When My Appendix Nearly Ruined Our Viking Sky Vacation

By Community Member · Viking Sky (Viking Ocean Cruises)

I bought cruise insurance thinking I'd never use it. Then my appendix had other plans, and I learned exactly what that policy was actually worth.

When my husband Mark and I booked our seven-day Viking Ocean Cruises voyage on the Viking Sky last March, the insurance question came up during checkout. "Do you want to add travel protection?" the website asked. I remember hovering over that button, thinking about how I'd never had to use travel insurance in my entire life. Thirty seconds of internal debate later, I clicked "yes." It felt like throwing money away, honestly. An extra $340 for peace of mind I'd probably never need. Famous last words. The trip itself was supposed to be perfect. After years of talking about it, we'd finally booked a Mediterranean cruise. The Viking Sky had been on my radar for ages—I'd read about how intimate it was compared to the mega-ships, with only 930 passengers instead of thousands. We were departing from Barcelona, hitting Spain, Italy, and France over a week. I'd imagined sunset dinners on the Promenade Deck, maybe a cooking class in the demonstration kitchen, probably too much wine at whatever that Scandinavian-themed bar was called. You know, actual vacation stuff. Day two happened to be beautiful. We were somewhere between Barcelona and our first port in Palma de Mallorca when it started.…