Like many frequent cruisers, I pay for an annual medical insurance policy. This covers me if anything ever goes wrong and I need medical attention on a ship.
I had always assumed I was protecting myself from extreme situations. Fear has always been that, due to my general clumsiness, I might break an ankle or otherwise hurt myself in a way that required medical evacuation.
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Being evacuated in an emergency can cost tens of thousands of dollars and is generally not covered by your regular health insurance.
I have always assumed that I was being overly cautious just in case something truly terrible happened. It never occurred to me that I could face massive charges if I needed a very basic over-the-counter medicine onboard.
One recent Royal Caribbean passenger, however, shared a situation on TikTok that I have never considered. It was a dangerous scenario where the cruise line appeared to both endanger a passenger and put itself at some legal liability.
It’s important to know, before I share the story, that I do think cruise lines have the right to charge for medical services. I also believe it’s reasonable to have a relatively high markup for any drugs required, given the expense of keeping a cruise ship stocked.
I do think, however, that there need to be limits and that the cruise line should prioritize passengers and their own liability. Yes, it’s important to know that it’s not a situation that’s unique to Royal Caribbean (RCL) .
This could happen on any cruise line, although policies vary, and pricing may be very different depending upon what line you are sailing.
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Image source: Royal Caribbean
Cruise passenger refuses to pay a huge markup
In the TikTok video, a woman shows her badly swollen face and said that it happened due to an allergic reaction that happened on a Royal Caribbean ship.
The woman did not say what she believed caused the swelling.
“I’ve been on the boat…For not even the full 24 hours,” she said as she removed her sunglasses.
The video does appear to show a woman having a bad allergic reaction. That’s a dangerous situation because you do not know if the reaction will stop facial swelling or move to something more severe.
In the video, the woman claims that she went to the unnamed ship’s Medical Center and was told that a Benadryl pill would be $390. No similar allergy medicine was for sale in any of the ship shops.
That’s not uncommon, as ships normally have a very limited supply of over-the-counter medicine for sale.
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Part of a bigger cruise line problem
The woman in the video above was able to find a Benadryl from another passenger. That, however, is not a solution.
It is expensive for a cruise line to have a doctor on board and maintain what is essentially an urgent care facility. It’s reasonable to think that the cruise line would charge for those services. But $390 for an over-the-counter pill seems excessive.
Travel insurance, of course, would have paid this bill in most cases. But it’s also reasonable to think that, especially when there is a dangerous anaphylactic event, every cruise line would want to err on the side of caution.
It seems like cruise lines should provide basic care and over-the-counter (OTC) treatments at reasonable markups. In addition, in the case of swelling or other allergic reactions, cruise lines should at least insist on monitoring the passenger in order to make sure the reaction does not become more serious.
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There is a very big difference between charging for care and gouging people. Cruise lines have the right to cover the cost of their services or even make a profit, but the onboard doctor should be able to waive those costs in a potentially serious situation.
This is not an easy problem to solve, but the entire industry should address the cost of needed medical care at sea. Perhaps a small added fee for every cruiser would work to offset the cost of paying a doctor and nurses as well as maintaining medical facilities.
Royal Caribbean acknowledged receipt of a request for comment on this story but did not share a comment.
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