purchase insurance or not?

[~Christie~]

Do you purchase the insurance for the cruise? Why or why not?

[chrysalis]

What kind of insurance are you asking about?

[~Christie~]

sorry - the cruise insurance. We have been on two cruise with Carnival and we never purchased the insurance before. We are planning a cruise for March on Princess and I was just wondering whether or not we need to purchase the cruise insurance.

[chrysalis]

sorry - the cruise insurance. We have been on two cruise with Carnival and we never purchased the insurance before. We are planning a cruise for March on Princess and I was just wondering whether or not we need to purchase the cruise insurance.

 

Only you can decide the "need".....health benefits you might already have?....travel insurance provided by your credit card?....etc etc.

 

Each person has different needs, and not all policies are the same.

[Pam in CA]

I always purchase insurance. It's a gamble against the unexpected and some consider it unnecessary but all it takes is one time to see and appreciate the value. My brother-in-law's onboard medical expense was $8,000 (fully paid by insurance) and our hotel and other expenses while he was in the hospital we each over $2,000, almost all paid for by insurance. And that's not counting the 3,000 mile medical flight, needed because he was still critical, to get him closer to home, also covered by insurance.

 

Whenever you are on a cruise, expect the unexpected. Insurance will give you peace if mind if nothing else.

[TM]

When we first started sailing some 20 odd years ago we never got the insurance. Now I will not sail with out it. Needless to say we are now 20 odd years older, but in good health. We had to put in a claim 8 years ago when my Mom took ill the morning we were to set sail, we canceled our trip that morning to fly back home. After getting all of the necessary documents our claim was paid very quickly. Last fall I needed to be seen in the medical center, we were literally "out to sea" working our way from Hawaii back to San Francisco.

 

All it takes is one claim small or large to convince you. It is a gamble as to if you will ever need the insurance, but one I am very willing to spend the extra money on.

[~Christie~]

thanks! That is kinda what I was thinking that I would rather be safe than sorry.

[jdm]

We always book insurance. We book insurance independently from cruise line to cover expenses prior to and after cruise including airfare and hotels.

 

We had to cancel a cruise a week before departure several years ago because of a medical emergency. All was reimbursed. Even the people we were traveling with decided they also did not want to go on the cruise because of this medical emergency. Since our reservations were linked and they also had travel insurance from same company, they received a refund for all expenses.

 

If something happens while in a foreign country, we want to be sure to have proper medical coverage along with the other coverage if something goes not as planned.

[Treven]

I buy trip insurance after losing a paid for cruise two weeks before I was to leave; I fell and broke my leg in three places and tore three ligaments around my ankle. I also buy insurance from MedJet Assist to get me to a hospital at home should I have a problem while on a cruise that lands me in a hospital in a foreign country. So far my paying for the insurance has been the worst investment I've made; I haven't put in a claim and hopefully that will continue.

[4cats4me]

We always purchase insurance for every cruise. A cruise is a huge investment, and the insurance is a small price to pay. Also, we've been at sea when a passenger or two has had to be Medi-Vac'd, which is very costly.:eek:

[Ellipooh]

If anything weird is ever going to happen to anyone, it is going to happen to my DH. So, I have always purchased trip insurance for us.

 

I usually go through TravelGuard because they are well-respected and offer a lot of different options/prices.

 

This time, being our first cruise, I went with the Princess Insurance - the top package. It gives me some peace of mind to know that if/when something goes wrong, i will have the best/unassailable option on my side.

 

Next time, I will probably revert back to TG or at least the standard insurance package. But we are spending a TON of $$ on this cruise, and for a few extra bucks i wanted the best insurance possible.

[hollon]

Please, Please, Please get insurance! I had a cruise all set and ready to go and two weeks before I was ready to go, my doctor called and told me I had cancer. I was only 44 yrs. old., and for cancer that isn't old. And, yes, I had insurance. :)

[Liz54]

Our Health Insurance covers medi-vacs and every kind of medical situation. No longer buy trip insurance since to date my exposure has always been less than 2K. I refer to that as "self insuring".

[Ren1216]

The short answer - YES, always. Murphy and his laws say that the time you don't is the time you'll wish you had.

 

The detailed answer - and I don't think this has been mentioned yet.... For some in my family group, I buy insurance from an independent carrier. For us, it comes down to age and need. My gram and aunt, who almost always cruise with us, are 87 and 89. This makes independent insurance pretty pricey for them. They each have private health insurance, so I go with the cruise lines protection coverage for them. This will get them back any non-refundable monies lost in the event they have to cancel. For the rest of us, the independent insurance comes out better for the price paid.... better covereages in all areas (medical, emergency evac, etc). Plus, some of us fly to our departure port, independent coverage can be structured to include coverage for airfare.

 

I've seen people say say... if you can afford to lose the few thousand paid for the cruise, ehh take the gamble, chances are nothing will go wrong. But there's more at risk than that. You could be talking tens of tousands for a hospital stay in a foreign country... or loads more for something like a heart attack and someone needs emergency evac. Just MY opinion, it's worth the $70-$130pp (dependent on age/total cost) spent for comprehensive coverage.

[RNGALNG]

Yes, get it.

 

Three stories:

1. We also had to use the medical department on our last cruise (#7 for us) as my DH became ill the last night of the cruise. On the same cruise, someone stole my cell phone. Thank goodness we had insurance!

 

2. On our way to Ft.Lauderdale for one of our cruises, everyone traveling to Florida got stuck in Atlanta due to Hurricane Dan moving across the state. The family sitting next to us, waiting for flights to start going again, didn't purchase any. Sadly, we watched as their 4 day cruise melted as they did not get on a flight out. So, they were now stuck in a city with no reservations, no cruise to go on, and no flights to anywhere. They could hardly afford a sandwich and cup of coffee during the day - they had saved all their money for this trip - but didn't find getting insurance something they needed.

 

3. Aunt and uncle - just two weeks ago, were to go on a fall foliage cruise. They live on the west coast. Planned on flying same day. They had a few hours before having to get to the airport so decided to take a walk. A simple walk in the neighborhood. Well, she tripped on the automatic sprinkler head that didn't retract all the way after going off. She fell, became an instant raccoon and broke her wrist! No cruise. Yes, they had insurance.

 

Don't leave home without it!

 

Have a great cruise!

[trev71]

Always get health benefits/insurance when you are traveling out of Country. I know this is not cruise related but, Us being from Canada. My mom and her friends went to ireland and long story short she had no prior health history, But she has to get a pace maker installed, and after $1300 Euros a day to be in the hostpal. So techically her buying the $45 health insurance saved her $100,000.00..

 

FYI she is fine now and everything is ok but you never except that at 58 years old

[caber]

We always get insurance. I didn`t think it was an option with Princess. On our personalizer we have to enter the insurance company and emergency medical company`s phone number.

[Mulege]

The cost is minimal for the protectin you get. Having it when you need it will save you many as well as emotional stress. We always have it.

[OCruisers]

Yes, we always purchase cruise insurance!

 

Better silly than sorry! :rolleyes:

 

LuLu

~~~~

[MauiLvrs]

YES!!!

 

7 day SFO California Coastal... In port in California almost everyday.

It only goes to Ensanada ... What could go wrong ???

 

Bad question. :eek:

 

Acute gallbladder attack...

Night in Medical Center ICU...

Disembarkation in Ensanada...

Ambulance ride from Ensanada to boarder...

Ambulance ride from boarder to hosiptal...

Surgery...

5 days in the hospital...

8 hour drive home...

 

We got lucky...

 

When we booked the 4 day to finish this cruise the gal was going through the cost ... which included insurance...

 

Jokingly asked her if there was a note in our record that we would always be buying insurance now.

[Steviewonder1]

We have always bought Insurance and needed it on our second Alaska Cruise with a Gall Bladder attack in Sitka. The total was well into 5 digits. We got a 50% refund on the cruise (S3 Suite), return airfare to Seattle to get onto our original return flight back home. You have anything that requires more than a pain pill and you will get medi-vacuated off that ship. The folks on the ship do not want you going south where they cannot handle things. That is the first thing we do after confirming the cruise.

[Seafoam Green]

My parents were frequent cruisers who always purchased insurance. Two specific times they received full reimbursement:

 

1. Royal Olympic Cruise Line declared bankruptcy less than a week before they were to board.

 

2. The last cruise they had booked (not sure which line) my father was hospitalized 4 days prior to departure (he ended up being in the hospital for almost 7 weeks).

 

As you can see, it can be a business or personal reason that insurance protects your money when cruises have to be cancelled.

[CI66774]

I always buy it. It's your personal decision but if something happens and you don't have insurance, it can get expensive.

[Times Prince]

Consider this scenario: Princess Cruise insurance for a recent 10 day cruise cost me about $64. A single visit to the doctor cost $60, and for our case, being retired, Medicare does not cover medications obtained outside of the USA. Antibiotics for an infection in my toe cost over $100. There were other charges, too.

 

Moral of story: It doesn't take much to recoup the cost of the insurance should something happen.

[MauiLvrs]

Moral of story: It doesn't take much to recoup the cost of the insurance should something happen.

And you only have to recoup it once to cover the cost for a looonnnngggggg time...