klfrodo

47 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Why then do some cruise lines ask you to prove that you have medical evacuation insurance?

too vague of a question. What is their definition of medical evacuation and are these alleged requirements for evac from sea or evac from a land based facility to another land based facility?

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Please can you clarify under what circumstances medical evacuation from the ship at no cost to the patient?

 

International maritime treaties and law. When I say medical evacuation from the ship, I'm speaking of when a helicopter airlifts a patient from the ship while at sea. These are always done by a nations coast guard or navy.

An ambulance ride from the ship while at port to the local hospital will cost money but, in this instance, (a person from the US who has normal health insurance and is in US territory) the health insurance will cover it.

Maybe we can summon @chengkp75 for a more expert explanation regarding ship at sea ambulance airlift and the treaties involved.

The Win/Loss Statement worked fine for me to offset my winnings as Earned Income as stated on my W2G.  This was over 10 years ago though.

I go 3rd party only. The cruise line policy is too low and if you need help, you're on your own. They won't help when it comes time to file a claim. I can only speak of my TA, they don't have a basic understanding of the policy they sell and wouldn't be of any help if I asked them if I should file under Trip Delay or Trip Interruption. Also, the coverage is too low in my opinion.

By going 3rd party (Steve at TripInsuranceStore), he has access to a few different policies that best fit my needs and when it comes time to file a claim, he will gladly assist. He's also been known to intercede on his clients behalf with the insurance company to help clear up any misunderstanding.

I'm going to take a different approach. First, let me say that I agree with every fiber of my being that what has said been said above is true and correct.

I approach sailing from Vancouver differently than any other cruise or trip. This is because I'm making an assumption that this is for an Alaska cruise, and I fully understand that my opinion only works for me. (If this is a 7-day cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, I might consider the same approach)

My opinion is based on my thoughts that travel insurance is a tool to help me share risk of potential financial hardship. With that being said, I'm in a position in life where I can absorb the cost of missing a cruise. I can absorb that $5 to $10K loss. It will hurt and I might have some explaining to do with my spouse, but it won't bankrupt me.

Medical could cause financial devastation, however, in this instance (Alaska Cruise) I weigh my risks. My Health Insurance/Medicare works in Alaska. I choose to risk the miniscule amount of time I'm in Canada. Evacuation from the ship is at no cost to the patient. If I need evacuation from (Ketchikan let's say) to either Anchorage or Seattle for medically necessary care, my health insurance will pick up the costs. (I also have Medjet Assist for anytime I'm more that 150 miles from home).

With all that being said, I 100% self-insure my Alaska cruises. Every other cruise, (Caribbean and European) I do purchase a 3rd party policy from Steve at TripInsuranceStore to help mitigate any unexpected expenses.

Living on the west coast but always sail from the east coast, we always spend the night before flying home. Allows us to relax and take our time getting off the ship, maybe do some sightseeing, check into the hotel, catch a nice dinner, then catch a good nights sleep before catching the early 6 hour flight home.

For those who live or frequently visit Rome. How is tourism going to be affected by 2025 being a Jubilee year?

We are cruising in 2025. Our post cruise plans currently have us spending an additional 4 to 6 days in Rome. (Early September timeframe)

Can I expect that with the additional number of people of the Catholic faith making the pilgrimage to Rome and The Vatican be of concern when arranging tours and hotel stays?

Ill wait for the expert to jump in. Calling @chengkp75

43 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

  Can the wheelchair person transfer or take a few steps?  

 

Yes

We are a retired group of 6. One of us is in a wheelchair and the other 5 are not.

Of course, we want to hang together with our travel mates on an excursion, but seeing as how accessible excursions are limited in space, I don't want to take up valuable space and maybe someone who needs this service isn't able to because 4 able bodied persons are taking up space.

Does my question make any sense?

6 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

We travel a lot with the air being using awards.

Fortunately, although that part of the trip - the "regular cash price of the air trip" - is not insuranble, for a very modest cost, we can re-bank the points (almost always, IIRC).  And we can insure that modest cost, which we only do because our insurance type requires that we insure ALL non-refundable costs.  Even though we didn't pre-pay that fee, we include it.  It's small enough that it's never kicked us into a higher tier of coverage (it goes by increments of the total cost), so it was always a non-issue.  Better to include anything that MIGHT be in the "everything"...!

 

And yes, we've recovered that "rebanking fee" a few times, although that was never a real concern, obviously.  But if we were filing a claim, we'll include everything there, too.

 

GC

My airline of choice, Alaska Air, has never had a problem just rebanking my miles if I need to cancel. But, that could be because I have elite status with the airline.

1 hour ago, RobC1116 said:

But in our case, we paid $$$ for the original trip that we then canceled. In lieu of an 80% refund (based on the timeliness of the cancellation), we received a voucher for the full amount we had paid. So now, the voucher has 0 value, and cannot be insured? If that is the case, we will just insure the costs over and above the voucher value

I believe @iamtrustworthy corrected me and stated that there are a couple of policies that may be able to help you.

Give Steve a call at Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com) and see what he says

With the "voucher" you have $0 cost to insure. 

Side note: I completely understand what you're trying to say, but in the insurance world, your voucher has 0$ value. Just like when you book a flight using miles. The miles themselves have 0 value. As a matter of fact, when you fly using miles, the airline considers you a non-revenue passenger.

That doesn't mean that you can't purchase a travel insurance policy, which you should do now that you're booked, so you can get the medical and evac coverage. You just won't be able to recover the cost of the cruise should you cancel.

Did Op file a claim with their travel insurance for lost/misplaced/stolen baggage?

I do have Medjet Assist as a side backup alternative. Fortunately, I've not had to use it. A couple of requirements are that you have to be more than 150 miles from home, and you must have been admitted as an Inpatient at a "hospital". Clinic won't do. And there must be a serviceable airport nearby.

Have heard of a couple of disgruntled users where 1 was on a remote island that didn't have an airport nearby and another who was in a remote location who clearly needed evacuation but there were no "hospitals", only clinics and no licensed professional medical doctors. I can clearly understand the frustrations regarding the second example, but for me, I don't foresee my fat arse being that adventuresome or remote. 🤣

Make sure whatever travel insurance you decide to purchase waives pre-existing conditions. Cruise line travel protection policies do not waive preexisting conditions. The policy usually needs to be purchased within a short time after initial deposit.

8 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

This may have been your experience, however if you read the policies, they explicitly state that you must call the insurance company before seeking medical treatment unless it is impossible to do so.

 

 

Is this possibly a Candian rule or law?

I just went thru my TravelSafe policy (Purchased in Washington State in the US) with a fine-tooth comb and nowhere does it state the above.

The only place where it comes close to saying that is in the separate "Tip" sheet I got from TravelInsuranceStore, where they recommend that as soon as possible, notify the insurance company so that they may get involved to assist if necessary.

I’m sailing out of Europe in Aug 2025. 14 day cruise with 1 week precruise and 1 week post cruise.

Have already started my “thought & ideas” document. Researching possible hotels, transportation, excursion options, transportation options to next port should we miss the ship during a port stop, etc

Not sure what you're asking for.

If I don't take a flight that I've paid for, I don't earn the mileage. 

My advice would be to do better research and educate yourself better on what insurance does cover and more importantly, what insurance does not cover.

Here's a good link to begin that education

Travel Insurance Frequently Asked Questions « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Please do not make it sound like there are a lot of TAs who act like the one the OP unfortunately found himself booking with.

I think it's disingenuous to downplay what the OP experienced. As with any profession, there are bad actors out there and the first line of defense, I would think, would be that the good actors acknowledge that and then do everything in their power to ensure the bad actors get buried under the prison.

Went to Cancun during the pandemic. The resort (RIU) which is a Spanish (Spain) company offered a free medical insurance policy. I believe it was Helix (another Spanish/Spain company).

The policy did state that before going to a hospital, one of the requirements was that we had to notify the insurance company first.

As it turned out, my wife did require a hospital visit. (Trip and fall with broken wrist and facial lacerations). $3600 upfront payment required before treatment. The hospital did a great job. Because I wasn't thinking right due to the anxiety and more concerned about my wife, I failed to notify Helix prior to going to the hospital. They denied the claim. I was able to file a claim with my BCBS work policy which did have an international rider on the policy. They reimbursed about $2400.

Moral of the story, read and understand the policy. Maintain situational awareness during an emergency.

Have you heard of this program? It might be of some help with travel.

Air travel and the Sunflower (hdsunflower.com)

I always buy my insurance with the idea that in the event of a claim, the insurance company is going to do anything and everything to not pay the claim.

My wife and I have medical conditions that have not changed in the past couple of years. Therefore, under the definitions, these should not be pre-existing conditions. 

With that being said, I always follow the requirements necessary to ensure that I buy the insurance that includes the waiver for pre-existing conditions. Gives the insurance company one less reason to deny my claim.

I self-insure the cost of the trip but I do insure the potential unexpected medical emergency. I'm fortunate enough to be able to absorb the loss of the trip in case of needing to cancel. I cannot absorb the cost of emergency medical care due to a car accident, a moped accident, the zip line breaking, a stroke, tripping and falling down the Spanish Steps, etc.

I do this by limiting the amount of coverage under "Trip Costs".  Insurance companies price out their plans in $500 increments. I use the Trip Cost of $500. This way, should I miss a flight or so, I still receive 150% ($750) of trip cost under Trip Interruption or Trip Delay for hotel, meals, transportation, and still receive the max medical coverage of the policy. 

If pre-existing condition waiver is needed, some States require that you include 100% of all non-refundable expenses in the Trip Cost. Others do not.

I see that you're in your 50's and in good health. Good for you and I wish you nothing but good health. However, in the 50's is when I slowly started losing friends who were also in good health. Things happen to good people.

I'm not aware of one anymore. I know Nationwide was one but that stopped also.

Maybe someone else is aware of a company that still does.

Then again, maybe I'm not understanding what it is you want coverage for. Just the fact that the ship doesn't stop at a scheduled port.  Or you're looking for coverage for a non-refundable deposit you place on an independent excursion that you may not be able to take when the ship can't stop at a scheduled port.