At least on some cruise lines, sailings often entail additional costs passengers are not expecting.
Some new cruisers literally board the ship not realizing that their cruise fare is not all-inclusive. They may be surprised that specialty dining and alcoholic drinks and espresso-based coffee drinks cost extra. In some cases people are shocked to learn that soda, bottled water and other non-alcoholic drinks come with a charge.
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If you don't do your homework before a cruise, you might board and realize that on many cruise lines, WiFi access costs extra. And to make matters worse regarding all these added charges, you generally pay more for any packages if you wait until you board to buy them.
Carnival Cruise Line, for example, charges a higher daily price for its Cheers beverage package while Royal Caribbean has done away with on-board discounts for its Deluxe Beverage Package.
In both cases, not being prepared will cost you more money. The same is generally true with excursions and many other onboard extras.
With all this, even passengers who cruise a lot are often shocked by one on-board area that comes with an extra charge. There are ways to avoid that charge, but you have to act before your cruise.
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Carnival explains an extra charge
All cruise ships have medical centers with a doctor and nurses on board, They're usually on a lower deck, and in the post-Covid pandemic era cruise lines urge you to visit them if you don't feel well or are experiencing any symptoms.
That can lead to an unexpected problem as one Carnival passenger explained in a message to Brand Ambassador John Heald.
"John Heald we are on the Carnival Horizon. DH has to check his blood pressure several times a week. We did not bring his machine with us. We went to the medical center/infirmary to have a routine blood pressure check and were charged. How can Carnival justify a charge for that? The nickel and diming of us is out of control," she wrote.
Heald pushed back at the complaint.
"Thank you, yes, there is a charge for every medical service onboard the ship. I’m pretty certain that if you want to do that on land in North America that there would probably be a charge if you went to your doctor on land. I may be wrong. But yes, there is a charge for all medical services on board and I don’t know if the insurance will cover it?" he wrote.
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Most traditional health insurance won't cover on-board or overseas medical expenses, but travel insurance will. Passengers can buy insurance for a single trip or for the year.
Policies vary and some plans have minimum deductibles. But in the event of a medical emergency, the right travel insurance can save you tens of thousands of dollars as many plans cover medical evacuations and stays in foreign hospitals.
Carnival pushes back on 'nickel and diming' claim
Heald does not understand why passengers would expect free medical coverage since they don't get that on land and land-based hotels do not provide it.
"What I do know is that reading the words 'nickel and diming' has put my blood pressure up for sure. I had better check," he wrote.
He made clear that medical care is an added expense.
"Anyway, yes there is a charge for all medical checks in the medical center but the wonderful nurses and doctors will provide you with expert care if you need it. Alternatively, please speak to your cruise director. He or she will hug you really tight and then loosen their grip slowly and then tell you your blood pressure is 120/80," he added.
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Passengers, for the most part, agreed with him.
"If DH has to check his BP, why didn’t they bring their own monitor???? What do they do at home? It would be like me not bringing any of my diabetic supplies and just going to medical every time and assuming I can get free services when I have my own stuff to do it," wrote Julie Porter.
Toni Hutson also blamed the issue on the passengers not planning well.
"A lack of planning by this person doesn't make it Carnival's problem. It isn't nickel and diming it's going to a doctor. Of course, there's a charge," she shared.
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Some passengers did see both sides of the issue.
"I know people forget things all the time so it would be nice to offer this service for free or at least a very small amount because it would only take a small amount of time but I also understand that Carnival is paying this staff so there should be some payment plus if Carnival started doing this it would just take that department down a slippery slope of people complaining saying 'they got this service so I should get this service for free,'" wrote Barry Walker.
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