Cruise Insurance - Yes or No?

[packyourpixiedust]

The post just above yours said, "Emergency last minute surgery" can we cancel. The answer to that (if you are past the point of final payment) is yes, you can cancel, but you will lose all of your money. So, buy insurance. You are spending all of that money on the cruise- a few hundred more will give you piece of mind. And buy the insurance from an independent company and include your airfare. Like someone else posted, I like travel guard. You need to purchase it within 10-14 days depending on the company to avoid a pre-existing condition problem... I was just reading a guys review- they were in their 50's, healthy couple, the wife had some weirdness in her chest - they left the medical facility owing $1000.00. Their trip insurance will cover that...

[Kellie Poodle]

IMHO, buying insurance is a choice, each of us is free to do what we think best. On our Alaska cruise a few years ago, two people were airlifted off the ship, and one was taken off by ambulance boat. Since this type of evacuation can cost in the multiple thousands of dollars, I feel the need to insure, even if the probability is remote that the same thing could happen to DH or me.

 

 

If you want medical evacuation coverage, buy a MedJet Assist policy.

 

Don't EVER rely on Travel Guard to evacuate you. I did (with an expensive policy) and they wouldn't. Want to know who made the medical decisions? It was a paramedic! They would not even talk to our personal physician back in the US who tried to contact them.

 

I will never use Travel Guard and I do not recommend them. They might be fine for small claims but when I needed them, they did everything they could to weasel out of the contract.

[Logger1]

Hi,

 

I am trying to decide whether to purchase cruise insurance. I still have 9 months before we cruise on Celebrity to Hawaii this November. Should we be using Celebrity's Cruise Care insurance or purchase our own through insuremytrip.com. Celebrity's is about $100 more than the cheapest policy I am looking at through insuremytrip. Anybody have a preference. Is it better to use Celebrity's since we cruising through them?

 

I was 59 and retired. Thought I take my wife for a cruise. I was going to be our first ever. I bought insurance for entire trip 6 months before. Two months after booking I notice blurred vision in right eye. I was imformed I had neo Vascular glaucoma. I was getting shots right up to the day before we were to leave home. Instead of boarding ship for cruise, I boarded a stretcher to get a valve inserted behind my eye and there went the cruise out the window. I might of lost my sight in one eye, but I got all my money back through insurance($5ooo). I have never in my life been sick or injured to any point to miss anything in my life. That was this past Dec. With the money we booked Infinity through Panama this Nov 22. I ain't no quitter, so will try to cruise again. Insurance??? DON'T EVEN THINK NOT!! Enjoy your cruise.:)

[RedInLove]

Our TA suggested insurance, which we readily agreed as we had already been considering it. We went with Travel Guard over the cruise lines' insurance as it was a bit cheaper, and the level of coverage was higher.

[Kellie Poodle]

I was 59 and retired. Thought I take my wife for a cruise. I was going to be our first ever. I bought insurance for entire trip 6 months before. Two months after booking I notice blurred vision in right eye. I was imformed I had neo Vascular glaucoma. I was getting shots right up to the day before we were to leave home. Instead of boarding ship for cruise, I boarded a stretcher to get a valve inserted behind my eye and there went the cruise out the window. I might of lost my sight in one eye, but I got all my money back through insurance($5ooo). I have never in my life been sick or injured to any point to miss anything in my life. That was this past Dec. With the money we booked Infinity through Panama this Nov 22. I ain't no quitter, so will try to cruise again. Insurance??? DON'T EVEN THINK NOT!! Enjoy your cruise.:)

 

 

I hope you are feeling better from your ordeal. Just wanted to wish you a happy cruise in November.

 

I allot a budget amount for our travel plans and I include air fare, pre-cruise hotel, shore excursions, bar tab, wine package, soda package (for me) gratuities and insurance in my budget. We won't travel without insurance and I am very careful about the company I insure with.

[Lazz]

YES! BUY it!

 

Drove to Baltimore for a cruise. 3 days in, a family illness forced us to debark in Cozumel. Had to buy 3 first class tickets due to a full plane-covered!. Had to buys meals en route-covered. Had to rent a car for 3 days-covered. Had to buy a flight to Baltimore to pick up my car-covered. Had to spend a night in a hotel back home-covered. Of course the unused portion of the cruise was covered as well.

[johhnnyt]

On a 7 Caribbean day trip I don't bother, doesn't really seem worth it, since most of the islands are US, French, Dutch or British.

I have bought it on longer voyages with Insuremytrip though. Found they are cheaper than buying through cruise lines and even buying directly with insurer. With 10 day or more cruises with long air travel (Europe or Asia) I think its worth it.

Have only had one claim. On our Australia trip earlier this year, flight to New Zealand was delayed 12+ hours. Ended up taking a different airline. Original airline reimbursed us, but also gave us a letter to submit to insurance company. So ended up getting paid by them also.

Like many have mentioned only real reason to have it is for a medical emergency. My insurance will cover just about any hospital outside US, but really don't want to be in a hospital in Egypt, Italy or 90% of the other countries I've been too. Nothing against them other than I don't know what their standard of care is.

FYI One piece of advice is many insurers require you buy the insurance within 30 days of your first deposit

[Putterdude]

As Canadians we need to have emergency travel health insurance which we do on an annual basis. With regard to insuring the value of the cruise, if it is only a short cruise booked on the spur of the moment and is only a few thousand dollars then we may not insure...but if the cruise is running in many thousands of dollars, airfares and prepaid hotels we certainly insure it.

[smtcan]

As Canadians we need to have emergency travel health insurance which we do on an annual basis. With regard to insuring the value of the cruise, if it is only a short cruise booked on the spur of the moment and is only a few thousand dollars then we may not insure...but if the cruise is running in many thousands of dollars, airfares and prepaid hotels we certainly insure it.

 

This is our attitude too. We always have health insurance, but only took cancellation and trip interruption when we booked an expensive cruise to China. We really only did that because we booked a long way ahead and were uncertain if we would be able to leave my elderly mother if her health deteriorated. As we were docking in Shanghai DH, who had no previous indications, suffered a heart attack. After surgery, two weeks in hospital and one week in a hotel before he was cleared to fly home, a doctor was flown out from Chicago to accompany him on the flight in first class. They didn't upgrade me unfortunately! We had no bills to pay for accommodation or transportation and were compensated for the twelve days we missed out of a fourteen day cruise.

Five years later DH is well, my mother is approaching her 99th birthday and we still only insure expensive trips, but never travel without medical insurance.

Sheila

[woldig120]

We are from the UK

Have recently been on the Constellation. Both my wife and I had the Norovirus. Had very good treatment from the Medical department which cost over $600.

Made a claim when we got home which has now been paid less the excess.

So my advice is always have travel insurance. We have just renewed ours for the next twelve months without any increase because we have made a claim.

We seem to get better cover for less premium in the UK than USA.

[macruisefan]

Hi Everyone,

 

Whether you choose Celebrity's insurance, or another company.... I urge you to make the purchase. We do not leave home without it !

 

In addition to the standard coverage items, please be sure to look into what's covered in medical evacuation. Without coverage, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket. It's a critical component of the coverage.

 

Kind of interesting to see a host/moderator weigh in so strongly on an issue that is far from black and white. If I didn't know better I'd almost wonder if Andy has some sort of financial incentive. :cool:

 

Truth be told, it's not important that you ultimately "always buy insurance", as some here have implored. Rather, it is important that you CONSIDER the benefits and coverage, and decide if YOU feel comfortable with or without it.

 

It's a profoundly personal question that has roots in a lot of major personal financial decisions we make in other aspects of our lives at well. Strange how those don't get painted with such clear black and white strokes on a message board like this one does.

 

I personally have never gotten travel insurance. I weigh the benefits and cost, and carefully consider the probability of needing it. And thus far, it has never tipped the scales in favor of the purchase. Now I will be curious who will be the first person so arrogant to just assume I haven't done even the slightest bit of research, and jumps in to remind me of some possibility that I haven't considered (please, I actually gave this some thought.) Likewise, people LOVE to share personal stories about how insurance helped them, or how they with they had it. That's all fine and good. However there is a saying: the plural of anecdote is NOT evidence.

 

This is a useful place to hear a lot about the benefits and limitations of insurance. But do not for a MINUTE think that the enthusiastic assertions that it is universally embraced pressure you.

[i guide the sky]

Kind of interesting to see a host/moderator weigh in so strongly on an issue that is far from black and white. If I didn't know better I'd almost wonder if Andy has some sort of financial incentive.

 

I hope you are joking here. What part of being a Mod disqualifies one from having an opinion?

[4774Papa]

If you have elderly parents, buy trip insurance.

[A Sixth?]

We do the opposite, since DH has all the travel medical you could want with his job. I like to be prepared for the cancellation or interruption, so go with it if it's a biggy trip. I was under the lure of paying for tons of stuff with Visa Platinum etc, but be careful. Found out recently the rules of car coverage vary in countries when you book with a credit card, and then there's the dastardly "pre-existing disease' clause that is catching everyone these days.

We don't use the cruise insurer, but go with good old bank insurance.:D

 

:confused::confused:

 

Isn't that exactly what I do, not the opposite? :confused::confused:

 

The only difference is you're covered through your husband for free, through his work policy, and I buy mine year round because it's not covered where I work.

 

Edit:

 

Noticed a lot of "we buy it because if a family member falls ill we have to get off the ship no matter where it is", is a personal condition we don't have to worry about. Maybe if we had family that could interrupt our trip we may consider the cancel for any reason stuff.

 

If we fall ill during the trip, we're covered with our year round coverage and VISA's extra protection.

[kelmac]

Kind of interesting to see a host/moderator weigh in so strongly on an issue that is far from black and white. If I didn't know better I'd almost wonder if Andy has some sort of financial incentive. :cool:

 

Truth be told, it's not important that you ultimately "always buy insurance", as some here have implored. Rather, it is important that you CONSIDER the benefits and coverage, and decide if YOU feel comfortable with or without it.

 

It's a profoundly personal question that has roots in a lot of major personal financial decisions we make in other aspects of our lives at well. Strange how those don't get painted with such clear black and white strokes on a message board like this one does.

 

I personally have never gotten travel insurance. I weigh the benefits and cost, and carefully consider the probability of needing it. And thus far, it has never tipped the scales in favor of the purchase. Now I will be curious who will be the first person so arrogant to just assume I haven't done even the slightest bit of research, and jumps in to remind me of some possibility that I haven't considered (please, I actually gave this some thought.) Likewise, people LOVE to share personal stories about how insurance helped them, or how they with they had it. That's all fine and good. However there is a saying: the plural of anecdote is NOT evidence.

 

This is a useful place to hear a lot about the benefits and limitations of insurance. But do not for a MINUTE think that the enthusiastic assertions that it is universally embraced pressure you.

 

macruisefan,

 

I think it has to do with Andy's frame of reference -- he does travel with elderly relatives, so I think that's his motivation.

I do agree with you about each person's personal need for insurance. Fear, fear, fear, is a way of life with most people. In 42 cruises I've never purchased insurance -- there's a reason these companies are so wealthy. In fact, my auto/home insurance companies' CEO made over 100 million dollars last year.

 

My health insurance covers me all over the world. I have a very small yearly evacuation policy and my credit card company covers all my rental car insurance needs. For lost money on travel, cruises..., -- I'm self insured.

If I can't make, so what, that's life. This again, is one of those small reasons I can afford to travel eight to ten weeks of the year. Inside cabins, no insurance, Priceline, self guided shore excursions, cheap airline tickets...,

In 30 years of extensive travel, the only time I've made an insurance claim is when a deer ran into the side of my rental car in San Antonio, TX. They covered 90%.

 

Insurance companies are not rich because they pay out every claim people make. So I think most people can calm their fears, with a little peace of mind, in the form of travel insurance.:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[hawkeye3d]

Always, always buy insurance, but do your homework and read the policy. There’s some fine print that will turn out to be gotchyas. My last cruise I developed a severely infected foot which eventually led to osteomyelitis and the loss of one toe. They (Insuremytrip) covered the initial visit to the ship’s Dr., med’s etc., but would not cover a repeat visit because I didn’t talk to their nurse. It would have cost me more to call them a second time than the amount of the denied claim

[macruisefan]

I hope you are joking here. What part of being a Mod disqualifies one from having an opinion?

 

My comment about financial incentive was rather tongue-in-cheek. However, this is the only site I have ever been on, where those who have the ability to modertate, close threads, delete posts, EVER step in and weigh in with a strong opinion on an issue that is very much open to debate. It's just a little undermining as far as I'm concerned. To "host" or "moderate" normally means to facilitate dialogue, and make sure it stays on track. But most well regulated forums would NEVER consider it appropriate for someone to weigh in in the fashion he did.

 

For him to come on and say "I am an advocate for travel insurance because of X,Y,Z" would be fine. But to throw his hat wholeheartedly into the debate, well that's why this site, albeit quite popular, is far from a reliable barometer of opinions or source of unbiased information.

 

*I assume this post will soon be deleted. THAT is what a good host or moderator should do!:D

[kymbakitty]

366 views on this thread so far ...

and I'm the only one that doesn't buy the insurance?

 

Let the flames begin

 

 

I have no idea why you would be flamed for not buying insurance!

 

The answer is simple....you do not need to buy insurance if you do not need to be made "whole" should you cancel and lose all your money.

 

Now that we are getting older, I pretty much get it all the time now. Just because the law of averages has shifted. My husband, a very young 64, is in excellent health. He still referees ice hockey a few games a week! But insurance provides a few extra bonuses such as medical evacuation, trip delay, luggage delay, car rental insurance (a big one when we are doing a land vacation in foreign countries) and just a piece of mind knowing that we don't have to forfeit the money should we need to cancel.

 

I have purchased the last ten or so trips through insuremytrip. They have a handy compare feature that allows you to line up various selections, side by side, and make a comparison.

 

I paid $140 for insurance for our next cruise. Some of the hotels I can cancel, but not the cruise. I got a policy for $4,000, total. I just consider $140 another part of the cost of the vacation (just like tipping). And you don't have to cover the entire cost of your vacation! If your vacation cost $10k and you just want to take out a $5k policy, that is entirely up to you.

 

No one cares whether someone else gets insurance or not (it's not one of those topics like underdressing, kids on cruises, or tipping), just don't come back crying about how unfair and awful the cruiseline company is because they didn't refund your cruise fare because something AWFUL happened. Everytime anyone has to cancel--it's their version of AWFUL. That is what insurance is for...the AWFUL, unexpected things that happen to us...and a tad bit more often as we get a little older. Although that getting older probably gives us the wisdom to get insurance--tee hee.

 

:)

[kymbakitty]

Always, always buy insurance, but do your homework and read the policy. There’s some fine print that will turn out to be gotchyas. My last cruise I developed a severely infected foot which eventually led to osteomyelitis and the loss of one toe. They (Insuremytrip) covered the initial visit to the ship’s Dr., med’s etc., but would not cover a repeat visit because I didn’t talk to their nurse. It would have cost me more to call them a second time than the amount of the denied claim

 

 

I know your comment may seem benign to most (not insuremytrip people though), but you could not have been insured through insuremytrip.

 

Insuremytrip is a method in which you select an insurance company depending on your particular needs. Insuremytrip does not actually sell or provide insurance. They would be like Ebay...you don't actually buy from Ebay, but rather the various sellers that use their site to sell their goods. Many of the sellers on Ebay have many other avenues in which they sell their goods and that is the same for the insurance companies that are available through insuremytrip.

 

You absolutely positively have to read the fine print--with any insurance that is purchased...whether it is through AAA, Costco or an insurance company you find off a website like insuremytrip.com.

 

:)

[Chillaxn']

I have no idea why you would be flamed for not buying insurance!

 

 

No one cares whether someone else gets insurance or not (it's not one of those topics like underdressing, kids on cruises, or tipping), just don't come back crying about how unfair and awful the cruiseline company is because they didn't refund your cruise fare because something AWFUL happened. Everytime anyone has to cancel--it's their version of AWFUL. That is what insurance is for...the AWFUL, unexpected things that happen to us...and a tad bit more often as we get a little older. Although that getting older probably gives us the wisdom to get insurance--tee hee.

 

:)

Excuse me

Your attitude is the exact reason that I included that line.

I have made an informed decision.

It is not up to you to tell me not to cry if my decision goes bad. I fully understand the consequences.

I have made the same decision for the last 20 years and been very happy with it.

I can afford the loss if it comes.

My view will possibly change as I get to the age of most of the posters on this board.

[kymbakitty]

Excuse me

Your attitude is the exact reason that I included that line.

I have made an informed decision.

It is not up to you to tell me not to cry if my decision goes bad. I fully understand the consequences.

I have made the same decision for the last 20 years and been very happy with it.

I can afford the loss if it comes.

My view will possibly change as I get to the age of most of the posters on this board.

 

Funny how you left out the guts of the post. Slightly tainted that way, don't you think.

 

It still wasn't a flame and, if you would have kept in the part about....you don't need insurance if you don't need to be made whole part, then you would not be focusing on the section about the consequence.

 

Of course you understand the consequences and of courser you don't need to buy insurance.

 

Did you just skip to the bottom paragraph...nothing in between seemed to support those that wouldn't need insurance?

 

Geez....

[Chillaxn']

You are right , I should have read the whole post.

I would have realized I was replying to someone in my mothers age group with a different perspective on life.

I would not have done so if I had know that.

I respect your opinion.

[kymbakitty]

You are right ' date=' I should have read the whole post.

I would have realized I was replying to someone in my mothers age group with a different perspective on life.

I would not have done so if I had know that.

I respect your opinion.[/quote']

 

I'm still in my 40's....ha! You have one young mama!

 

I don't have a clue why you concluded that....but you have some very odd thinking (pretty sure you have heard that before)....

 

I'm not responding to you after this post....I really don't care what you say.

 

Happy cruising....

[AdamKnows]

Hi,

 

I am trying to decide whether to purchase cruise insurance. I still have 9 months before we cruise on Celebrity to Hawaii this November. Should we be using Celebrity's Cruise Care insurance or purchase our own through insuremytrip.com. Celebrity's is about $100 more than the cheapest policy I am looking at through insuremytrip. Anybody have a preference. Is it better to use Celebrity's since we cruising through them?

 

I didn't believe in insurance until my 7.5 month old son died from SIDS in December. You never know what curve balls life will throw at you.

[bigmohes]

We always purchase it due to our health insurance does not cover us outside the continental US. We are in our 40's:eek: