A common theme in recent complaints

[NewSalt]

I live in Florida and don't cruise during the height of hurricane season (anymore, I did cruise in Sept. once).

 

 

 

However, whenever I see a post asking "should I book a cruise in August, September? I hear it's hurricane season?" all I read on Cruise Critic is "of course, cruise lines stay away from hurricanes, nothing will happen." I think this does a disservice to those who don't know any better. Airports can close. Cruise ports can close. And cruise companies will protect their bottom line first and you will come second. That's never mentioned to those who ask. And if everything does go well and the hurricane doesn't hit your port or your itinerary, they are never told you'll spend at least a week stressing out whether your cruise is a go or not, or whether you can get to the port or not.

 

 

 

Those rates are cheaper for a reason.

 

 

 

Oddly enough, the Anthem cruise I booked for next summer was slightly higher for an August sailings than the July one I booked. That's never been true before. Go figure.

 

 

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[Pstreet12]

Does this Chase Sapphire Reserve card provide 100% reimbursement of a trip cancellation for someone with a pre-existing medical condition? In other words, no 120 day look-back?

 

 

Does this card pay for out of country emergency evacuation via air ambulance back to the US? If so how much per person?

 

What about repatriation of remains if say someone died in Aruba?

 

 

In the event of a mid trip cruise interruption, does this card provide only a pro-rated reimbursement of the missed portion of the cruise or does it provide additional funds for an emergency airline ticket home?

 

 

These are the things that can add up to big unforeseen bills and I'd be interested to know how they are covered as I've been buying an Allianz Classic policy the past few years to cover the above.

 

It does NOT cover pre-existing conditions for cancellation (condition manifest within 60 days prior to trip)

 

Cancellation or interruption: Max menefit per occurrence 20,000; max for 12 months: 40,000

 

Delay: more than 6 hours or requires an overnight stay

 

Evacuation: "Transportation includes any land, water, or air conveyance required to transport you." If hospitalized more than 8 days, relative or friend will be transported to you. You receive reimbur. for the cost of an economy airfare ticket if the original ticket cannot be used or the ticket is used to return an accompanying minor to his residence."

 

Air transportation: $100,000

Repatriation of Remains: Up to $1,000 to return body.

 

There is also an emergency medical/dental benefit of $2500--not much, but it would cover most minor things.

 

It also covers family members if you aren't with them IF YOU HAVE ANY PART of the cost shown on your credit card.

 

For air-ambulance and repatriation of remains, we carry the Divers' Alert Network insurance that I mentioned in the original post. The benefits are higher, and the $50-$55.00 cost per year is nice. They cover $1,000,000 and it applies whenever you need it if you are more than 50 miles from home. And as I said, my good friend has used them twice, from Bali and the Phillipines, and was totally pleased, overwhelmed, in fact. You know Medicare doesn't apply out of the country; the Divers' Alert Network insurance people, said "Send us the bills--often when we submit them, they pay them, or at least a part of them." She did that, and was reimbursed quite a bit of it.

 

 

For more information on Chase Saphine, call them. I'm sure they will refer you to the insurance carrier and you can get complete information. It's probably not as good as your policy for those specific items....but I don't know. We're pleased with what it covers combined with the Divers' Alert Network coverage.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Pstreet12

[Pstreet12]

I forgot to say that you don't have to notify them that you are on a trip--after all, they know since at least part of the charge appeared on your credit card bill. I particularly like that feature.

[BamaGuy44]

That's your cost-risk calculation to do.

 

The more I think about it, the more I realize I would probably NOT insure for medjet. If it was $50,000 and I didn't have it in my bank account, I'd sell my vacation condo or at least finance it to cover it.

 

 

First, 50K is pretty much the minimum you would pay for an evac from a foreign country.

 

Second, Your time and aggravation must have little value to you if you'd rather go to the trouble of liquidating real estate holdings to pay for an emergency vs.spending a tiny amount on travel medical insurance. Not to mention the transaction costs involved.

 

Third, why in the world would anyone risk just eating a 50K to 100K expense when the evac insurance would cost (relatively) pennies? I don't care how rich you are, that's silly.

 

BTW insurance isn't supposed to pay for itself. It's a cost you pay for risk mitigation.

Edited September 5, 2017 by BamaGuy44

[Pstreet12]

That's pretty much our thinking, too. The $50-$55.00 a year to cover both of us no matter where we are on the planet is a small price for peace of mind. (Yea, Diver Alert Network)

 

And, for us, the free coverage Chase Sapphire Reserve provides is good enough to make us feel secure against the larger expenses we MIGHT incur. For health reasons, we had to use Royal's insurance once, and even with their kind of minimal coverage, just getting the cost of the cruise and return flight costs back took most of the sting out of having to cancel at the last minute (we had actually already boarded, but the ship hadn't left yet).

[Patty00]

If you go to the medical facility on a ship......before you leave, look at the diagnosis. My experience was that the doctor did not put the real symptom of my visit and put anxiety disorder instead. I am trying to get the real diagnosis put on the medical bill so that my insurance will pay for it. They will not pay for anxiety. I was upset due to the problem I was having and they will pay for that problem. Wish me luck. Royal says it will help get the full diagnosis on the bill so that I can submit it to the insurance company. It is very important that the doctor does not put "and other disorders" but instead the true diagnosis. Just hope this helps someone in the future.

[Pstreet12]

Good to know. My one trip to the ship's doctor was very unsatisfactory, and I, too, had trouble getting the insurance company to pay for it.

[SRF]

I self insure. All travel for 20 years.

 

If a company offers insurance, I just take their number and put that amount into my travel insurance savings account.

 

When a flight gets cancelled on me, I use that account to immediately rebook.

 

If a cruise no longer works for me, I have plenty in my self insurance account to book something else in place.

 

There's no excuse not to self insure every trip. The costs individually are minimal and over 20 years I think I've had to rebook with my own savings maybe 3 times. Very low risk and the reward is all mine.

 

How much in your fund?

 

We found out with my Mother, that medical evacuation from Halifax to DC was $29,000. Not including the medical costs in Halifax.

 

Also hotel, rental car, and return airfare (for me, my Dad traveled back on the air ambulance).

[SRF]

Interesting thread.

So, what happens if you (or a family member) dies during a cruise? Does travel insurance cover that event? And where is your corpse kept? When and how is it taken off board? And what arrangements are made to send your body home?

I'm old, never bought travel insurance, but this thread had me thinking I should, and just thinking about that final cruise, should it happen.

I read somewhere on CC that on most cruises at least one PAX dies during a cruise. More if it's a long cruise. Is that true?

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Yes it does.

 

There is a morgue on the ship.

 

Not sure where they will take it off the ship, but I suspect that it will be at the home port.

 

You will be responsible for getting the body back to where you want it from the port.

 

Not sure about foreign death certification for death aboard, but if you get off the ship for medical care, then die, there are reporting requirements through the US Embassy or Consulate, and more hoops to get the body back to the US.