Medical Services Aboard a Disney Cruise Ship & the Benefits of Travel Insurance
This is a guest post written by Cynthia, who found herself in need of medical attention on the Disney Fantasy. Hopefully this review may help others to be prepared and know how the process works.
Imagine yourself sailing aboard a Disney Cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean, having a fabulous time with your family and enjoying all the sights and sounds that a Disney Cruise has to offer. Pure magic . . . . until you slip and fall on Deck 13 while walking the Goofy Mini Golf course, resulting in a broken hand. It happened to me and I am here to tell you all I learned about the medical services onboard a Disney ship, and the benefit of having travel insurance.
In July 2018, my two girls and I were on a seven day Western Caribbean cruise on the Disney Fantasy – our 5th Disney cruise. I decided to spend the morning of day 5 of the cruise photographing the ship as we had a full day at sea and the weather was beautiful. I wandered up to Deck 13 to take pictures around the aft of the ship where the Goofy Mini Golf course is located. As I walked around a corner, I hit a puddle of water, causing me to slip and fall to the deck. On my way down, my hand hit the side of a metal box. I immediately knew something was wrong.
After locating my oldest daughter, I headed directly to guest services to let them know what happened and to ask about medical services. I was told that the medical clinic opened at 4:00 p.m. – it was about noon at this point. First lesson I learned: even though the medical clinic has set hours, they will always open for an emergency. Unfortunately I did not know this until I went to the clinic at 4:00 p.m.
As I waited for the clinic to open, I iced my hand (the gallon ziplock bags I always pack sure came in handy). I also realized that it was going to be pretty difficult to get my wedding rings off because of how swollen my hand was.
Finally 4:00 p.m. arrived and I found my way down to the clinic. The staff got me right in after seeing my hand. The super funny nurse from Brazil mentioned how fun it was going to be to deal with something other than a cough or sea sickness! X-rays confirmed a break, so a cast was necessary. The more challenging issue was how to remove my wedding rings. After 30 minutes or so of cutting, bending, pulling, and pain, the rings came off. Here is what was left of my rings.
As the doctor was setting my hand and applying a soft cast that would get me through the last 2 days of the cruise, security was called to take a report. The medical personnel also located my oldest daughter and had her come down to sit with me. In all, I think I was in the clinic for about 2 hours. The staff was wonderful. I have nothing but good things to say about their care. The doctor even called my cabin in the evening to make sure I was ok.
So how much did this all cost, and how do you pay for the medical services? First, no medical insurance is accepted on board. The cost of my treatment was $400 – much cheaper than back home. The charge went directly on my ship account and was paid at the end of the cruise when I settled my account. The medical clinic does give you all the documents you will need to submit to any insurance you might have that covers the treatment – more on that in a minute. Make sure you get copies of everything before you leave the ship.
I do have a funny side story from dinner the night of the accident. This night happened to be formal night. I was dressed in my formal attire complete with cast and black arm sling. When my family and I arrived for dinner, our serving team wanted to know the whole story of the accident. When my dinner was served, my waiter immediately began cutting my steak! My girls were laughing hysterically and encouraged the waiter to give me a “ketchup Mickey.”
I did not let this accident damper my fun or spoil the rest of the cruise. Our next day was Castaway Cay day. As you can see, broken hand and all, we enjoyed the day.
So now you’re home and have to continue with treatment for your injury. What can you expect? Most personal medical insurance does not cover the cost of treatment obtained while outside the USA (and onboard a cruise ship is considered outside the USA). It will, however, cover the cost of your treatment once you return home. So for me, my regular insurance did not cover the ship board medical services, but it did cover my follow-up care received at home: 2 doctor visits, x-rays, hand cast, and physical therapy. I was responsible for my deductibles. However, I purchased travel insurance before the trip and it really paid off. The policy I purchased included coverage for medical services received outside the USA and follow-up care received once I returned home.
When I returned home, I immediately contacted the insurance company and submitted a claim. I had to provide them with proof that the accident occurred while travelling and proof of all my out-of-pocket costs shipboard costs and my deductibles for follow-up care at home. Within days of submitting my paperwork, I received a check reimbursing me for the total amount I paid for medical care. To my surprise, the cost of repairing my rings was also covered. By having the travel insurance, I saved myself about $1,500 after factoring in the cost of the policy.
In my mind, the cost of travel insurance is well worth it and I will continue to purchase travel insurance every time we travel internationally.
In summary, here is what I learned from this experience:
Take advantage of the medical services onboard the Disney ships if you need to – the medical staff is there to help
Keep copies of all documents you get from the medical staff
Seriously consider getting travel insurance before you sail
The eighth hole on the Goofy Mini Golf course is a doozy
Don’t let an accident spoil your trip.
Happy and safe sailing on your Disney Cruise!
.
About me: Cynthia is a wife and a mother to 2 beautiful high school age girls. She was born and raised in Southern California (a 30 minute car ride from Disneyland) and is an ex-Disneyland cast member having sold ice cream, popcorn, and balloons all over the Magic Kingdom. In her day job, she is a litigation attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her family is anxiously looking forward to their next Disney Cruise adventure – an 11 day Southern Caribbean adventure aboard the Disney Fantasy in July 2019. She promises to watch her step on the next cruise!
Did you purchase travel insurance through DCL or separately? Going overseas in July, we have DCL travel insurance just need to know if we need additional.
Unless you purchased your airfare through DCL, your flights will not be covered by the DCL insurance. If something happens causing you to cancel the trip right before, you would not get reimbursed for airfare unless you have bought the airfare through DCL or have a separate travel policy. Also, any injury/illness that were to occur before/after the cruise while in a different country would not be covered by the DCL insurance, you would have to have a separate policy for that as well. Most US health insurance policies don’t cover things that happen outside the US, although some do so you should check yours.
I asked Cynthia what she does, and she says she purchases all travel insurance through Costco Travel. The policy that she purchase covers items such as flight costs, cruise cost, property damage, lost luggage, flight interruption, medical treatment, and emergency medical transport back to the United States. The cost of the insurance is normally between 3% and 5% of the total trip cost.
We have both travel insurance and our air fare thru DCL for our cruise. We’re flying into Heathrow 2 days early before embarkation (as we can with a Disney arranged airfare). This not only allows for a travel delay but also gives us some time to see the sites. So my question is: is the time (approx. 2 days) between arriving in England and boarding the ship is not covered by DCL travel insurance?
I don’t know. I would check with DCL or your travel agent, if you’re using one.