Gilford57

15 hours ago, kevinf2020 said:

What is the coverage for non-network provider emergency medical care?

Coverage is the same. The only difference is a network provider will direct bill GeoBlue.  In most cases, with any other provider you will have to pay the bill and file a claim for reimbursement.  Unfortunately, in most cases people will not end up being treated by a network provider. 

By the way, with an annual GeoBlue "Trekker" plan, in addition to direct billing, the deductible is waived when you use a network provider.  There is no deductible with the single trip Voyageur Choice plan.

29 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

No. 

 

If you book through Costco Travel, the premium is 5% of the insured amount and you can do it all online.  If not booked through Costco Travel the premium is 6.5% of insured amount and you have to call Cover-More.

 

You do need a Costco membership, however.

 

I haven't had to file a claim with them, but the insurance coverage is very good, IMHO.

If you don't book the travel through Costco, is it a different policy? I have found older threads that say there are differences but there is no follow up.  For example do both policies include 50% CFAR? Are premiums for both policies not dependent on age? Is there a link available to a sample policy for both situations?

17 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

I pay for an American Express platinum card, which gives me cancelation coverage and for very small fee, a little over $60, I  get extensive medical coverage for all trips paid for with the card.

Can you provide more info on the small fee for the extensive medical coverage. A link would be helpful, I know the standard American Express Platinum available to US residents offers no medical coverage, although it does offer some medical transportation.

50 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

Even then i’ve got a better quote once by 100.00 or so for the caribbean. As for TAs it seems better quotes are for guarantees and i’m not interested in that having a bad experience being placed under the kitchen.

Then you are not looking in the right places.  I would take @Hlitner's advice for finding a good TA.

I booked a guarantee and last week Celebrity assigned me a cabin.  My luggage tags (and e-docs) still reflect no cabin assignment.  Will Celebrity eventually update the tags with the cabin number?  Cruise is still two weeks away.

1 hour ago, elaine5 said:

Any reasons to get GeoBlue policy when BCBS is adding GeoBlue as their overseas manager for 2024? The GeoBlue thru BCBS covers medical evacuation arranged by GeoBlue. I'm surmising that they're using the same standards for whether medivac. I also have Princess Platinum coverage, which has $75K medivac. We'll be in Asia for 3 weeks, including many sea days. 

You would have to talk to to your specific BCBS company about your plan. There are 34 different locally owned and independently operated companies in the US that have licensed the BCBS name. So they all work differently.  Your answer will depend on your specific company and often the specific plan you have.

On 11/10/2023 at 11:48 PM, startedwithamouse said:

Nikki Jayne replaces Kristoff Greyling on Majestic Princess. 

12 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Yes, it's his last cruise, why I didn't say replaced, she's shadowing him. 

@InsureMyTrip - Thanks for responding to my question from another thread.  Hopefully you will address this question too.

Also - if there is a way you can provide your responses as text instead of an image, it will be much easier for people to search later.

I have occasionally seen discussions about just insuring the trip deposit (for a small premium) and then adding additional insurance (and premiums) as you make more non-refundable payments.  This is supposed to protect someone from time sensitive clauses such as a pre-existing conditions waiver.  It seems like a great idea for expensive trips many months or more in the future.  If I decide not to take the trip before final payment, at least I did not risk much on insurance.

• Is this accurate and does it work?
• If so, how do I actually do this?  How long do I have to add insurance after making a future payment?
• If  instead I insure the full cost of the trip up front, and decide to cancel the trip, would any or all of my insurance premium be refunded?

I am very interested in this topic as well. Specific annual plan items I hope you can discuss include:

1. Medical coverage - Maximum amount per trip and per year.  Is primary coverage available?
2. Trip cancelation (and interruption) amount - Maximum amount per trip and per year. Can I add additional coverage if I hit the maximum early in the year?
3. Covered reasons for cancelation/interruption - Are covered reasons similar to per trip plans or are they usually more restrictive?  I am always concerned about missing a cruise due to airline or weather delays even when I fly in at least one day early.
4. Pre-existing conditions - Are pre-existing conditions waivers available, and if so how does one qualify? If not, does any exclusion apply to non traveling family members? Do pre-existing conditions affect medical? cancelation? interruption? other coverages?
5. Age restrictions - Are there age limits, or do you just pay higher premiums as you get older?

Ideally I would love to find a comprehensive annual plan that gives me similar coverage to GeoBlue Trekker (medical and medical transportation) and also adds good cancelation and interruption coverage without having to worry about pre-existing conditions.  If you have any specific recommendations, please share.

19 hours ago, nini said:

It was not the stops that determined the requirement to test. It was the embarkation port. We departed from Vancouver, BC.

I don't know why you continue to post false or misleading information about testing, ArriveCAN and related topics. If Canada had not made the recent changes, @Linsifer would have been impacted.  The good news is as of October 1st, none of it matters for fully vaccinated passengers.

7 minutes ago, Babr said:

All is not lost. There are plenty of policies out there that address single supplement. 
 

I suggest you call a broker like Trip Insurance Store and explain your situation to them. They can help you find a policy that works. 

 

Thanks for the thought, but I already took that route.  That's one of the reasons I was looking at the HAL plan.  I'm way too late for the third party CFAR plans offered by Trip Insurance Store and one of their major competitors.  With HAL, you can purchase at final payment.  If I was eligible, the third party plans would cover the single supplement, but they cost more and offer only a 75% refund. It does not matter, because I am way past the initial deposit date.

I called HAL and this time got another rep who completely understood my question. Unfortunately, I did not get the answer I was hoping for.  She said:

The person canceling will get 90% of their cruise fare back.  The other person will be assessed a single supplement (double the cruise fare, but only one taxes/fees). The Platinum plan will not cover the second person's single supplement.

So in my specific situation, the plan does not make sense.

2 hours ago, Duquesmom said:

I think you should call AON, who handles HAL’s Platinum coverage.

800-453-4047.  
 

I looked in my policy from 1/2022 & I don’t see it mentioned.

Please let us know the answer.

I tried AON and got through to a rep fairly quickly. She clearly did not understand the policy and did not know the answer.  She then spoke with her supervisor and got back to me.  Bottom line, I need to call HAL as AON does not deal with trip cancellation claims. 

I asked the question here because when I originally called HAL, they could not give me an answer. I was hoping someone on cruise critic had seen this before. I will try calling HAL again again.  Maybe I will get a more knowledgeable HAL rep.

On 5/19/2022 at 7:26 PM, Babr said:

All claims go through AON.  Insurance covers reasons defined in the policy. If the claim is denied, you can get CFAR.

 

If you are cancelling at the last minute because of a Covid positive test, that is a covered medical reason. With proper documentation, you can get full reimbursement.

I stumbled upon this thread while trying to find an answer to a related question.

Trip cancellation for HAL's platinum plan is 90% cash back.  There are no "covered reasons" and all cancellation claims are treated as Cancel For Any Reason.  The good news is you get cash back, and as long as you cancel before you start your trip, you are covered.  The bad news is you will never get 100% back, no matter the reason.

What happens if there are two people in a cabin and one person cancels?  Assume both travelers purchased HAL's Platinum Protection plan.  The one who cancels (traveler A) should get a 90% refund of their cruise fare.  But will the other person (traveler B) be charged a single supplement?  If so, will the Platinum Plan cover the single supplement for traveler B? I don't see anything in the plan document that addresses the single supplement. 

I have searched and found another thread that addresses the situation when insurance was not purchased.  The consensus is for traveler A to not cancel, just be a no show.  Then no single supplement will be charged and traveler A's taxes and fees might even be refunded.

I am trying to figure out if it is worth purchasing the HAL plan, if the sole purpose is to cover this situation.  

4 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I THINK if you disembarked 10/8 with all your luggage and completely checked out of the ship and reboarded 10/9 it would technically satisfy the PVSA but I still doubt you would be allowed to do it.  I suspect HAL would be unwilling to tackle the possible hassle of proving to satisfy the authorities that you were really off the ship.

That is exactly what my thought were.

5 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Would you be willing and able to board NCL Pearl September 30 in Boston, disembark October 7,and embark the HAL cruise October  8?

That is great idea that just might work.  I will check it out.

1 minute ago, jayhawk66 said:

I once cruised RT Boston to Quebec City and return. I don’t understand why your booking violates the PVSA.

Round trip Boston to Boston is OK because it stops in at least one foreign port.  Boston to Ft. Lauderdale is not OK because it must stop in a "distant" foreign port in order to travel between two different US cities. 

We just booked two cruises back-to-back on the Nieuw Statendam. HAL accepted the bookings and the deposits, but this morning they told us it violated the Passenger Vessel Services Act and we had to cancel one or both bookings.  I have an alternative idea that I am wondering if it might work.  Before I get back with them, I hope others may have had a similar situation and could share any knowledge.  Here are the cruises:

1. Boston to Quebec City 10/2 - 10/8.
2. Quebec City to Fort Lauderdale 10/8 - 10/22.  Boarding is 10/8 with an overnight in Quebec City and departure on 10/9. 

Suppose we departed the ship on 10/8 and reboarded on 10/9.

• Would this satisfy the PVSA?
• Would HAL let us do this?

I am curious on this one too.  Some plans give free coverage to minors traveling with you, but what happens if they live in a different state?

Any opinions on this plan.  The link takes you to the Travel Insured plan mentioned in other threads.