One Minnesota man's lucky win ended up turning into a big disaster after he found himself lumped with a huge bill.
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Mike Cameron won a dream trip on a week-long cruise to the Caribbean for him and his girlfriend Tamra Masterman, but was left devastated after he caught the flu onboard and found himself lumbered with a $47,000 bill.
He'd won the free Norwegian cruise trip from the Grand Casino Hinckley, and was excited to enjoy his free vacation.
The ship set sail from Miami on January 5, but Mike soon found himself feeling a bit under the weather.
Mike, from Braham, told the New York Post that he'd sought treatment in the medical center on board the Norwegian Encore ship and recovered three days later.
He was stunned to be slapped with a medical bill of $47,000 when their vacation came to an end - claiming he'd been reassured by crew members that he had nothing to worry about.
Mike explained: "One lady in the medical ward that said that he had the traveler’s insurance and that meant $20,000 of coverage."
He added: "I was just flabbergasted by the whole thing. I guess I am just used to the medical system in the United States. I can’t believe it happened."
The cruise line had used two credit cards Mike had on file to recover the costs of his treatment, and he says he still owes $21,000.
He and Tamra had bought travel insurance from the cruise line which covered expenses of up to $20,000, and the pair both have health insurance.
However, Mike revealed to Fox 9 that he is stuck in limbo between the two insurers as both parties are claiming the other is responsible for the bill.
Mike explained: "The traveler’s insurance doesn’t want to pay it until we run it by our health insurance. The health insurance doesn’t want to pay it because it’s abroad."
He also claimed that the bill they received from Norwegian also came with a letter stating that its pricing is "closely comparable to other cruise lines and is what we believe to be fair and reasonable".
Mike also shared his fears for how he will afford the steep bill, being as he is currently stuck in limbo between both insurers.
He told Fox 9: "I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay them off, I’m going to have to, but, I don’t know how."
Mike also shared a warning for other people heading off on a dream cruise vacation, adding: "We want people to be aware, if you go on a cruise make sure you got good traveler’s insurance.
"Once you are out on international waters, it’s a whole different story."
A spokesperson for Norwegian stated to the New York Post that it is unable to share details of Mike's case due to patient privacy laws, but confirmed that an internal team reviewed his “necessary medical procedures and resulting expenses.”
The statement added: "We are committed to providing quality medical services and each of our ships is equipped with a state-of-the-art onboard medical center, staffed with highly qualified physicians and nurses, to provide care for both guests and crew while at sea.
"We follow guidelines for our medical facilities provided by CLIA in conjunction with the American College of Emergency Physicians."