Travel insurance info

[skrmusic]

Its been a few years since we last cruised and have never been on RCCL. In the past we have purchased travel insurance from a 3rd party outside of the cruise line. Does anyone have any advise or experience to share?

[geomancer]

3rd party is generally far more comprehensive. But can be vastly more expensive if you're older (and thus more likely to use).

 

 

I always go 3rd party, and have had to use it once. They didn't question/dispute it at all and I was paid in under a week. You of course need all your paperwork lined up though for that to happen.

[xxoocruiser]

Its been a few years since we last cruised and have never been on RCCL. In the past we have purchased travel insurance from a 3rd party outside of the cruise line. Does anyone have any advise or experience to share?

 

If you have any pre-existing conditions it's best to purchase from a 3rd party provider. In order to have pre-existing conditions waive the policy must be purchased within 10-14 day depending on the policy and insurance company of the initial booking date.

Nationwide has a couple cruise specific policies that pre-existing conditions are waived as long as the policy is purchased prior to making the final cruise payment.

 

You can compare policies on the following sites:

www.insuremytrip.com

www.squaremouth.com

www.quotewright.com

[Daized]

I have my travel insurance with my bank on a fee paying account. Includes cruises and is world wide, plus I get one pre existing condition (tho mine is just a thyroid disorder)

 

I'm UK based. Maybe worth seeing if your bank offers something. My monthly bank account fee over 12 months is about what I've paid in travel insurance for 1 trip/cruise.

 

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[ARandomTraveler]

You should also check if you have a credit card that comes with travel insurance. If so, then make sure you pay for the cruise, airfare, hotel etc with that card.

 

 

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[lakelorain]

We cruise and do a lot of other traveling so we buy an annual travel policy through Allianz. There are many good companies that offer travel policies. Check online or your travel agent may be able to help you.

[tortoisegirl]

Learn what the different insurance categories are (such as cancellation, luggage, medical, evacuation). Figure out what coverage is important to you, and use a comparison site to get the appropriate level of coverage. Its all based on how risk averse you are. Travel insurance cost is typically based on trip cost, age, and possibly trip location. Go with a reputable and highly reviewed company.

 

For me, coverage of the cost of the cruise isn't all that important, plus the chances of us not being able to go for a covered reason are low (and the cancel for any reason policies can be pricey and still only pay out ~ 60%). The things I focus on are medical coverage and evacuation coverage. I looked at just getting evacuation coverage (or full insurance but only have them cover $1), but when I priced it out, it wasn't significantly cheaper than full coverage, so I just got that. For travel medical coverage, know whether you would even be covered by your typical coverage, and if you are getting primary or secondary coverage (and what the difference is).

 

If you travel multiple times a year, check if getting a yearly travel insurance policy is cheaper (vs. buying for each trip).

 

Our most recent purchase was a Nationwide Choice Cruise policy that covers pre existing as long as purchased before final payment. We booked so far out that we didn't want to spend money on travel insurance on a cruise we may cancel penalty free.

[leisuretraveler223]

Its been a few years since we last cruised and have never been on RCCL. In the past we have purchased travel insurance from a 3rd party outside of the cruise line. Does anyone have any advise or experience to share?

 

 

Make sure you have medical coverage.

Make sure you have medical transport coverage.

Generally don't worry about cancellation coverage. Trip insurance to cover the cost of the trip is pretty much always considered a poor investment.

[Candleonwater]

We cruise and do a lot of other traveling so we buy an annual travel policy through Allianz. There are many good companies that offer travel policies. Check online or your travel agent may be able to help you.

 

Posts like this had me looking at Allianz the other day, but I quickly got overwhelmed with information!

 

I do at least one cruise a year, and travel 500+ miles away MANY times a year to visit my daughter in Canada. This past November I got sick while in Canada, which is why I'm looking at Allianz. It seems like, for not much more than what I pay for insurance for an individual cruise, I can have coverage for an entire year. Does that sound possible?

[Jovocrtt]

I have used RCCL insurance before. In fact, I forgot I purchased it. We went to the Southern Caribbean, and I don't know what I did, but Day 2, I could not turn my head. My neck froze up and it was painful to even try to open my mouth. I tried swimming in the pool and I couldn't loosen the muscle at all. I went to the ship's doctor and had to pay out of pocket for an I/V, medical exam and medication. The bill came to $400, and was put on my account with the ship. I ended up going to the hospital the second we flew home(USA) and was in physcial therapy for 3 months along with being put on steroids. My own insurance Blue Cross and Blue Shield denied reimbursement. 6 months later, I was on the phone with Royal to rebook the trip and the agent informed me I HAD insurance...so I contacted the right people and was promptly reimbursed every penny. NICE!! This time, we are travelling abroad and I bought a policy for $208 for both my husband and I and it has a large medical and more important a large medi-vac $1,000,000 rider on it. Along with trip interruption loss of baggage etc. Go to travelinsurance.com and compare prices. Not expensive WELL worth it!

[leisuretraveler223]

Not expensive WELL worth it!

 

The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Travel insurance to cover the cost of a trip is generally not a good investment.

[skrmusic]

Great information - thank you all!

[SRF]

If you only want medical and med evac insurance, and to not cover the cost of the trip, you can buy insurance with a $0 trip cost.

 

I recently did this for a trip. Just put in 0 for trip cost. Got medical, med evac, rental car (which I needed), luggage, and all the other side coverages. Just no trip cost coverage.

 

For a 10 day trip, it cost $50.

[shirleygr]

We always buy comprehensive trip insurance from a 3rd party. Out of 30 or so cruises, we have had to use it 3 times: when my mother passed away unexpectedly, my DH had a norovirus and we couldn't leave town, and when DH's grandmother passed away. While some may consider it expensive, we were reimbursed all of our investment for these three trips (a 10 night cruise, a 7 night cruise, and a 5 night cruise, all with airfare). When I am spending several thousand dollars on a vacation, I think the additional couple of hundred for insurance well-worth it and simply budget that into our trip costs. YMMV

[geomancer]

It seems like, for not much more than what I pay for insurance for an individual cruise, I can have coverage for an entire year. Does that sound possible?

 

Does that yearly plan cover travel expenses, or is it just medical?

 

Typical "Travel Insurance" does both, but Medical is really the most important part because it's something that could become a crippling or catastrophic expense.

 

Travel expenses on the other hand is money you'd already be losing ("spending"), so missing the cruise isn't likely to affect you financially. Just be a disappointment to miss your vacation.

[TEXASMUNK]

Buying travel insurance is a horrible investment! Just plain bad! Until you are faced with a $20,000 medi-vac. Or until you have an accident and require hospitalization outside of the USA. Or, incur extensive onboard care.

Yeah, get insurance!

[leisuretraveler223]

Buying travel insurance is a horrible investment! Just plain bad! Until you are faced with a $20,000 medi-vac. Or until you have an accident and require hospitalization outside of the USA. Or, incur extensive onboard care.

Yeah, get insurance!

 

 

If your'e STUPID enough to blur the lines between HEALTH INSURANCE and travel reimbursement, then yes, this is true. But, if you have the SLIGHTEST bit of common sense, you won't be as perplexed by this....

[SRF]

If your'e STUPID enough to blur the lines between HEALTH INSURANCE and travel reimbursement, then yes, this is true. But, if you have the SLIGHTEST bit of common sense, you won't be as perplexed by this....

 

And travel insurance INCLUDES those coverages. People tend to buy it for one reason or the other, and get the other part as a bonus.

 

And if you have the SLIGHTEST bit of common sense, you would understand that.

 

And if you don't want to cover the cost of the cruise, put in $0 for the cruise cost. You still get the other coverages.

[Lady_831]

We usually don’t buy travel insurance for our cruises unless it’s right in the middle of hurricane season or we are spending a lot of money. I think we view cruises as just routine travel....not sure why. Some of our land based trips we view differently. We spent quite a bit of time and money on our travel insurance for our trip to Africa this fall.

 

 

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[murphy4]

If you only want medical and med evac insurance, and to not cover the cost of the trip, you can buy insurance with a $0 trip cost.

 

I recently did this for a trip. Just put in 0 for trip cost. Got medical, med evac, rental car (which I needed), luggage, and all the other side coverages. Just no trip cost coverage.

 

For a 10 day trip, it cost $50.

 

 

 

Confused as to why someone would not want to cover the cost of their trip..if they are spending 5-10k on a vacation wouldn’t they want that back if they have to cancel?

 

 

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[geomancer]

Confused as to why someone would not want to cover the cost of their trip..if they are spending 5-10k on a vacation wouldn’t they want that back if they have to cancel

 

That would be a case by case situation for people. Most don't spend that much, unless they're in suites, and if they're booking suites chances are they can afford the loss. Covering that large of a loss can be pretty pricey, a few hundred bucks. Do it a few times without needing it, and you might as well have set it aside and self insure.

 

Now, if this was a once in a lifetime vacation that you were spending money you saved for the past 10+ years for ... then maybe the peace of mind would be worth it to know all that effort wouldn't be wiped from an unfortunate event outside your control.

 

I personally get it, because both my wife and I still work (are not retired) and who knows what can happen with that. We've ended up having to use it once when my wife could not get the time off (we had booked over a year in advance). So our $100 of insurance got us $1000 back in non-refundable losses (we were able to cancel before final payment). So far we've spent ~$400 in insurance, and have recovered only that one time $1000. We're ahead, for now. But chances are we'll reach a point that we've spent more than we've gotten back.

 

We'll still always get it though, simply because of the medical expenses and evacuation coverage. That can be crippling for the rest of your life.