Health Concerns

[ShaZoGus]

11 day Panama Canal cruise booked at end of October/22 and final payment is due in a few days. I was recently diagnosed with a serious health issue but am still hoping to take that cruise. Is it still possible to purchase cancellation insurance in case my doctor advises me not to travel closer to the departure date?

 

 

 

[Babr]

Since you are so close to final payment, call the professionals at Trip Insurance Store for a definitive answer. There are policies that allow a waiver of pre-existing conditions if purchased by final payment. You must be able to travel on the day of purchase; and, in some cases, you must insure all prepaid nonrefundable expenses.

Call to see what is a available to you.

 

Best wishes for a return to good health.

[Jersey42]

11 hours ago, ShaZoGus said:

11 day Panama Canal cruise booked at end of October/22 and final payment is due in a few days. I was recently diagnosed with a serious health issue but am still hoping to take that cruise. Is it still possible to purchase cancellation insurance in case my doctor advises me not to travel closer to the departure date?

 

10 hours ago, Babr said:

Since you are so close to final payment, call the professionals at Trip Insurance Store for a definitive answer.

Given you are from Canada, Trip Insurance Store will probably not be able to help you.

 

Are you on the Holland America Eurodam?  This is the only 11 day Panama Canal cruise I can find in October.  If so, you MIGHT want to consider HALs Platinum plan.  You can purchase it up until final payment, there is no pre-existing conditions clause, and you can cancel for any reason up until your scheduled departure and receive a 90% refund in cash.

 

If all you care about is cancelation, this is a great choice.  But, HAL's emergency medical coverage is just about the worst in the cruise industry. Unlike most cruise line plans,  the positive is it does not exclude pre-existing conditions. But, coverage is limited to only $10K.  With your "serious health issue", I would not consider the HAL plan unless you have other suitable medical coverage.  

 

If the HAL plan does not work for you, I can't help with plans available to Canadians. 

 

By the way, if you are on a different cruise line, none of the other cruise line plans work the way I described.  But most, if not all of them can be purchased up until final payment. They all allow you to cancel for a covered reason (doctor statements required) and receive a 100% cash refund.  Some of them have higher medical limits, but they will exclude pre-existing conditions. I would not recommend any of them either unless you have other medical coverage.  

 

Good luck, and let us know what you end up doing.

[Babr]

Sorry. I did not catch that you are from Canada. Jersey42 has advised you well.