**First-Time Cruiser Faces $13,000 Medical Bill After Onboard Emergency**
One woman’s first cruise quickly turned into a nightmare when she was hit with a staggering $13,000 medical bill after experiencing a severe health emergency at sea.
Khiali Baxter was just two days into her first-ever Royal Caribbean cruise with her boyfriend when she began feeling unwell. “So, I woke up. I started throwing up blood, unfortunately, and I had passed out on the ground,” Baxter told KHOU 11. “I could feel myself kind of going in and out of consciousness. I was very cold and terrified.”
Baxter was taken to the ship’s medical facility but had to wait four hours onboard before being transported to a hospital located four hours away from the cruise port in Costa Maya. During that time, she accumulated a $4,000 medical bill.
However, before medical staff at the hospital would treat her, Baxter’s family was asked to provide payment upfront. Her father, Craig Baxter, recalled the tense moment in an interview with KHOU 11, saying the hospital staff informed them that treatment would proceed “as far as $2,500 would take them.” He added, “I’ve never heard this in my life.”
Despite the high cost, the family arranged last-minute flights and accommodations to be by her side—they were not about to leave their daughter in a foreign hospital. “It was a very, very scary experience, and my main thing that I do want to say is that I really wish I would’ve gotten travel insurance,” Khiali reflected.
### The Importance of Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is often seen as an optional or unnecessary expense, but stories like Baxter’s highlight its critical importance. While no one wants to imagine emergencies during travel, having insurance can be a lifesaver — financially and emotionally — when the unexpected happens.
In Baxter’s case, travel insurance would have helped cover the cost of extensive emergency treatments, including an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and blood transfusion.
Since she did not have insurance, a family friend set up a GoFundMe page to help cover her medical expenses. Thanks to the generosity of over 160 donors, they have raised $14,108—about 88% of their $16,000 goal.
The Baxter family hopes sharing their story will encourage others to prepare for the unexpected, especially when traveling far from home. Travel insurance also provides coverage for lost luggage, travel delays, medical evacuations, and more, making the relatively small upfront cost well worth the peace of mind.
“It was an eye-opening experience that I hope prepares other young people,” Craig Baxter said.
### Another Cruiser’s Medical Emergency Results in High Charges
Unfortunately, Khiali Baxter is not the only Royal Caribbean cruiser to face exorbitant medical bills after onboard emergencies.
Vincent Wasney and his fiancée, Sarah Eberlein, were aboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas when Wasney began experiencing a series of seizures. According to reports from KFF Health News and NPR, Eberlein heard Wasney make a pained noise shortly before his first seizure. During it, he accidentally bit his tongue, causing bleeding.
Wasney’s condition rapidly worsened. His second seizure caused him to stop breathing, and the third, a grand mal seizure, was even more severe. Before they were allowed to disembark, the couple had to pay over $2,500 in medical bills.
The charges included $2,285.78 for general ward admission and observation, $97.99 for an i-STAT blood test, $104.55 for out-of-facility services, and $11.90 for medication.
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These unsettling cases highlight the critical need for travelers to consider comprehensive travel insurance when planning cruises or other international trips. The unexpected can happen anytime, and being prepared can save you from devastating financial and emotional stress.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2025/09/26/what-to-know-about-cruise-travel-insurance
