Travel Insurance for Australian Cruise

[Shazzajoy]

Hi, I'm wanting to take out travel insurance for a Celebrity cruise that goes to all Australian ports. I know you need "international" type insurance for onboard the ship and that "Australian domestic" travel insurance does not cover you for this. However, to get a quote for international travel, they ask you where you're going to spend the most time (e.g. N.Z. Indonesia, South Pacific). There's no selection for Australian cruise. Can you please tell me how you get round this when trying to get a quote? thanks.

[Flipper133]

Hi, I'm wanting to take out travel insurance for a Celebrity cruise that goes to all Australian ports. I know you need "international" type insurance for onboard the ship and that "Australian domestic" travel insurance does not cover you for this. However, to get a quote for international travel, they ask you where you're going to spend the most time (e.g. N.Z. Indonesia, South Pacific). There's no selection for Australian cruise. Can you please tell me how you get round this when trying to get a quote? thanks.

 

Just put in South Pacific. I know it is very annoying sometimes that options provided in Drop Down boxes don't always seem to match your situation. In the end you are dealing with a computer which is looking for a worse case scenario.

 

cheers

[coastiedee]

When I do 'local' cruises ie, tassie or qld coast, I just put down South Pacific for insurance.

[Shazzajoy]

Thanks so much for your advice.

[Fletch1]

I use Travel Insurance Direct and found them to be very good. I am pretty sure you just enter the word "Pacific" for local cruises. Any doubt, just ring the company and they will advise.

[Tara Jane]

I agree but to cover myself I would email the company when you decide which to go with, that way you have a written reply to cover you should there be any query or claim at a later date.

[MicCanberra]

I agree but to cover myself I would email the company when you decide which to go with, that way you have a written reply to cover you should there be any query or claim at a later date.

 

WARNING : be very careful, as domestic cruises may not be covered by Pacific cruises insurance. Check with the company and read the fine print. I have an email from Southern Cross insurance which states just that.

[Wastegirl]

I am on a local cruise in October and when I tried my usual booking with my local Automobile Association (RAA) who I get a discount from for travel insurance, there was not a local cruise option either. It was either domestic or international travel.

 

So I rang them direct and they were very helpful, they organised a domestic policy which included medivac from a cruise ship. This was certainly cheaper and more pertinent than a full international policy.

[MicCanberra]

I am on a local cruise in October and when I tried my usual booking with my local Automobile Association (RAA) who I get a discount from for travel insurance, there was not a local cruise option either. It was either domestic or international travel.

 

So I rang them direct and they were very helpful, they organised a domestic policy which included medivac from a cruise ship. This was certainly cheaper and more pertinent than a full international policy.

Well done.

The best thing anyone can do is to not assume that South Pacific/NZ cruise insurance will cover you if there are no international ports on your domestic cruise, check with the company.:D

Edited June 27, 2014 by MicCanberra

[Lanwood]

Well done.

The best thing anyone can do is to not assume that South Pacific/NZ cruise insurance will cover you if there are no international ports on your domestic cruise, check with the company.:D

 

Very true - when we did a lap around on the QM2, we had to select a totally different region on the actuall application to get the correct level of cover if we where to actually make a claim (don't ask me why - our agent did it for us - would never have known otherwise).

Edited June 27, 2014 by Lanwood

[rkmw]

I am on a local cruise in October and when I tried my usual booking with my local Automobile Association (RAA) who I get a discount from for travel insurance, there was not a local cruise option either. It was either domestic or international travel.

 

So I rang them direct and they were very helpful, they organised a domestic policy which included medivac from a cruise ship. This was certainly cheaper and more pertinent than a full international policy.

 

with the domestic policy are you covered if you have to see the doctor as you are on an international ship

[MicCanberra]

with the domestic policy are you covered if you have to see the doctor as you are on an international ship

Not with SCI you are not. They emailed back to say you are not covered, Same with NRMA and 1stcover.

Whichever, one you are thinking of getting, make the check before purchasing the product.:D

[rkmw]

Not with SCI you are not. They emailed back to say you are not covered, Same with NRMA and 1stcover.

Whichever, one you are thinking of getting, make the check before purchasing the product.:D

 

not much use taking the domestic policy if you're not covered whilst onboard, seeing you doctor can be very expensive

[Shazzajoy]

Thanks for all your help. I will do as you suggest and E Mail the Insurance Company. Will let you know what they say.

[MicCanberra]

I have found two companies so far that exclusively say they do domestic cruises and cover the medical (with terms around pre-medical conditions). One is 'Insureandgo' and the other is 'fast cover'.

Prices seem reasonable but I wonder if anyone has had any issues dealing with either of these companies.:D

[Shazzajoy]

One of the Travel Insurance Companies I've looked at is Travel Insurance Direct. I found this information under "Frequently Asked Questions". So it appears they have an option "Australian Waters" which would cover a cruise going to Australian ports.

 

Cruising within Australian waters

Travellers on domestic cruises in Australian waters should select 'Australian Waters' as their destination in order to be covered for medical treatment on board which is administered by international doctors and not under Medicare.

 

If you are not concerned about having medical cover, then you may select Australia as your destination instead. By doing so, you will be purchasing a Domestic plan which does not include cover for any medical expenses. Any medical expenses incurred within Australia are not covered by any of our insurance policies as The Private Health Insurance Act 2007 prevents us from doing so.

[MicCanberra]

One of the Travel Insurance Companies I've looked at is Travel Insurance Direct. I found this information under "Frequently Asked Questions". So it appears they have an option "Australian Waters" which would cover a cruise going to Australian ports.

 

Cruising within Australian waters

Travellers on domestic cruises in Australian waters should select 'Australian Waters' as their destination in order to be covered for medical treatment on board which is administered by international doctors and not under Medicare.

 

If you are not concerned about having medical cover, then you may select Australia as your destination instead. By doing so, you will be purchasing a Domestic plan which does not include cover for any medical expenses. Any medical expenses incurred within Australia are not covered by any of our insurance policies as The Private Health Insurance Act 2007 prevents us from doing so.

 

There is at least three then.:D

[PerfectlyPerth]

I use Covermore - in the online application you select "Indonesia NZ South West Pacific" as the initial region - then the second drop down box opens and you can select "Domestic Cruise".

 

I did send them feedback that given how many cruises are now doing "Round Aus" itineraries etc that there should be an option under Australia for domestic cruise too.

[MicCanberra]

I use Covermore - in the online application you select "Indonesia NZ South West Pacific" as the initial region - then the second drop down box opens and you can select "Domestic Cruise".

 

I did send them feedback that given how many cruises are now doing "Round Aus" itineraries etc that there should be an option under Australia for domestic cruise too.

 

Sounds like it should be a given but this is an issue with a lot of the companies. The wording makes it quite ambiguous.:(

In any case, all we can do is make sure we are insured for exactly what we want, and ensure that the fine print is backing that up.:D

[Chelseapop]

When I queried 'domestic'/'international' travel insurance with insurance companies they clarified that it is not really the ports that defines an international cruise but that the ship's doctors are registered as international doctors and as such are not registered with medicare. Meaning if anything happens to you ONBOARD you are not covered by domestic travel insurance - it needs to be international. On my cruise just recently to the Whitsundays a friend of mine had some type of reaction after being ashore in Cairns. He went to see the ships doctor after reboarding the ship and would not have been covered by domestic travel insurance/medicare/private health insurance as the doctor was INTERNATIONAL.