Woohoo! Finally getting our refund! Always buy insurance

[ladybugpug]

We were booked on the 12-14-13 9 day cruise on the Gem and had to cancel the first week in December because my youngest was extremely sick and ended up in the hospital for 5 weeks. Thank God we got the insurance.

 

So please make sure to get some type of insurance! I never would have dreamed that we would have to cancel due to illness. Please don't assume that just because the people in your group are young that something will not come up.

 

It also took nearly 2 months and letters from several physicians to get the refund. Don't assume that the insurance is just going to fork over the money happily.

 

Now we are thinking of planning a trip to Florida (maybe a resort?). Snow and ice here and I'm wanting sand and sun! :)

[Ilovesailing]

We were booked on the 12-14-13 9 day cruise on the Gem and had to cancel the first week in December because my youngest was extremely sick and ended up in the hospital for 5 weeks. Thank God we got the insurance.

 

So please make sure to get some type of insurance! I never would have dreamed that we would have to cancel due to illness. Please don't assume that just because the people in your group are young that something will not come up.

 

It also took nearly 2 months and letters from several physicians to get the refund. Don't assume that the insurance is just going to fork over the money happily.

 

Now we are thinking of planning a trip to Florida (maybe a resort?). Snow and ice here and I'm wanting sand and sun! :)

 

Good to hear!

I had a heart attack in San Francisco when I was 38 (longtime ago lol) in those days you could pick up insurance forums and fill them out at the airport, needless to say the machine was out of them. Hospital cost for 10 days back then was $50K. Luckily my company picked up the tab and I was only left to pay the exchange rate US to Can.

[RJ2002]

Great to hear, and hope that your youngest is better now. We had to cancel a cruise once, a week before departure, due to a broken foot which required surgery. Agree, you never know what may happen.

 

What insurance company did you use?

[ladybugpug]

Good to hear!

I had a heart attack in San Francisco when I was 38 (longtime ago lol) in those days you could pick up insurance forums and fill them out at the airport, needless to say the machine was out of them. Hospital cost for 10 days back then was $50K. Luckily my company picked up the tab and I was only left to pay the exchange rate US to Can.

 

Wow, 38 and a heart attack. Glad your company paid the bill. 50 thousand dollars is a LOT of money. Now and then. :eek:

[ladybugpug]

Great to hear, and hope that your youngest is better now. We had to cancel a cruise once, a week before departure, due to a broken foot which required surgery. Agree, you never know what may happen.

 

What insurance company did you use?

 

Thank you for your well wishes!:)

 

We used the NCL insurance. Not even sure what it is called. My husband has been dealing with them to get the money back. My nerves are too bad for that stress.

 

I almost had a stroke when I saw the email that said we would get $399 back. Then I realized we got an email for each passenger stating how much we got back. I thought I was out nearly 4 grand lol.

[RJ2002]

Thank you for your well wishes!:)

 

We used the NCL insurance. Not even sure what it is called. My husband has been dealing with them to get the money back. My nerves are too bad for that stress.

 

I almost had a stroke when I saw the email that said we would get $399 back. Then I realized we got an email for each passenger stating how much we got back. I thought I was out nearly 4 grand lol.

 

That's great. Often times you will see people panning the cruise line insurance. It is nice to see that in your case NCL is handling this to your satisfaction.

[1smudslide]

From what I'm reading, it seems they make you go through a lot to get your money back. I thought if you canceled for any reason needed, you would get a refund with the insurance. For example, if my niece decides to get married on my cruise date, I would want to change the cruise. I guess that's not the case. I did buy the insurance, but think I should have read the fine print.

[ladybugpug]

I don't know much about the insurance. We cancelled just a few weeks prior to the cruise due to a medical emergency. It did take two months to get the money back and asking doctors to write letters and complete paperwork.

 

The claims for cancellations that aren't last minute might be easier/faster. I don't really know.

 

I do know I was not expecting it to take 2 months.

 

Since we got the refund we are thinking about going on another cruise or just going to a resort in Florida and doing Universal a day and the beach a day and then just hanging out at the resort.

 

I'm nervous about booking a cruise tho because if God forbid my daughter would have more problems I would never get the money back because of the pre-existing conditions clause. That's what we had to keep proving...that she wasn't sick before a certain date.

 

Definitely thinking the resort will be our best bet.

[messy]

You can purchase "cancel for any reason" insurance, it just

costs more. Otherwise, the cancellation must be for the reasons

specified by your policy.

 

I had to cancel because of a wicked kidney stone and we got

our money back after submitting notes from my doctor.

 

Marisa

[pizzalady1]

Or you can buy insurance within the allotted time period after booking to waive pre-existing conditions. Usually it is 14 or 21 days after booking. You can compare insurance products at insuremytrip dot com, or others that work the same way. Purchasing your own insurance also covers airfare and any other expenses you have pre-paid, while NCL insurance only covers the cruise portion.

[1smudslide]

I booked the insurance through NCL when I booked the trip. I didn't have a clue that there were different choices of insurance. They just asked if I wanted to include the price of insurance, and I said, "yes."

[ladybugpug]

Yeah me too lol. Definitely learned to actually investigate insurance options.

[neighbour_lady44]

In 2008 I got sick while onboard in Grand Turks. (Stomach issues), it was nothing to do with the cruise I was taken to ship hospital, put one IV, next day we were going to San Juan Puerto Rico - I was taken by a private driver to the hospital to be checked, I ended up in ICU for 5 days and spent a total of 14 long days in their wonderful hospital. It was a $174,000.00 bill but insurances covered almost everything including flying my two teenagers home thru Seattle, husband put up in a local hotel, while I was in the hospital and buying all my bedding (not supplied by hospital), from comforter, sheets, pillows, towels, toilet paper, Kleenex, PJ's and on and on....We kindly donated it when we flew home Dec 24th to Canada.

 

The hospital was incredible. I felt like royalty. Being a Canadian, it was scary for me at first, but honestly the care was top notch. None of the nurses spoke English, but the Doctors could. I had seven International Doctors looking at me daily while I was there for 14 days.

 

One day I'd love to go back and Thank everyone for what they did for me...it was quite the experience (All GOOD!)

[Ontario cruise duo]

Let me start by saying, I also always buy insurance. I booked our upcoming cruise to Alaska a month ago. Cruise is in June. At the time of booking, I did not purchase the NCL insurance, as I know I can shop around and possibly get a better plan elsewhere prior to final payment of my cruise becoming due in middle of March. My father-in-law has just been diagnosed with cancer and starts his chemotherapy treatments this week (3 x a month for the next 3 months).

My question is, is there a company other than NCL's that I can purchase insurance from and still be able to cancel and get a FULL refund, if, as our cruise date comes closer and he is not doing well. Any input is appreciated. If not, then I may still decide to cancel and re-book for June, 2015.

[jimsig]

I just bought the insurance through insuremytrip dot com. I think NCL wanted $179pp and we got it for $218 for both of us and that included airfare. Glad I knew to shop around.

[arf2005]

Let me start by saying, I also always buy insurance. I booked our upcoming cruise to Alaska a month ago. Cruise is in June. At the time of booking, I did not purchase the NCL insurance, as I know I can shop around and possibly get a better plan elsewhere prior to final payment of my cruise becoming due in middle of March. My father-in-law has just been diagnosed with cancer and starts his chemotherapy treatments this week (3 x a month for the next 3 months).

My question is, is there a company other than NCL's that I can purchase insurance from and still be able to cancel and get a FULL refund, if, as our cruise date comes closer and he is not doing well. Any input is appreciated. If not, then I may still decide to cancel and re-book for June, 2015.

 

Yes, there are - but I'm not sure we are allowed to name them on here. In fact if you buy them within several days of deposit they even cover pre-exisiting conditions. I would never buy the cruise lines insurance - always buy from an independent company - but always buy! It's based on the cost of your trip and your age.

[Casino Comp Chick]

We were booked on the 12-14-13 9 day cruise on the Gem and had to cancel the first week in December because my youngest was extremely sick and ended up in the hospital for 5 weeks. Thank God we got the insurance.

 

So please make sure to get some type of insurance! I never would have dreamed that we would have to cancel due to illness. Please don't assume that just because the people in your group are young that something will not come up.

 

It also took nearly 2 months and letters from several physicians to get the refund. Don't assume that the insurance is just going to fork over the money happily.

 

Now we are thinking of planning a trip to Florida (maybe a resort?). Snow and ice here and I'm wanting sand and sun! :)

 

Just don't buy TripMate insurance. They suck!

[tevagirl]

We never bought insurance. Always passed it up. Then a few years ago, the night before our Disney cruise, my daughter wound up in the emergency room with a strangulated hernia that required immediate surgery. She did not have insurance. :(

 

My poor grandson woke up so excited the next morning thinking he was going on his Disney cruise only to find out, not only was he not going, but his mom was in the hospital.

 

You can bet we buy insurnace now.

 

To the OP, I hope your little one is completely better now.

[NMLady]

Let me start by saying, I also always buy insurance. I booked our upcoming cruise to Alaska a month ago. Cruise is in June. At the time of booking, I did not purchase the NCL insurance, as I know I can shop around and possibly get a better plan elsewhere prior to final payment of my cruise becoming due in middle of March. My father-in-law has just been diagnosed with cancer and starts his chemotherapy treatments this week (3 x a month for the next 3 months).

My question is, is there a company other than NCL's that I can purchase insurance from and still be able to cancel and get a FULL refund, if, as our cruise date comes closer and he is not doing well. Any input is appreciated. If not, then I may still decide to cancel and re-book for June, 2015.

 

Talk to the people at insuremytrip.com since they are brokers for a variety of insurance companies. You will need some kind of pre-existing waiver.

[dwjoe]

I'm glad things worked out for the OP.

 

I do not agree that you should always buy cancellation insurance covering the cost of the trip. That expense is unlikely to financially ruin you, especially since you've already paid for the trip. It would be a major downer but not a catastrophe. The critical insurance coverage to have is medical and evacuation. Those costs can run into the tens of thousands of dollars or even more.

 

Insuremytrip.com is a great source to shop for the specific coverage you need.

Edited February 6, 2014 by dwjoe

[NMLady]

Yes, there are - but I'm not sure we are allowed to name them on here. In fact if you buy them within several days of deposit they even cover pre-exisiting conditions. I would never buy the cruise lines insurance - always buy from an independent company - but always buy! It's based on the cost of your trip and your age.

 

You can name insurance companies. It is travel agents you can't name.