klfrodo

No, but taking medication that may preclude a medical emergency is a pre-existing condition.

As I understand it..... In Washington, we cannot purchase GeoBlue Annual Policies. I asked the State Insurance Commissioner via e-mail why. In a cryptic response, they said that I could if GeoBlue decided to sell in Washington. What? My takeaway is that there is some fine print language in the GeoBlue contract that Washington doesn't like. If that was removed or changed, then Washington would approve for sale in the State. Regarding the CFAR issue in NY. As I understand it, under the definition in NY of Insurance, NY doesn't consider CFAR to be "insurance" and therefore cannot be sold as an insurance policy. That is why cruise lines no longer sell travel insurance policies. They sell travel "Protection" policies that can include CFAR

You can apply for casino credit before you cruise. You can apply to wire money to the casino. You can apply for casino credit while on the cruise. Or, You can hand them your seapass card to the dealer and they will charge it to your on board account. as mentioned above.

Can almost guarantee it will be on. In fact the staff will probably make a huge party out of it. I've been fortunate to be on 2 cruises in Europe. One was during the FIFA World Cup final and one during the Euro Cup Finals. Both cruises celebrated the games with parties.

To get the $100K medical and evacuation coverage, you don't HAVE to cover ALL the costs of the trip. (Unless your local/State/Province laws require you to do so). If you cover the entire cost all you're really insuring is trip cancellation. trip interruption, and trip delay. The last 2 coverages pay back up to 150% of loss. If the total trip cost is $5K, but you can risk the $5K loss, then report the trip cost as $1000 (or even $500). You still get the full $100K medical coverage and evacuation, you still get $1500 for hotel, meals & transportation should something happen for trip delay or trip interruption, & you save a bit on the insurance costs.

Great reminders Steve. Especially #2 with the current storms barreling down on us.

I usually start off eating healthy. By day 2 I see all the “good” stuff and say I’ll start over when I get home. By the time I get home, I’m probably only up by 2 or 3 pounds.

Cruise line offered travel protections Pro Includes Cancel For Any Reason, but only pays back a % (some 75, some 90, 1 policy offer 100) in the form of a future cruise credit. Price is not age dependent. Con Medical is secondary Medical has a low coverage limit ($20K) Does not waive pre-existing conditions for you or for non-traveling family members Does not offer to work with healthcare provider to send up front money for treatment if required

More would be better 😂 I just didn't want to burden you with too much. I'm sure you've got plenty to do.

Here's the link. And remember, it also applies to non-traveling family members. So, if mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunty, uncle, brother, sister etc, get hospitalized or pass away and require you to cancel or terminate your travel, any of their pre-existing conditions may count towards whether the claim might be denied. The insurance company might/will review their medical records. You have the right to deny them access to the medical records, but they also have the right to deny the claim. (This is for US. Other countries may have differing laws/regulations.) How Travel Insurance Pre-Existing Medical Condition Coverage Works « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

I would link it to you but I’m on my phone. If you go to www.TripInsuranceStore.com and look under the FAQ tab, you find a definition or explanation as to pre-existing condition. Also know that the pre-existing condition clause can protect your trip if non-traveling family members get ill or worse and you have to cancel your trip or fly home early due to their pre-existing condition.

Been a while since someone asked a “film” question. Thanks for the rather new topic 🤣 Anyway, if I remember correctly, as long as the film is 100, 200, or 400 speed film, it should be okay. 800 speed film could get a little fogged. If concerned, back in the day, we would just pass the film off to the person scanning so it wouldn’t get x-rayed. That was years ago though and not sure the people there would understand what you’re trying to do.

No matter how much I agree with what you just said, I'm going to continue pounding on this table expressing how much more right I am than you. 🤯

You're correct Hank that they may have coverage. I think the problem arises when someone (especially newbie international travelers) are surprised when they give the hospital or clinic, or even the cruise line medical center their insurance card expecting direct payment and it is denied.

Just don’t forget to buy travel insurance. Travel insurance also includes medical coverage should you get ill or injured on your trip. Your US based insurance won’t be accepted outside of the US. Also know that you will probably be required to pay out of pocket up front for medical service but then can file for reimbursement when you return. consider checking out www.TripInsuranceStore.com for a policy that meets your needs.

I don't doubt the claims of the possibility that the TA's may have told them their documents were good enough board the ship. While the TAs on this board may be some of the best, my money is that they are in the minority. I would guess that too many people who consider themselves TAs probably couldn't tell you what WHTI means much less be able to identify all WHTI compliant documents. Very few TAs, while offering to sell travel insurance, couldn't tell their clients the difference between Trip Delay and Trip Interruption, along with the other limitations of the policy they sell.

This can be a huge problem for those with low limit credit cards or those using debit card. First of all, the cruise line has no ability to withdraw a hold. The amount of time a hold stays on your account is completely dependent on the policies of your financial institution. Some people say they never see the holds whereas others can see the hold. I see my holds, but they usually clear in 24 hours. What has happened in the past is the cruise line verifies the credit card by placing a hold. Let's say it's $200. Then, as your on board account reaches a certain level, they will place another hold for another $200 and so on and so on. Then, at the end of the cruise when they finalize, the cruise line bills your account the total of your spending. Let's say that total is $400. So your account gets hit for the final $400, but you also have holds for $400. That's $800 of available credit you no longer have access to. If at the beginning of the cruise, your debit account or credit limit was $1000, you only have access to $200.

I can only hope they're not magnetic. Just imagine walking by and pieces of clothing or jewelry being drawn towards the wall, or worse yet, your pacemaker stop working.

Shake My Head Sorry Steve 😂. No teen kids or grandkids?

As indicated in your other post on a different thread, I choose to purchase a good travel insurance policy that better fits my needs rather than rely on my BC/BS policy for international coverage. There were just too many limitations on my BC/BS policy. This is where a good broker may come into play. Travel insurance in the US is regulated by each State. One state may allow coverage on something while another may not. My state allows me to do the following: Instead of buying travel insurance where my "real" trip cost is $5K per person, I purchase a plan where I declare my trip cost is $500 per person. I don't care about cancellation/Trip Delay/ Trip Interruption/etc. What I do care about is Medical. I still get the $100K or $250K in medical and evac coverage but with substantial cost savings. Plus, since the price of the policy is the same whether I indicate trip cost is $1 or $500 per person, I still do have the benefit of Trip Delay at 150% of trip cost should my return flight get delayed and I need a hotel room for a night or two plus meals.

Hope this never happens again but the best advice to the next person this happens to is to ensure you don't leave the ship without copies of your medical records and doctors notes. You may have to pay for these copies, but that is reimbursable also. This way, you can submit this documentation with the claim. Glad it all worked out in the end.

When we book using a casino offer, it's usually due to my wife's play. I let her know that any OBC earned due to her play is for her use anyway she chooses.

To what extent does your medical insurance cover you anywhere in the world. I'll cut and paste my response to another poster about my experience. I also had a good health insurance policy from my work (BC/BS) that had an international rider. I wanted more information about exactly what this policy did and did not cover, so I gave them a call with specific questions. 1. Am I covered for medical expenses? (Yes, at out of network, normal & customary, after co-pay) 2. Will you direct pay? (No, reimbursement only) 3. Are there any circumstances where you will advance pay if medical provider requires upfront payment? (No) 4. Once my emergency is stable, will you reimburse to bring me to a closer hospital near my home for continued care? (No) 5. If I should die in a foreign country, will you pay to repatriate my remains? (No) 6. I asked for more specifics about evacuation. (Their answer was very ambivalent. They made it sound like evacuation was just like an ambulance. They would pay to transport you to the closest facility qualified to care for you but that 1 time ride was the end of the coverage) I'm sure there were other questions I asked but cannot remember them all. At the end of the conversation, I decided that what would best fit my needs would be to cover my travels with a good travel insurance policy and to keep the BC/BS policy as a back-up in case I didn't recover all expenses from the travel insurance policy. Which, I did have to use the BC/BS one time. My recommendation is to give your work policy a call and ask about specific instances and their coverage and then do what best works for you.

For educational purposes only With your vast 20+ years of experience, could you share the top 2 or 3 mistakes people with travel insurance make that either cause you to SMH or cause the biggest problems with their claims. Also, share what they could have done differently to have made the claim process easier. Or, maybe you've covered this in a blog that you could provide a link to. Thanks

While I agree with you, what are these people going to do if they are that price sensitive and they twist their ankle on wet marble/cobblestone and have to visit a clinic and the clinic demands payment upfront? There are tons of warnings on this site about the limitations and limitless potential for cruise line air transportation problems. And yet, people want to risk $20K to save a few hundred. Sympathy - Yes Empathy - No, none whatsoever.