catspaw1

good point & I'm not sure how this company does that. Sounds like a good plan to have skymed also. I don't worry as much in first world countries but do worry about third world countries. We were in Laos Cambodia & Burma years ago & was told never to get health care in those countries but get on a plane to Bangkok or Singapore. I do have health insurance while abroad from my retiree benefits & will check with them also.

We have booked a trip to Zaragoga based on your advice. Arriving from Madrid noon 11 November & leaving 13 Nov 830am- my birthday. Staying at the hotel where you gave me your advice in the central area. I'm not sure how to PM you so please tell me how. If possible we would love to meet up for a tapas or two if you have time. Thanks so much for giving us all your information. We are looking forward to visiting.

here's the coverage for an upcoming trip we booked with the big box store insurance. trip cancellation 100% of cost, Trip interruption 150% of costs, trip delay 2G, missed connection $1500, bag delay $200, ER medical exp $200,000, ER dental exp $1,000, ER evacuation & repatriation $200,000 & common carrier AD & D $50,000. Premium for 23 days, covering cruise cost only, was $222. So how does that compare with GeoBlue everyone? One of us- me -under 70 & my DH 72.

Thanks but what specific coverage- Evac? Medical? Trip interruption? Trip delays? I'll have to compare it to my Zurich cover more with cover more to find out more. Thanks for sharing.

We want to do a land tour of Sicily next year- thinking of a few weeks. Would love to get your insight on how to do it. How do I do a PM here on CC? I never did one. We were last in Italy about 10 years ago & absolutely loved it. Have always wanted to return & go to Sicily. Thanks

What's the normal annual policy cost? Does it exceed 6.5% of trip costs? That's what one policy costs me per trip. This is our fifth trip this year but only 2 international cruises & I only insure international trips. The rest were domestic trips- two driving. But if I could get a policy with the same coverage for the year, I would do it. The yearly policies I looked at before, did not have the same coverage as the big box store. We are going to the Galapagos next year so a high evacuation coverage, if needed, will need to be a high level as that evacuation could be very costly. When we lived in Venezuela about 20 years ago, doctors & hospitals wanted payment upfront even in an emergency situation. One of our mangers sustained a gunshot wound & the hospital would not operate until they had the money upfront. If he didn't pay immediately, he would have died. So I want as high coverage levels as possible- 5K isn't going to do it.

Bajahil, medical Evac is exactly why I get trip insurance when outside the US. We never get it within the US as Medicare & our secondary health coverage will pay.

Has anyone tried the Cabify app for Spain? I understand that's more regularly used than Uber.

Thanks so much Rewind for all your helpful info & pics! Really appreciate your taking the time to post when I know you are probably exhausted from all the excursions. Hope you enjoy Mindo. Safe travels home.

Rewind, please let us know about Mindo as we were thinking of staying several nights precruise. My husband wants to do birdwatching & this is best at dawn. Airhose, we are on the June 1 cruise next year. Haven't made any bookings yet except the cruise but we will stay at the JW marriott & go up to Mindo. Also planning on staying a few nights in the Baltra area precruise but haven't booked that either! I'm busy trying to book our 10 nights in Spain before our TA this November! & will be away for a week in Sept & 2 weeks in October! So much traveling......

Sorry if I misunderstood you. The limits on all of their coverages was higher than anything else I could find. That's why we went with them. Even though I have retiree emergency medical benefits overseas, I still want good medical coverage. An emergency Evac can cost thousands of dollars.

Nope you are wrong about the big box store insurance - the underwriter is Zurich so a well known co. Plus if you have problems with them, you have the big box store to help you out. I've had to go back through them before when contractors they used didn't perform & big box store intervened.

I'm sorry I wrote it wrong. The policy costs 5% of elected trip costs if you book any part of the trip with the big box company. If you didn't book any part of the trip though them, it would cost 6.5% of trip costs. Since we are redeeming frequent flyer miles, I don't insure the airfare. All the hotels have a 48 hour cancel policy so I don't insure that either. I only insure the actual cruise costs. If I add on an upgrade to the premium package I don't insure that as we can cancel that if we cancel the cruise way ahead of time. Sorry if I was unclear in my post. No we haven't had to do a claim. We have a Chase Sapphire reserve card also with a huge credit limit & they also have travel benefits so can afford to charge a big hospital bill if we absolutely have too. Hope this clarifies it

& the travel insurance company you chose is even more important. What's the sense of having travel insurance if it doesn't pay out? Or cuts corners? So my posting info on the big box store IS important.

That's interesting & I didn't know that. I'm native NY NY- lived there for over 50 years. Did you call Crostco insurance to confirm?

Thanks for your TR& very helpful comments. So glad you have enjoyed it. We learned a lot from your posts. Thanks so much for taking the time to post!

Can you give us a recap of what you liked & didn't like? Any more suggestions on what to bring? Did the trip meet your expectations? Was it worth the huge expense?

I didn't realize the bus ride was 45 minutes. I wish they had other alternatives for the day as it seems like filler. Do they want you to pay to plant the trees?

We have always bought the big box store trip insurance. Even if you don't buy the trip from them, you can get the insurance but it costs 1.5% of the trip more as long as you are a member. Your must call them as you can't do it online. they were cheaper than all other travel insurance with better coverage. We have not put in any claims however thankfully. have 3 more trips booked with them. You need to purchase within 21 days of initial payment for preexisting medical conditions to be covered. Hope this helps others!

is there any other options that day? We are arriving to Baltra a few days early & can do this on our own. Can you go back to the ship before 530pm? This seems like a waste of a day to me as I would rather be snorkeling or visiting the islands. However, we don't want to be stuck on the ship. It doesn't seem that these 2 activities are enough to fill up a full day or am I wrong? Where does the ship anchor in the area?

Thanks for the info on the gopro. I've been a costco member since 1992 & love the store. I didn't know they sold gopros so I'll look into it. The idea about the second case was great. Thanks for all your posts.

So sorry to hear about your son. Our thoughts & prayers are with you know. I know it's a tough thing to go through & hope for the best for him.

We love Turkish airlines also & have always had great experiences. We went to Turkey over 30 years ago when English was barely spoken. About 10 years ago we wanted to take Turkish airlines to Italy but my employer would not let me transit through Istanbul airport. I was really annoyed as the flight was considerably less expensive. 3 weeks after we would have transited through Istanbul Airport, the airport was bombed. So glad I listened to my employer! Still love Turkey but they don't like Americans there much these days after 2 Marines were just attacked. Happy 50th! Its not many people who make it that far these days. Please continue to post on your land portion also. With the price of cruises increasing so much, we might just skip a cruise & just do a land tour. We are reluctant to rent a car because I've heard they drive crazy in Greece so please let us know your observations. So would appreciate your posting on the land & sea portion. Have loved your TR so far.

Thanks for the pics & TR - very helpful. We were thinking of buying a go pro camera for the trip so please let us know if you think it's worth it & how well the video comes out. I'm afraid we will be more concerned with taking video than just observing the wildlife! Plus the cameras are not cheap!

Thanks rewind for your very helpful posts. Loved the pictures! Really have loved following along. If you have any more helpful suggestions, like the shoes, that would help. We can't wait to go next year. It was on our bucket list!