Cruise Insurance - How Important is it?

[Travelicious]

Which insurance did you purchase?

[jusgorjus]

Yes, and here's why.

My DW, and two teenage sons and I traveled from New Orleans to Rome in June,2011 The plan was 8 nights in Rome doing the ugly tourist thing followed by a 12 night Holy land cruise on the Mariner of the Seas.

When our plane landed in Rome,my speach was slurred and I could barely walk.

Turns out I had a stroke during the flight. I am currently 53 years of age.

Without being too longwinded, I spent 7 days in a Rome hospital. I had 2MRI's,catscans ,ultrasounds, cardo-dopler and you name it. IV's, drugs. I could not understand the language, so television was bad and the hospital food was terrible. However the medical care there was excellent. They ended up releasing me a day and a half before my cruise. The doctors would not clear me to fly for 2 weeks after my release. I did get cleared for the 12 night cruise by the doctors and the travel insurance company.

The travel insurance I purchased picked up 100% of my medical bill, the cost of two hotel days after the cruise, and the additional airfare for us to change flights. The travel insurance was prepared to pay the cost to re-patrioate me via boat if necessary.

 

In closing, BUY THE BEST TRAVEL INSURANCE YOU CAN. I DID AND STILL DO.

If you want to know which travel insurance I bought, ask me and I will post. I don't think Cruise Critic will allow me to post without being asked.

 

I'm asking, which insurance do you purchase?

[MilliesMom]

Does everyone buy cruise insurance? And, has anyone ever had to use it. I guess I'm asking, is it worth the cost? I'm about to book another cruise, and I'm really don't want to pay for the insurance - but if it's really worth it, I'll go ahead and get it. What say you fellow cruisers?

 

It is absolutely, positively worth every penny it costs. Over 25 years we have had to cancel 2 cruises. Without insurance we would have lost all of our money paid for the cruise.

 

Back in 2000 I was admitted to emergency the day we were to leave. Got 100% refund. We booked our trip and insured thru the Auto Club. They were great. Got a full refund.

 

Back in Dec (just a few months ago), we had another medical issue come up that two days before we were to cruise to Hawaii we had to cancel. This trip was a "major" investment as it was 15 nights. We got a full refund too. We booked thru a travel agent, and got our insurance thru insure my trip dot com.

 

Both times we got our refunds in a timely manner once they received the paperwork. It's hard enough to cancel a trip, without losing the money that you paid for it too.

 

If you decide to purchase insurance, read the fine print. Some do not cover pre-existing conditions, some only if purchased within days of the deposit, and some insurance is for medical reasons only. It really pays to read the fine print. When we cancelled the cruise in December, thank goodness I had read the fine print because the cruise had to be cancelled within 48 hours of the doctor saying I couldn't go. If we had waited till the next day, we would not have had a valid claim (some exceptions to that of course ... but I was home, just unable to cruise.)

 

No matter our age or medical history; accidents, trip delays etc can happen. Better to be prepared than caught off guard.

[endymion6942]

Which insurance did you purchase?

 

TRAVELEX ( I purchased the premium plan)

[endymion6942]

I'm asking, which insurance do you purchase?

 

TRAVELEX ( I purchased the premium plan)

[jusgorjus]

TRAVELEX ( I purchased the premium plan)

 

I just came from their web site...prices are very reasonable. {DING DING DING} I think we have a winner...LOL. Thanks. :D

[endymion6942]

I just came from their web site...prices are very reasonable. {DING DING DING} I think we have a winner...LOL. Thanks. :D

Glad to help:)

[IrishKathy]

I think another thing people forget about when thinking about travel insurance is...I'm healthy and we are definitely going on this cruise. That's fine, but we buy travel insurance for another reason.

 

Two years ago we had planned an anniversary cruise to Alaska. Six weeks before our departure my MIL suffered a stroke. We had to cancel and EVERYTHING was reimbursed, including airline change fees. Obviously we had to have the doctor's statement that we needed to be there for her, etc., but if we had not had that insurance, we would have been out over $5,000.

 

So please, don't just think about YOU and YOUR health. Think about loved ones. That's where travel insurance can also be extremely valuable.

 

Kathy

[perkydebrajean]

I think another thing people forget about when thinking about travel insurance is...I'm healthy and we are definitely going on this cruise. That's fine, but we buy travel insurance for another reason.

 

Two years ago we had planned an anniversary cruise to Alaska. Six weeks before our departure my MIL suffered a stroke. We had to cancel and EVERYTHING was reimbursed, including airline change fees. Obviously we had to have the doctor's statement that we needed to be there for her, etc., but if we had not had that insurance, we would have been out over $5,000.

 

So please, don't just think about YOU and YOUR health. Think about loved ones. That's where travel insurance can also be extremely valuable.

 

Kathy

 

This is the reason that I've purchased travel insurance. Not because of me but because of my parents. My mother has spent a total of 5 months in the hospital over the course of the past year. And my dad has been in the hospital twice with mild heart attacks.

[Jasalth]

Our current booked one is our first cruise with travel insurance. Our last one, we didn't and was worried we wouldn't be able to go.

 

Just because you are young, doesn't mean things can't happen! I was very healthy on my 29th birthday 2 1/2 years ago. 15 days later, I was in the hospital having brain surgery. Turned into a relatively healthy 31 yr old... 2 months after that was in the hospital having back surgery. None of these were due to illness, both are do to underlining genetic conditions that could cause problems anytime. Until last week, I was afraid at 31 I would be spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair (I love my surgeon!!).

 

The thing is to find a policy that is the best for you. We don't fly, we drive so I wanted a policy that covered that more than the flying. NEEDED one that covered per-existing conditions, even if it had to be purchased with in 14 days of booking the cruise (a lot are like that). But then that is the matter of booking, calling up a travel insurance place next and getting it, even at 2 yrs out.

 

I know I don't have $50k laying around for "just in case" money if something happened, or a CC with no limit. It's almost like having home owners/renters or auto insurance. I have never been in a car accident, my house has also never caught fire/blown up/fell down/had things fall on it. I have never once thought of canceling those to save a few hundred $ a year.

[che5904]

"Cruise Insurance - How Important is it?"

 

Not at all important until you need it.

 

IMO Out of country medical is a must, you seriously never know when you are going to be sick or hurt.

 

Trip cancellation, interuption etc depends on how much risk you wish to take. If I have learned anything from this board, it is that there are way more variables to taking a cruise than any other vacation.

 

So IMO on trip coverage, that completely depends. If you missed the ship or a connecting flight are you willing to eat the cost of your vacation. If your bags are lost are you willing to buy all new clothes yourself. If you have to fly home from a foreign port, are you willing and able to meet that cost. If the ship is held out from docking and you have to stay over in the embarkation port, are you willing to eat that cost. If your ship is chartered and all the arrangements you've made for that ship is no longer applicable can you recoup those costs by no penalty cancelling of hotels, flights etc.

 

A CC article you may want to read

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274

[sparks1093]

If you don't need it then it's a waste of money. If you do need it then it's priceless. For the cost it's good, um, insurance against the unexpected. The guideline that I've read is to buy the best policy you can afford but don't spend more than 10% of your trip cost unless you have special conditions that come into play (for instance, you need cancel for any reason insurance and there is an extra premium for that). Of course this means that you need to read the policy and understand what it covers and what it doesn't.

 

I have found insuremytrip.com to be a good place to compare many different policies.

[JP4GA]

We always buy insurance for travel.... The last trip HUBBY went on they lost his luggage. It was a business trip and that one suitcase had over $1500 in clothing and shoes. We had to replace all of his work clothing. The insurance to protect that lost bag and other issues was around $45. Many times we have not needed the insurance but I would rather be safe than sorry.

[trish1c]

Check out www.insuremytrip.com to comparison shop.

Do not pay attention to the group selling you the policy -- TravelGuard, AmEx, TravelEx etc. Pay attention to the name of the insurance carrier writing the policy. Get a real company not a fly by night group. You must read the fine print.

Check out what is covered & what you need. Sometimes we get it & sometimes we don't. I always make my elderly father get it. Different companies rate different passangers differently. Dad usually purchases from a different company than us. On our last trip, which was land based, the policy offered by the TA turned out to be the best value for what was covered.

[nbsjcruiser]

We always travel with insurance and up until 2 years ago never used it. Then, in the space of a year 2 things happened to us.

 

1. We got caught in a storm in Portland Maine trying to get to Miami. We ended up cabbing it to Boston ($175) and grabbing a flight to West Palm and getting a car to Miami ($175). When we arrived at West Palm, no luggage. We ended up shopping the next day in Miami for clothes for our trip ($1200). All covered and reimbursed by travel insurance.

 

2. Fall of 2010 I got hit by a rogue wave in Nassau and broke my collarbone. Xrays on the ship and pain meds $350, ambulance to the hospital $300 and treatment at the hospital (xrays, meds, surgical consultation plus miscellaneous) $1500.

 

That's $3650 worth of expenses I would have had to swallow had we not had insurance. On top of that, imagine for a minute how much an operation in Nassau would have cost me. - 10's of thousands no doubt.

 

Only a fool would leave for a trip abroad without medical insurance. Trip cancellation? I can see someone taking the chance. If losing the value of your trip is something you would not worry about and whomever you're travelling with feels the same way, then maybe roll the dice on that. I prefer not though. I would hate to get to a foreign country, find out I have to return home because of a family emergency and then have to worry about how much its gonna cost me. But that's my preference.

[nbsjcruiser]

I pay about $25 per month for a cancer policy. Now I know it's not related really but... my line of thought is that if I don't ever use it, I'm happy.

 

I cruise in 2 weeks. First time. I did purchase a plan for about $25 per person plus some small fee. Gives me 10K medical and 100K medivac (my biggest concern even though it is highly unlikely) or something like that though I'd have to look it up to double check. Dropped my cruise total cost down to save a few dollars as I know I'll make the cruise as I'm about an hour or so from port and "retired."

 

There are plenty of choices and for me, for the 58 bucks, I feel better and still was cheaper then going through the cruiseline. How many folks spend that in the bar the first hour?

 

But, the choice is YOURS. Can you afford NOT to have insurance? Only YOU know the answer. Good luck.

 

 

Just my opinion but 10K medical is pretty low. You can rack up a few thousand in medical expenses just walking in the door in a hospital. For instance, the Doctor's Hospital in Nassau won't even look at you until you give them a $1500 deposit.

[Cmdr Cody]

I got mine through my regular insurance company USAA. The travel insurance is underwritten by a different company. But I have a long history with USAA and trust them.

[sparks1093]

I got mine through my regular insurance company USAA. The travel insurance is underwritten by a different company. But I have a long history with USAA and trust them.

 

You can't put a price on that.:)

[endymion6942]

Make sure you understand what is covered and what your out of pockets are.

i did this and this why I went the way I did.

[Watson's aunt]

lat june I booked a cruise to Alaska with my friend. A week or two before the cruise she got very sick and was not abble to go. She was operated on soon after. I had insurance they paid me back the full amount her airfare. Also I went on cruise solo and i did not have to pay for going solo. My TA said I would but when I called Insur co they said no I will not have to pay the single suppliant. So I will never cruise without insurance.

[shoppingfan]

Do any of you have a pre-exisiting condition? or know the best policy for such? I am doing research now but have no idea of which way to go.

Any help is appreciated. I wish there was a way to message people but I can't seem to figure it out. :(

[greeneggbert]

We booked insurance on our very first cruise, and after that, I checked with my own insurance policy, and they would cover everything that the cruise insurance would cover (or what really mattered to us).

[Lou33]

Do any of you have a pre-exisiting condition? or know the best policy for such? I am doing research now but have no idea of which way to go.

Any help is appreciated. I wish there was a way to message people but I can't seem to figure it out. :(

 

Pre-existing conditions is a topic that is often misunderstood. The terms of pre-existing conditions may vary between different policies and different companies so read the fine print. But this is how most of them work "in general":

 

1) If you buy your trip insurance within about 14 days of making your initial deposit, then most insurance companies will wave the exclusion for pre-existing conditions.

 

2) Just because you have an on going medical issue, it does not mean that you have a pre-existing condition (as related to your travel insurance). Most insurance companies have a look back period of about six months before you buy your policy. So if your doctor diagnosed you with a new condition, or changed your medication in the last six months before you buy your insurance, then you have a pre-existing condition. However, if any new or changed conditions occured over six months before you buy your insurance, then it is outside of the look back period, and you do not have a pre-existing condition.

 

For example, you were diagnosed with high blood pressure two years ago, your condition is stable, and the last time your doctor changed your medication was seven months ago. So you do not have a pre-existing condition with regard do your travel insurance. If you should have a cardio-vascular problem, and it impacts your cruise, you will be covered, regardless of when you bought your insurance.

 

Again, all policies are different. Read the fine print.

[spacewoman]

Does everyone buy cruise insurance? And, has anyone ever had to use it. I guess I'm asking, is it worth the cost? I'm about to book another cruise, and I'm really don't want to pay for the insurance - but if it's really worth it, I'll go ahead and get it. What say you fellow cruisers?

 

 

I say you should have watched Eyewitness News tonight about a couple from New Jersey who were injured severely in the Bahamas. No insurance. NO ONE wanted to treat them. Friends raised the money to fly them home. They're now in a hospital being treated. She may lose a kidney because she was refused treatment in the Bahamas.

[spacewoman]

Do any of you have a pre-exisiting condition? or know the best policy for such? I am doing research now but have no idea of which way to go.

Any help is appreciated. I wish there was a way to message people but I can't seem to figure it out. :(

 

 

DH is Type II diabetic. For the last 3 years we have been told we HAVE to book the insurance with the initial reservation now.

Our TA in the past used Barclay/Berkley (can't remember the spelling). Friend of ours got a blood clot two weeks before our cruise. Reimbursed everything but the insurance charges.