Single act that helped Aussie couple avoid nasty $35,000 bill on cruise

By MAX ALDRED FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 08:50 GMT, 20 November 2024 | Updated: 08:52 GMT, 20 November 2024

An Aussie couple has narrowly escaped footing a $35,000 bill for a terrifying medical episode while holidaying overseas after making a $1,000 lifesaving investment prior to their trip.

Western Australian couple Jeff Gibb, 73, and his wife Jan were at sea on a Princess Cruises voyage travelling from Fremantle to Singapore in September when he started to feel queasy.

‘We were on our way to dinner and I just felt really nauseous and I told my wife to go ahead without me as I wasn’t feeling too flash,’ Mr Gibb told news.com.au.

He returned to his room, where his condition rapidly deteriorated. 

Mr Gibb visited the medical centre on the ship, where doctors conducted blood tests and X-rays which revealed he had contracted pneumonia and a liver infection.

The pair were forced to disembark when the cruise ship reached Bali after Mr Gibb’s health worsened. 

He was rushed to BIMC Hospital in Kuta, where he spent three days in intensive care and several more recovering in the ward. 

‘I didn’t think I was that crook but I obviously was, so much so when I was in ICU and needed to sit up, I couldn’t and had to have staff help me and that’s when the penny dropped,’ Mr Gibb said.

Jeff Gibb, 73, (pictured with wife Jan) was on his 20th cruise when he experienced a bout of illness at sea

On-board doctors on the Princess Cruises ship discovered he had pneumonia and ensuing health and travel changes would have cost him some $35,000

Mr Gibb broke down in tears as he told his wife he didn’t think he’d live through the ordeal.

He was put on two different antibiotics and started to feel a little bit better 

By the time he was discharged, their  cruise ship had left port for Singapore.

The homesick pair scrapped their remaining travel plans and flew home.

Mr Gibb’s transport and medical bills amounted to $35,215.

But his $1074 investment in travel insurance  before the cruise meant the hefty medical bill was entirely covered by Southern Cross Travel Insurance. 

‘[They] started to pay our hospital bills before I was discharged, which helped us have a good relationship with the hospital. They booked our airfares home and made sure, along with the doctor, it was safe for me to fly,’ he said. 

The pair also had the choice to be reimbursed for Jan’s emergency accommodation or the unused days of the cruise. 

The agency kicked back the full $6,000 cost of the cruise. 

However, Mr Gibb revealed his 20th international cruise will be his last.

Mr Gibb will travel domestically in the future and always ensure he buys travel insurance, urging fellow Aussies to do the same. 

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Single act that helped Aussie couple avoid nasty $35,000 bill on cruise

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