Required Health Insurance?

[frankp01]

I see that, per the Cunard website, health insurance is required:

All guests are required to have comprehensive cruise-specific travel insurance in order to sail with us. You will be asked to confirm that you have travel insurance at the terminal and may be required to show your insurance documents as proof of your policy. Unfortunately, you will be denied boarding, at your own expense, if you do not arrange insurance.

Does this apply to US travelers, and, if so, exactly what type of insurance is required? We've taken the Cunard Care, and in addition, will have supplementary international health insurance (an add-on to our domestic plan). Do I need to call Cunard to ensure this is sufficient?

 

Actually, I see that I was on the 'EN-GB' page rather than the 'EN-US' page. The US page states:

We strongly recommend that you secure comprehensive vacation insurance when you sail with us. 

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by frankp01
to add US wording

[bluemarble]

Thanks for clarifying that @frankp01. I was about to ask where you were seeing an insurance requirement on the Cunard US website as opposed to the Cunard UK website.

[frankp01]

We do have a Brit as part of our party, so I need to make sure he's aware of the insurance requirement.

[bluemarble]

3 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

We do have a Brit as part of our party, so I need to make sure he's aware of the insurance requirement.

 

You've probably already seen this page, but if not, here's a link to a page on the Cunard UK website (/en-gb/) outlining the insurance requirements for UK guests.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/the-cunard-experience/sailing-with-confidence/insurance

[frankp01]

Thanks. I had seen that, and, in fact, have just finished forwarding that to him. Here's his reply

 

That is a very timely email as I was about to contact my travel insurers to renew my policy so I will take this up with them tomorrow.

Until "Uncle Joe" gave the green light I was advised by my insurers not to bother renewing but because he has allowed  foreign travel into the US I was going to contact my insurers to organise this but now of course I need to take this literally on board.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MaisonRose]

I took Cunard Care when I book but I haven’t seen what it covers. Is there a link I can use? I’m a US citizen.

im really enjoying what I’ve learned reading the Cunard boards as well as the Roll Call.

[bluemarble]

27 minutes ago, MaisonRose said:

I took Cunard Care when I book but I haven’t seen what it covers. Is there a link I can use? I’m a US citizen.

im really enjoying what I’ve learned reading the Cunard boards as well as the Roll Call.

 

Assuming you booked under the US booking terms and conditions as a resident of Maryland, I can provide these links to "CunardCare Guest Protection" information. 

 

Start with this page.

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/CPR_Landing.html

 

Then this link gets you to the additional specifics which apply to Maryland.

 

https://affinitytravelcert.com/document/pdfs/Cunard_33_State_COI_v2.pdf

 

Edit to add: This assumes the links provided on the Cunard US website are accurate. It's probably a good idea to confirm the details of your insurance coverage through whomever you used to book your voyage (travel agent or Cunard).

Edited November 11, 2021 by bluemarble

[frankp01]

Bluemarble: How did you find those insurance pages? They seem to be orphaned, as I can't find a reference to them from the main site. And our British friend, who is a solicitor, is concerned that there's no link to those pages from within 'My Cunard'. I'd have to agree with him that something as important as that doesn't have a more visible place at the table.

[bluemarble]

22 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

Bluemarble: How did you find those insurance pages? They seem to be orphaned, as I can't find a reference to them from the main site. And our British friend, who is a solicitor, is concerned that there's no link to those pages from within 'My Cunard'. I'd have to agree with him that something as important as that doesn't have a more visible place at the table.

 

I started with a search for "CunardCare" using the Search function on the Cunard US website. That led me to this "CunardCare guest protection" page which I've seen before. This is probably where I should have said to start in my previous post.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/advice-and-policies/cunardcare-guest-protection

 

The links I provided are found by following the link near the bottom of that page for "state-specific CunardCare information".

 

But yeah, it is a bit odd that you can't find that CunardCare page on the Cunard US website more directly. There's no link to "CunardCare" found under the "Advice & policies" heading at the bottom of the home page. That does make we wonder a bit about the accuracy of that CunardCare information, especially in this COVID era.

 

====================

 

For the Cunard UK website, there is this entry in their FAQ directing UK customers to "Holiday Extras" for travel insurance, or to the 'Travel Extras' section of My Cunard for further information.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/frequently-asked-questions.All.FAQ196.summary

 

I'm afraid I have no idea if there is a 'Travel Extras' section of My Cunard in the UK.

[bluemarble]

If that link for UK customers to the Cunard UK FAQ doesn't work in my previous post, here are the details.

 

"(Q) Can I arrange travel insurance through you?

 

(A) Cunard has partnered with Holiday Extras to offer appropriate, comprehensive travel insurance cover for our holidays.

 

To find out more, visit the Holiday Extras webpage or call 0800 093 3070, quoting reference CUNHX.

 

You can also access further information via the 'Travel Extras' section of My Cunard.

 

All travel insurance options offered through our partner Holiday Extras are appropriate for a cruise holiday and meet the combined medical and repatriation cover of £2m minimum required to sail with us."

Edited November 11, 2021 by bluemarble

[bluemarble]

Absolutely fair points, @kohl1957 concerning most booking policies being determined by the terms and conditions of the country associated with the booking, not the nationalities of the guests.

 

I will respectfully disagree though that attempting to compare the US and UK websites is a fool's errand. It is precisely because there are so many policies, procedures, features and benefits which differ based on where one has booked that in my view it is extremely valuable to compare both websites before attempting to answer a general question where different policies might come into play.

 

I'll also include a shout-out to our friends in Australia/New Zealand since I give their website at least a cursory examination for differences there if that might be relevant to a particular question. And I've been known to check the German website when that's clearly pertinent to the question.

 

I will absolutely agree anything found on the various websites is no match for real-world experiences with how policies and procedures play out in real life. A simple case in point for that are the various stated policies for how much alcohol may be brought on board compared to the policy as actually implemented.

[frankp01]

7 hours ago, kohl1957 said:

To my certain knowledge, passengers booked in the U.S., irrespective of nationality, are NOT required to have travel insurance.

This could be why our UK friend has not seen this requirement. He's booked as part of a small group, and the travel agency is in New York. Perhaps he should call Cunard UK, who can confirm that that's the case. At the moment he's very concerned! And, I have to agree. Even after hunting for 10-15 minutes I couldn't find the page I originally stumbled on stating insurance was a requirement and without which he'd be turned away.

[bluemarble]

Further to the discussion about multiple Cunard websites, there are multiple versions of "My Cunard" as well. @frankp01, since your friend is part of a group booked through a US travel agency, he will be using the US version of My Cunard to manage his booking details, not the UK version.

 

My understanding from previous discussions here is that the UK version of My Cunard (for bookings made under the UK terms and conditions) includes fields to provide insurance information. The US version does not contain those fields. In fact, those fields were causing some confusion here in the US when the initial US version of My Cunard, which was rolled out to replace Voyage Personaliser, did include the fields for the entry of "Travel Insurance" details.

 

I find @kohl1957's experiences highly instructive on this matter. Please don't take my word for any of this. I do wonder how helpful the Cunard UK Customer Contact Centre will be since they normally deal with bookings made in the UK, but I suppose that's the place to start to further alleviate your friend's concerns about insurance requirements in his case.

Edited November 11, 2021 by bluemarble

[frankp01]

 

16 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

My understanding from previous discussions here is that the UK version of My Cunard (for bookings made under the UK terms and conditions) includes fields to provide insurance information.

I was looking at *our* "My Cunard" this morning, and it had occurred to me that that's where the insurance requirement would have appeared. He's not seeing it, since he was booked in the states.

 

And to further cement that he's traveling under the US conditions of carriage. he did finally just get the COVID waiver and revised passenger contract (mailed from California), which, as I understand it, no other UK passengers have received.

[Host Hattie]

It's under Personal Details in the UK version.

Your friend has made things complicated for himself I'm afraid.

 

[frankp01]

10 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Your friend has made things complicated for himself I'm afraid.

Actually, I think it's simpler for him. He doesn't have to obtain the required insurance (even though he will have it.). I muddied the water when I told him he'd need travel insurance or risked getting turned away. He panicked because he had seen nothing in any of his Cunard correspondence indicating so. Now that we know he's being treated as a US passenger (even though resident in the UK), it becomes clearer.

[jimbo1683]

Confused as to why one wouldn't take out travel insurance regardless of whether Cunard require it or not

[frankp01]

3 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

Confused as to why one wouldn't take out travel insurance

The passenger in question *has* insurance. But, he could still conceivably have been turned away at the terminal if his policy did not meet Cunard's requirements.

[EuropeanAmericanTraveler]

On 11/11/2021 at 11:08 AM, frankp01 said:

Actually, I think it's simpler for him. He doesn't have to obtain the required insurance (even though he will have it.). I muddied the water when I told him he'd need travel insurance or risked getting turned away. He panicked because he had seen nothing in any of his Cunard correspondence indicating so. Now that we know he's being treated as a US passenger (even though resident in the UK), it becomes clearer.

 

Was your friend allowed to board finally? Was he asked for his travel insurance since he's British? If yes, was it enough for him to say that he booked through a US travel agency and that he was not required to purchase additional travel insurance?

[frankp01]

5 minutes ago, EuropeanAmericanTraveler said:

Was your friend allowed to board finally?

He was allowed to board, and he was not asked any questions about his insurance. I think it's because he was ticketed through a US travel agency, so he was treated like the other 3 of us (US Citizens/residents) were.

[frankp01]

I saw your question about the requirement for insurance. It's not required for those booked through the US, regardless of their citizenship. That's why our British friend had no questions asked at all. What I don't know is, if you're a US resident but booked through a British agency (or the UK Cunard site) whether you'd be required to have said insurance. I think the controlling factor is through which Cunard office you booked (UK vs US). I honestly don't envy Cunard, trying to keep all of the factors straight for each passenger.

 

FWIW, I just did a bit of research and P&O also require insurance prior to sailing. The UK clearly allows that imposition, while the US must not.

[EuropeanAmericanTraveler]

42 minutes ago, frankp01 said:

He was allowed to board, and he was not asked any questions about his insurance. I think it's because he was ticketed through a US travel agency, so he was treated like the other 3 of us (US Citizens/residents) were.

 

Thank you for your answer. I am a US citizen and have booked a westbound TA cruise for this summer, Southampton to NYC. I have purchased the CunardCare protection but I have not purchased any additional travel insurance. Can you confirm that I will be able to board the ship?

[EuropeanAmericanTraveler]

Thank you for your answers, I booked through the US website so I guess I won't need to purchase additional travel insurance. 

[exlondoner]

Although Cunard insist on insurance for U.K. pax, and ,anyway, who would risk it without, I have never had it checked. Perhaps filling details in on the Voyage Personaliser is enough.

[frankp01]

46 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

who would risk it withou

For medical evacuation or hospitalization, I would not go without insurance. But for trip interruption, lost luggage, etc. I'm happy to self-insure.