benefit to getting Princess cruise protection

[Luv2cruz1000]

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

What is the benefit to purchasing the cruise protection when I book? They said if I cancelled It would give me a refund? Doesn't everyone get a refund within 90 days of cruising (6 day and more cruise) if you choose to cancel? I also lose the money paid for protection. What am I missing? 

Thanks

Lori

[dickinson]

25 minutes ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

What is the benefit to purchasing the cruise protection when I book? They said if I cancelled It would give me a refund? Doesn't everyone get a refund within 90 days of cruising (6 day and more cruise) if you choose to cancel? I also lose the money paid for protection. What am I missing? 

Thanks

Lori

 

The benefit is the price because it is not age based. Also has cancel for any reason.  Do a search to get more info.

 

Cons - does not cover pre-existing conditions

           

           does not cover you at all unless you fly day of cruise and home the day of disembarkation.  In other  

           words if you fly in a day before your cruise and something happens before you board the ship then

           you are out of luck. If you bought air through Princess it does cover you while flying.

 

          Has low medical coverages

 

Best to buy from a third party.  I recommend the tripinsurancestore.com. Highly recommended on this site.     Read the website but best to call and talk with them.  For example, I found out that the policy we are about to buy  does not need you to cover 100% of your non refundable $.  I will be dropping $50/person of how much I insure and saving more than that amount because it drops me below a certain amount that had just put me over into a higher cost level.

 

I am sure that other people will add more insight .  

 

[SargassoPirate]

We carry an annual travel policy with AIG that covers us for all travel over 150 miles from home  - car trips, motorcycle trips, domestic flights etc.  

 

I figure that what I have saved over the years by not taking the cruise line insurance has more that paid for my broader coverage with AIG's annual policy.  For any losses beyond the coverage (never happened so far) I figure I'm self insured and still ahead when compared to the cruise line insurance.

 

That being said, however, for a very expensive world cruise, I took the Princess insurance since the potential loss if I had to cancel at the last minute for some unforeseen circumstances was more than I was comfortable with.

 

Bottom line, figure what risk you are willing to accept, shop around, and put the pencil to it.

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

What is the benefit to purchasing the cruise protection when I book? They said if I cancelled It would give me a refund? Doesn't everyone get a refund within 90 days of cruising (6 day and more cruise) if you choose to cancel? I also lose the money paid for protection. What am I missing? 

Thanks

Lori

We use the Princess insurance and since we made Ruby, we get their Platinum-level insurance at the Standard rate, which is a nice perk. We also do not pay for the cruise, EzAir flights, and insurance until final payment, which is usually 90 days out. Up until FP we get a full refund on any deposits we've made up until then if we choose to cancel the booking. However, once we pay for the cruise, EzAir flights, and the insurance premium just prior to the FP date, then the post FP rules (within 90 days) kicks in.

Edited May 30, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[gottagocit]

3 hours ago, dickinson said:

 

          

          … does not cover you at all unless you fly day of cruise and home the day of disembarkation.  In other  

           words if you fly in a day before your cruise and something happens before you board the ship then

           you are out of luck. If you bought air through Princess it does cover you while flying….

 

 

I’m sorry but this is simply not accurate.

 

Unless it’s changed in the last month the Princess protection coverage will cover your flight cost for unexpected cancellation for any reason just like it does for the cruise cost as long as you purchase them using Easy Air with Princess.
 

The flights can be days or weeks prior to and after the cruise. Believe me, we have made claims with the coverage. I believe the limit may be 3 weeks prior to or after the cruise but can’t recall for certain as it’s beyond what we have always booked so I know it’s not an issue for us. We never fly in on the day of the cruise and would never advise anyone to do so. 

Also some preexisting conditions are covered depending on how recent your last treatment or procedure were for the condition. You’ll have to read the terms of the coverage to get those details. 

The cancel for any reason clause may only pay you back in future cruise dollars depending on when you cancel but it will insure the full cost of unused airfare and cruise cost and cost due to trip interruptions during your trip UP TO the total you paid for the air and cruise cost. Any cost incurred by you due to interruption above the amount you paid is not covered. 
The medical limits are considered low by some and depending on coverage you feel comfortable it may be plenty. Just realize it’s very likely your existing medical plan may not cover you medical cost while out of the country. Also there are two levels of Princess Protection with the Platinum coverage limits being a good bit more than the standard. Platinum and Elite level members of the frequent travelers program get the Platinum coverage for the Standard cost. 
The bottom line is no one expects to cancel or reschedule their cruise after final payment (or 45 days for airfare) but it does happen more than you would think and without their (or other cancellation) insurance you may lose your trip cost to varying degrees depending how many days in advance you have to cancel. The booking details will give you their cancellation schedule for those without coverage. 

 

[emairs]

I don’t recommend Princess insurance. My husband & I got Covid the last two days of our Enchanted cruise last September. Princess sent us to a hotel as we had to quarantine for ten days in order to return to Canada. The insurance gave us a really hard time. You would think they would work closely with the cruise company  but that was not the case. It took six months for them to process our simple claim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LACruiser88]

For lots of great info on cruise insurance check out the Cruise Critic's Insurance Forum.  Link below:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

[SargassoPirate]

50 minutes ago, emairs said:

I don’t recommend Princess insurance. My husband & I got Covid the last two days of our Enchanted cruise last September. Princess sent us to a hotel as we had to quarantine for ten days in order to return to Canada. The insurance gave us a really hard time. You would think they would work closely with the cruise company  but that was not the case. It took six months for them to process our simple claim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got stuck on the other side of the world in western Australia in March 2020 when Australia started closing their internal borders.  Our Princess cruise back to the US was cancelled and airlines were shutting down.

 

Long story short, with some creativity, we were able to get over to Sydney, get a hotel, and eventually got a flight back to the US and then some domestic flights to get home.

 

We were out around $6,000 in unexpected expenses to get to Sydney after we were put off  the Indian-Pacific train, hotel in Sydney, and flights home.

 

Princess eventually refunded the cost of the cruise and gave us some OBC that we used with the restart.

 

AIG reimbursed us for our other out-of-pocket expenses.

 

We'll stick with AIG.

[dickinson]

@gottagocit If you reread my post you will see that I DID say it covers your EZAir flight.  I said if you fly in early or don't fly home day of disembarkation it does NOT cover you on those days.

 

We often fly in a day or three early or stay a few days after cruise.  Princess insurance has no coverage on those days.

 

As for pre existing conditions, Princess insurance has a look back period.  I forget how many days though.  

Edited May 30, 2023 by dickinson

[1emerald1]

It also covers trip interruption.  I got noro several years ago and was reimbursed for my quarantine period.

[Thrak]

We purchase the Princess insurance but we also have medical evacuation coverage from MedjetAssist. It covers us wherever we travel whether domestically or internationally. If we have to be admitted to a hospital anywhere in the world they will get us home to a local hospital.

 

https://medjetassist.com/

Edited May 30, 2023 by Thrak

[Sea Hag]

8 hours ago, Luv2cruz1000 said:

Please forgive me if this has been asked before.

What is the benefit to purchasing the cruise protection when I book? They said if I cancelled It would give me a refund? Doesn't everyone get a refund within 90 days of cruising (6 day and more cruise) if you choose to cancel? I also lose the money paid for protection. What am I missing? 

Thanks

Lori

The CFAR in Platinum Protection really came in handy for us when our cat got sick two days before scheduled sailing. Things do come out of the blue like that, and we were happy to get a future cruise credit instead of nothing.

[LACruiser88]

In addition to the Princess insurance, we buy the yearly Trekker plan from GeoBlue for international medical and evacuation coverage.