Buy Princess travel insurance or not?

[aprilsp88]

Hi,

 

I wonder is the princess travel insurance better than others? I can only purchase it with the cruise fair.

 

Should I shop for travel insurance and add it on later?

 

Thanks,

April

[Kamloops50]

Never having bought cruise insurance from the cruise line .

I hear that you can get the same or better from other companies

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

I've learned my lesson in purchasing Travel insurance paying way too much. We've spend hundreds on insurance for nothing. I've actually called my personal insurance company and asked if I would be covered in case of an emergency on the cruise ship. Their answer was I would have to pay the fees out of pocket at first but they would reimburse me after my co-pay. Surprisingly they also stated that taking me off the ship via helicopter would even be covered. I'll pocket the money and spend it on excursions and eating at the specialty restaurants.

[rdsqrl]

I like it for the upgrade I get (due to being Platinum) to their Gold level which includes "cancel for any reason." I don't have any pre-existing conditions or weirdness that requires some exotic policy, so the Princess insurance has always been sufficient for my needs. However, nobody knows your situation but you; the only way to answer your question is for you to research what Princess offers, what other companies do (try insuremytrip.com) and think about what coverages and limits are important for you to have. In other words, homework!! Best of luck!

[magictam]

I've learned my lesson in purchasing Travel insurance paying way too much. We've spend hundreds on insurance for nothing. I've actually called my personal insurance company and asked if I would be covered in case of an emergency on the cruise ship. Their answer was I would have to pay the fees out of pocket at first but they would reimburse me after my co-pay. Surprisingly they also stated that taking me off the ship via helicopter would even be covered. I'll pocket the money and spend it on excursions and eating at the specialty restaurants.

 

Thank you for this information. I just checked with my health insurance. I'm also covered. I can spend more on DODs now :D

[Times Prince]

Hi,

 

I wonder is the princess travel insurance better than others? I can only purchase it with the cruise fair.

 

Should I shop for travel insurance and add it on later?

 

Thanks,

April

We have always bought Princess Travel insurance and enjoy being upgraded to the Platinum version automatically. We've read the coverage carefully and it is more than satisfactory for us.

 

It is a good deal for us and covers not only emergencies, but also if the ship is missed when using Princess Air. We had an event where it appeared we had missed the ship due to flight delays. They would have paid for air travel to the first major port (St. Thomas for us) and paid many $100's a day (more than we could spend) for hotel and meals.

 

All it takes is for one incident to really make travel insurance pay off.

[Bowie MeMe]

Just do your homework and know what the limits are especially with the evacuation insurance. Would not want to be "in hospital" at the nearest facility on some of our trips and paying upfront for later reimbursement can also be very problematic. I personally have yearly insurance for medical evacuation (Medjet Assist) and also have cancellation insurance from an independent company (Travel Guard and others).

 

One of our traveling group had surgery the day before a Med. cruise. She got about $6,000 dollars back for her $300 premium.

 

I have never used my life insurance, car insurance or fire insurance but I would not want to have to pay what it would cost to replace what those insure. I consider travel insurance part of the cost of trip unless I self-insure (cheap last minute trip or land trip with few pre-paid items).

 

Sure would like to have yearly travel insurance rather than by the trip.

[sackman]

not.

[bjs323x]

We have purchased Travel Guard travel insurance in the past and for our current cruise. It has equal or better coverage at a lower cost. Two biggest reasons to purchase for us is the ability to get a med-flight back to the US if the need arises. I've worked in healthcare for nearly 30 yrs and just don't want to risk needing medical care in most of the places we visit on cruises. The other reason is the protection of knowing we can cancel our cruise for any reason and get our $ back.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I think it depends on what you want covered. Because we have elderly parents, I want to be absolutely sure pre-existing conditions for other family members are covered, as well as emergency evacuation.

 

I've never bought cruise line insurance; I buy exactly the coverage I need privately.

 

We have had to cancel three trips (two of them cruises) because of family health problems and have always received our full amount back, less insurance costs.

 

You have to do some research and decide what coverage is best for you.

[TM]

We had to cancel our Alaskian cruise in June of 2008 on the morning of boarding the Star Princess. So instead of boarding the ship we were flying back home to California. My mother had taken ill and I needed to come home. We had travel insurance through Princess and got back our full fare minus the cost of the insurance. I wil never travel with out it. It's just not worth it to me.

[CruisinEars]

Just to let you know, you can add it on (or your ta if you are using one) at any point before final payment is due.

[BosoxI]

I now get the Princess coverage with the automatic Platinum upgrade for any cruise we take when it is scheduled months in advance. Too much can happen during the waiting period. Also, some side trips go to rather off beat places where a misstep can cause big problems. For a coming long cruise I had checked various insurance companies and to my surprise, Princess offered the best coverage at the best price. My TA says it's because they realized they were losing busness with their previous high rates. Who knows? I met a fellow on the Emerald 2 weeks ago who broke his leg in Mexico and had no insurance. $25K medivac back to Florida. Fortunately, as a retired serviceman, somehow the military fetched him back. Now he has a yearly policy of some sort. Good idea for those who are constantly on the go.

[frankathy]

If you are ourside the US most insurance companies will not pay. Be very specific when talking to them and give them the countries you will be traveling to.

We too take the Princess insurance for the free upgrade, but I also price Access America to see if their better policy is cheaper.

[WeBeGone]

We always take the Princess insurance as so far, it has been less expensive than Travel Guard. We get the automatic upgrade since we're elite. We book our cruises far in advance and buy insurance at the time of deposit so that we have no issues with pre-existing conditions.

Our stateside medical covers out of country expenses, but with a 10% co-pay, our Princess insurance covers that shortfall.

 

I don't think it matters what insurance you have, just have insurance!

[Maverick6969]

I am new to Princess (1st cruise with them scheduled for 7/10). I have not paid my final balance to my TA but do have Princess insurance included in the amount to be paid. After reading from several cc members talking about getting an automatic upgrade to Platinum coverage I was wondering how is this done? - very frequent passengar on Princess - booked in a Suite - other??? Thanks - just curious.

[jfv379]

I am new to Princess (1st cruise with them scheduled for 7/10). I have not paid my final balance to my TA but do have Princess insurance included in the amount to be paid. After reading from several cc members talking about getting an automatic upgrade to Platinum coverage I was wondering how is this done? - very frequent passengar on Princess - booked in a Suite - other??? Thanks - just curious.

 

Being a Platinum Captains Circle member gets you the free upgrade on insurance with Princess.

[sirwired]

You do have to be VERY careful in relying on your regular health insurance. My policy with my employer also covers international medical care BUT it is limited to "Usual and Prevailing" rates. I guarantee that even care on-board the ship far exceeds "Usual and Prevailing", which is probably set to the amount the insurance would pay my doc at home for the same service. If admitted to an overseas hospital, you also have the fun of your insurance company trying to read a bill written in a foreign language while deciding what they do and do not cover.

 

With specific travel insurance, you don't have to worry about messing around with the particulars of the bill, since it is all covered, period.

 

In addition, you get the flight delay insurance, baggage loss/delay, medical referral, etc.

 

For me, I get it primarily for the medical. I have enough resources to absorb the other costs, but not a medical emergency. If I could get a med-only policy, I would.

 

SirWired

[WeBeGone]

You can purchase the upgraded plan or, by virture of number of cruises, get it complimentry.

 

Go here for more info:

http://www.princess.com/learn/answer/pdf/Princess_Vacation_Protection.pdf

[KyRoamer]

I use insuremytrip.com. It gives me many choices. I have used Travelex lite because it provides primary coverage in areas that others do secondary only.

 

I never let a hotel, cruise line or airline write my insurance. I want independent coverage just in case of financial reverses. Remember a few years back that cruise line bankruptcies raised issues. Perhaps now they use separate undrwriters.

[Pam in CA]

Like several others who have posted, I always get the Princess insurance, for a couple of reasons. One is that I'm automatically upgraded to the premium package, another is that you can cancel for any reason, and finally, at my age, it's a lot less-expensive. If I get insurance independently, I have to pay a lot more due to my age, even though I'm in excellent health and active. We sometimes get cruiseline air with our cruises and it's covered so I don't have to get separate insurance for that.

 

As has been said, do your homework and make sure you're comparing comparable policies, i.e., make a checklist of what each policy covers, or doesn't cover, and use that to compare.

 

We see posts every now and then by someone who had to cancel at the last minute and didn't have insurance; they want their money back saying that the cruiseline can just re-sell their cabin. It doesn't work that way; there is a specific cancellation and penalty structure and that's what it is, no matter how sad or sorry your tale is.

 

We've seen posts where people missed connections and didn't have a passport to get to the next port, a death in the family, etc. If they were to give your money back, they'd be pissing off all the passengers who bought insurance. One of the few times I've seen anyone get their money back without insurance was a few years ago when a young couple, the husband recently returned from Iraq, were planning a cruise. The husband's leave was cancelled and he was suddenly called back just days before the cruise. Princess refunded their money and I applauded that gesture.

[billet]

My parents did not have insurance and got their money back when their ship ran aground in Alaska in 1994 just before embarkation day. It was very lucky since my mother had just broken her ankle and was unable to travel and my father was beside himself that he was about to lose all the money for the cruise. The angels must have been looking after him.

My mother is now 90 and now buys the much cheaper and automatically upgraded Princess Insurance as do I.

[Pam in CA]

My parents did not have insurance and got their money back when their ship ran aground in Alaska in 1994 just before embarkation day. It was very lucky since my mother had just broken her ankle and was unable to travel and my father was beside himself that he was about to lose all the money for the cruise. The angels must have been looking after him.

Bad for the ship, good for your parents. Obviously, this was an unusual "operational" cancellation by Princess and yes, if the cruise is cancelled, you'll get your money back whether you got insurance or not.

[Cruisin Bob]

One of the few times I've seen anyone get their money back without insurance was a few years ago when a young couple, the husband recently returned from Iraq, were planning a cruise. The husband's leave was cancelled and he was suddenly called back just days before the cruise. Princess refunded their money and I applauded that gesture.

 

Military can cancel a house lease if they are called up as there is a provision in federal law for these occasions. Can a military member cancel a one week rental on a cruise ship due to being called to duty or was Princess being nice (or afraid of bad publicity)?

[Pam in CA]

Military can cancel a house lease if they are called up as there is a provision in federal law for these occasions. Can a military member cancel a one week rental on a cruise ship due to being called to duty or was Princess being nice (or afraid of bad publicity)?

This was shortly after 9/11. Princess did it for good will and because of the circumstances, i.e., the husband going to Iraq.