klfrodo
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Do not use/trust Norwegian flight promotion
klfrodo replied to fun1367's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
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. -
I'm just going to share my experience with you. 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.
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Disclaimer first. As a veteran, I was not aware of this program and just now ran across it on YouTube. I would never recommend that you count on this as a substitute to a good travel insurance policy. However, if you are an expat living in another country and a service-connected disabled veteran or, your travel insurance policy doesn't reimburse you 100% of your out-of-pocket medical expense, this might be something you want to consider and research further. I am providing a link to Part 1. I'll leave finding Part 2 up to you.
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I used to use my iWatch also but ran into the same contortion issue. I just rely on my phone now. @ldubs I would be interested in hearing your experience with using Delta's Digital ID when you complete your travels. I did find this YouTube video
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If I've learned anything on my 20+ years on this board, it doesn't take long for people to jump on and poopoo new innovations or creative ideas. From assigning a crew member to dispense soft serve ice cream to advances in technology. Then again, I can't think of anything better than polite discourse. Personally, I embrace advances in technology and fully support going digital with biometrics, facial recognition, and yes, even boarding passes, passports, hotel reservations, public transportation, and entry/exit visas. My wife on the other hand, loves having hard copies. I usually have everything digital and she has the hard copies. Yes, we've bailed each other out a few times.
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How would one know that? Thats a very good question. Most of us know that because the first time we ran across the problem, we stood in the wrong line at the wrong counter and found out the hard way. Then, we shared our experience and newfound knowledge with others such as this forum.
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We had a small group tour this past summer at the Harry Potter Studio near London. Many times, there would be people not part of the group who would listen in which wasn't really a problem. However, if they continued to follow as the tour moved on, or they would try to push their way in to get closer, the Studio employees would gently inform them that this was a private tour, and they would generally get embarrassed (because they didn't know it was private) and move on.
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Here's what I can say about my recent experience using Digital ID. My trip was to Mexico (Cabo) on Alaska Airlines. I download the Airside App (at Alaska Airlines suggestion) On the Airside App, I uploaded my passport. I uploaded my Washington State Enhanced driver's license. I even uploaded my vaccination records. I then told Airside that I give them permission to send document verification to Alaska Airlines (along with my confirmation code) 72 hours prior to departure. When I arrived at SEATAC, all hard copy documentation went into my carry-on. When I checked in, Alaska had all my documents electronically. Did not have to show hard copy of anything. When we went to TSA, I opened the Airside app and created a 1 time QR code. TSA read the QR code, and I passed thru security. At the gate, there was a huge line of people where the gate agents were visually checking passports. When the line dies down, I approached and asked if I needed to be verified, they checked their records and said No. I was already verified. The technology is out there. Are there bugs? Of course there are, it's new. Will it become more advanced and utilized more? Of course. Technology is always moving forward. It wasn't that long ago that mobile boarding passes were a new thing. I remember being turned away at TSA at DFW for my return flight to SEA because DFW didn't have the ability to capture mobile boarding pass information. I had to get out of line, to get a hard copy boarding pass.
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Well Hank, you took my initial post way past its intentional thought process. I was limiting my intentions to cruises within WHTI. I just used this process of Digital ID to depart the US (nobody saw my hardcopy passport) to Mexico. In Mexico, we did have to show hard copy passport to enter. When returning, it was all biometric. Passports never came out of my carryon. Can't think of any reason why I couldn't jump on a cruise ship in Miami and do a 7-day cruise around the Caribbean with just a Digital ID other than the cruise lines would need to adapt the technology. They are already beginning the process with biometric scanners. I remember my father telling me that his dad tore up his Buck Rogers comic book because space travel was science fiction. (Unfortunately, grandpa passed a couple of months before Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon.) I remember my father telling me that a computer will never be small enough to fit in your house. And now, I hear you telling me that the world is too big for Digital ID and paperless travel. I disagree. I think we're 10 years away for 80% of our worldwide travel needs. To include any visa's, ETIAS, ETA, or any other Entry/Exit program.
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Since TSA now accepts Digital ID, and airlines now accept Digital ID as proof of valid passport prior to boarding an international flight,,, I’m wondering when cruise lines will accept Digital ID at check in for boarding.
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Thanks for the correction
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I'm not Steve and I'm sure he will correct me if I'm wrong. My research tells me that GeoBlue Trekker is "Secondary", which means that they will reimburse you after your other policies either pay or deny. Therefore, you would file an initial claim with your Medicare policy, wait for the denial letter, then file the claim with GeoBlue. What I've done in the past when I had a claim that I knew would be denied by my Medicare plan was to put in the claim that I understood that it would be denied and asked them to expedite the denial so I could initiate my claim with the secondary insurance. That did seem to hurry them along with the denial letter. I think I had the denial within a couple of weeks.
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My thought is that this is exactly why one uses a broker to help us understand the intricacies of travel insurance. I would think that with this scenario, you're now getting into the nitty gritty of the terms and conditions that few of us know let alone understand. Two policies that now put you in the middle of fighting over which policy has priority in each and every conceivable instance. Maybe one has hidden language that says something about they don't work with other insurance policies. The laws of each and every State, Province, Country all working against the consumer. Sure, it will get worked out eventually but that could be years down the road. The time and energy it takes to file a claim, knowing or not knowing that the policy MUST receive a denial from various policies before you have to file again with a different company so they can deny, to file with a 3rd, to receive partial reimbursement, so you can go back to the 1st or 2nd, to receive another partial. Why not just pay a little more initially, to get 1 policy that is Primary and get it over with.
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If I just HAD to be BACK that day, I'd feel comfortable with the 12:15 flight.
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Good reminder not to share your travel info on the internet
klfrodo replied to kctwinmommy's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
Yes and thanks to you, I just updated and made some changes in my profile security settings. -
Good reminder not to share your travel info on the internet
klfrodo replied to kctwinmommy's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
You are correct and everyone should do this. There are backdoors to this though. One could look thru your friends list, find a family member, follow the family members posts where they inadvertently talk about you going on vacation or sharing other information about you. Looking thru their pictures to find family gatherings at your house etc. Of course this is worst case scenario, but we all share too much. -
Good reminder not to share your travel info on the internet
klfrodo replied to kctwinmommy's topic in Carnival Cruise Lines
I think this is a good opportunity to educate people on social media as a whole. We put too much personal information out there to include myself. Albeit I am aware of it and trying to do better. There is a name for it. Something about Open Source Intelligence. I've been on this board since it was an AOL chat room. Over those years, it is likely that I've given out so much information that a rouge actor could piece meal my information and know way too much about me. Even FB sometimes has those games where you share the name of your first pet, or your first car, or maybe your high school. Well, for most of us, those could be our security questions that some websites ask in case you need to change your password. So, just be aware and don't give out too much information.- 258 replies
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Haven't heard of an exception but that doesn't mean there are not work arounds. But let's ask ourselves why there may be hard limits. Insurance & liability. Since this is a ship sponsored excursion, this means that Carnival has vetted, researched, and received guidance from their legal team about this activity. Carnival has probably been advised that there needs to be an age limit to protect themselves from liability after consultation with the insurance company. What could be a work around? Investigate further to see if you can find the vendor that Carnival is using. You "might" be able to book directly with them to get around the age limit.
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Cruise is booked, now for insurance....
klfrodo replied to cthrn27's topic in Cruise/Travel Insurance
@CDNPolar Must be a Canadian thing. I've currently have a policy locked in for a trip that is more than a year out. The trip is for August 2025. I locked in the policy in April 2023 to ensure I get the pre-existing condition waiver. -
Interesting question. I highlighted the above section regarding the default. My policy from the US has a "definition" embedded in the policy for the word "default" (can't copy & paste) It basically defines it as total cessation of operations due to insolvency with or without the filing of a bankruptcy petition..... My initial thoughts would be there is some kind of recovery process but not under the default provision. The cruise was canceled for other reasons than the company insolvency probably. Looking forward to hearing others thoughts.
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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
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Cruise is booked, now for insurance....
klfrodo replied to cthrn27's topic in Cruise/Travel Insurance
I'll give my experience and maybe a couple of suggestions. I look at travel insurance as a risk sharing venture. Not that I want to lose money or give it away, but what can I afford to lose vs. what can I not even attempt to risk. Airfare - If I have to cancel do I lose it all or will my airline just give me a credit I can use for future flight? Hotel - Instead of pre-paying, can I just make the reservation and pay when I get there? Cruise - Can I afford to eat the cost of the cruise if something comes up? Medical/Evacuation - Can I afford to pay up front for any medical emergency that may arise and then transportation back home? Myself? Fortunately, I'm in a place where I can risk everything but the medical. Medical can bankrupt me. Therefore, I share the risk for any potential medical emergency. The rest, I self-insure. In your case (and we don't know much about you), you can buy the insurance now and then as known additional cost that you want to insure are finalized, you can call the insurance company to increase your coverage. But also know that if you require any pre-existing medical condition waivers or a Cancel for any Reason rider, you may be required to cover ALL nonrefundable costs. The need for this is based on the rules and regulations of the state you reside in. -
Just be educated on exactly what cruise line air arrangements are and more importantly, what they are not. Many many people find that cruise line air arrangements make travel simpler and more affordable. However, there can be pitfalls if one is not aware. Myself? I might consider cruise air when all my miles run out for international travel. It's not even a consideration for domestic travel. The following link provides great information about cruise line air and deviation. The thread is old but still relevant today.
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NCL won't sell Essentials Travel Protection to Canadians
klfrodo replied to Joyriderbc's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Actually for Canadians, the correct URL is Travel Insurance - Quote, Compare & Buy - InsureMyTrip.ca