I just bought trip insurance!

[FlamingJune1967]

Yesterday I booked our 10th cruise and today I purchased trip insurance for the first time ever!  I feel so adult right now! 🙂 
I hope I never have to use it, but I just feel like this is a huge "cruising" milestone.  I know insurance is widely recommended on the boards, but I've never met anyone in real life that actually buys it, and I am wondering if this is something that most cruisers do, or just the ones on cruise critic?
 

[K&RCurt]

Can't speak for others, but we always buy insurance.

 

The first cruise we were supposed to take I actually won as a prize given at a party celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the company I work for.  The companies travel agent made all the arrangements and insurance coverage was included.  We both came down with the flu the day before the cruise while in Ft. Lauderdale.  While we made it home and spent the week on the couch instead of on a ship, the insurance paid out the full cost of the cruise and we were able to actually take the cruise the next year.

 

After that the value of insurance was well proven and we would not book a vacation without it.

[TeaBag]

We bought it and unfortunately had to use it.  They paid every penny.

[Luvcrusn]

We always buy it. I suggest that you make sure you bought insurance that covers the cost of the cruise and travel and not just trip interruption insurance. Friends of ours bought that mistakenly and due to illness had to cancel the day of the cruise. Their insurance paid only $900 on a cruise that cost them over $4000. Lesson learned, read the policy!

[Baron Barracuda]

Never felt it was necessary.  Then came down with  flu aboard ship and incurred $1,000+ in medical bills, none reimbursable by my healthcare provider.  Now always purchase it.  Have since had to cancel one cruise on day of sailing and left another early to fly home for family emergency.  In both cases travel insurance covered everything.

[kearney]

Honestly, now that I am older.... my focus is more on the what ifs as far as health is concerned. I haven't purchased a high end policy, so it generally limits how much it will pay out in terms of the cruise cost...  We started purchasing travel insurance about the time we turned 60, but that is also when we began cruising more often. Have only used it once... ironically... we made it onto our ship a few days after Irma...but a few months later, coming back from another cruise, Atlanta airport was closed due to an ice storm. When it became clear that we would be trapped in Miami for at least 3 nights, we decided to rent a car and drive home. It did not dawn on my until we got home that travel insurance might cover some of this... and they covered hotel, meals and the rental car... so I recommend it highly... but you get what you pay for... I generally get a cheap policy realizing that it will not over everything...   Before Irma hit.. our plan was to drive to Orlando and then on to Miami... then I wondered what happens if the ship takes off and we are stuck on the road. our policy would not cover that... now they may have covered us catching up with the ship if we had a flight that was cancelled.... Anyway... if you purchase insurance for a cruise in hurricane season, check to find out what they will and will not cover when it comes to a hurricane.

 

[Guindalf]

Never used to buy it, but now, get it for just about every trip. 

However, we never get it from the cruise line, instead use insure my trip.com (without the spaces) as I can cover the flights and all aspects of the vacation, not just the cruise part. 

[hcat]

We always buy the cruise care ins  offered by the cruise co. Had to use that once  after final payment when I had gallbladder surgery on what would have been our sailaway day. Much better off at home than in the Carib!   Ins covered all,  and we re-booked  at a least minute great rate after the recovery period,

 

For Europe, we supplemented  cruise line ins with pvt ins for  air, evac and extra med coverage.  Had to use that once  after final payment. The   cancellation was due to a serious illness of family member needing surgery, treatment  and follow up care  by us. Coverage was good  (after a bit of a hassle over whether or not a  recent diagnos of  cancer is a pre existing illness) .  except for some unrefundable airline costs...but we were ultimately satisfied.

 

Now that we are Medicare age in US (it  does not cover outside U.S. and our supp ins does not as well) ) ...we def get the cruise line ins,  and  a supp evac and medical ins..  Essential!

 

We have spent alot on ins but feel it is part of the trip cost.  Hope to never need it, but you never know!

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2019 by hcat

[hiccups]

We've never travelled without it.  We buy from either The Trip Insurance Store or insuremytrip.com, as for us, it's less expensive and covers a lot more than cruise line insurance.  With elderly parents, we are mostly concerned if an issue should arise with them.

However, I've seen enough significant injuries occur to other passengers on our cruises, including ones that needed evacuation, that I'm certainly aware that could happen to us sometime.

[AdGuyMG]

2 hours ago, FlamingJune1967 said:

Yesterday I booked our 10th cruise and today I purchased trip insurance for the first time ever!  I feel so adult right now! 🙂 
I hope I never have to use it, but I just feel like this is a huge "cruising" milestone.  I know insurance is widely recommended on the boards, but I've never met anyone in real life that actually buys it, and I am wondering if this is something that most cruisers do, or just the ones on cruise critic?
 

About 70% of people who take a cruise purchase Travel Insurance.

[Kartgv]

Your question was whether many cruisers buy insurance or just cruisers on Cruise Critic?   I'm not sure how we could know that, but I'd guess that Cruise Critic cruisers might be more likely to buy it because they are more educated about what can happen if you don't have insurance.   It's possible that a novice cruiser who hadn't been researching cruise information wouldn't even think about insurance.    

 

We sometimes don't buy cruise cancellation insurance - depends on the total cost of the trip - but never leave the country without a good medical and evacuation policy.    We now do the annual policies since we generally do several trips a year.   

[tgg]

Many years ago, someone on the Oceania Cruise Critic board recommended the Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa card.  It includes amazing travel insurance. Google it and take a look at the list of benefits.  We've had to cancel trips and they have come through each time. 

[elaineb]

I have had to use travel insurance 2x.  Once on a land trip to Italy - I had to cancel due to a stress fracture in my foot.  The 2nd time was last summer.   We were scheduled to cruise in July and I had a bad fall in May, resulting in 2 surgeries.  Got back every penny and even Southwest felt bad for me and gave me cash back instead of the usual voucher which you have to use in 6 months.  Accidents happen.  I would never, ever, cruise without insurance.

[bEwAbG]

You can go without it as long as you're willing to lose whatever you paid should something happen.  I insure any trip over a few thousand dollars.  I also always get a third party policy because the cost & payouts are generally better than what any travel provider is hawking.  Lots of companies that sell their own insurance-that's-not-really-insurance do whatever they can to keep your cash and provide you with travel credits instead.  Celebrity offers both insurance and non-insurance, so you have to read the fine print to understand what each covers.

Edited September 6, 2019 by bEwAbG

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We always buy it and had to use it once when we cancelled the day of the cruise. We were already in San Diego from Pittsburgh and the insurance paid for the cost of the cruise, some of our rebooked airfare, hotel for me, and our co pay from our health insurance. We did enjoy 3 days in San Diego before my DH got admitted to the hospital so we considered it a mini vacation.  Also took that opportunity to upgrade to a suite on our next cruise and haven't looked back.

[T^2]

We've always purchase it for our cruises.  On our last cruise in July, I actually did it a little differently.  I used the travel insurance from my credit card to cover up to the card's limit and then purchased insurance from a source other than the cruise line (don't know that it was better or worse, but like to spread the money around!), and then a small portion was left uninsured/self-insured.  Now that I am on the "older" side of life, the full insurance is getting more expensive.  Need to "save" for the cruises rather than the insurance!  BTW, so far haven't had to use it.  I hope to keep that record intact.

Edited September 6, 2019 by T^2

[Responder]

Very important is to cover pre-existing medical conditions. 

Not all policies do and when they do, you must buy the policy usually within 15 days of making your deposit.

Also some policies that do cover it require you to insure for the full cost of the trip. Only a few do not require this.

Since some credit cards cover the trip cost, this would be more costly than necessary.

I have only used insuremytrip because you can filter any prices only for the provisions you want and their support is excellent.

We have had a few minor claims over the years and they did well for us.

[cruise kitty]

I always buy the medical & evac policy, but go back & forth on the full trip insurance.  Our credit card includes a certain amount of insurance, so we wouldn't be completely out of pocket.  As my mom gets older however, I might have to start taking out a more full policy in case she had a medical emergency & needed us to return suddenly. 

[sippican]

The only coverage we buy is an annual evacuation policy through MedJet Assist. We rely on our Chase Sapphire Reserve for cancellation, delay, etc.

 

FWIW, be aware of your evacuation clause if that is important to you. It is usually to the nearest medical facility, not back home.

Edited September 6, 2019 by sippican

[tallnthensome]

I always buy cruise insurance, Go to Consumers Affairs website and search the cruise lines. You'll find hundreds of complaints from people who don't purchase cruise insurance, get sick, and then complain that the lines are not giving them their money back even though thumb their noses at insurance beforehand so they leave bad reviews. I laugh at them .... 

[Sascol]

Taking out 24th cruise in November - purchased cruise insurance for the 24th time in July before we made final payment. 

[roxievegas]

we purchase insurance through whichever cruise line we are going on.  I did purchase a 3rd party for a B2B2B 34 nights to Europe a few years ago, it was half the price of getting it through the cruise line.  You can get a policy for the whole year for around $425 (GeoBlue Voyager Choice) and it covers all trips during that year.  Since we only do 2 cruises a year,  I will purchase individually.  If I do a longer cruise , then will consider the yearly coverage.

[ORD1166]

After about 10 cruises, our travel agent asked if I wanted travel insurance.  Not sure why, but why not?  Never had it before.

  

We drove to Galveston to spend the night before the cruise.  We were supposed to board in the morning, however, at 2:00 am I suffered a heart attack.  This was shortly after Hurricane Ike had flooded the local hospital so ambulance took me back to the mainland.  The insurance covered the cost of the cruise, ambulance ride, hotel stay after hospital release (doctor said to stay in area a few days), meals, and covered what our medical did not.

 

Later that year a "sister reunion" cruise was booked for my wife & her 3 sisters (in the Owner's Suite) out of Ft. Lauderdale.  Two weeks before sailing, one of them was in a very serious accident with life threatening head injuries.  The insurance fully covered the cost of the trip, non-refundable hotel, and airfare.  Had they already left for the trip, it would have covered the medical also.  She is doing great now.

 

Seems at least once nearly every cruise we have seen someone being taken off the ship by ambulance, some even before the first sail away has taken place.  Very sad for them.

 

We are firm believers & now never cruise without travel insurance.  Our daughter's family is based overseas with the military so we now take an annual policy that covers our visits there for medical/evacuation.

 

Happy sailing to all!

[Doctor G]

I always buy insurance.  To me it is important that the medical insurance be primary rather than secondary.  If it is secondary you must submit to your health insurance first; if they deny the claim then the travel insurance will pay.  Since I am on Medicare, and I know they will not pay, having to submit a claim to them would only delay the reimbursement process.  I don't know about other cruise lines, but the insurance through Celebrity is secondary.

 

Carolyn

[FlamingJune1967]

Wow!  Thank you all for sharing your stories.  It reinforces my decision.  Thanks to this forum, I knew to go to the trip insurance store, so I think we are set!  I pray none of you ever need to use that insurance you so wisely buy again!