Never Again RCI

[Joebucks]

2 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

Most health insurance does not cover you out of the country. We always get travel insurance. 

 

If this is your scenario, then it is what it is. However, I hope no one is taking the blanket advice that they probably don't have it.

[Iamthesea]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Doubtful, as I'm so far ahead of the game at this point.

 

I hope you have been saving all the money that you have not been spending on travel insurance, and have it readily available to use in case you fall behind the game one of your cruises. 😉

 

 Also, you need a high limit on your credit cards to take care of possible high medical expenses. The funds may be available in your checking and savings accounts, but they might not be quickly attainable in an emergency situation.   Depending on your illness or injury, you could be looking at thousands for medical and possibly $100,000 or more for evacuation off of a ship.  Transportation to a hospital after an injury while in a port could also be high, depending on which country you are in.   

 

While many of us do have the funds to self-insure a trip, I think it a mistake not to purchase some trip insurance if your health insurance does not cover one out of the country.     

 

We also carry two credit cards when we travel (Visa and Mastercard.)

Edited February 21 by Iamthesea

[time4u2go]

2 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

 

I hope you have been saving all the money that you have not been spending on travel insurance, and have it readily available to use in case you fall behind the game one of your cruises. 😉

 

 Also, you need a high limit on your credit cards to take care of possible high medical expenses. The funds may be available in your checking and savings accounts, but they might not be quickly attainable in an emergency situation.   Depending on your illness or injury, you could be looking at thousands for medical and possibly $100,000 or more for evacuation off of a ship.  Transportation to a hospital after an injury while in a port could also be high, depending on which country you are in.   

 

While many of us do have the funds to self-insure a trip, I think it a mistake not to purchase some trip insurance if your health insurance does not cover one out of the country.     

 

We also carry two credit cards when we travel (Visa and Mastercard.)

All good advice, and all taken care of, thanks!

 

I suspect that the advice about having a high credit limit might apply no matter what insurance you have, as it sounds like some services require payment up front, long before insurance would get involved.

[ticketsunlimited]

1 hour ago, time4u2go said:

Doubtful, as I'm so far ahead of the game at this point.

30,000.00 to 200,000.00 will be a tough pill to swallow no matter how far you are ahead you are.

[time4u2go]

4 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

30,000.00 to 200,000.00 will be a tough pill to swallow no matter how far you are ahead you are.

Absolutely!

[Tree_skier]

We got the annual plan from Allianz this last Dec. I’ve been self insuring for years. It’s only a matter time before I get burned. 

[teddie]

 

2 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

 

This is the wording on our policy for med-vac:

Emergency Evacuation means:

(a) Your medical condition warrants immediate Transportation from the Hospital where You are first taken when injured or sick to the nearest Hospital where appropriate medical treatment can be obtained;

(b) after being treated at a local Hospital, Your medical condition warrants Transportation to Your Home where You reside, to obtain further medical treatment or to recover; or

(c) both (a) and (b), above.

Covered Evacuation Expenses are reasonable and customary expenses for necessary Transportation, related medical services and medical supplies incurred in connection with Your Emergency Evacuation. All Transportation arrangements made for evacuating You must be by the most direct and economical route possible. Expenses for Transportation must be: (a) recommended by the attending Physician; (b) required by the standard regulations of the conveyance transporting You; and a guest (c) authorized in advance by the Company or its authorized Travel Assistance Company and arranged by the Company’s authorized Travel Assistance Company.

Exactly.  It's not always in the basic medical evacuation plan.  Must check for this, in addition to checking what your own health insurance covers--as raised by other posters.

 

Teddie

Edited February 21 by teddie

[ticketsunlimited]

33 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

We got the annual plan from Allianz this last Dec. I’ve been self insuring for years. It’s only a matter time before I get burned. 

TREE, I am 58 and wife is 60.  We always get our policy from Allianz on individual trip basis through our AAA agent.  I can give her a call but about how much will that run for a full year policy.  We cruise at least 3 times a year.  Dan

[Tree_skier]

7 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

TREE, I am 58 and wife is 60.  We always get our policy from Allianz on individual trip basis through our AAA agent.  I can give her a call but about how much will that run for a full year policy.  We cruise at least 3 times a year.  Dan

 

I am 57 DW is 62 and we paid $485 per year. That’s total for both of us on the premier plan. 
 

EDIT

 

Edited February 21 by Tree_skier

[ticketsunlimited]

1 minute ago, Tree_skier said:

 

I am 57 DW is 62 and we paid $485 per year. That’s total for both of us on the premier plan. 

Thats very reasonable.  My health insurance covers ZERO out of the country so there are no excuses for us not to get insurance!!  We love our time in the Casino but we are not going to bet on something like this that could be life changing and bankrupt you quickly.

[Iamthesea]

16 hours ago, time4u2go said:

All good advice, and all taken care of, thanks!

 

I suspect that the advice about having a high credit limit might apply no matter what insurance you have, as it sounds like some services require payment up front, long before insurance would get involved.

 

Yes, and this reminds me to mention one other important factor when purchasing trip insurance.  Get one that is Primary!  Meaning that many times the trip insurance company will pay the provider direct without getting your pocketbook involved.  Or reimbursement will be easier because there is no other health insurance to weed through before approving a claim.

 

16 hours ago, teddie said:

 

Exactly.  It's not always in the basic medical evacuation plan.  Must check for this, in addition to checking what your own health insurance covers--as raised by other posters.

 

Teddie

 

Our health insurance (Medicare and our states BCBS Sapphire plan) does not cover us outside the United States.

[Mum2Mercury]

18 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Doubtful, as I'm so far ahead of the game at this point.

Hypothetically you're ahead of the game: 

- You're estimating what you would've paid for coverage over the years. 

- You're guessing at the severity of an illness /injury that hasn't happened yet. 

- You're imagining what an evacuation might cost from an unnamed location.  

While I understand your concept, that's a lot of moving parts.  

17 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Also, you need a high limit on your credit cards to take care of possible high medical expenses ... We also carry two credit cards when we travel (Visa and Mastercard.)

Yes, few of us will experience "the worst", but -- if it's our turn to have an emergency -- having money at the ready can smooth over an awful lot of problems.  

Yes, we definitely carry two separate cards.  We once had a problem with a credit card on vacation, and it resulted in that card being "shut down" temporarily.  Because we were in the US, I was able to make a phone call and got the card "up and running" again -- but, worse come to wose, we also had that second card.  

17 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

While many of us do have the funds to self-insure a trip, I think it a mistake not to purchase some trip insurance if your health insurance does not cover one out of the country.     

Yes, consider that almost certainly you'll be required to pay for treatment, and insurance will reimburse you.  

Consider, too, that those of us who do have the money to self-insure may not have it "at our fingertips".  We could cover a huge medical bill -- not not out of our checking account.  We'd have to move some money around.  Being able to put it on a credit card is still important. 

[time4u2go]

3 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

- You're guessing at the severity of an illness /injury that hasn't happened yet. 

 

My everyday medical insurance would cover this part, even out of the country.

[dwp10mm]

17 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

 

I am 57 DW is 62 and we paid $485 per year. That’s total for both of us on the premier plan. 
 

EDIT

 

Thanks for this timely post.  I just booked my airfare for our Odyssey sailing out of Rome this coming August.  Due to the price of my Delta One tickets, I picked the insurance option.  The cost to insure just that trip is more than a yearly plan, and the Emergency Transportation coverage was only $50,000.  Everything else is almost identical to what you posted above and I have started to review it on the Allianz site.  I'm still in my cancel window on that add on so I'll be signing up for a yearly plan instead once I verify my thinking is correct.  It makes a lot more sense with 2 weeks in Europe and the upcoming Bella 2 and 2.5 cruises already booked.

Edited February 22 by dwp10mm

[Tree_skier]

2 minutes ago, dwp10mm said:

Thanks for this timely post.  I just booked my airfare for our Odyssey sailing out of Rome this coming August.  Due to the price of my Delta One tickets, I picked the insurance option.  The cost to insure just that trip is more than a yearly plan, and the Emergency Transportation coverage was only $50,000.  Everything else is almost identical to what you posted above and I have started to review it on the Allianz site.  I'm still in my cancel window on that add on so I'll be signing up for a yearly plan instead once I verify my thinking is correct.  It makes a lot more sense with 2 weeks in Europe and the upcoming Bella 2 and 2.5 cruises already booked.

Once I I decided to get insurance the annual plan was the only thing that made sense to me. It doesn’t to take more than two cruises a year to make it make good value. . 

[Joebucks]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Hypothetically you're ahead of the game: 

- You're estimating what you would've paid for coverage over the years. 

- You're guessing at the severity of an illness /injury that hasn't happened yet. 

- You're imagining what an evacuation might cost from an unnamed location.  

 

It's crazy how many people will thank the lord that their (insert insurance) will cover them $500-$2000 unexpected costs, but will drop $5,000 over a decade on premiums (not even considering interest) without a second thought because that's what we do. 

 

It's often followed by "I can't afford that sudden cost! I live paycheck to paycheck!" If only there were ways to manage big picture money better.... Many years ago, I realized that buying expensive health insurance for "peace of mind" was a colossal waste of my money. Then the few times I actually needed it, I still had to pay out of pocket. Instead of listening to scenarios of "what if I'm the <1% of catastrophes, therefore I need to pay more for fear coverage" I decided to take a different route. Take all of that extra money, and put it into an HSA instead. That nest egg will be helpful for any health scenario my entire life. Not just one-off fear scenarios where I pay a fee to get access to it. Now, if I bring up that example of a decent HSA balance, it is shrugged off as I am privileged, and others can't do it. Instead, we find comfort in victim protection and paying for band-aids we don't truly need. 

[ticketsunlimited]

1 hour ago, dwp10mm said:

Thanks for this timely post.  I just booked my airfare for our Odyssey sailing out of Rome this coming August.  Due to the price of my Delta One tickets, I picked the insurance option.  The cost to insure just that trip is more than a yearly plan, and the Emergency Transportation coverage was only $50,000.  Everything else is almost identical to what you posted above and I have started to review it on the Allianz site.  I'm still in my cancel window on that add on so I'll be signing up for a yearly plan instead once I verify my thinking is correct.  It makes a lot more sense with 2 weeks in Europe and the upcoming Bella 2 and 2.5 cruises already booked.

DWP , we are flying out of Boston Delta One in August for 4 nights in Rome (pre-cruise) and getting on Odyssey 9/3 for the 12 night cruise.  Was supposed to be a Jerusalem stop but it is what it is.  Are you on the trip before ours?  Where you flying out of?  Dan

[ticketsunlimited]

5 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

 

It's crazy how many people will thank the lord that their (insert insurance) will cover them $500-$2000 unexpected costs, but will drop $5,000 over a decade on premiums (not even considering interest) without a second thought because that's what we do. 

 

It's often followed by "I can't afford that sudden cost! I live paycheck to paycheck!" If only there were ways to manage big picture money better.... Many years ago, I realized that buying expensive health insurance for "peace of mind" was a colossal waste of my money. Then the few times I actually needed it, I still had to pay out of pocket. Instead of listening to scenarios of "what if I'm the <1% of catastrophes, therefore I need to pay more for fear coverage" I decided to take a different route. Take all of that extra money, and put it into an HSA instead. That nest egg will be helpful for any health scenario my entire life. Not just one-off fear scenarios where I pay a fee to get access to it. Now, if I bring up that example of a decent HSA balance, it is shrugged off as I am privileged, and others can't do it. Instead, we find comfort in victim protection and paying for band-aids we don't truly need. 

As we age peace of mind goes a long way.  We all handle things differently and thats not a bad thing. I prefer a little up front here and there to avoid a colossal life changing problem and expense.  If that life changing event doesnt happen and I never need to use the insurance,  even better.  It means we are healthy and ready for our next adventure.  To each their own.

[dwp10mm]

40 minutes ago, ticketsunlimited said:

DWP , we are flying out of Boston Delta One in August for 4 nights in Rome (pre-cruise) and getting on Odyssey 9/3 for the 12 night cruise.  Was supposed to be a Jerusalem stop but it is what it is.  Are you on the trip before ours?  Where you flying out of?  Dan

Going through Boston on 8/20.  We are on the 9 night Odyssey that leaves on 8/25.  So a few days in Rome pre-cruise.  There was a crazy good price on Delta One this week that I grabbed immediately.  I've been checking daily for 3 or 4 weeks now to lock in the airfare.

 

Edit to add we get off on 9/3.  We will take good care of her for you.  Sailing in a JS that we booked at the Next Cruise desk in December 2022.  

Edited February 22 by dwp10mm

[BND]

2 hours ago, time4u2go said:

My everyday medical insurance would cover this part, even out of the country.

A lot of cruisers (especially most that end up with medical issues and evacuations) are on Medicare which as far as I know does not cover you out of the country.  I only currently have Tricare as I'm not 65 yet while DH has Medicare and Tricare for life since he is over 65.  Most  medical insurance does not cover outside of the country (private or Gov provided).   Besides having  Allianz, we have credit cards that have pretty high limits and access to cash as needed.  Not everyone does.

[ticketsunlimited]

49 minutes ago, dwp10mm said:

Going through Boston on 8/20.  We are on the 9 night Odyssey that leaves on 8/25.  So a few days in Rome pre-cruise.  There was a crazy good price on Delta One this week that I grabbed immediately.  I've been checking daily for 3 or 4 weeks now to lock in the airfare.

 

Edit to add we get off on 9/3.  We will take good care of her for you.  Sailing in a JS that we booked at the Next Cruise desk in December 2022.  

We are diamond Medallion and have plenty of skymiles so the airfare cost us 127.20 for both of us.  We used our upgrade certificates for Delta One.

 

We are in JS 12640  You are welcome to leave a bottle of Champagne in the closet for us.

 

Four nights in Rome staying at the Albergo Del Senato with a Full Pantheon view.  CANT WAIT!!

[ticketsunlimited]

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Once I I decided to get insurance the annual plan was the only thing that made sense to me. It doesn’t to take more than two cruises a year to make it make good value. . 

TREE, I just spent 45 minutes on the phone with Allianz.  I usually do all my insurance buys through AAA.  Never again!!  I have to say you saved me A LOT of money with your posting.  I have a trip in two weeks that I insured and our 12 day Odyssey out of Rome that was insured.  They upgraded us to the yearly plan starting at midnight tonight with the same coverage or better for 1050.00 all in.  They refunded both my other policies completely which were more than the 1050.00

In addition they added our son who lives with us and is Traveling with us on Wonder in 10 days for no additional cost.  He is part of the one year policy as well.

Needless to say as I was on the phone with Allianz my AAA rep called on my other line.  She was not happy as I "created a bunch of new paperwork for her and wanted details of my changes"

I specifically asked the Allianz rep to be sure my AAA rep was attached to the new policy so she got the credit.  Not sure on that end how it will all play out.

Thanks again for the info TREE.  We have one less headache to worry about while traveling for the next year for less money out of pocket.

We have an Icon cruise in January that I have not even insured as of yet that will also be covered.  Even more savings in the end.  Dan

[Joebucks]

 

46 minutes ago, BND said:

A lot of cruisers (especially most that end up with medical issues and evacuations) are on Medicare which as far as I know does not cover you out of the country.  I only currently have Tricare as I'm not 65 yet while DH has Medicare and Tricare for life since he is over 65.  Most  medical insurance does not cover outside of the country (private or Gov provided).   Besides having  Allianz, we have credit cards that have pretty high limits and access to cash as needed.  Not everyone does.

 

I'll admit I'm not as familiar with Medicare. However, I do know it is not all-encompassing. Some people buy supplemental coverage for this reason. If someone has a concern that they are prone to illness or injury, or that their healthcare needs could surpass their means, that is not limited to big scary cruise ship. At least some of those needs could potentially overlap elsewhere. 

 

One of many reasons why I advocate for know what you're buying, know what you need, know what you have. Too many people have zero clue as to any of these things. They are often sold by fear by the TA, travel provider, or someone else else, and that is all they need. 

[Wasasalad]

1 hour ago, BND said:

A lot of cruisers (especially most that end up with medical issues and evacuations) are on Medicare which as far as I know does not cover you out of the country.  I only currently have Tricare as I'm not 65 yet while DH has Medicare and Tricare for life since he is over 65.  Most  medical insurance does not cover outside of the country (private or Gov provided).   Besides having  Allianz, we have credit cards that have pretty high limits and access to cash as needed.  Not everyone does.

I have Medex Bronze with GEOBLUE  which has excellent medical coverage and evacuation coverage. It is my regular heath insurance that covers me worldwide. 

[jerseygirl3]

I think people are confusing rhinovirus and RSV.  Although they share some similarities, Rhinovirus is typically nothing more than a cold, except for people who are very immunocompromised (i.e., cancer patients).  RSV is a more serious illness, especially for very young children and the elderly.