FOX 35 Investigates: How expensive getting sick while cruising can be without travel insurance

Getting sick on a cruise could cost you big time, even if you have health insurance.

With many traditional insurance plans, there’s no guarantee your provider will pay for the treatment you receive while on a cruise ship.

Passengers who didn’t pay for supplemental "travel insurance" learned the hard way just how expensive that can be in the long run.

"You don’t think that these things are going to happen to you, until they do," said Angela Bridges, whose son suffered a medical emergency while cruising.

This family was airlifted 350 miles off the coast of Port Canaveral after Bridges’ son tore his bowel on the Carnival Venezia cruise ship.

Severe seizures almost killed Sarah Eberlein’s fiancé while they were cruising. "I didn’t know if he was dead, alive, breathing, not," said Eberlein.

The couple had to jump on a speedboat off the coast of Fort Lauderdale from Royal Caribbean’s Independence of The Seas. Thankfully, everyone in both of these emergency situations survived, but they’ll never forget what it’s like to get hurt or sick on a cruise ship without pre-booked travel insurance!

"We just assumed it was like canceled flight, lost luggage, something happens you can’t go on your trip, not physical body conditions," said Eberlein, with her fiancé, Vincent Wasney. 

"Sounds like I should have gotten travel insurance, but I didn’t," said Bridges recalling how all the medical staff on board kept asking if she had cruise coverage.

Neither of them had travel insurance coverage, which means they had to settle their infirmary bills before leaving the ship when it docked.

MORE HEADLINES:

• Port Canaveral scraps new cruise terminal plans amid state pressure
• World's second-largest cruise ship, ‘Utopia of the Seas,’ calls Central Florida home
• Florida veteran's cruise plans canceled after he was denied boarding over missing service dog paperwork

"Are we being held hostage because they said to me, the rescue boat is waiting outside. You need to settle your bill," said Eberlein.

The couple ended up maxing out their credits cars to pay this $2,700 bill for bloodwork, observations and medicines they received while onboard Independence of the Seas.

"When you talk about this unfortunate situation where travelers were having to pay out of pocket and maxing out their credit cards, that comes as no surprise to me," said Robert Gallagher, the president of the U.S. Travel Insurance Association.

Gallagher says, declining optional travel insurance can cost passengers an arm and a leg. "Those medical evacuations can cost anywhere from $25,000-$50,000. That’s on average," the expert said.

Here’s why: traditional health care plans often don’t cover emergency care on a cruise ship. That’s because when you sail, you’re in international waters and cruise ships aren’t like urgent care centers or emergency rooms so they don’t deal with billing insurance companies.

Here’s how some of the major cruise lines charge sick and injured passengers, who don’t sign up for a travel insurance plan.

According to Carnival's website: "…a receipt will be provided for the guest to submit to their medical insurance provider upon return for possible reimbursement."

Royal Caribbean’s policy for passengers reads: "… We do not accept land-based health insurance plans onboard; you may be eligible to submit a claim with your health insurance provider."

You can submit a claim to your provider back home, but there is no guarantee you’ll see reimbursement for what it cost you on board.

"We submitted it to our insurance, and the doctor told us on the ship, I don’t know if they are going to cover it," said Bridges.

The Bridges family is still dealing with the unknown months after their Carnival cruise. They submitted insurance claims but haven’t heard back if they’ll be reimbursed or not.

"In the future, absolutely we will be getting the travel insurance," the mom exclaimed.

Gallagher says to shop around and give yourself plenty of time to find coverage so you aren’t rushed into making a decision.

Squaremouth is a travel insurance tool to consider. You can input the exact details of your trip and compare prices from different insurers based on the coverage you need.

"You should put the same amount of thought and the same amount of energy into selecting a travel insurance product as you have put into planning the trip," said the travel expert.

Squaremouth recommends comprehensive travel insurance plans covering at least $100,000 in emergency medical coverage and at least $250,000 in medical evacuation coverage.

The average policy per passenger comes in around $300 for travel insurance, according to Squaremouth.