A Michigan man who suffered three epileptic seizures on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship was allegedly forced by the company to drain his bank account so he could be evacuated to a medical center.
“Are we being held hostage at this point? Because if he had three seizures in 10 hours, there is a problem,” his fiancée, Sarah Eberlein, asked the employees who refused to let them leave without them paying their large bill. , she told National Public Radio (NPR) on Tuesday.
It was in December 2022 that Vincent Wasney reportedly suffered three epileptic seizures in the space of a few hours, while traveling with his partner on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Independence of the Seas.
After the first convulsions, he would have received anticonvulsants and an IV, before being placed under medical observation, and finally returned to his cabin. It was then that he suffered a second attack during which he stopped breathing.
It was while he was at the medical center that the third seizure began, at the stage described as “grand mal”, which generally causes loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions, according to the American media.
But if the ship was then close enough to evacuate to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the company would then have demanded that the couple pay their entire bill on board, including drinks consumed and services on board, amounting to at US$277.70, but also the unexpected amount of US$2,500 for medical treatments.
The problem was that the couple did not have enough money in their account to cover the amount, having been offered the cruise by their real estate agent when purchasing their house, he said. -he recounted, presenting the invoices to NPR.
The American was also not covered by travel insurance, as he believed that this type of insurance would only cover loss of luggage and trip cancellation, said the inexperienced traveler.
And even if they drained their last savings to pay their bills that month, he still had to pay US$1,052.92, which the company would have charged on the credit card until it reached the limit, after having nevertheless said they could work things out after he was released from the hospital.
The couple reportedly came home with debts of several thousand dollars, which they still carry today, along with other medical bills that have since been added to treat their condition, according to an update on a crowdfunding campaign GoFundMe.
According to Joe Scott, chair of the cruise ship medicine section of the American College of Emergency Physicians, billing practices may differ between companies, but it is normal that they must be paid before leave the ship.
He recommended that those considering a cruise vacation purchase travel insurance that specifically covers their trips to “facilitate reimbursement” and “potentially cover costly medical evacuation if necessary,” he told NPR.
