Cruise Travel Insurance

[Poppy6879]

Hi Everyone!

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I'm going on my first P & O cruise in May this year.

When I booked the cruise about 6 months ago, I also paid for travel insurance through 'Holiday Extras'.

I have now booked a cruise for May 2024, and am wondering if I should book travel insurance now or is it too early?

And can anyone recommend a good travel insurance company, instead of the one P & O recommend?

Thanks in advance!!!! 

[david63]

3 minutes ago, Poppy6879 said:

should book travel insurance now or is it too early?

Never too early. You certainly should have travel insurance in place by the time you pay the balance otherwise you may not have cover - and some companies may even argue that if you need to make a claim that you have the policy in place at the time of booking. Many have "rolling" annual policies that cover such eventualities.

 

6 minutes ago, Poppy6879 said:

And can anyone recommend a good travel insurance company

Difficult as everyone's circumstances are different - I would suggest using one, or two, of the insurance comparison sites to see what is available that suits your needs.

[TigerB]

14 minutes ago, david63 said:

Never too early. You certainly should have travel insurance in place by the time you pay the balance otherwise you may not have cover - and some companies may even argue that if you need to make a claim that you have the policy in place at the time of booking. Many have "rolling" annual policies that cover such eventualities.

 

Difficult as everyone's circumstances are different - I would suggest using one, or two, of the insurance comparison sites to see what is available that suits your needs.

 

I cannot recommend a company as we get travel insurance as part of my retirement package.

 

I do concur with what david63 writes; it is wise to have it in place when or as soon as you book.

[terrierjohn]

1 minute ago, TigerB said:

 

I cannot recommend a company as we get travel insurance as part of my retirement package.

 

I do concur with what david63 writes; it is wise to have it in place when or as soon as you book.

My insurance company agent recently commented that having insurance in place when you pay the balance is more than adequate to provide full cover.

[pete14]

Personally, I think an annual policy covers all eventualities, even weekends away if things go wrong. Just gives peace of mind. I suppose it partly depends on how many times you go on holiday in any year. We have an annual policy with Staysure who, despite some delay, paid out a large claim in full a few months ago.

[TigerB]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

My insurance company agent recently commented that having insurance in place when you pay the balance is more than adequate to provide full cover.

 

That's good.

At least we don't have to worry about it as we have 'rolling' insurance. The only thing we need to make sure we have in place is a letter showing my wife's fitness to travel.

[david63]

10 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

My insurance company agent recently commented that having insurance in place when you pay the balance is more than adequate to provide full cover.

But that would be dependant upon the amount of deposit paid - which generally would not be a problem with P&O.

 

Also if taking out an annual policy that cannot normally be done more than 12 months in advance.

[LifeonMars]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

Personally, I think an annual policy covers all eventualities, even weekends away if things go wrong. Just gives peace of mind. I suppose it partly depends on how many times you go on holiday in any year. We have an annual policy with Staysure who, despite some delay, paid out a large claim in full a few months ago.

Staysure also has a sister company Avanti and the  Paying too Much comparison website, although they trade independently they are owned by TICORP Ltd who are  registered in Gibraltar. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by LifeonMars

[sleepingcat]

Also check out your bank account. We get annual travel insurance free with ours and several offer this. 

[AndyMichelle]

2 hours ago, pete14 said:

Personally, I think an annual policy covers all eventualities, even weekends away if things go wrong. Just gives peace of mind. I suppose it partly depends on how many times you go on holiday in any year. We have an annual policy with Staysure who, despite some delay, paid out a large claim in full a few months ago.

Couldn't agree more, the amount we paid for an annual policy was only slightly higher than for one cruise. 

Ours is also with Staysure, they were by far the best value taking into account Michelle's medical conditions. 

Andy

[jeanlyon]

41 minutes ago, sleepingcat said:

Also check out your bank account. We get annual travel insurance free with ours and several offer this. 

I have halved my annual insurance price thanks to those on here telling me to upgrade my Nationwide Flex account.  

[Thejuggler]

As its over 12 months before date of departure it may be too early to buy a policy.  At this stage all that is at risk is your deposit, so its not a major issue.

[kalos]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Couldn't agree more, the amount we paid for an annual policy was only slightly higher than for one cruise. 

Ours is also with Staysure, they were by far the best value taking into account Michelle's medical conditions. 

Andy

 Same here Andy ,with my conditions some did not want to know or asked crazy prices .

 

 

[zap99]

1 hour ago, AndyMichelle said:

Couldn't agree more, the amount we paid for an annual policy was only slightly higher than for one cruise. 

Ours is also with Staysure, they were by far the best value taking into account Michelle's medical conditions. 

Andy

Our Annual policy with All clear runs out in July. It's Europe + cruse. As we are going to the Caribbean later in the year we wondered if it would be better continuing with that and adding on the Caribbean as a one off. When I costed it out, an individual Caribbean cruise for the 2  weeks ended up only £100 less than an annual worldwide +Cruise. No contest really.

[windra06]

1 hour ago, sleepingcat said:

Also check out your bank account. We get annual travel insurance free with ours and several offer this. 

We get ours through nationwide plus account which covers covid 19.
I upgraded to cruise cover which would cover luggage, missed port etc and quarantine for an extra £40 for two of us (for the rest of the year ~11 months).

Edited April 1, 2023 by windra06

[jeanlyon]

9 minutes ago, windra06 said:

We get ours through nationwide plus account which covers covid 19.
I upgraded to cruise cover which would cover luggage, missed port etc and quarantine for an extra £40 for two of us (for the rest of the year ~11 months).

Just in the process of doing that.  It's going to save us a fortune.  Even with Age extension and Cruise cover.

[Yorkypete]

1 hour ago, windra06 said:

We get ours through nationwide plus account which covers covid 19.
I upgraded to cruise cover which would cover luggage, missed port etc and quarantine for an extra £40 for two of us (for the rest of the year ~11 months).

As do we.We are covered for worldwide travel of any description and it includes health issues.

[Poppy6879]

Thanks for all the info!

I have had a look around and Stay Sure are nearly half the price of Holiday Extras.

I wished I shopped around more when I first booked!!

But like they say, every days a school day!!

 

[kruzseeka]

3 hours ago, Poppy6879 said:

Thanks for all the info!

I have had a look around and Stay Sure are nearly half the price of Holiday Extras.

I wished I shopped around more when I first booked!!

But like they say, every days a school day!!

 

Pleased you've spotted a better deal for next time but bear in mind what others have said about Nationwide FlexPlus and just compare that too. 

You have to open an account but it doesn't have to be your main current account ( ie minimum monthly amount paid in or Direct Debits going out).  If it's a joint account it covers you both, world wide annual insurance, multiple trips for £13 per month. Also covers for 2+ days booked breaks on the UK (iirc).  There are add-on costs for age extension, crises over 30 days and medical screening may require an additional premium and optional cruise cover for missed ports etc. 

Might be worth just checking it out to see if it suits your needs and how it compares with Stay Sure.

[yorkshirephil]

4 hours ago, Poppy6879 said:

Thanks for all the info!

I have had a look around and Stay Sure are nearly half the price of Holiday Extras.

I wished I shopped around more when I first booked!!

But like they say, every days a school day!!

 

We also use Staysure, we stay with them as it makes life easy to renew our yearly policy as they have all our data so we just have to inform them of anything new. We have never had to make a claim which is when you would likely find out how good they are.

[majortom10]

56 minutes ago, yorkshirephil said:

We also use Staysure, we stay with them as it makes life easy to renew our yearly policy as they have all our data so we just have to inform them of anything new. We have never had to make a claim which is when you would likely find out how good they are.

Bet they love you certainly wouldn't renew without checking different companies for quotations as there can be a large difference in policy cost.

 

[jeanlyon]

22 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

Bet they love you certainly wouldn't renew without checking different companies for quotations as there can be a large difference in policy cost.

 

Yes I would never stay with the same company without doing a comparison.  Mind you, having started with Nationwide, I don't think we are going to get it cheaper.  taking into account the £13 per month for the account, our worldwide is going to cost just under £400.  that includes my husbands 2 conditions, age uplift and cruise uplift.  You also get mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover.

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes I would never stay with the same company without doing a comparison.  Mind you, having started with Nationwide, I don't think we are going to get it cheaper.  taking into account the £13 per month for the account, our worldwide is going to cost just under £400.  that includes my husbands 2 conditions, age uplift and cruise uplift.  You also get mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover.

Yes we are with Nationwide and on our recent cruise missed a port due to winds. P&O gave everyone a letter for their insurance companies. Phoned Nationwide on the Tuesday to make claim and was confirmed and accepted by Thursday, without sending letter of proof, and £300 was in our bank account by following Monday. Excellent service.

[Harters]

We used to get travel insurance through our NatWest current account but a couple of years back, they declined to insure us. A change of policy at their end, rather than any change in our medical circumstances. We then got an annual policy with Staysure who were OK in dealing with a cancellation claim due to us both having Covid. Currently, we cannot get any insurance due to undiagnosed medical issues so are unable to travel. We'll try Staysure again once there's a diagnosis - although we know it won't be at all cheap as, apart from our assorted pre-existing conditions, one of us is waiting for surgery, the waiting list for which is into next year. . Based on how much our last policy was, I'm sure a new annual one will be well over £1000 for the two of us.

[MBP&O2/O]

We too have the Nationwide cover. I paid £106 extra for age cover, worldwide cruise cover and declared medical issues. At £13  per month it is a no brainer, considering the other perks offered for that account.