klfrodo

Now that I see it's an Alaska cruise, I'm rethinking the whole thing. If I were in your shoes, I would drop the Airline insurance (if that's even possible) I would keep NCL because CFAR seems important to you. (Thinking that if you have all this insurance will get you back 100% of your money is an unrealistic situation in my opinion). NCL CFAR policy allows you to cancel up until scheduled sailing date and time. Allianz probably requires you to cancel 48 hours prior to scheduled sailing. NCL medical is seconday anyway. What that means is that you'll have to file with your BCBS first. Alaska has first rate hospitals up and down SE Alaska.

I initially was going to stay away from offering my opinion just due to what I perceive as a very complicated situation. My experience and reading of the Airline Allianz policy (and almost all airlines that I've dealt with sell the same policy) is that there are very limited circumstances that they actually cover. Also, in my experience, the airlines are very easy to work with when circumstances do arise. Especially if you have status and especially if you are polite when needing their empathy and assistance in resolving an issue. If you read the policy regarding the NCL policy, I believe the cruise is when your policy begins and ends coverage. It doesn't cover the 3 days of travel prior or the days post cruise. I purchase a policy that begins when I lock the front door and ends when I step back into my house. I used to have an Employer group medical policy that did include an international rider, however, after asking very specific questions, I decided that it was woefully insufficient for what I felt comfortable with. Therefore, I still purchase a plan that includes medical as primary and repatriation of remains. Now, to answer your question of is this a good plan? That's on you. If you're happy and it meets your needs? Then go for it. Everyone's needs and expectations are different. Travel Insurance is not designed to cover any and every possible situation that may arise. One has to decide for themselves what level of risk they want to assume and what level of risk they want to share with insurance. For me? I'd go a different route.

That's a fair concern. My experience in life is that nothing will ever be the same as it was. Even just pre-pandemic. The only thing constant in life is change. I guess the question back is are you flexible enough to accept the changes that come in life?

Here's a link that may help you decide if your husbands current and future health concerns are insurable under a waiver for pre-existing conditions. How Travel Insurance Pre-Existing Medical Condition Coverage Works « Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com) Here is some more information Will Travel Insurance Cover My Scheduled Surgery? (tripinsurancestore.com) Hope this helps and we all wish nothing but the best for your husband.

Many of these requirements are regulated by the State of your residency not necessarily by the Insurance company you use. My state doesn't require these stipulations when purchasing a policy that waives pre-existing conditions.

The better question is what are the possible pitfalls. I recommend going to the Cruise Air section of Cruise Critic and reading the thread I will link to. It is old and very long, but the information is very good and still relevant. After reading the thread you can make a more educated decision.

I'll ask the question. Why buy insurance now? For the cancellation part? Question I would ask myself would be if I wasn't concerned before then why now? If you did have to cancel, how much are you going to lose, and would it financially debilitate you if you lost that money? For the medical? Alaska has very good hospitals should something happen. Since it's in the US, your medical insurance works as well in Alaska as it does in Texas. If you need to be evacuated from the ship, that is free because it would be done by the US Coast Guard. If you then needed to be evacuated again, then your medical insurance would cover just as if you needed an ambulance. These are just some questions I would ask myself this late in the game. Personally, I don't insure Alaska trips. Caribbean, European, Mexico? Yes. Alaska? No.

Thank you for the clarification.

The bolded portion of your answer is what I'm asking for clarification on. Me crossing at Blaine, I could cross with my Washington State EDL. Can a person with an EDL cross the border by Ferry or on Amtrak?

Just questioning for clarification if I may. EDL is only good for "Driving" across the border, right? Since this passenger is returning by vessel, wouldn't this US Citizen passenger be required a passport card at a minimum if driving back to Michigan or a Passport book if flying back.

Can you do it? Maybe Does doing that fall within the spirit and intent of the policy. No

Wasn't my experience on my Carnival Freedom cruise on March 26th 2022 out of Miami. Since we were Suite Platinum guest, we went straight to our cabin, retrieved our room key from the mailbox, immediately went to our Muster station to check in, then went and got our first drink.

No it wasn't. Everything was in the app. First check in person asked if we had verify, showed the app that everything was completed and off we went to the second stage where they verified passport and completed boarding pass on the app. Next was boarding where the app QR code for boarding pass was scanned on the ship we went.

The S gates, or South Terminal, is the international terminal at SEA. Rarely, there are domestic Alaska Airlines flights that will use the South terminal and that is when there is construction that is tying up some of the Alaska gates. The entry/escalators to get to the underground train that runs to the South terminal is in the "A" concourse. Should be easy to find. I would estimate the time to be less than 10 minutes casually walking.

The example I'm looking at is long haul and in particular BA288 and BA193. (Yes, I could probably figure this out if I wanted to pay to upgrade my FlightAware) Anyway, this route is LHR to PHX and PHX back to LHR. Is this just 1 single plane (A350) that flies this same route day after day after day except for required maintenance? Or is this separate aircraft that rotates through?

Playmakers will have the games.

I'm guessing that Carnival no longer works with Verifly? That's what I used but that was during the Covid days. That electronic check in and verification worked very well.

Depends. If using the phone is too confusing for you and slows the process, then paper. However, if you are organized and adept at using electronic devices, then go electronic. Myself, I'm electronic all the way. My wife hauls around hard copy backups wherever and whenever possible.

Sounds like a roll of the dice. Are you going to accept the results if the dice come up snake eyes?

As an air ticket purchased from the cruise line, you have a consolidator ticket. The rules and restrictions on your ticket are completely different than a ticket purchased directly from the airline. That’s one reason why they are cheaper. You won’t know the rules and restrictions associated with your ticket until it’s actually issued. But, to answer your question, if it is possible to upgrade, waiting until the day of travel would be my last option.

Not going to share for others to know in the future?

Any or all the above. Gotta ask though, what are they going to do with the catch? Pay to ship it home?

why wouldn't you expect to show a certain level of gratitude for services rendered? Especially if you're in a Cabana.

You may wish to call and double check that. I have the same card and that is not my understanding. Also, this link appears to indicate that pre-existing conditions are not covered. Chase Sapphire Reserve Card: Travel Insurance Benefits [2023] (upgradedpoints.com) You also indicate that your Medicare Supplement plan covers you internationally. Again, I would double check. Many of these plans do provide coverage, but they max out with a "lifetime" amount of only $50K.

As I've grown older and my resources have grown, I no longer worry about the "Comprehensive" portion of the travel insurance. I can absorb the cost of the cruise or land vacation. It's the medical portion that could put me into bankruptcy. Therefore, I only purchase the medical, evacuation, & repatriation portion of the policy. For $35pp I get $100K of primary medical and $250K of evacuation.