Trip Insurance

[tnthudson]

Hello,

Looking at booking early for the 20% off on a Carnival Pride cruise July 18. My question is, is trip insurance worth it, in your opinions? I kind of hate to go without it, but my wife heard it could be a bunch of 'hooey.' :)

thanks

[WeBeGone]

We never cruise without insurance. Remember that your personal medical insurance may not cover you while on a ship or in a foreign county. A single visit to the ship's doctor can cost upwards of $500, which must be paid immedistely. At least with insurance you can file a claim to get it reimbursed. Also, should you or someone in the family have an illness that prevents you from travel, your cruise fare is protected. Most insurances also cover trip interruption, lost baggage, etc.

 

Insurance is your call depending on how much money you're prepared to lose or costs to incur. If you visit the Princess site, there's a thread going about how a man got sick on the last morning of the cruise, and 3 weeks later is still in the hospital. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1126627 He has Princess insurance and so far his "bill" is upwards of $5000,000.

 

Is insurance "hooey"? NO

Should you buy it? YES

[Gonzo70]

If you already have health insurance, see if your current insurance covers you for emergency medical care out of the country, including medical air evacuation off the ship. If so, you might not need to purchase travel insurance. If not, travel insurance would be prudent, as if you have an emergency at sea and need to be air evacuated, you could easily be looking at $25,000 or more.

[fann1sh]

There are two basic types of insurance people book for cruises.

 

One covers things like trip cancellation/lost baggage/trip interruption. One example: you have a death in the family, and now want to cancel your cruise at the last minute. Another example: you break a leg just before a cruise, and can't go. Yet another: your flight is cancelled, and you can't get to the ship before it sails.

 

If you have trip insurance, you can get compensation for these problems.

 

Many people would rather gamble and "roll the dice", and risk losing the money they paid for their vacation. Your choice - your risk.

 

The other kind of insurance is out of country medical insurance, and medical evacuation. A few people (very, very few) are covered by their medical insurance worldwide.

 

The majority of us are in deep trouble if we fall ill or break a leg in a foreign country, and need medical treatment. Many places (eg: Mexico) want cash in advance.

 

If this happens to you, and you have no out of country medical insurance, you may lose your life savings and your house. If that money still won't cover your bills, your family members who come to your rescue may lose their life savings, and their houses.

 

That's not a gamble - that's just plain stupid. This is the kind of problem WeBeGone is referring to.

 

Here's another recent thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121463

 

Please make sure you're covered for out of country medical, and medical evacuation before taking your cruise.

 

(I think Gonzo70's estimate of medevac is conservative. Most policies cover $50 - 100 K.)

[6rugrats]

Hello,

Looking at booking early for the 20% off on a Carnival Pride cruise July 18. My question is, is trip insurance worth it, in your opinions? I kind of hate to go without it, but my wife heard it could be a bunch of 'hooey.' :)

thanks

All insurance seems like a "bunch of hooey" until you need it.

 

It's a minimal cost for a lot of peace of mind. Purchase the insurance, just don't purchase through the cruiseline.

[thinfool]

Hello,

Looking at booking early for the 20% off on a Carnival Pride cruise July 18. My question is, is trip insurance worth it, in your opinions? I kind of hate to go without it, but my wife heard it could be a bunch of 'hooey.' :)

thanks

 

9 cruises, always had it, 1 cruise we needed it and it more than paid for itself.

 

Possible financial consequences without it are crushing. Do the research.

 

Don't buy it from the cruise line. 3rd party is cheaper and includes more coverage. (http://www.insuremytrip.com)

 

Anyone who calls it 'hooey' has never needed it.

 

I am sure that there is no small number of folks delayed by recent weather events who were late or missed their sailing. They will, for sure, wish they had insurance. Not to mention possible accidents in a foreign country and health problems that may arise during your trip. Visits to the ships infirmary are not free.

 

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[grandmato4]

First, can you afford to loose the cost of your vacation IF you need to cancel for what would be a covered reason if you had insurance?

 

Do you have health insurance that will cover you outside the country AND cover a medical evaculation if you should need one? Or can you afford to pay out of your pocket what even under a minor medical problem could easily turn out to be several thousand dollar bill? and Hundreds of thousand dollars IF a major medical problem?

 

 

No one plans to have a medical emergency while on a vacation but they do happen and when they do they are expensive and YOU will be responsible for covering the entire cost yourself if your own medical insurance does not pay out of country or you did not purchase travel insurance. There is a recent thread I beleive on the Carnival board about a woman who did not purchase insurance and was on a cruise and had a medical emergency finding herself in a hospital in Mexico very ill. She had to pay her bill before she could leave the hospital AND had to find a way home while still very ill on her own. Another recent Princess thread tells about a man who became very ill unexpectly toward the end of his cruise. He is still in the hospital in FLL. The thread tells about the cost incurred while still on the ship which was covered under his travel insurance but would NOT have been covered under his regular medical insurance that did kick in after he reached US soil.

 

Purchasing any insurance is a gamble. Never purchase insurance until you understand what you are and are not purchasing. Many of those people that complain after something happens that they were not covered would have known they would not be covered if they had taken the time to read and ask questions and understand BEFORE they purchased their insurance.

 

Purchasing insurance may seem like "hooey" before anything goes wrong and may still feel like "hooey" when everything goes as planned but when things go wrong, which they do totally unexpectedly, that hooey quickly turns into either a very expensive horror story if you don't purchase insurance or an extremely grateful experience that one did buy the insurance. Good luck!

[tnthudson]

Great, thanks for the good answers! I appreciate it.

[tnthudson]

Thinfool, thanks for the link! Very nice site!

[Cuizer2]

Hello,

Looking at booking early for the 20% off on a Carnival Pride cruise July 18. My question is, is trip insurance worth it, in your opinions? I kind of hate to go without it, but my wife heard it could be a bunch of 'hooey.' :)

thanks

 

You will have to decide if the risk is something you are willing to take. Insurance is something you buy to reduce risk and stress. Is your home insured? Is your car insured? Do you have medical insurance? Do you have life insurance.

 

What risks are you taking. What if you were in a car accident a few days before the cruise. Are you willing to just throw the money you spent on the cruise away? What if you get injured while on the cruise. Can you afford the medical care? Do you want medical care in a foreign country? Evacuations cost big buck$. Can you afford that?

 

Hopefully you will not have to use the insurance if you buy it. But if you don't buy it and you need it, you will be much worse off. Are you willing to take that risk?

[lisakay927]

I'm going on a cruise w/my 2 sons in June and am definitely interested in purchasing travel insurance. I'm looking for a quality company that will cover the cost of my entire trip (cruise, airfare, hotel, etc.) if I need to cancel at the last minute. I have read through some of the replies and saw www.insuremytrip.com is a recommended site to start with. Any other suggestions?

[fann1sh]

I'm going on a cruise w/my 2 sons in June and am definitely interested in purchasing travel insurance. I'm looking for a quality company that will cover the cost of my entire trip (cruise, airfare, hotel, etc.) if I need to cancel at the last minute. I have read through some of the replies and saw www.insuremytrip.com is a recommended site to start with. Any other suggestions?

 

http://www.squaremouth.com/

 

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/

[tillys mom]

Just so you will know it can happen to anyone, I will add my sad tale. Eight days before we were to sail on Celebrity to Scandinavia and Russia in 2008, I fell at work and shattered my left arm. I ended up in the hospital for 5 days and had surgery to put in a plate and 17 screws. It took weeks to get over the surgery and months of rehab to get back to normal. The day after surgery I called my TA who had arranged my insurance and he took care of everything. I got all my money back including air. It actually took longer to get the cruiseline to refund the cost of tours I didn't take.

I'll never be without insurance, but then I'm no gambler.

[erdoran]

We never cruise without insurance. Remember that your personal medical insurance may not cover you while on a ship or in a foreign county. A single visit to the ship's doctor can cost upwards of $500, which must be paid immedistely. At least with insurance you can file a claim to get it reimbursed. Also, should you or someone in the family have an illness that prevents you from travel, your cruise fare is protected. Most insurances also cover trip interruption, lost baggage, etc.

 

Insurance is your call depending on how much money you're prepared to lose or costs to incur. If you visit the Princess site, there's a thread going about how a man got sick on the last morning of the cruise, and 3 weeks later is still in the hospital. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1126627 He has Princess insurance and so far his "bill" is upwards of $5000,000.

 

Is insurance "hooey"? NO

Should you buy it? YES

 

Not to make light of his medical condition but most of his bill is for US hospitals, which would be covered by his US health insurance, right?

 

Trip insurance is a tremendously profitable business because (in my opinion, no data) not that many people ever collect on it...but when you need it, you NEED IT!

[thlady]

I always purchase travel insurance for any trip outside the US as we have no medical insurance outside the US. It has always given me peace of mind as I have an elderly parent. The first time I needed to file a claim, TravelEX rejected it completely on the grounds of pre-existing condition.

 

We booked a European cruise through Carnival nearly 2 years out so I did not purchase travel insurance right away. Carnival changed the ship and date of the cruise 3 times. Meanwhile, my son was later diagnosed with leukemia, had a stem cell transplant and was on the road to recovery, we thought. He was feeling pretty good and I finally started to think about going on this trip so I purchased our trip insurance through TravelEX. Guess I didn't understand pre-existing conditions is not just for the traveler but ANY family member. To make a long story short, the day we were to fly to Rome we had to fly to Houston to take my son for treatment as his cancer had relapsed. He died several weeks later in Houston. After dealing with all this, we learned that TravelEX rejected our claim based on pre-existing condition so we lost our entire trip plus the lousy $144 we paid them for their worthless insurance.

 

The lesson I learned is to buy the insurance right after booking but I'm still not sure if my Mom has a heart attack that prevents us from travelling if my trip will be re-imbursed as she's been a heart patient for years. Also, my husband has high cholesterol and high blood pressure and takes meds. So I guess he has a pre-existing condition, too. Doesn't everyone have some sort of pre-exisitng condition?

[Cuizer2]

I always purchase travel insurance for any trip outside the US as we have no medical insurance outside the US. It has always given me peace of mind as I have an elderly parent. The first time I needed to file a claim, TravelEX rejected it completely on the grounds of pre-existing condition.

 

We booked a European cruise through Carnival nearly 2 years out so I did not purchase travel insurance right away. Carnival changed the ship and date of the cruise 3 times. Meanwhile, my son was later diagnosed with leukemia, had a stem cell transplant and was on the road to recovery, we thought. He was feeling pretty good and I finally started to think about going on this trip so I purchased our trip insurance through TravelEX. Guess I didn't understand pre-existing conditions is not just for the traveler but ANY family member. To make a long story short, the day we were to fly to Rome we had to fly to Houston to take my son for treatment as his cancer had relapsed. He died several weeks later in Houston. After dealing with all this, we learned that TravelEX rejected our claim based on pre-existing condition so we lost our entire trip plus the lousy $144 we paid them for their worthless insurance.

 

The lesson I learned is to buy the insurance right after booking but I'm still not sure if my Mom has a heart attack that prevents us from travelling if my trip will be re-imbursed as she's been a heart patient for years. Also, my husband has high cholesterol and high blood pressure and takes meds. So I guess he has a pre-existing condition, too. Doesn't everyone have some sort of pre-exisitng condition?

 

If you purchase the insurance within the pre-existing waiver window, the company will not be able to use the pre-existing conditions exclusion.

 

Also, the pre-existing condition has to be related to the reason for the cancellation. If someone has a pre-existing heart condition, and is in a serious accident the day before the cruise, unrelated to the heart condition, then the pre-existing condition would not come into play.

[gar1096]

I always use AIG Travel Guard (book on my own..same product many TA's offer) and always take advantage of the pre-existing condition waiver. I don't know how it is with any other plan BUT TO OBTAIN ANY KIND OF PRE EXISTING CONDITION WAIVER (with AIG) YOU MUST PURCHASE THE INSURANCE WITHIN 15 DAYS OF THE INITIAL TRIP DEPOSIT! And from other posts you can see that just about any excuse to NOT pay your claim they will take it. I have never had a claim. I also make sure that any Medical Evacuation is to THE HOSPITAL OF MY CHOICE (home) not merely the "nearest adequate medical facility". The first time I booked with AIG I called and they answered all my questions. Their web site is easy to use and presents you with several options based on your input. They even offer ANNUAL travel plans (which pay off if you take more than 3 vacations a year..thats ALL vacations not just cruises...). You really need to be an informed consumer and read the fine print on the plans, and ASK QUESTIONS. The coverage is cheap in my opinion for the peace of mind it provides. :D

[brown's fan 1]

What if you make a deposit for a future cruise while on a cruise? Do you need to purchase the insurance within 2 weeks to get the pre-exisitng condition waiver? We put a deposit on a cruise for April of 2011 while on a cruise in Jan. of 2010. But because we were told that we could cancel the new cruise and move the deposit around for up to 4 years, we did not buy insurance. Now what to do? I don't supose travel insurance is refundable. We may take this cruise in 2011 but we may not.

[gar1096]

What if you make a deposit for a future cruise while on a cruise? Do you need to purchase the insurance within 2 weeks to get the pre-exisitng condition waiver? We put a deposit on a cruise for April of 2011 while on a cruise in Jan. of 2010. But because we were told that we could cancel the new cruise and move the deposit around for up to 4 years' date=' we did not buy insurance. Now what to do? I don't supose travel insurance is refundable. We may take this cruise in 2011 but we may not.[/quote']

 

Thats my suggestion. If not perhaps you can cancel and immediately re-book (with a non-cruise agent?) or maybe ask the cruise line as far as the insurance they offer...

[thinfool]

What if you make a deposit for a future cruise while on a cruise? Do you need to purchase the insurance within 2 weeks to get the pre-exisitng condition waiver? We put a deposit on a cruise for April of 2011 while on a cruise in Jan. of 2010. But because we were told that we could cancel the new cruise and move the deposit around for up to 4 years' date=' we did not buy insurance. Now what to do? I don't supose travel insurance is refundable. We may take this cruise in 2011 but we may not.[/quote']

 

Was this a Future Cruise Credit on Princess? Or did you actually apply it to a particular cruise/itinerary?

 

If it is just a FCC, then it is not a "deposit", it is a Future Cruise Credit to be applied in the future when you firm up your plans for a particular cruise. Then it would be a deposit. :D

 

However, if you are in doubt, call the insurance company or a good TA and ask.

[brown's fan 1]

The cruise is on HAL. But I just looked at the invoice and the deposit is not called a deposit but has a code number as its name. So I will call HAL and my TA tomorrow. Thanks very much for the advice and the insight.

[S_cruiser]

Hello,

Looking at booking early for the 20% off on a Carnival Pride cruise July 18. My question is, is trip insurance worth it, in your opinions? I kind of hate to go without it, but my wife heard it could be a bunch of 'hooey.' :)

thanks

 

Travel insurance is like any insurance....seems like money going down the drain unless you need it and use it. We have gotten insurance on every cruise and have used it 3 times....once for a medical treatment on the ship and twice for last minute cancellations due to family emergencies. Each time wewere glad that we had it. I wouldn't do a cruise without it.

[heels/colts]

is there anything wrong with just getting the cruise ship travel insurance on carnaval for 7 day 79.00 a person has anyone done this

[erdoran]

is there anything wrong with just getting the cruise ship travel insurance on carnaval for 7 day 79.00 a person has anyone done this

Cruise insurance is based on the price of the cruise, it isn't flat rate!

[bluejbird]

Hi,

This is my first post. I plan on taking an Alaskan Cruise in May on the Diamond Princess. I haven't purchased trip insurance yet, didn't really plan on getting it from the cruise line, but may have missed my opportunity to purchase it elsewhere due to purchase windows. Anyway, my question is this: If my cabin mate has travel insurance and then cancels their trip, let's say because they change their mind, would I be hit with a single supplement? Has anyone had experience with this situation?

 

Thanks for your help