Couple of random NCL questions

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We will be taking our second NCL cruise. Now that our parent are getting older, as are we, we have decided to purchase trip insurance for the first time. Do you purchase yours through NCL or a private company?  If you go private, why do you do so?  What all is covered?  If we can’t make the cruise for some reason would we get a refund?  What about hospital stays, being flown out, etc?  Thanks for any info you can provide in helping us make our decision. 

 

Second, we have the free flights included from Charlotte to Miami. I understand they will fly us out same day. I realize this will be a rather short flight, but what happens if we miss the ship due to flight delays. Are they responsible since they book our flights?  We’re considering paying extra ($25) to fly in the night before. If we pay that, can we chose our time?  We wouldn’t be able to go until late because I will have to work that day. Do we have to deal with our luggage at all, or do they take care of it for us?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. 

[Son of a son of a ...]

There are a lot of insurance sites.  Try “insuremytrip[dot]com” and spec out what you need for coverage.  

[Oakman58]

Regardless of age, I would never take a cruise without buying trip insurance.  Generally trip insurance from a private company offers better (higher) coverage than what most cruise lines offer.  NCL offers trip insurance based on the cost of the cruise fare while most private companies base their price on cost of the trip and the age of the insured.  There are websites that will allow you to compare coverage and cost of the private companies.  In my opinion taking a trip without coverage is foolish.

 

I can't help with your other question.

 

[shout19661966]

edit.

Edited August 25, 2019 by shout19661966

[hallux]

Other than requesting to go a day early, you don't really have any control over when your flights are.  It's possible NCL will pick "less desirable" flights because that also means "less expensive".  That means you could be on a 6 AM flight from CLT to MIA the day before your cruise, then you want to find things to do for that day.

 

This also means that you have little control over your return flights so it's possible (though on such a short hop maybe not) that you could end up at home the next day.

[Dar & Bob]

We always buy trip insurance because things do happen regardless of age.  I purchase the insurance separate since buying through the cruise lines covers the cruise portion only.  On our upcoming trip we have expensive flights, several nights hotel on the front and back side.  Most of the insurance companies offer several levels of coverage (silver, gold etc.) 

 

You need to personally assess what you need. There are many things to consider such as if you were to be hospitalized in a foreign country could you afford to pay for it up front.  There are cancel for any reason policies which of course cost more.  Only you can make that call. 

[ColeThornton]

Just an FYI, there is a Cruise/Travel insurance forum here on CC that has a ton of great info that I'm sure you would find to be very helpful.   Here is the link for you:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

[Turtles06]

59 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

Regardless of age, I would never take a cruise without buying trip insurance.  Generally trip insurance from a private company offers better (higher) coverage than what most cruise lines offer. 

 

I agree as to both points. I’m not sure why people who don’t have aging parents, or who believe themselves healthy, think nothing could happen to them that could cause them to have to cancel an expensive trip. Stuff can happen.  To anyone. 

 

Also, many Americans, even those with health insurance, don’t have health insurance that will cover them abroad. Again, stuff can happen.  To anyone.   We consider travel insurance to be part of the cost of our trips. 

 

[Oakman58]

One more thing about trip insurance regardless of where you purchase it.  Documentation is the key to getting reimbursed.  Get documentation for everything and be sure those documents are signed if necessary.  Also, read the actual policy before you buy it and pay particular attention to what is exempted from coverage.  I speak from experience.

[esm54687]

1 hour ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I agree as to both points. I’m not sure why people who don’t have aging parents, or who believe themselves healthy, think nothing could happen to them that could cause them to have to cancel an expensive trip. Stuff can happen.  To anyone. 

 

Also, many Americans, even those with health insurance, don’t have health insurance that will cover them abroad. Again, stuff can happen.  To anyone.   We consider travel insurance to be part of the cost of our trips. 

 

Totally agree with this!! 

 

 

[coin ops]

For what it's worth, after looking at various cruise insuranceoprion, we chose Natiowide for our last few cruises.  They seemed to have the best coverage options for the price. They even paid for a 4 hour delay in arriving airport stop without any issues other than proving a letter of proof from NCL. 

FYI, we have no association with Natiowide, just very happy with their product.

https://travel.nationwide.com/plans/cruise

 

[MasterCoach]

6 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We will be taking our second NCL cruise. Now that our parent are getting older, as are we, we have decided to purchase trip insurance for the first time. Do you purchase yours through NCL or a private company?  If you go private, why do you do so?  What all is covered?  If we can’t make the cruise for some reason would we get a refund?  What about hospital stays, being flown out, etc?  Thanks for any info you can provide in helping us make our decision. 

 

Second, we have the free flights included from Charlotte to Miami. I understand they will fly us out same day. I realize this will be a rather short flight, but what happens if we miss the ship due to flight delays. Are they responsible since they book our flights?  We’re considering paying extra ($25) to fly in the night before. If we pay that, can we chose our time?  We wouldn’t be able to go until late because I will have to work that day. Do we have to deal with our luggage at all, or do they take care of it for us?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. 

We now buy a comprehensive insurance when we book in advance and we found our TA had some of the best price on policies.  In our experience we needed to cancel for emergency health reason and it made a big difference and we got all our money back.

 

 Also NCL offers an inexpensive policy:

 

When planning a great vacation, you want to think about nothing but having a good time, but things CAN happen! Adding Essentials Travel Protection to your reservation can protect your travel investment against the unexpected.

PRICE

$25.00

per person

Why book Travel Protection?

• Trip Delay
• Accident/Sickness Medical Coverage
• Emergency Evacuation
• Repatriation
• Baggage Loss
• Bag Delay

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by MasterCoach

[NCteacherlovescruising]

9 hours ago, hallux said:

Other than requesting to go a day early, you don't really have any control over when your flights are.  It's possible NCL will pick "less desirable" flights because that also means "less expensive".  That means you could be on a 6 AM flight from CLT to MIA the day before your cruise, then you want to find things to do for that day.

 

This also means that you have little control over your return flights so it's possible (though on such a short hop maybe not) that you could end up at home the next day.

I don't mind a 6 AM flight into Miami as long as they arrange for our bags to be taken to the port.  That would give us some time to hang out in Miami.  We actually chose a 6 AM flight this coming Saturday into NYC so we could spend the day there playing tourist before cruising on Sunday.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

Just an FYI, there is a Cruise/Travel insurance forum here on CC that has a ton of great info that I'm sure you would find to be very helpful.   Here is the link for you:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

Thank you!  I was not aware of this.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

8 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I agree as to both points. I’m not sure why people who don’t have aging parents, or who believe themselves healthy, think nothing could happen to them that could cause them to have to cancel an expensive trip. Stuff can happen.  To anyone. 

 

Also, many Americans, even those with health insurance, don’t have health insurance that will cover them abroad. Again, stuff can happen.  To anyone.   We consider travel insurance to be part of the cost of our trips. 

 

 

I think when we were younger we felt like nothing would happen to us.  Now that our parents are getting older and we are seeing a friend here and there having a heart attack when are feeling more vulnerable.  

[The Other Tom]

We always buy trip insurance, usually with a company on insuremytrip.com.  Since our medical insurance is not valid out of the US, we usually get a policy with a high medical insurance coverage.  Most policies will pay if you have to cancel because you or a family member (including a parent) gets sick and needs you to help them.  You can compare policies on the website you mentioned but read the policy for the one you choose to make sure it covers what you want.

[smplybcause]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I don't mind a 6 AM flight into Miami as long as they arrange for our bags to be taken to the port.  That would give us some time to hang out in Miami.  We actually chose a 6 AM flight this coming Saturday into NYC so we could spend the day there playing tourist before cruising on Sunday.  

 

They take care of your bags if you pay for the port transfer. They might take your bags and not you on the bus if you pay for the port transfer, but that's a lot of money to pay for the bags and then whatever you pay to play tourist and then get to the port. 

[SouthLyonCruiser]

We have always booked our travel insurance outside the cruise line.

Cruise line insurance is a secondary policy which requires that you first make a claim to your homeowners and your credit card company before they will pay.

We had a claim with AIG when my father in law was diagnosed with cancer one week prior to the cruise. I called AIG and they sent me all of the forms and told me not to call before at least six weeks passed after mailing the forms.

I followed the directions exactly and had a check within two weeks.

They have several levels of coverage and you choose what is right for you. The charge is based on total cost and your age. I used to by it on line myself but found that my travel agent could get it and that makes the trip easier being handled by one person. 

Good luck.

[Cruise_More_Often]

18 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

They take care of your bags if you pay for the port transfer. They might take your bags and not you on the bus if you pay for the port transfer, but that's a lot of money to pay for the bags and then whatever you pay to play tourist and then get to the port. 

 

I believe if you fly in a day early, there won't be a port transfer, since the ship is leaving the following day. 

[smplybcause]

4 minutes ago, Cruise_More_Often said:

 

I believe if you fly in a day early, there won't be a port transfer, since the ship is leaving the following day. 

 

Correct. I assumed by 6am flight they were talking day of, but maybe I'm wrong?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

3 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

Correct. I assumed by 6am flight they were talking day of, but maybe I'm wrong?

 

Yes, I would only do transfers if it was day of. 

[Birdie And Sue]

On 8/25/2019 at 9:07 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We will be taking our second NCL cruise. Now that our parent are getting older, as are we, we have decided to purchase trip insurance for the first time. Do you purchase yours through NCL or a private company?  If you go private, why do you do so?  What all is covered?  If we can’t make the cruise for some reason would we get a refund?  What about hospital stays, being flown out, etc?  Thanks for any info you can provide in helping us make our decision. 

 

Second, we have the free flights included from Charlotte to Miami. I understand they will fly us out same day. I realize this will be a rather short flight, but what happens if we miss the ship due to flight delays. Are they responsible since they book our flights?  We’re considering paying extra ($25) to fly in the night before. If we pay that, can we chose our time?  We wouldn’t be able to go until late because I will have to work that day. Do we have to deal with our luggage at all, or do they take care of it for us?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. 

Very good questions.  They do not sound random at all.  Sounds more like you had specific questions you would like to have answers to...

We got insurance one time in all of our cruises and it happened to be the one time we had to have someone cancel.  We got it through NCL and had no issues with the claim.  What all is (and is not) covered is all based on what policy you buy.  Read the contract and details before buying anything as you well know.

Pay the $25 to fly in a day early.

Not random answers! 🙂

[Mrs. H.]

I wouldn't leave home without trip/travel insurance.

Twice I've had to cancel a trip.  One time I had to cancel a trip due to my husbands back going out.  A few years ago I had to cancel my trip since my Dad had passed away 6 days before I was to leave, but at the same time there was hurricane Sandy down south so the resort we were going to stay in was not in service.  It was easier to cancel with my Dad's death certificate and they paid me and since I still had the plane scheduled for 4 days after the funeral, my family said it would be silly for us not go.  We booked a wonderful Marriott hotel on the beach and it was good to get away.

I hate when people complain and bad mouth the cruise lines not giving them back their money since they broke an arm or a leg a few days b4 the cruise.  Or grandpa died.  Really?   If that's how it worked, non of us would have to buy insurance!

 

I always go thru insuremyrip.  Usually I get AIG but recently got Nationwide which had more coverage for less money.