Sick kid upon boarding and no trip insurance..will disney give you park/hotel passes?

[disney minnie]

We went on a cruise last year. We were at WDW 4 days before and my daughter got sick the first night we were there. She had a fever and was throwing up. I freaked! We had trip insurance ($130), but all of the planning... We called our doctor and she prescribed Tamiflu for both children and another doc prescribed it for the adults. We cancelled our luau and Disney and all of the events we had planned at Sea World and prayed that we could make it on the cruise. The next morning she woke up feeling fantastic! We still stayed in the room for the day - my husband and i took turns entertaining our son outside the room. We were very fortunate, but very glad we had the insurance. Our insurance started the moment we left home so the $300+ for Tamiflu was refunded to us. We will never cruise without insurance.

 

[clten]

How would they know your child threw up 3 days before boarding unless you told them? If your child is healthy when you board, why would you say "But oh, she threw up 3 days ago..." Do they ask that kind of question when you board? (I don't have kids).

Sayhello

Not only do they ask that question, they make you sign a form to that affect.

To the OP, for DCL to deny boarding, they don't care if it is a pre-existing condition or one that is just a general illness (a bug that you just got a couple of days ago). If you (meaning any traveller) appears to be ill, they can be denied boarding. For insurance, if it is a bug that you just caught, that would be covered -- that is exactly what insurance is for. And if any one is denied boarding, insurance also covers the immediate traveling party as well.

DCL is not obligated to compensate you in any way for denied boarding. In fact, while WDW and DCL are sister companies, they are run completely separately. I doubt WDW is going to give you a free vacation because your vacation was denied with "another company".

 

[Happy100]

OK i just went ahead and bought the trip insurance...no worrying about that now.

Also just an FYI you actually have to have a note from a doctor saying your son is sick. So I can't imagine the cruise ship wouldn't at least have their ship doctor attest to that in a written document.

 

[disney minnie]

We didnt have to have a doc note since we did not miss any of the cruise, but we did have to have the receipts from the medication, credit card statement, and proof that we actually went on the cruise.

 

[kaseyC]

OK i just went ahead and bought the trip insurance...no worrying about that now.

Also just an FYI you actually have to have a note from a doctor saying your son is sick. So I can't imagine the cruise ship wouldn't at least have their ship doctor attest to that in a written document.

Nope, unless your child gets sick on the ship during the cruise, the ships medical staff does not have to attest to anything. It is your responsibility off the ship to provide the insurance company with a doctor's note and such.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I wouldn't think so, why would they?

It's up to you to take out trip insurance to cover you and your family. I would never travel with out being insured!

Also, why would your son get sick? Has he got a pre-existing medical condition? Or are you talking about general sickness, which if your son got then I'm sure Disney wouldn't deny you boarding.

I would think not and I hope not.

I agree with OrlandoMagic and wondering the same thing. We always buy insurance.

If you are making the decision to not buy insurance in the hope that it is not needed you are also making the choice of paying for a very expensive vacation that you could end up missing due to illness. Or from an emergency (heaven forbid) while on the cruise that requires you to disembark before your vacation is over.

Buy insurance if you are worried about the risk of missing all or part of your cruise.

 

[tiggerluvr]

Now I'm kind of freaking out - we're sailing in April 2011, and that is prime allergy season. I get horrible hay fever (sneezing, itchy red eyes, puffy face, the whole shebang) and I would be furious if I was denied boarding because I had a hay fever attack. Medication does NOT always prevent it in my case, and stress DOES trigger it. It's not communicable, but how would you be able to prove that you just had allergies and not a cold or flu?

 

[Melcatfish]

Now I'm kind of freaking out - we're sailing in April 2011, and that is prime allergy season. I get horrible hay fever (sneezing, itchy red eyes, puffy face, the whole shebang) and I would be furious if I was denied boarding because I had a hay fever attack. Medication does NOT always prevent it in my case, and stress DOES trigger it. It's not communicable, but how would you be able to prove that you just had allergies and not a cold or flu?

If you are concerned get a note from your doctor or allergy specialist explaining your allergies and their symptoms. It may help should there be any question about whether you can board. I have yet to read a post here on the Dis about someone denied boarding for an allergy reaction though.

Mel
x

 

[JoiseyMom]

This happened to my BFF for a Christmas week cruise. I had been planned for years..it was a bday present for her. She was traveling with her DH and 2 DS's. There were also cabins for her parents, brother, mil, sil/DH, sil and 2 kids. Her youngest DS throws up right before they were boarding . Everyone else boarded, they took her DS to medical. She was given the option of him being guarantined in the cabin or they could stay on land. Well they decided to stay on land. So did the rest of their traveling family. They had trip insurance, but if I remember correctly DCL was going to refund them at the time if they had issues iwth their insurance. In a way it worked out well, since her older DS had freaked out at the size of the cabin and wanted off!! He is now 13 and still refuses to cruise.

On a side note, I have had my kids get sick, myself and my DH all on vacations. It got to the point, I would print out a list of pediatricians in the area!! We also know exactly where the centra care's are!! We don't travel without trip insurance..it has worked out well for us in the long run!!

 

[MouseinMelbourne]

We didnt have to have a doc note since we did not miss any of the cruise, but we did have to have the receipts from the medication, credit card statement, and proof that we actually went on the cruise.

I don't get it. If you went on the cruise, what did trip insurance pay for?

 

[SnowWhite2]

If you look sick, they have a nurse in the terminal that will take your temperature and give you a quick exam to determine if you are well enough to travel.

When you check in, they ask if anyone has had a fever, diahrea or vomiting in the past 24-48 hrs (not sure of the time period). DH - dummy that he is - volunteers that he had diahrea the night before mainly due to nerves. Why in the world you would say that, I don't know. But he was pulled aside and checked out by the nurse. He was cleared to board as he had no fever.

 

[disney minnie]

If you read my earlier post I talked about my daughter getting sick at WDW before the cruise and my our doctors prescribed Tamiflu for all of us. The cost was over $300.

 

[lisamarch]

My son has asthma so we knew we should buy trip insurance. I ended up taking a chance and only insured the cruise, not the plane or WDW portion. However, there is a stipulation for most cruises (or most insurance companies?) that you have to purchase the cruise trip insurance within X days of booking the trip. Maybe 30 days? I'm full of half-information here, but it may be too late to get the insurance. I'd still look into it. My DS is going into 3rd grade. Both in 1st and 2nd grade he was out of school sick the 2nd week of school for strep. Had never had it before that first time. Schools, even when fresh from summer, are a cesspool of germs. Or is it the children?

 

[disney1990]

We will not be getting trip insurance. Basically Disney told us not to, because our cruise has no value (it was a DVC incentive). The only thing the trip insurance would cover would be medical evac. So I'm also a little worried about my kids getting sick. I read a thread about a child throwing up 3 days before her cruise (not for 3 days, just once 3 days before boarding) and was denied boarding. Both my kids are pretty healthy, so I'm probably worrying for nothing. My 5 year old has only gotten the stomach bug 2x in her life, oddly both on the same exact day my husband left to go on a business trip to TX. (months apart). So I think we'll be okay, but I still worry.

Why would anybody say at check-in "by the way, my child threw up 3 days ago."? Is your child well on the day that you are getting on the boat? That is the only thing you need to answer when they ask if everybody is healthy.

3 days ago is a long time in the sickness of a child. A child can have a temperature 3 days ago and be running, skipping and jumping today.

When we checked in, they asked if everybody was feeling ok. They did not ask about 24 hours or 48 hours ago.

I am not, however, telling anybody to tell Disney that everybody is healthy if somebody is sick on the day of the cruise!

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

My youngest son has severe allergies and drainage problems, and at times will/well cough until you know what....is he sick, not really. He has done this since he was a baby, we have no idea why. Even getting tonsils out hasn't helped, so I am really hoping that this doesn't become an issue for us...but with that being said I never ever travel without insurance.

 

[Sleepyluke]

From the other side of things, i have allergies and this is not the same as being full on sick. But if you have a fever and your kid has fever, any stomach issues or anything like that PLEASE DO NOT GET ON THE BOAT!!! I know this is your vacation and you paid for it, but you are bringing it into a very confined enviroment taht can make hundreds of people sick very quickly. This is why they have the rules in place, but I know rules are for other people. I know things can happen and there is a big difference in the sniffles and flu, but you have to realize you are not bringing it into a large open area, you are confining it to the boat which for whatever reason tends to help bad things breed, even if it began in small doses.

 

[TNShellBelle]

You can get travel ins cheaper with better coverage from outside vendors.

This site gives you side by side comparison for different plans based on what you put in the page.

We have always gotten the trip insurance through DCL. However, this site offers it for quite a bit less, and there are so many companies to choose from. For those of you who have purchased trip insurance from someone other than Disney, who did you use?

 

[sayhello]

I don't get it. If you went on the cruise, what did trip insurance pay for?

Medical expenses, probably. Seeing the ship's doctor can cost $300 or more, and medication is expensive!

My son has asthma so we knew we should buy trip insurance. I ended up taking a chance and only insured the cruise, not the plane or WDW portion. However, there is a stipulation for most cruises (or most insurance companies?) that you have to purchase the cruise trip insurance within X days of booking the trip. Maybe 30 days? I'm full of half-information here, but it may be too late to get the insurance. I'd still look into it. My DS is going into 3rd grade. Both in 1st and 2nd grade he was out of school sick the 2nd week of school for strep. Had never had it before that first time. Schools, even when fresh from summer, are a cesspool of germs. Or is it the children?

I don't know if that's true if you're buying the insurance through DCL, but you can ALWAYS buy insurance directly from the insurance company (or through a website like insuremytrip.com) up until the day you leave for your vacation. You won't be able to get a pre-existing condition waiver, or a few other specific types of coverage, but you can DEFINITELY still buy insurance.

We have always gotten the trip insurance through DCL. However, this site offers it for quite a bit less, and there are so many companies to choose from. For those of you who have purchased trip insurance from someone other than Disney, who did you use?

I've used Travelex, Travel Guard & CSA. I've had good experiences with all of them. Access America is the company that DCL uses. But you can buy the insurance much more cheaply through Access America.

Sayhello

 

[FairyGrandmother]

We have always gotten the trip insurance through DCL. However, this site offers it for quite a bit less, and there are so many companies to choose from. For those of you who have purchased trip insurance from someone other than Disney, who did you use?

I pruchased our trip insurance through my TA at AAA. We did this because we did not book our flights through Disney and If you don't book your flights through Disney the there insurance does not cover the flights. We book our own flights because traveling form Oklahoma to Florida can be iffy at times. We do not like to relay on getting there on the day of the cruise but would rather arrive the day before the cruise and get a hotel room for the night. It gives us a chance to rest and also to do some shoping at Downtown Disney before the cruise. Historictly we have not insured trips to WDW but as I age this may be part of the expenses from now on.
The need for insurance was brought home to us on our last trip to WDW. We went in eairly Dec 2008 and had a great time but received a rude shock when we arrived at the Dallas airport on our flight home. There were no flights into Oklahoma city. They were in the middle of an ice storm. Luckely for us my sister lives in Dallas and was able to take the 5 of us in for 2 days or we would have been out the cost of 2 hotel rooms for tha period of time. You can just never be sure of what will happen and if you are spending the money to have a nice vacation the insurance should just be included as part of the basic expence.

 

[Nanu57v]

You include everything that is non-refundable. Car Rentals aren't paid for in advance, so you don't need to cover that. Most hotel rooms can be canceled up until a few hours before you check in, so unless you got a rate that required you to pay in advance, you wouldn't cover that. Airline tickets should be covered (unless it's Southwest, who allow you to cancel your tickets and get a credit for the full amount). If you don't care about the *cost* of the tickets, still make sure the dates you are covering include your flying days, so that you'd be covered if you get delayed or something.

How would they know your child threw up 3 days before boarding unless you told them? If your child is healthy when you board, why would you say "But oh, she threw up 3 days ago..." Do they ask that kind of question when you board? (I don't have kids).

Sayhello

The report stated there was a survey upon boarding that asked that and the mom reported it. It may have been old. I don't remember how recent it was.