Insurance when virtually all of the cruise is paid by Cruise Credits

[zalusky]

So we just booked a southern Caribbean cruise in 2022 RT from Ft Lauderdale completely paid for by cruise credits from a previously cancelled cruise which expire April 30 of 2022.  I expect the only prepaid cash for the booking will be port fees and taxes.  Post expenses are the usual tips, excursions, and restaurant charges.

 

Our flights will be purchased with Chase points.

 

My wife is a 2 time Kidney Transplant patient and is currently doing well.  

 

So the question is what is the appropriate insurance in this situation.  Do we just get Medical insurance?  If we pay off the cruise with a Chase Sapphire card which was just downgraded to Preferred but can be upgraded back to reserve before final payment.  Is that adequate for the medical?

 

Is there a scenario where we would get money back for the cruise credits if we had to cancel early for medical or other reasons that would justify a more comprehensive plan?

[Sunburg1]

We buy insurance mostly for medical evacuation and medical insurance, NOT for fare reimbursement. Having very unexpectedly ended up in Foreign hospital it was worth it.

[klfrodo]

Sounds like you need a medical/Evac policy that includes coverage for pre-existing conditions.

Specific rules and regs for this type is dependent on state of residency. I live in Washington State and I can buy a policy like you need.

You should probably consider using the help of a broker. I use Steve at TripInsuranceStore.com

[iamtrustworthy]

20 hours ago, zalusky said:

So we just booked a southern Caribbean cruise in 2022 RT from Ft Lauderdale completely paid for by cruise credits from a previously cancelled cruise which expire April 30 of 2022.  I expect the only prepaid cash for the booking will be port fees and taxes.  Post expenses are the usual tips, excursions, and restaurant charges.

 

Our flights will be purchased with Chase points.

 

My wife is a 2 time Kidney Transplant patient and is currently doing well.  

 

So the question is what is the appropriate insurance in this situation.  Do we just get Medical insurance?  If we pay off the cruise with a Chase Sapphire card which was just downgraded to Preferred but can be upgraded back to reserve before final payment.  Is that adequate for the medical?

 

Is there a scenario where we would get money back for the cruise credits if we had to cancel early for medical or other reasons that would justify a more comprehensive plan?

Hi Zalusky,

 

Do you have a travel insurance policy which covered the cancelled cruise that you are able to re-use?

 

Steve Dasseos

[zalusky]

18 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

Hi Zalusky,

 

Do you have a travel insurance policy which covered the cancelled cruise that you are able to re-use?

 

Steve Dasseos

We had a Travelguard silver policy.  Is that something we can move or get,reimbursed if the cruise line cancels?

 

I should say the replacement trip is a different duration and itinerary.

Edited December 26, 2020 by zalusky

[zalusky]

1 hour ago, zalusky said:

We had a Travelguard silver policy.  Is that something we can move or get,reimbursed if the cruise line cancels?

 

I should say the replacement trip is a different duration and itinerary.

 

Well I did find a line on the Travelguard website saying if the cruise line cancelled the cruise you are entitled to insurance credits toward a future cruise so I am asking my Travel Agent to look into it.

 

For others reading I also asked her what happens if the replacement cruise is shorter, does that mean you have extra insurance credits you can apply to another vacation similar to splitting up cruise credits.

[klfrodo]

5 hours ago, zalusky said:

We had a Travelguard silver policy.  Is that something we can move or get,reimbursed if the cruise line cancels?

 

I should say the replacement trip is a different duration and itinerary.

This would have been good information to share in your original post.

 

Thanks for asking the question Steve.

[CCJack]

We have had to cancel a cruise due to covid, re-booked and then cancelled that one due to covid, and looking like we are going to have to cancel the 3rd one as well.

 

In all cases the airline refunded and and we took the FCC and kept moving our money forward.   Thus we had no claims on the insurance and the travel insurance company was very cooperative in allowing us to move the dates of the policy and then add a little bit of premium since the new cruise(s) were a bit more.   I am not sure what would have happened if the cruise price went down.   I kept the value of the policy (total trip cost) as if the FCC were cash.

 

I don't know the answer to your original question, if the travel insurance will pay you for the lost FCC.  My guess is you would have to show the original payment invoices for the actual $$ you originally paid and they would cover that but perhaps not the bonus 25% if the cruise line offered you that.

 

I would be interested in the answer to this as well.

 

 

[Babr]

In the past, one could not insure FCC because they have no cash value regardless of what you paid for the cruise in the first place. Things may have changed because of Covid, but I don’t know that.

 

You can still get coverage for medical, evacuation, trip delay, etc - just not cancellation.

[molly361]

I'm also interested in how this works. Looking to get back the cruise fare not necessarily medical. Have a 91 year old mother and an older husband. Trip mostly paid for with credits. Assuming you would lose them but don't know about that.  Probably going to get Royal's insurance which has cfar coverai

[iamtrustworthy]

On 7/9/2021 at 4:37 AM, molly361 said:

I'm also interested in how this works. Looking to get back the cruise fare not necessarily medical. Have a 91 year old mother and an older husband. Trip mostly paid for with credits. Assuming you would lose them but don't know about that.  Probably going to get Royal's insurance which has cfar coverai

HI molly361,

 

Are any of your credits the bonus credits?

 

Steve Dasseos

[molly361]

4 minutes ago, iamtrustworthy said:

HI molly361,

 

Are any of your credits the bonus credits?

 

Steve Dasseos

No they are future cruise certificates which Royal Caribbean gave out as opposed to getting a refund.  I'm thinking if you can't go you would lose those and only get back the actual money that they see as paid on the booking

[iamtrustworthy]

On 7/10/2021 at 12:05 PM, molly361 said:

No they are future cruise certificates which Royal Caribbean gave out as opposed to getting a refund.  I'm thinking if you can't go you would lose those and only get back the actual money that they see as paid on the booking

Most companies will let you insure the value of the FCCs that represent money you paid. Youncan't insure bonus credits.

 

However, when it comes to your initial trip deposit date, not all companies define the deposit date the same way.

 

Did you have a travel insurance policy that insure your original cruise? If so, you might be able to re-use it for your new cruise.

Edited July 12, 2021 by iamtrustworthy
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