This mother took her son to a cruise ship clinic for a sore throat, only to get a misdiagnosis and a medical bill larger than the vacation price

A woman’s vacation turned into a financial nightmare when she was charged a significant amount for the treatment and care of her child, who was with her. She was on a Norwegian cruise trip when her son got a sore throat, and when she took him to the ship’s clinic, he was declared COVID-19 positive. However, the case turned out differently: she published a TikTok video detailing the entire incident and seemingly encouraged viewers to purchase travel insurance.

According to Brobible, a TikTok user, Shannon Tries (@shannon.tries), published a video showing her receipt from Norwegian Cruise Clinic. The total amount for the treatment was $4,366.65, which she had to pay from her pocket, out of which the treatment cost her around$2,759 and the medicine was listed as $1,605. In the caption, she had mentioned that when she got her son checked on the cruise, he was diagnosed with COVID-19, but when she got him checked again upon her return, she was told that her son had mono.

Shannon wrote her experience in the caption, stating, “Thanks for nothing, Norwegian.” Even though she had to pay upfront, her medical costs were covered by Allianz Travel insurance. She also wrote, “The diagnosis was tonsillitis and Covid. When we got home, he only had a mono.”

Her viewers in the comments shared how travel insurance had saved them in situations like these 

After her video went viral, several viewers shared their stories of how travel insurance saved them while travelling. One of the commentators on her video commented, “I always have Allianz travel insurance. Used it once several years back when we flew home a day early to avoid a hurricane. They covered new flights back and taxi to the airport. Love them,” Another one stated, “I NEVER travel without Allianz, they’ve saved me so many times and never once fight me about claims!”

The incident aside, the question is: why is healthcare on cruise ships often more expensive than care on land? There could be several factors: the absence of alternative hospitals, higher costs of retaining medical staff, out-of-network billing, and the expense of stocking supplies and medications. Even when cruise clinic bills are high, travel insurance can help cover those costs for policyholders.

This TikToker’s case is one of many other cruise ship dramas we have previously discussed. Shannon was allegedly shocked to see the upfront charges, but despite the heavy amount, she was able to manage herself through her travel insurance. There have been several cases reported by people who faced a similar situation, and having a valid travel insurance helped them out in this regard.