Covid on Iona

[Bgees]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Also, as an aside, I heard on Rip Off Britain this morning they're going to have live travel questions with Simon Calder later this week. I'm toying with sending a question on this issue if no reply arrives. Perhaps they could rattle the insurance companies' cages ...

Funnily enough I got contacted by a researcher for Rip Off Britain about the cancellation of people's holidays if they were travelling with children. I didn't go on the show because our children are double vaccinated and they wanted people whose holiday had been cancelled by P&O. I wonder if it will be mentioned

[Redsquirrel59]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That's great news. Yes, I am aware most insurers are saying case by case but delighted someone has been paid out.  Are you insured on a specialist cruise policy or one from a major insurer or bank?

I'm sorry to hear some are struggling, I hope Fred is helping them at least in the short term

It's one of the major insurers, we did add on cruise cover, but it's not a specialist cruise policy. Fred have been in contact every day, I think they are helping others, but not sure to what extent.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you, no worries Cathygh has put me in the loop.  Sounds more positive if they can stay on. I think maybe it's due to Gibraltar being UK and also the short run to home for Britannia.

 

I mentioned you in dispatches this morning re 31 October, keep your fingers crossed!

Well that is slightly relieving for me as well, after having our cruise cancelled because our cabin was needed for the new quarantine protocols, I was feeling a bit annoyed that they weren't being used.

[Megabear2]

Insurer number 20:

 

I might be getting somewhere with Aviva!  I am awaiting confirmation but it looks very promising. Their health restrictions are pretty strict, so not for everyone - they wont cover my husband's heart condition  for instance.  They will cover our myriad of other problems including fibromyalgia, depression, IBS and breast cancer from 28 years ago.

 

I'm awaiting a call back but the lady on the telephone directed me to this:

 

"If I’m advised to self-isolate while I’m abroad, am I covered?

Yes. As long as you didn’t travel against FCDO advice, you're covered.

We'll help out with emergency medical treatment and extra accommodation and travel costs if you need to stay longer than you expected (up to the limits set out in your policy documents)."

 

I'm trying to check policy limits, I believe you can increase it, certainly you can increase days of cover quite substantially at s cost.

[Interestedcruisefan]

40 minutes ago, Redsquirrel59 said:

The hotel that the authorities sent us to wasn't one I'd choose, rooms were basic but clean, did have a balcony which helped. Meals delivered to door three times a day plus drinks and snacks, quality not great. We were under the care of the hospital and received daily calls to see if we had any symptoms on the days when the nurse didn't visit to test us. Not being able to leave the room under any circumstances is what made it so difficult.

 

 

Sounds ok compared to some horror stories. 

 

 

[free from work]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

How can an older withdrawn  policy cover the current Covid situation with all its complications?

 

It is a "premium" policy which was downgraded for new cc holders several years ago but retained some elements for existing cc holders. If you close the CC account you can't keep the travel insurance. 

 

Jim 

[Interestedcruisefan]

19 minutes ago, free from work said:

It is a "premium" policy which was downgraded for new cc holders several years ago but retained some elements for existing cc holders. If you close the CC account you can't keep the travel insurance. 

 

Jim 

I guess my point us Jim how can it even refer to Covid etc when it's an old policy?

 

And even though it's something you are entitled to surely it's subject to annual changes?

[Megabear2]

I think from my original research Aviva would cover the offloading from the £5,000 under the abandonment section. If the M&S policy Jim holds is underwritten by Aviva I assume it pretty much has the same policy levels. Certainly they were the most positive I spoke to originally.

 

I suppose for all of us the costs are the crucial element.  Would £5,000 cover your quarantine costs complete with all the tests etc? I've no idea. Redsquirrel59 had a major insurer pick up his tab but it sounds like others offloaded at the same time did not.  

 

The Bajan quarantine hotel  looked at was the cheapest at US$125 per night plus $30 for food.  If it went 10 days you would use up about £1100 on that, then add medical expenses and flight home ... if you are near the end of yourv14 nights not much change in your £5,000.

 

Probably okay in Europe.

[Harry Peterson]

1 hour ago, Redsquirrel59 said:

The hotel that the authorities sent us to wasn't one I'd choose, rooms were basic but clean, did have a balcony which helped. Meals delivered to door three times a day plus drinks and snacks, quality not great. We were under the care of the hospital and received daily calls to see if we had any symptoms on the days when the nurse didn't visit to test us. Not being able to leave the room under any circumstances is what made it so difficult.

 

 

Glad it worked out tolerably well financially, but sorry your cruise was spoiled.  Not what you wanted, but I suppose at least the insurer footed the bill.

 

Did you at least have a decent supply of Pasteis de Nata?

[free from work]

30 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I guess my point us Jim how can it even refer to Covid etc when it's an old policy?

 

And even though it's something you are entitled to surely it's subject to annual changes?

Yes you are right about the annual changes. Covid cover was specifically included into the policy in Feb 2021. We have to confirm eligibility for the policy cover each year too. Underwriting is done in the same way as other Aviva travel insurance but the level of cover is significantly higher than currently available. 

 

Jim

[free from work]

32 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I think from my original research Aviva would cover the offloading from the £5,000 under the abandonment section. If the M&S policy Jim holds is underwritten by Aviva I assume it pretty much has the same policy levels. Certainly they were the most positive I spoke to originally.

 

I suppose for all of us the costs are the crucial element.  Would £5,000 cover your quarantine costs complete with all the tests etc? I've no idea. Redsquirrel59 had a major insurer pick up his tab but it sounds like others offloaded at the same time did not.  

 

The Bajan quarantine hotel  looked at was the cheapest at US$125 per night plus $30 for food.  If it went 10 days you would use up about £1100 on that, then add medical expenses and flight home ... if you are near the end of yourv14 nights not much change in your £5,000.

 

Probably okay in Europe.

I have confirmed the cover in our policy on a webchat which I copied so happy with that. 

 

As I mentioned to ICF in my previous post the level of cover was reduced for new customers so we are not unhappy with our policy protection. 

 

Having said that you only know how good an insurance policy is after you have made a claim. We have needed to claim on ours in the past and were very pleased with the service. 

 

Jim 

[Dermotsgirl]

4 hours ago, Redsquirrel59 said:

I've been following this thread over the last few days with interest, but have waited until now to comment having just flown home from Funchal. As one of the close contacts of a confirmed case on the ship I was evacuated from the ship and placed in quarantine for 10 days until I had 2 negative pcr tests, got the all clear on Sunday.

I was the person who first picked up your situation in Funchal, from a social media post, so I'm pleased to hear that you have now been able to return home. It must be quite a relief. 

[Dermotsgirl]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

How can an older withdrawn  policy cover the current Covid situation with all its complications?

 

Its a legacy product closed to new applicants. However, this doesn't mean that the policy T&Cs stay exactly the same as they were on the day the policy was withdrawn for new business.  

[Dermotsgirl]

4 hours ago, free from work said:

We have travel insurance through our M&S CC (the old Premium Club cover). I have checked his morning and anybody insured on the policy is covered if their travelling companion tests positive but they test negative. 

 

I didn't check about the missed ports or excursions but at the moment I am not too worried about them. 

 

Thanks for all your efforts. 

 

Jim

We used to have the M&S Premium Club travel  insurance, and I thought it was excellent.  We had to cancel a cruise at very short notice as my mum died, and they paid out with no fuss or quibble, which was much appreciated at a stressful time.  We'd still have the insurance now, but I have Meniere's Disease, which is not covered under this policy, so we had to stop it. A shame, because it was good value and a good product. 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Insurer number 20:

 

I might be getting somewhere with Aviva!  I am awaiting confirmation but it looks very promising. Their health restrictions are pretty strict, so not for everyone - they wont cover my husband's heart condition  for instance.  They will cover our myriad of other problems including fibromyalgia, depression, IBS and breast cancer from 28 years ago.

 

I'm awaiting a call back but the lady on the telephone directed me to this:

 

"If I’m advised to self-isolate while I’m abroad, am I covered?

Yes. As long as you didn’t travel against FCDO advice, you're covered.

We'll help out with emergency medical treatment and extra accommodation and travel costs if you need to stay longer than you expected (up to the limits set out in your policy documents)."

 

I'm trying to check policy limits, I believe you can increase it, certainly you can increase days of cover quite substantially at s cost.

I will have a slightly different twist to the isolation/ quarantine scenarios, as my next cruise is in the UK.  I will have to find out what my insurer's (Staysure) attitude would be if I was offloaded in the UK.  In theory, I suppose we could be driven home, but that wouldn't apply for our Guernsey or Belfast stops. Also, I will have to find out from Cunard whether they would offload us anyway, or keep us in isolation on the ship, bearing in mind we will never be too far from a port if a passenger became really ill.

 

To be honest, Covid becomes prevalent on cruise ships I would be quite happy to walk away and lose my deposit, even though it was quite a large deposit. I originally paid the money in October 2019, so the money has been gone for two years, and there will come a point where I will have to decide whether to go on the cruise or not, and then move on - I'm not sure constant postponement is the route I want to go down. 

[Megabear2]

I totally agree. I was seconds from pushing the button to join my family on Iona on 27 November, cabin selected, details entered and thenthought no if I was forced off near the end of the cruise into minimum 10 days quarantine I would run into Christmas with flights and goodness knows what. We are going to Austria to visit friends we haven't seen since September 2019 and quarantine would ruin that as well. Just not worth it so I put my card away.

 

Cunard Caribbean sadly looks like it's going to same way which will leave me with Aurora in April,  NCL Prima in September, Celebrity Silhouette in October and Britannia for New Year 2022. All bar Prima are rearranged already from other cancelled plans.  

[emam]

I sent an email to Staysure on Friday near to closing time and got an automated reply. So far no answer to my question of whether a person testing negative would be covered. 

 

Thank you Megabear for all the research you have done.

[Electra 7]

9 hours ago, Redsquirrel59 said:

I've been following this thread over the last few days with interest, but have waited until now to comment having just flown home from Funchal. As one of the close contacts of a confirmed case on the ship I was evacuated from the ship and placed in quarantine for 10 days until I had 2 negative pcr tests, got the all clear on Sunday.

Hi glad you are ok Redsquirrel can you tell me did you have to self isolate in room on your own or was the person you went on holiday withallowed to be with you or did they have to be in different room

[Megabear2]

The insurance issue is now coming to light down under:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2808391-travel-insurance-for-covid-when-on-a-cruises/

 

From Seabourn site my question to North America has produced this:

 

"There is at least one travel insurance company that offers an optional feature that provides some reimbursement for quarantining. It also offers CFAR and interruption for any reason components. Not cheap though, and both only at 75%. Depends if one wants maximum risk protection. Time sensitive to 14 days and 21 days after first payment for trip made. I'm not sure I can mention the company ."

 

So it seems a rare commodity in North America as well and not as I thought something readily available.

 

My opinion (for what it's worth!) is that worldwide there is a problem.  In the rush to get passengers back all but a few lines have decided to lull the customers into a false sense of security by pointing to Covid insurance policies which are unfortunately lacking in some respects but sound good until you look deeper and need to use  them.

 

Naively the cruising community has trusted the messages boldly displayed on websites and literature and we all believed our favourite cruise line would not lie to us, or at least not intentionally.  To draw a weird comparison, how many of us thought as we watched on the television news people scrabbling outside Northern Rock to get their money, well thank goodness my bank isn't like that ... Brand loyalty is highly valued by companies for that exact reason. 

 

Flying by the seat of their pants the majority of lines seem to be happy to hope only small numbers will be affected and they can keep a lid on the real situation by suppressing news via social media, the press and forums such as this. 

 

We have heard from Redsquirrel59 that there is a possibility some of those offloaded with him may be having some difficulties, but we probably won't hear the outcome for these people even if it's good. Keeping the lid on a possibly explosive situation at this stage will be relatively cheap to the cruise lines. The real test will come as numbers creep up and distances to home increase. 

 

Until the world starts to hear from someone with the opposite experience to Redsquirrel59 we can't truthfully consider our individual positions and this is good for the cruise lines as a public who aren't aware there may even be a problem will blindly carry on booking happy in their ignorance.

 

For me personally it's fairly easy now to decide, I dont think I'm going to get a straight answer! The next step is most likely to be to press the cancel button on all but one of these cruises, I'll leave you to guess which one ...

 

[watsonbeau]

Redsquirrel - glad you have got home safely.  Are you able to give a clue as to which insurance company you used as might well contact them and ask some questions - thank you

Edited October 20, 2021 by watsonbeau

[Snow Hill]

Just to add to the piece this is what the FAQs for the insurance company I used prior to COVID, they sent me an offer the other day to renew, however checking the FAQs in respect of quarantine it says this and appears there is no cover, I have messaged them about what happens in respect of being offloaded from a cruise, I await their answer.

 

If I am quarantined due to the Coronavirus, what cover is in place? 

• Before your holiday: If you choose to quarantine due to developing COVID-19 symptoms or on the advice of a medical professional, no cover would be in place unless you provide written evidence of a positive COVID-19 test.

• During your holiday: There would be no cover provided for this. We recommend making enquiries with your Tour Operator or travel and accommodation provider(s) in respect of how they will respond if this occurs. However if you have been hospitalised due to coronavirus your policy will extend to provide assistance with returning home once you have been discharged.

https://www.travelinsurance4medical.co.uk/information/coronavirus
 

 

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

We recommend making enquiries with your Tour Operator or travel and accommodation provider(s) in respect of how they will respond if this occurs.

Maybe now is the time for everyone on this board with an interest to email P&O et al.  This is quite clear so a real opportunity. Be my guest ..

 

Executive.Correspondence@carnivalukgroup.com

 

[SarahHben]

I emailed Avanti insurance as I know that’s who my parents have their insurance with for their November cruise. Avanti replied saying as long as they are on the same policy, the partner of someone testing positive would be covered in the event of having to leave the ship with their partner even if testing negative themselves. The proviso being that it was deemed necessary by their medical officer.

[Interestedcruisefan]

10 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

I emailed Avanti insurance as I know that’s who my parents have their insurance with for their November cruise. Avanti replied saying as long as they are on the same policy, the partner of someone testing positive would be covered in the event of having to leave the ship with their partner even if testing negative themselves. The proviso being that it was deemed necessary by their medical officer.

Two points here

 

1) Is it necessary for a medical officer to disembark partners?

 

I imagine most partners would choose to disembark to be there to support their partners etc. But then that would be personal choice? And not covered by insurance.

 

2) But similarly you have to assume close contacts not on the same insurance policy can't be made to disembark if not positive because based on the above they wouldnt be insured ? 

 

So can close contacts not positive insist on staying on board should a medical officer want to disembark them

 

More questions than answers for me

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Interestedcruisefan

[Adawn47]

3 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

 The proviso being that it was deemed necessary by their medical officer.

I have read that that on certain occasions it's the port authority that has insisted the pax are disembarked and not the onboard medical officer. Wiould that negate that proviso?

Avril