his condition, followed by 62 hours of critical care”.
“While we are unable to disclose the details or severity of the guest’s medical condition due to laws and regulations governing personal privacy, we can confirm that the necessary medical procedures and resulting expenses have been reviewed by our internal team.
“As medical insurance is not accepted on board, we strongly encouraged the guest to file a claim with their health insurance provider post-cruise.
“As the guest did purchase travel insurance for their vacation, we have recommended they follow up on their claim with the insurance provider, after they have filed the claim with their health insurance provider,” they added.
On Norwegian’s website, the cruise line states that “onboard medical consultations and treatments are provided at a charge for all respiratory illnesses”.
“We are committed to providing quality medical services and each of our ships is equipped with a state-of-the-art onboard medical center, staffed with highly qualified physicians and nurses, to provide care for both guests and crew while at sea,” the spokesperson said.
“We follow guidelines for our medical facilities provided by CLIA in conjunction with the American College of Emergency Physicians.”
Onboard medical bills have caused worries for passengers in the past. In 2022, a Michigan man who had seizures on a Royal Caribbean ship was forced to pay a $2,500 bill for medical expenses.
The man was onboard the Independence of the Seas when he had three seizures, however, while he was being evacuated to a rescue boat, he was handed a medical bill that had to be paid before disembarking.
They were ultimately let off the boat despite not paying for the entire bill.
Neither the man or his fiancée neither had health insurance nor travel insurance before they boarded their Caribbean cruise.
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