Travel insurance - flight scheduling

[cruiserjt]

I have finally booked air travel at a good price for our family of four for our holiday cruise on the Eclipse. Schedules are good and manageable from our home in NH to fly out of Boston on the day before the cruise. It is an early morning flight, and I still have some control on that end - watch the forecast, shuttle transportation etc.

The return flight home has been troublesome - very expensive! But a schedule opened up this week for a 12:30 departure from FLL (cruise ship arrives at Port of Miami early) We are aware of getting ourselves off early and arranging shuttle - So after reading every single post on the Florida Departures board about if someone should book a flight departing at....- we thought this was a worthy risk and booked the flight.

 

So if something did delay the ship through customs or some bizarre event happened that delayed our arrival in Miami; is the rescheduling of the flight (at probably $1200 higher) covered by most travel insurance plans? Honestly, we purchased a standard policy from TravelGuard and I don't cherish the opportunity to read the fine print - and wondering if someone could speak to the generalities of these plans.

What if I booked a departure that was less than reasonable - is there a standard for which coverage applies?

[Calker]

the only info I can provide:

 

we use Travel Guard

 

only direct flight option was scheduled for 11:30 FLL departure

 

Travel Guard stated that since the cruise line recommended flights departing after 12:30 any delays would not be covered

 

I don't remember the type of policy we bought - standard, deluxe, etc.

 

We did not miss the flight, but we always scheduled flights after the recommended departure time now.

[6rugrats]

Yes, there will be language in the policy stating under what conditions you will be covered if you miss your flight. You'll need to read the policy.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We always buy insurance , In case you have to cancel ..

[Keith1010]

cruiserjt.

 

Please check with the travel insurance company and do not rely on what you learn here. I say this because sometime people are wrong or the policy you select is different and policies do change.

 

You were wise to have gone with 12:30 PM.

 

Keith

[CaveDiving]

....The return flight home has been troublesome - very expensive! But a schedule opened up this week for a 12:30 departure from FLL (cruise ship arrives at Port of Miami early).... we thought this was a worthy risk and booked the flight.

 

So if something did delay the ship through customs or some bizarre event happened that delayed our arrival in Miami; is the rescheduling of the flight (at probably $1200 higher) covered by most travel insurance plans?...

 

You say that your cruise is coming in to Miami and you are flying out of Ft. Lauderdale and that you << thought this was a worthy risk and booked the flight.>>

 

I am certainly no expert but it seems rather doubtful to me that missing your flight would be covered by any travel insurance policy.

 

Scott & Karen

[KirkNC]

We always buy insurance ' date=' In case you have to cancel ..[/quote']

 

We are in the opposite camp, the only insurance we buy is medivac which is somewhat inexpensive. We have been lucky and never had to cancel and the number of cruises we have done if we did at this point we would still come out ahead versus the travel insurance premiums, I guess we are now self insured ;).

[SPacificbound]

When you were purchasing the Travel Guard insurance you would have had to fill out the questions which include trip cost for each of you. Did you insure yourself adequately?

[Grannycb]

We ran into this on a past cruise. Different insurance plans give different windows of time between the arrival of your ship and the departure of your flight. Call Travel Guard and find out what your exact policy covers. They might put you with a different plan to cover your departure schedule.

[cruiserjt]

I thought I would let you know I heard from Celebrity about this query. Their response:

 

Good Afternoon,

 

Thanks for your inquirer, the earliest flight departure out Miami International Airport is 11:00AM, and for Fort Lauderdale International

is 12:00PM.

Hope we answer your entire question. If you have any other question please feel free to contact us 1-800-256-6649.

 

Best Regards.

 

 

Sandra Levy

Travel Team

 

My insurance policy is about as clear as mud. Would this be a trip delay or missed connection? One says five hours and the other 3 hours. So does that mean to catch a flight you should add 90minutes to book your transportation ? I feel confident in the schedule but know that anything can happen, we need to be back in Boston by 9PM to get our transportation to NH. I guess I will call Travel Guard to confirm what I have read. I swear when you read insurance policies - it seems like nothing is actually covered unless the insurance company chooses to.

 

I am over thinking this.

It won't snow, we will arrive on time, the plane will arrive on time.. . . .

 

 

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[klfrodo]

Trip Delay and Missed Connection discuss more than just time. I believe it also has to do with common carriers and such. Is a Cruise Ship defined to be a common carrier by definition with your policy?

 

If so, and the cruise ship docks late, And you miss the 12:30 flight,,,,,,this would be trip delay. However, your delay has to be more than 5 hours for you to have coverage. So, if the ship was scheduled to dock at 7:00 but docks at 11:00,,,,that's only 4 hour delay.

[cherylandtk]

. ..So if something did delay the ship through customs or some bizarre event happened that delayed our arrival in Miami; is the rescheduling of the flight (at probably $1200 higher) covered by most travel insurance plans? NopeHonestly, we purchased a standard policy from TravelGuard and I don't cherish the opportunity to read the fine print - and wondering if someone could speak to the generalities of these plans. I understand how you feel, but the only way to truly understand what you purchased is to add this 'opportunity' to your skill set. And you may actually discover that you don't find the specific named coverage that IS travel insurance to be a good value for your money. It certainly does not cover all eventualities, it doesn't even cover many common travel problems.

What if I booked a departure that was less than reasonable - is there a standard for which coverage applies?Yes. See below for some typical limits, but realize this may or may not apply to you.

The specifics are buried in your policy Description of Coverage document. You usually have to download this from the website, it is not automatically presented to you except as a . PDF link. The exact coverage depends on what policy you purchase, TravelGuard has more than one policy name.

 

For example, here is the description of coverage from their cruise, tour and travel policy:

https://webservices.travelguard.com/Product/FileRetrieval.aspx?StateCode=NH&ProductCode=NH6600&PlanCode=P1&CountryCode=US&FileType=PROD_PLAN_DOC

 

It defines Trip Delay as a Common Carrier delay of more than five hours. Missed Connection is defined as a 3 hour or more delay of ALL regularly scheduled flights due to weather or Common Carrier delay.

 

In addition, coverage limits are generally listed as a maximum of $200 per person per day.

 

So if you miss your flight, you are not covered unless the ship is more than five hours late, and even then, you only will get $200, not the full cost of the ticket.

Edited June 24, 2014 by cherylandtk

[PetNanny]

cruiserjt.

 

Please check with the travel insurance company and do not rely on what you learn here. I say this because sometime people are wrong or the policy you select is different and policies do change.

 

You were wise to have gone with 12:30 PM.

 

Keith

 

After reading your response I decided to check with the insurance company and was surprised by the answer I received. For a cruise scheduled to arrive in port at 7:00 a.m., the rep said a flight should not be booked until early evening or possibly late afternoon. Got the impression no one had asked this question before.

[cruiserjt]

Celebrity / RCCL reply was 11AM from MIA and 12N from FLL. I think that five hour marker is the key. My concern is if we don't get into Boston before 9pm. We will have to arrange a room or private car to get us home. What about a delay in return and a delay in customs, how does the insurance company actually know when you are off the ship? I certainly did not buy the insurance for these features but it would be a shame to be denied because of 15 minutes. Debarking at 1145 would be a bad idea, just keep letting people get off before you until noon. I have to call but it won't be as detailed as these situations. Thank you everyone for your comments. A lot to think about

 

 

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[cherylandtk]

Celebrity / RCCL reply was 11AM from MIA and 12N from FLL. I think that five hour marker is the key. My concern is if we don't get into Boston before 9pm. We will have to arrange a room or private car to get us home. What about a delay in return and a delay in customs, how does the insurance company actually know when you are off the ship? Delay in customs is not a common carrier delay and is not covered. Neither is the time you actually debark. Ship docking time is the only coverable delay. Cruise line would have to certify the delay for you, perhaps the harbor master port time would also work. I certainly did not buy the insurance for these features but it would be a shame to be denied because of 15 minutes. Debarking at 1145 would be a bad idea, just keep letting people get off before you until noon. I have to call but it won't be as detailed as these situations. Thank you everyone for your comments. A lot to think about. Please read my post above from yesterday. Trip insurance is only specific, named, unforeseen events, not everything that might happen..

 

 

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