One couple is living a nightmare after their free cruise vacation ended up costing them nearly $50,000 due to a bout of the flu.
Mike Cameron, and his girlfriend, Tamra Masterman, were excited to win a free Caribbean cruise onboard Norwegian Encore – which they embarked on earlier in January.
It’s unclear which sailing the couple was part of, but the Breakaway Plus-class ship has been exclusively offering the same 7-night itinerary out of Miami, Florida – which features calls on Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; Tortola, British Virgin Islands; and Great Stirrup Cay, NCL’s private island in the Bahamas.
The cruise started out as the vacation of a lifetime – that is until Cameron came down with a bad case of flu that required three days of treatment from the onboard medical center.
Before disembarking, he was given a bill for $47,638.79. As the cruise lines typically require medical debts to be paid prior to the conclusion of the sailing, Norwegian maxed out both credit cards the couple had on file – and they still owe around $21,000.
“We didn’t get a chance to pay. They just took it out. Yeah, they just maxed our two credit cards out,” Masterman told Fox 9 News.
The couple did purchase $20,000 in travel insurance through Norwegian Cruise Line that they expected would protect them from something like this – but so far the insurance claim has not been approved.
“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.“ Masterman explained.
While receiving treatment, the healthcare workers also did not give the couple any reason to suspect such a massive bill was coming their way.
“Everyone in the medical ward kept saying ‘don’t worry, you’ve got $20,000 coverage, you’ll be just fine,’” Cameron said, speaking to his own experience.
With no resolution in sight, and interest adding to the bill, the couple is currently considering bankruptcy – and fear that they may lose their home or cars.
Norwegian Cruise Line Responds
As the story has begun to make waves online, NCL’s reputation has taken a bit of a hit.
“NCL at it again with sleazy stuff,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“What on earth? What kind of treatment did he need on board that cost that, and how can the cruise line coverage refuse to pay it? Seems crazy,” another person added.
Read Also: How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Cruise Vacation
But, while Norwegian Cruise Line has not issued a public statement on this matter, NCL did send the couple a letter explaining that their medical center pricing is “closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable.”
Norwegian Encore Cruise Ship in Miami (Photo Credit: YES Market Media)
It is true that cruise ship medical centers across brands are notorious for costing quite a bit more than care on land – largely because the ships have to maintain a fully equipped medical center with qualified staff present or on call at all times.
Just to name a couple of examples from last year, a passenger onboard Norwegian Bliss received a bill for over $2,000 after seeking treatment for sea sickness while cruising in Alaska.
In May of 2024, a cruiser had to be evacuated mid-sailing from Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas after becoming sick and suffering from multiple seizures – and was still handed a $2,500 bill on his way out.
But while these bills were excessive, the price of Cameron’s care is a marked increase that seems out of the realm of reason.
Fox 9 News asked a Norwegian spokesperson if the bill really is standard, who said the cruise line is looking into whether the charges are typical for flu treatment.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com