Most Overlooked Vacation Detail
Heading off into the beautiful Caribbean on a cruise I've been anticipating for months. I'm always proud of the cheap deals I find through online travel sites. Pretty simple really, find the cruise, book the flight, arrange transports to and from the airport and its smooth sailing from there. Sure there is the packing and planning your shore excursions, but that is the fun part. Printing out all those luggage tags, folding them just right and attaching them to your bags is just the beginning of a great vacation.
Nowhere in all this planning will my conscious mind allow me to think about getting sick during this week of excitement. Worse yet, my husband or I need serious medical attention and need to be flown off the ship. Who could have known a hurricane was going to make landfall the same day as departure. There is no way my sick, elderly grandparents will pass away causing me to end my trip early.
Fortunately, none of these things have happened to me over the past 10 years of cruising. Yet every cruise has left me witnessing someone else's misfortune. I remember one cruise were an older gentlemen had a heart attack in the hot tub next to ours. First, the crew was completely in full panic mode. If not for the quick thinking of a passenger nurse, the gentleman probably wouldn't have survived the trip to the infirmary. I'm not sure of his fate, but him and his family all disembarked the next day at our port of call.
Now with all the incidents we've seen lately where ships are breaking down left and right. Passengers are finding themselves at the end of their trips early. I can't help to think that a $75 - $100 travel insurance policy might be great deal.
According to one air medical transport company, a domestic medical evacuation could cost $10,000-$50,000 and up to $100,000 for an international rescue. I seriously doubt this would be covered under anyone's personal health insurance policy.
In fact, I challenge each of you to check your personal health insurance coverage before your next trip abroad. You might find out that you and your family are without health insurance during your trip. Something as simple as a broken arm could cost you thousands.
As painful as it is to think about the unimaginable when planning your next vacation, don't leave yourself and your family vulnerable to a financial disaster.
Nowhere in all this planning will my conscious mind allow me to think about getting sick during this week of excitement. Worse yet, my husband or I need serious medical attention and need to be flown off the ship. Who could have known a hurricane was going to make landfall the same day as departure. There is no way my sick, elderly grandparents will pass away causing me to end my trip early.
Fortunately, none of these things have happened to me over the past 10 years of cruising. Yet every cruise has left me witnessing someone else's misfortune. I remember one cruise were an older gentlemen had a heart attack in the hot tub next to ours. First, the crew was completely in full panic mode. If not for the quick thinking of a passenger nurse, the gentleman probably wouldn't have survived the trip to the infirmary. I'm not sure of his fate, but him and his family all disembarked the next day at our port of call.
Now with all the incidents we've seen lately where ships are breaking down left and right. Passengers are finding themselves at the end of their trips early. I can't help to think that a $75 - $100 travel insurance policy might be great deal.
According to one air medical transport company, a domestic medical evacuation could cost $10,000-$50,000 and up to $100,000 for an international rescue. I seriously doubt this would be covered under anyone's personal health insurance policy.
In fact, I challenge each of you to check your personal health insurance coverage before your next trip abroad. You might find out that you and your family are without health insurance during your trip. Something as simple as a broken arm could cost you thousands.
As painful as it is to think about the unimaginable when planning your next vacation, don't leave yourself and your family vulnerable to a financial disaster.
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