Is Covid specific insurance required for fully vaccinated passengers

[drsel]

38 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I have had multiple MSC agents tell me that it is optional.

. My strategy is to wait until the date approaches and see how things look and if it looks like it is required then I’ll probably buy it. But I don’t want to spend $300 or so to buy it now and then later find out that I didn’t need to do that.

That's a good strategy and I plan to do the same--. wait for a month before the sailing date and make sure that it is mandatory, before paying for it

[NCTribeFan]

I just requested online bids.  We'll see.  The cruise I'd looked at and just checked again yesterday is suddenly a 5+15% sailing which made for a nice price drop.  If i don't get a significantly better offer, I'll book it myself (assuming I can get through to MSC before the 5+15 offer disappears).

 

I've also asked over on the Travel Insurance board whether anyone familiar with Allianz annual policies can confirm that their Covid coverage would suffice for MSC's domestic requirements.  I think it would.  It seems that Covid is now just another covered illness.  I don't sail until November (on HAL) so I have time to see how things change over the next couple of months.

 

I'm currently sitting at home waiting for the results of the Covid test I took yesterday.  Finally ventured away from home after 18 months of mostly solitary confinement.  Attended a reunion with what I figured was almost totally vaccinated folks (we're all in our late 60s) but by the time I got home on Monday, feeling not great.  Not terribly bad, but bad enough that I thought I'd get tested.  Why not?  It was free.  I play nanny once a week for my baby granddaughter and certainly don't want to expose her to the virus.

[doublebzz]

Just got off the phone with an MSC agent.  There was no wait time and the agent was most courteous if not completely knowledgeable.  One of the issues I raised was the fact that I couldn't download my e-ticket and documents after completing the check list.  She said they are normally available 20 days prior to sailing; however, she would attempt to email them to me.  About 10 minutes later I received the documents by email.  The documents cleared up the mystery surrounding the infamous "health questionnaire".  This document is not filled out on the MSC web site but was included with the cruise documents and is to be turned in during the boarding check-in process.  This is the wording:

"Please complete and sign this mandatory health questionnaire on embarkation day. This form must be submitted during the check-

in process."

 

 

[Stockjock]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:59 AM, NCTribeFan said:

I just requested online bids.  We'll see.  The cruise I'd looked at and just checked again yesterday is suddenly a 5+15% sailing which made for a nice price drop.  If i don't get a significantly better offer, I'll book it myself (assuming I can get through to MSC before the 5+15 offer disappears).

 

I've also asked over on the Travel Insurance board whether anyone familiar with Allianz annual policies can confirm that their Covid coverage would suffice for MSC's domestic requirements.  I think it would.  It seems that Covid is now just another covered illness.  I don't sail until November (on HAL) so I have time to see how things change over the next couple of months.

 

I'm currently sitting at home waiting for the results of the Covid test I took yesterday.  Finally ventured away from home after 18 months of mostly solitary confinement.  Attended a reunion with what I figured was almost totally vaccinated folks (we're all in our late 60s) but by the time I got home on Monday, feeling not great.  Not terribly bad, but bad enough that I thought I'd get tested.  Why not?  It was free.  I play nanny once a week for my baby granddaughter and certainly don't want to expose her to the virus.

I am doing a reunion next month and I’m a little concerned about it. Hopefully I won’t catch anything.

[CelebrationFamily]

5 hours ago, doublebzz said:

Just got off the phone with an MSC agent.  There was no wait time and the agent was most courteous if not completely knowledgeable.  One of the issues I raised was the fact that I couldn't download my e-ticket and documents after completing the check list.  She said they are normally available 20 days prior to sailing; however, she would attempt to email them to me.  About 10 minutes later I received the documents by email.  The documents cleared up the mystery surrounding the infamous "health questionnaire".  This document is not filled out on the MSC web site but was included with the cruise documents and is to be turned in during the boarding check-in process.  This is the wording:

"Please complete and sign this mandatory health questionnaire on embarkation day. This form must be submitted during the check-

in process."

 

 

Thank you so much for posting this scoop! 😃

[NCTribeFan]

6 hours ago, Stockjock said:

I am doing a reunion next month and I’m a little concerned about it. Hopefully I won’t catch anything.

 

Good news.  Negative result.  Guess I just feel crappy because of the long drive and 4 days of activity.  Just out of practice with actually doing things!

[Stockjock]

2 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

 

Good news.  Negative result.  Guess I just feel crappy because of the long drive and 4 days of activity.  Just out of practice with actually doing things!

Fortunately, my employer allows us to order up to 10 in home covid tests per month, free of charge.  I've done 3 so far, all thankfully negative.

 

[drsel]

EU is likely to reintroduce an entry ban on US again 

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-06/eu-expected-to-discuss-reimposing-travel-restrictions-on-u-s

 

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/eu-most-likely-to-reintroduce-entry-ban-on-us-next-week-sources-claim/

Edited August 8, 2021 by drsel

[drsel]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-review-safe-travel-list-could-reconsider-us-status-source-2021-08-06/

 

[Lisichka]

On 8/5/2021 at 11:07 AM, drsel said:

How could she say it was optional or not required/ not mandatory, when the MSC US website clearly states that ALL passengers need to buy the MSc full Travel Protection for ALL European cruises, even if they have their own private travel insurance AND are fully vaccinated.

Where does that even state that???  I do not see it anywhere and nor does my paid in full booking state that.

[Até]

59 minutes ago, Lisichka said:

Where does that even state that???  I do not see it anywhere and nor does my paid in full booking state that.

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/health-and-safety-measures/europe-cruises

[nissa505]

I am fully vaxxed but bought travel insurance for around $50 in case, well, I'm not sure what the in case is, but it seems like a good idea as I'm traveling across country to Miami for 8/23 Meraviglia departure. I'm still in the cancellation period for the policy I bought, and I think it's worthwhile to have it. I'd lose my flights at least if test positive before departing NM. I will do a local COVID test that results before I would head to the airport. Does this make sense to you all?

[Stockjock]

4 minutes ago, nissa505 said:

I am fully vaxxed but bought travel insurance for around $50 in case, well, I'm not sure what the in case is, but it seems like a good idea as I'm traveling across country to Miami for 8/23 Meraviglia departure. I'm still in the cancellation period for the policy I bought, and I think it's worthwhile to have it. I'd lose my flights at least if test positive before departing NM. I will do a local COVID test that results before I would head to the airport. Does this make sense to you all?

Yes, $50 isn't a lot of money.  In my case, for the 2 of us out of Europe (now cancelled), MSC was talking about $350 USD or so, which isn't insignificant.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Stockjock

[nissa505]

7 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Yes, $50 isn't a lot of money.  In my case, for the 2 of us out of Europe (now cancelled), MSC was talking about $350 USD or so, which isn't insignificant.

Thanks for the response. I need to make a decision tree or something to show all of the ways things could go wrong, and which insurance would pay for which bad thing. I don't know how the subrogation piece works if there is a covered event and I have the obligatory MSC plan plus mine. Yikes. At least more is better, and $50 is not a lot of extra, I agree.

[drsel]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Yes, $50 isn't a lot of money.  In my case, for the 2 of us out of Europe (now cancelled), MSC was talking about $350 USD or so, which isn't insignificant.

Which cruises did you cancel ?

Did you shift them to 2022, because a refund will take forever?

[Stockjock]

45 minutes ago, drsel said:

Which cruises did you cancel ?

Did you shift them to 2022, because a refund will take forever?

If I shift it the deposit can become non-refundable.  Just got a refund and I'll start from scratch next time.

Cancelled Nov 2021 11 night out of "Rome".

Edited August 10, 2021 by Stockjock

[NCTribeFan]

I got one response for a bid.  Same price as MSC's site.  I'll call, but unless they offer significant OBC, I'll pass.  That agency does charge a $20 processing fee.

 

Anyway, if I book, the new safety protocols for fully vax'd says that after booking, one has to "immediately" accept the terms and conditions.  I don't really like the idea of doing that since we know that these can change at any time.

 

For my December HAL cruise, I'm waiting to do my check-in and to accept the T&C until I need to make final payment.  I just don't like the idea of agreeing to a set of T&C that may not apply at sailing.  If I do accept them, and they change, will I then be required to accept the new ones or am I locked in for the ones I had to immediately accept at booking?

 

And then, there's still the COVID insurance issue that I'm trying to decipher and decide if the annual Allianz policy I want provides acceptable coverage.