Many cruise without medical insurance because the costs of seeing a doctor are miniscule compared to seeing one at home. (On private ins in Australia).
As the OP says, the treatment was excellent. The doctors and dentists the cruisers go to are really very good... Or word gets around.
Also the cruising lifestyle is very healthy.
My total health expenses for 6 years adrift are about $400 and that includes removal of a non cancerous tumor on my back by a proper surgeon.
After reading that thread the other day about all the crap people want to take in their medical kit - its value is much higher than most will ever spend on medical on a round the world cruise.
Thank you Mark. In the end this is a risk each person will assess to take or not. Or simply put have no choice other times.
I agree the cruising life is overall healthy, or at least it could be. Overall people should try to lead healthy lives regardless they are on land or at sea. Ok, I wont start on that, I am a bit of a nutcase when it comes to healthy living, health related aspects. You start me on that subject at one point you will be looking for something to shut me up.
However, I respectfully disagree, on the first aid kit. A lot of minor situations, or minor accidents can easily be kept minor with the right well researched first aid kit, and without they can easily turn into serious situations. Not to mention a lot of other inconvenient situations that would just make someone's life miserable otherwise.
Especially when traveling to different areas around the world, one gets exposed to all sort of pathogens that the body still need to be introduced to, or overcome with a bit of help.
Its hard to select a first aid kit when you trek mountains, you have to be minimal, and look at the weight of it and the size of it, but on a boat, one could put a good kit together, especially if one travels far and long and especially of one doesn't want to depend on doctors.
Its also often a state of mind. Get too worked up over what can go bad and wrong and voila, they happen.
A balance there is the best approach, a good kit, a healthy life style, and a good state of mind.