Do you ever NOT get travel insurance for your cruise?

[pacheco18]

Good work

 

I don't want to be first to test lol

[LHT28]

Quick question

I do not think we have all these fancy cards here in Canada ..not really looking for them

 

So just wondering when does the Cancellation refund kick in ?

 

My regular VISA you have to actually have left the Country to get the coverage so that is why my question

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

First -- it is not about what you can afford to lose -- it's about whether you want to spend a small about to insure against the loss. That's a totally different question. If you can afford to spend the $ on a cruise, in all likelihood you can afford to lose it. I can afford to rebuild my house in case of a fire. I'd rather have insurance and keep my money for other things.

 

In response to whether the O should have reimbursed the poster with the large loss, as much as I feel sorry for the situation, Oceania is NOT the insurer of our trips. They are not our medical insurer either. There have been posts where cruisers were not even allowed to substitute one cruiser for another where a spouse fell ill. This is O's business model. It is not a secret. As a business owner you cannot make exceptions unless you want to open the floodgates to future claims (otherwise it can be construed as unequal treatment and could be actionable) and I am sure there have been and will be others with similarly unfortunate situations. This is why we buy insurance. Oceania is simply not responsible if we fail to insure ourselves, no matter the reason.

 

This is why people choose refundable or non refundable tickets and the like.

 

It may be a reason for that poster never to choose O again.

But that is simply putting blame where it does not belong. O has does nothing except adhere to its longstanding policy. Of course, if you don't like any policy, choose another cruise line. We are all free to cruise on whatever line we choose.

 

 

I would have to agree with you here :D

 

 

For those that self insure & save all that money on insurance great for you

 

For me I am willing to spend the money for insurance for my trips

I never had to claim for cancellation before ..some minor medical issues yes

UNTIL this yr ...yes I could have saved the $800 for insurance & the money was spent anyway but losing $15,000. was more than I wish to lose :eek:

We got a full refund & now able to use the same money ..less the $800 for ins for a future cruise

 

It really is a personal thing & all in your own comfort level

My comfort level includes insurance ;)

You have to do what works best for you

 

YMMD

 

Lyn

[Mura]

I just wanted to add one response to Laraine's comment above about "we're in perfect health". I looked to see if anyone had mentioned this but I could have missed it since I was jumping around.

 

The insurance isn't just for YOU but also for close relatives who might have a problem. We started getting insurance largely because my mother was in her 90s and my husband's brother while only in his 70s was not in good health. We wanted to be covered in case something happened to one of them, as well as if something happened to us that might force us to go home early.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

I just wanted to add one response to Laraine's comment above about "we're in perfect health". I looked to see if anyone had mentioned this but I could have missed it since I was jumping around.

 

Mura

 

DH was in perfect health (or so we thought) up until the morning before our cruise ;)

 

You just never know ...

Lyn

[pacheco18]

I just wanted to add one response to Laraine's comment above about "we're in perfect health". I looked to see if anyone had mentioned this but I could have missed it since I was jumping around.

 

The insurance isn't just for YOU but also for close relatives who might have a problem. We started getting insurance largely because my mother was in her 90s and my husband's brother while only in his 70s was not in good health. We wanted to be covered in case something happened to one of them, as well as if something happened to us that might force us to go home early.

 

Mura

 

You are so right

Not really a big consideration for us at this point in our lives but I completely agree.

[Mura]

DH was in perfect health (or so we thought) up until the morning before our cruise ;)

 

You just never know ...

Lyn

 

Exactly right, Lyn. We don't. But I was just trying to point out this can apply to more people than just the traveling couple themselves.

 

Mura

[pacheco18]

DH was in perfect health (or so we thought) up until the morning before our cruise ;)

 

You just never know ...

Lyn

 

Which is not only the reason we get insurance, but why we are travelling like crazy now and not later.

[GeezerCouple]

Which is not only the reason we get insurance, but why we are travelling like crazy now and not later.

 

Exactly!

 

DH is not interested in retiring, and he'd be miserable (OR, more likely, he'd keep doing pretty much the same thing, but for "free", and somehow... that didn't seem like the best financial planning).

 

He finally agreed to start the "retirement travel", including more than just "weekends before/after conferences/meetings".

 

We DO have our health, are very active, and hope to stay that way.

But health - and life - is fragile.

 

So last summer, we made plans for our first retirement cruise, now less than a month away :).

Then we booked 2 more, on Oceania.

We are just starting to plan a private land tour next year in a tricky area where we don't speak the language, and can't even read the alphabet - hence the private guide.

And we'll start planning a Safari, hopefully for the year after, the land tours being between cruises.

We figure we'll be able to cruise long after we can do active land travel.

And we will try to do a few of the more active cruises (in terms of excursions) sooner, rather than later.

 

And we are insuring things especially well for medical/evac coverage.

When DH no longer has the real risk of "uh oh, there is a meeting/conference that I just can NOT miss..." - then we'll consider whether we need the cancellation coverage.

 

For now, we know from regular travel how many, many times we've had to eat airline change fees, although hotels with penalties (including needing to arrive late or leave early) have been pretty cooperative given we have usually stayed at them frequently over the years, although not always. And most hotels are refundable in advance, anyway.

We tend to book air travel very late for these reasons.

With a cruise, there's less flexibility - it's not, "Well, if we must, we'll miss the first half day of the conference".

 

Only one elderly parent is alive. We don't need the cancellation coverage for that eventuality. When "that" (serious illness or ... ) occurs, any lost trip costs are the least of our concerns. If the medical insurance covers that fine, but at that relative's quite advanced age, health/etc., might not be covered anyway.

 

And we both have pre-existing conditions (not so rare at our ages).

So that medical/evac coverage is NOT OPTIONAL!

 

GeezerCouple

[Hawaiidan]

It is never too late to start a travel/entertainment account...where you put can put 10 to 20% of your income in it just like a house payment.

Been doing that for 20 years ( retired sort of 17 years ago) and the discipline really works. You have a dedicated credit card for each from an account only for entertainment travel. This means we always have a clear idea of what our budget is now and in the future. And we auto deposit the same amount every months automatically.

 

Now I don't worry about airlines as I use frequent flyer points so max cancel is $200. My health ins. is good anywhere in the world . Don't need ship evacuation because the military of the country in whose waters you are cover that for no cost by international treaty. Don't have any family back home any more and my health is great.

 

 

My credit cards will as others pointed out will pay if not all cruise losses a very substantial

 

That leaves Med-Jet for special situations but that's only $400 a year for my wife and I. I would do that for cruises over 35 days .

 

Now, since I self insure the rest I do like the insurance underwriters I evaluate the risk as I see it and manage my trips accordingly. I also limit my travel to 1 , 35 to 70 day cruise a year in a region where the weather and political climate are optimal.

 

Based on that I don't go anywhere in Africa,( north south, east and west). No gulf states, no Mexico or northern South America.

Hey there is enough stuff to see and nothing in those regions that I consider worth the risk to me. :rolleyes:

 

That's life insurance. I have done plenty of calculated risks and not timid but when those risks become un-manageable I opt out.

 

saving well over $1000 or more for 20 years, carefully invested and compounded gives me a very wide margin. And if there comes a time when I quit traveling I will have a pretty very large chunk of cash that's all mine !!! :cool:

 

Setting up a plan for you, evaluating the risks according to your standards and keeping to that plan can be very beneficial to you

[pacheco18]

Question for all of you insurance gurus on this thread

 

So now that I have a new strategy comprised of

Annual travel medical insurance policy

Medjetassist

Stacking credit cards for cancellation insurance

 

If I decide to supplement the credit card coverage by purchasing a trip cancellation policy in some smaller amount to make up any deficit in credit card coverage, is there any downside to purchasing this policy when I make final payment? I cannot see any reason to purchase earlier than that.

[rallydave]

Yes, Laraine, there is one downside that I can think of at the moment and that is the pre-existing condition clause that is in most policies. Many of them waive the pre-existing clause if you purchase the insurance within X number of days after the FIRST payment which would be the deposit.

 

Waiting until final payment would risk some condition or issue arising between deposit and final payment. As I believe you book way in advance, that simply increases the possibility of medical issues which could negate your coverage.

 

Another possible solution would be to get more of the Chase cards in your or DH name which would increase your coverage by stacking. My DW has the Chase Sapphire (not preferred) card which has no annual fee and does include the $5K per person cancellation coverage. Get one in your name and one in your DH name and instantly an additional $10K per person in coverage. Avoids the purchase of add'l insurance and only issue is the 60 day period prior to deposit. And if there is a medical issue within the 60 days prior to booking, you could purchase a policy without pre-existing coverage issues.

 

Hope this helps,

[pacheco18]

Yes, Laraine, there is one downside that I can think of at the moment and that is the pre-existing condition clause that is in most policies. Many of them waive the pre-existing clause if you purchase the insurance within X number of days after the FIRST payment which would be the deposit.

 

Waiting until final payment would risk some condition or issue arising between deposit and final payment. As I believe you book way in advance, that simply increases the possibility of medical issues which could negate your coverage.

 

Another possible solution would be to get more of the Chase cards in your or DH name which would increase your coverage by stacking. My DW has the Chase Sapphire (not preferred) card which has no annual fee and does include the $5K per person cancellation coverage. Get one in your name and one in your DH name and instantly an additional $10K per person in coverage. Avoids the purchase of add'l insurance and only issue is the 60 day period prior to deposit. And if there is a medical issue within the 60 days prior to booking, you could purchase a policy without pre-existing coverage issues.

 

Hope this helps,

 

LOL - we have all the cards in both our names

BUT

 

We are doing the Cape Town to Singapore cruise with a pre cruise Safari

The total for that trip (safari is considered a separate event) is 36699. it will be considered a 2014 event for cancellation purposes because it starts in Dec 2014 and if I were to cancel, it would cancel in 2014. That is not my only trip in 2014 -- I have another O cruise for about 20K, and an Azamara cruise plus stay on Tuscan farm for thousands more. Even with stacking Bob's cards and mine, I am going to have to get some additional insurance if I want to be fully covered -- I think I am over the limit. Air will be free for all trips so not an issue. I have a chart going LOLOL -- if my husband only knew what was involved with this . . .

 

I am not that worried about pre-existing conditions. We have none now. If something really bad were to occur before final payment, I would cancel then. Any other downside?

[hondorner]

Question for all of you insurance gurus on this thread

 

So now that I have a new strategy comprised of

Annual travel medical insurance policy

Medjetassist

Stacking credit cards for cancellation insurance

 

If I decide to supplement the credit card coverage by purchasing a trip cancellation policy in some smaller amount to make up any deficit in credit card coverage, is there any downside to purchasing this policy when I make final payment? I cannot see any reason to purchase earlier than that.

I'm hardly a guru, but I do purchase insurance for every trip and I have collected full payment when a stroke forced cancellation 2 days before departure.

 

I haven't examined every trip cancellation policy available, but I have yet to find one that provides cancellation only; usually they're bundled with medical and evacuation, along with lost luggage, trip delay, etc. etc. I'd be very interested in what you have discovered about a trip cancellation only policy.

 

The primary drawback I could see to waiting for final payment is that trip cancellation is affected by pre-existing conditions, not just medical. If you have to cancel a cruise for a medical reason, they will check the look-back period for a pre-existing condition. Only a very few policies waive the pre-existing condition at final payment, and they tend to be more expensive than the ones that waive at first payment.

 

The strategy I have adopted is to order a policy at the time of first deposit, but only insure it for the deposit amount. Then, at final payment, I adjust the policy to reflect the total payment, and pay the differential at that time. Doing it that way considerably reduces the amount of insurance payment I would lose if I cancel the trip for other than covered reasons -- because of a family wedding, for example.

 

Some policies allow insuring just the amount one is at risk until final payment. For example, while I had to make a 20% deposit for the WC, I'm only at risk for the $250 administrative fee if I cancel before final payment. So, that's all I insured to waive the pre-existing condition part of the contract. (I know I'm technically not even at risk for that amount, as the penalty could be applied to a future cruise, but I had to give the insurance company some amount).

 

There is no way I would have self-insured for that cruise, as final payment is due 6 months in advance and the total is very near the 6 figure range. Too much could happen in that 6 months, and that is not a figure I choose to put at risk.

 

Because the only policies I could find for a 180 day cruise (most are limited to 30 days) is a bundled product, there was no need for me to stack the policies as you describe. Besides, I would never trust a credit card company to keep the offerings available. I've looked at separate annual medical policies for trips and MedJet, but since they are already covered in bundled policies there's no need. There is also no long-term financial benefit for me to the free ship-board medical care offered on the WC; they only thing I will save is having to pay upfront and present the bill to the insurance company for reimbursement (which is not a bad short-term benefit).

 

Our personal medical coverage is through a Medicare Advantage Plan which does not include out-of-country coverage. That policy is almost totally free as it returns about 99% of our Medicare Part B payment, includes Part D medications, has no premiums and low co-pays. The cost of obtaining standard Medicare, a Medigap supplement that covers out-of-country and a Part D drug policy is high enough to cover the cost of up to 3 trip insurance policies a year for "normal" cruises.

Edited November 11, 2013 by hondorner

[pacheco18]

I'm hardly a guru, but I do purchase insurance for every trip and I have collected full payment when a stroke forced cancellation 2 days before departure.

 

I haven't examined every trip cancellation policy available, but I have yet to find one that provides cancellation only; usually they're bundled with medical and evacuation, along with lost luggage, trip delay, etc. etc. I'd be very interested in what you have discovered about a trip cancellation only policy.

 

The primary drawback I could see to waiting for final payment is that trip cancellation is affected by pre-existing conditions, not just medical. If you have to cancel a cruise for a medical reason, they will check the look-back period for a pre-existing condition. Only a very few policies waive the pre-existing condition at final payment, and they tend to be more expensive than the ones that waive at first payment.

 

The strategy I have adopted is to order a policy at the time of first deposit, but only insure it for the deposit amount. Then, at final payment, I adjust the policy to reflect the total payment, and pay the differential at that time. Doing it that way considerably reduces the amount of insurance payment I would lose if I cancel the trip for other than covered reasons -- because of a family wedding, for example.

 

Some policies allow insuring just the amount one is at risk until final payment. For example, while I had to make a 20% deposit for the WC, I'm only at risk for the $250 administrative fee if I cancel before final payment. So, that's all I insured to waive the pre-existing condition part of the contract. (I know I'm technically not even at risk for that amount, as the penalty could be applied to a future cruise, but I had to give the insurance company some amount).

 

There is no way I would have self-insured for that cruise, as final payment is due 6 months in advance and the total is very near the 6 figure range. Too much could happen in that 6 months, and that is not a figure I choose to put at risk.

 

That's really not what we are talking about here

Your strategy clearly works for you -- especially if you have pre-exisiting conditions

Many of us are now looking at using stacked credit cards to get free cancellation in insurance and buying a small supplemental policy to cover the gap. You cannot order those when you book and pay later as you would if you purchased from the cruise line or TA. YOu don't really know the amount of the gap until you decide which ccs to use. It's like a math puzzle. LOL

 

If you read through the series of posts on this strategy(a few days back) you will see what I mean.

[SedonaJoel]

Some trip cancellation policies can even be purchased one or two days before departure on your cruise. They all exclude pre-existing conditions of course, but this would be the a reasonable way of stacking with credit cards.

 

BTW, most of the package trip cancellation policies (like Travelguard) only provide secondary medical coverage. You first have to bill any other medical policy you may have, like the Geoblue or Medi-Gap policies, before you can bill your package policy provider.

 

Last thought - Why do you need MedJet when you have $100,000 emergency medical evacuation on your multi-trip medical?

[pacheco18]

Some trip cancellation policies can even be purchased one or two days before departure on your cruise. They all exclude pre-existing conditions of course, but this would be the a reasonable way of stacking with credit cards.

 

BTW, most of the package trip cancellation policies (like Travelguard) only provide secondary medical coverage. You first have to bill any other medical policy you may have, like the Geoblue or Medi-Gap policies, before you can bill your package policy provider.

 

Last thought - Why do you need MedJet when you have $100,000 emergency medical evacuation on your multi-trip medical?

 

The credit card cancellation insurance is also secondary.

Going to be interesting to see who wins that battle

 

 

Why MEdjetassist? I posted earlier

 

The package policies evacuate you to a hospital they THEY deem suitable for your problem. So if you are on safari in Kruger, you will likely be taken to Johannesburg eg. Could be a county hospital. Could be a lousy hospital. You are at their mercy.

 

Medjetassist TAKES YOU TO THE HOSPITAL OF YOUR CHOICE IN US!

If I am that sick, I want to choose where I am treated.

[potterhill]

ditto!

 

Ditto two.

 

Mo

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[pacheco18]

Here's another good question

 

Each booking is considered a "separate" trip.

 

So, e.g., if you are taking a cruise and are staying on land 4 days before (hotel booked by YOU, not cruise line), the hotel stay is considered a separate trip from the cruise.

 

What about a Back2Back cruise? LOL

Booked at same time

One event or two?

 

As I said, my brain is spinning but so far I am not going to pay a penny for trip cancellation insurance if my chart is correct.:)

[LHT28]

Here's another good question

 

Each booking is considered a "separate" trip.

 

So, e.g., if you are taking a cruise and are staying on land 4 days before (hotel booked by YOU, not cruise line), the hotel stay is considered a separate trip from the cruise.

 

 

Just guessing I would think the day you leave the country until you return it is considered 1 trip

[pacheco18]

Just guessing I would think the day you leave the country until you return it is considered 1 trip

 

Definitely not

I spoke to the benefits people

[LHT28]

Definitely not

I spoke to the benefits people

If you have the answer why ask the question :confused:

[pacheco18]

I asked whether folks thought a b 2 b booking would be viewed as 1 or 2 trips for purposes of credit card insurance. I have 2 invoices but not cleAr

[YoHoHo]

Definitely not

I spoke to the benefits people

Is that the CC insurers?

 

I understand what you are saying about two bookings - the hotel booked yourself before being one booking and the cruise itself a another one. so need two policies?

 

Not debating. You see the complexities and variations so I am curious as I never considered these to be two events

 

Two thoughts:

1. Like LHT28 I was thinking this is one event. variation: say I made up a my own land trip visiting 6 cities; different hotels; planes, trains, and automobiles. I have purchased one policy for the total value the same as I would for a cruise plus the cost of the hotel stay before the cruise. Is my own trip a one booking policy but the hotel/cruise two?

 

2. Say the hotel/cruise are considered two separate bookings but I have purchased air deviation from O and they are flying me in four days before the cruise. If for the cruise cost (which includes the 'free' air) I have purchased cancellation, medical, full-meal-deal insurance package and IF the hotel is a separate booking, during the four days before the cruise would I be covered for medical portion because of the cruise portion/air option yet not be covered for the the cost of the hotel if I had to cancel?

[SedonaJoel]

Am I missing something? You are insured for the amount paid by you with a credit card offering trip cancellation insurance, for the listed reasons for cancellation. I don't see that how many trips matters (or trips within trips matters). They will only pay for losses covered by the card for amounts charged to the card (or cards).