Amsterdam Cabin Question

[vbmom87]

Hi

 

Thank you for all the advice. I just booked K 2604' date=' for the June 10th sailing.

 

I d have another question. the tour agency had two plans for insurance. Any advice

 

thanks

 

you can add Mary and Dar (Darlene) to roll call.

 

Off to book hotel and air. I plan to arrive on Tuesday. We have a friend in Seattle so not sure how long it will be there.

I also want a hotel downtown

 

Mary[/quote']

 

Wonderful news!!!! Enjoy your cruise. June is such a lovely month with all the daylight.

 

I do not buy trip insurance through my travel agency. I did it once, and found they really don't know travel insurance well. They simply sell it as an add on. When my sister was booking her trip, the agent told her she didn't need to buy the insurance until final payment of her cruise. I said, "excuse, me" we need pre-existing coverage. If I weren't with my sister, she would have listened to the TA.

 

I now book through an online company called the trip insurance store. You pay the same amount as you would buying direct with the insurance company. Your credit card is charged through the insurance company itself, not by the trip insurance store. The trip insurance store has wonderful online chat and phone support. They take the time to ask you questions and help you find the best plan for you. They keep in touch with you before your trip reminding you what to do if you have a problem and need to cancel. They are great!!! I prefer the online chat because it allows me to print out my conversation.

 

It would take me a lot of time to explain everything I have learned about travel insurance these last few years. I also half-joke that you need a Master's Degree to understand travel insurance. I will say, you do need to read a lot before you contact any insurance company. I suggest going to the tripinsurancestore website and just clicking on their many links. Give yourself a good block of time to do this. This is important, so that when you do go to buy your insurance, from whomever you decide, you now know what questions to ask.

 

Key with travel insurance is if you need pre-existing medical coverage. It won't cost you more, but you typically must purchase it within 7-21 days of putting down your very first trip deposit. One company (CSA) does allow you to purchase later. Pre-existing medical conditions is not only for you. It could be for your travel partner and anyone back home that has a pre-existing condition. If something happened to them around your trip time and you needed to cancel your trip, you would not get any reimbursement if your plan did not cover pre-existing conditions and this person had a pre-existing health situation that went awry.

 

Also, please research what is and is not covered. For example the recent civil unrest in Egypt is not covered by most travel insurance. I have a friend who had a tour planned to Egypt and with the civil unrest the tour was cancelled. SHe has not seen a penny of her money. She is a bit upset however, civil unrest is not covered under any of the normal plans I am aware of. If she had purchased "cancel for any reason" insurance, in her case, she could have gotten some money back. The percentage depends on the plan. Right now her only chance of getting some money back is if her tour agency will refund any money. So far they haven't. Even cancel for any reason insurance has its limitations. You typically must cancel prior to 48 hours of your trip. If the civil unrest happened a day or two before you are supposed to leave, it would not help you. Now, with Alaska this is not likely going to be an issue. I mention it because there are so many people who feel absolutely everything is covered with travel insurance and are shocked when they find out they are not covered for something when they decide to cancel their trip.

 

The trip insurance store sent me a letter before my last cruise reminding me that if I got sick at the last minute, I MUST see a doctor. Sometimes people get sick, decide to cancel since they have insurance. However, they don't go to the doctor. Guess what, you don't get reimbursed. So, please, learn what your plan covers and what it doesn't, so you are not surprised if something happens and you are not covered.

 

I don't mean to scare you, but you need to be a wise consumer. Also make sure that if your cruising partner has to cancel, but you still want to go on the trip, that the insurance will cover your increased price of the cabin. There was a long thread on this forum about that issue. It should not be a problem finding this kind of insurance, just ask the right questions.

 

My suggestion:

 

#1: Read all you can on this website:

 

http://www.tripinsurancestore.com/

 

#2: Contact the trip insurance store and ask your questions and try to find a good plan for you. As I said, I like chat so I can print out my conversation, but if you are slow on the computer, call them. They are wonderful.

 

#3: Choose someone to purchase through. If it is not the trip insurance store, then make sure you ask questions of the company you are choosing to buy from.

 

#4: Buy your insurance within the necessary time frame to cover what you want covered with the company you feel most comfortable dealing with. What I like about the trip insurance store, is I feel if I have any problems, I have someone to make sure that my claim is being properly handled. They will not handle the claim itself, but if the insurance company denies you, they will be able to look over things and decide if you were justly denied. Then they can be a laison for you if necessary.

 

 

In the end, I have decided the main reason I purchase travel insurance is for medical evacuation and possible medical transport back home. These are two situations that can run in the tens of thousands of dollars. I would not want to be socked with that kind of bill. I look for insurance that has minimally $50,000 coverage for medical evacuation.

 

Hopefully I haven't overhwelmed you. I have just been on these forums too long and have read of too many people upset with not be covered. However, they just didn't understand what is and what is not covered.

 

One last piece of advice for you:

 

Please, please, please, fly in minimally one day early, preferably two days. Stuff happens....summer storms, mechanical issues with planes, cancelled flights etc. The more time you have to reschedule, the better!!

 

If you have any other questions, I will do my best to answer them.

[fann1sh]

VBMom87, your post #51 is amazing! I've bookmarked a link to that single post.

 

It should be required reading for everyone before they book a cruise.

 

I couldn't find my link to the Trip Insurance Store quickly, so didn't mention it. Glad YOU did!

[catl331]

Key with travel insurance is if you need pre-existing medical coverage. It won't cost you more, but you typically must purchase it within 7-21 days of putting down your very first trip deposit.

 

Also, please research what is and is not covered. For example the recent civil unrest in Egypt is not covered by most travel insurance.

HAL's CPP Platinum cancel-for-any-reason ,which includes pre-existing medical coverage, can now be purchased as late as final payment date.

[vbmom87]

VBMom87, your post #51 is amazing! I've bookmarked a link to that single post.

 

It should be required reading for everyone before they book a cruise.

 

I couldn't find my link to the Trip Insurance Store quickly, so didn't mention it. Glad YOU did!

 

 

Thanks. I really need to take some time and compose something a little better written and just save it in a document and copy it when the question comes up now and then.

 

I just learned so much the last few years researching travel insurance. Travel insurance is good to have and they will pay relatively quickly from all I have read, as long as you are actually covered for what you think you should be. It has been a real eye-opener for me as to what is and what is not covered by travel insurnace.

 

Upon the recommendation of the tripinsurancestore I purchased through a different company this year. Apparantly the company I used to buy through would not reimburse us if my MIL (94 years old) became very ill before our trip and we felt the need to cancel. We were told that typically if you are not the caregiver of this person, they will not pay your losses if you cancel. Therefore they recommended we go with another company. Thing is, each time you buy insurance you need to check back, because what they covered last year, they may not cover this year.

 

This year I did some google searches for insurance company names and the word "complaints." I found an interesting post by someone who was never buying their insurance from this particular company again because they did not pay out. I don't remember the details, but I knew enough that no insurance company would have paid them under those circumstances. Like I told Watson's Aunt, it is important to really be a wise consumer and learn all you can before you attempt to buy travel insurance.

[vbmom87]

HAL's CPP Platinum cancel-for-any-reason ,which includes pre-existing medical coverage, can now be purchased as late as final payment date.

 

I would not purchase this plan. I have read too many issues with it.

 

I did mention in my post that CSA can be purchased later also.

[vbmom87]

Mary: You may also wish to subscribe to the general thread on the 14 day Alaska cruise on the Amsterdam. Here is the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1362580

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

The J's were gone I did not want the guarantee and thats all they had. I book the K 2604 for the June 10th cruise. Happy with my selection. I will take a minute or two to get out on deck but I am happy. thanks for advice

 

Mary

[vbmom87]

Hi

 

The J's were gone I did not want the guarantee and thats all they had. I book the K 2604 for the June 10th cruise. Happy with my selection. I will take a minute or two to get out on deck but I am happy. thanks for advice

 

Mary

 

I think you will enjoy the location of your cabin. It will be a great cruise for you!!

[fann1sh]

I think you will enjoy the location of your cabin. It will be a great cruise for you!!

 

Seconded!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would not purchase this plan. I have read too many issues with it.

 

I did mention in my post that CSA can be purchased later also.

 

we bought hal's platinum plan at final payment for our noordam cruise -- many insurance companies will not cover my dh as he has several pre-existing medical conditions

we had no idea that i would fall and fracture my wrist the night before we were to fly to ft lauderdale -- had absolutely no problems getting back our 90% -- in fact the monies showed up on my credit card within 5 days of the cancellation

[vbmom87]

we bought hal's platinum plan at final payment for our noordam cruise -- many insurance companies will not cover my dh as he has several pre-existing medical conditions

 

we had no idea that i would fall and fracture my wrist the night before we were to fly to ft lauderdale -- had absolutely no problems getting back our 90% -- in fact the monies showed up on my credit card within 5 days of the cancellation

 

I do not understand why you wouldn't get 100% back. With plans I have looked at, if I understand them correctly, if I were to have an unfortunate accident like yours and had to cancel my cruise, I would get 100% back of all non-refundable pre-paid costs.

 

As far as your DH, it was also my understanding that if you purchase within the required number of days (usually 7-21 depending on the plan), you will have pre-existing conditions covered. I also know enough, that the companies could have exceptions. However, I have read quite a few certificates of insurance....pages and pages.....all the fine print and I have not seen anything so far that would not allow certain conditions to be covered. However, I will be sure to ask the next time I purchase travel insurance.