It pays to get the platinum princess insurance

[Knickearth]

19 hours ago, toofewcruises said:

Then you may not get reimbursed by the Princess insurance. 

Ezair covers getting to ship and home.  The airlines don’t cover hotel etc for delay of trip IF due to weather.  But the platinum insurance does cover delay of trip.  I have filed, so we shall see.

[WisCruiser2]

We used to get 3rd-party travel insurance but since Covid we've gone with Princess. One advantaage was that we had not paid for the insurance when we decided to cancel before final payment (just weren't quite ready to cruise yet) and another time after final payment (when we had paid the insurance) we had to cancel due to DH having a procedure scheduled just after we were to get back. While it didn't fit under the Medical reason for refund, we did get FCC for what we paid instead of losing several thousand dollars.

[tetleytea]

The platinum insurance is only of any value if they actually honor it when you actually need it.  Let's just say my own experience with that was less than favorable.  To put it lightly. 

[voljeep]

7 hours ago, tetleytea said:

The platinum insurance is only of any value if they actually honor it when you actually need it.  Let's just say my own experience with that was less than favorable.  To put it lightly. 

I just filed my claim yesterday for a pre-cruise (5 days prior to sail) slip and fall. Medical reason - should get refund of cruise fare at the very least, right? - what else?

[TRLD]

Far cheaper ways to get coverage than individual per trip policies sold through cruise lines. Such polies are relatively expensive and provide pretty low limits.

 

 In this case a substantial percentage of the trip interruption money refunded was already spent on the cost of the insurance. 

 

 For the amount of what we would spend on a single cruise ship per trip policy we get an annual medical and evacuation travel policy with coverage limits of 1 million that covers multiple trips as long as each one does not exceed 70 days. That covers the big stuff.

 

For trip delay and cancellation we use coverage from credit cards. That covers the most likely reasons for cancellation.

 

For things not covered, some of them would not be covered by a purchased policy such as some have found out recently when the inagural cruises on the Sun was canceled as an example.

 

The rest we will cover out of pocket, since we travel a lot, doing it thus way we have saved far more in travel insurance costs than any potential loss on any future trip due to a gap in coverage.

[Knickearth]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:03 PM, Mud_Shark said:

Just about ditto to the previous post.  24 cruises to date.  Have not purchased any extra insurance or cancellation insurance.  We have health and travel insurance through a government retirement policy and our travel credit card.  Sometimes have to top off if out of the country longer than 40 days.

Just felt that if we had to cancel for some reason or got delayed, we would just eat the cost and in the end it would not be more than the amount we would have paid if we had purchased cfar insurance for all these trips. To date, have not had anything major.

But now, as the years pile up, the possibilities of problems is tending towards us being a little more cautious and protected.

That’s how we always felt.  Aging makes one more cautious.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We had to cancel a cruise 3 days out with Princess because of a back injury.  We had the Platinum insurance, which paid back everything associated with the cruise within about 5 days of turning in all the paperwork.

 

We have also had to cancel two major trips because of health crises of elderly parents years ago.  Again, we were reimbursed everything we insured.

 

Now we are the 'elderly' (late 70's.!  We always get an annual evacuation, etc. policy, such as Geo Blue and if on Princess their Platinum plan, since the upgrade is included because we are at the Platinum loyalty level.

 

If not on Princess we rely on our Chase Sapphire insurance in case of cancellation or trip delay plus our annual plan.  This involves some risk because the Chase insurance doesn't have a pre-existing conditions waiver, but we are ok with that.  We can (wouldn't like) afford to take a hit on the price of the cruise itself (flights are always booked with airline miles, which can be put back into our account) but if we needed extensive medical treatment and/or evacuation, that would be much harder financially.

 

There's no right answer for everyone.  In our case, insurance has reimbursed us close to the $20,000 range for the three trips we had to cancel. Worth it to us.

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

We had to cancel a cruise 3 days out with Princess because of a back injury.  We had the Platinum insurance, which paid back everything associated with the cruise within about 5 days of turning in all the paperwork.

 

We have also had to cancel two major trips because of health crises of elderly parents years ago.  Again, we were reimbursed everything we insured.

 

Now we are the 'elderly' (late 70's.!  We always get an annual evacuation, etc. policy, such as Geo Blue and if on Princess their Platinum plan, since the upgrade is included because we are at the Platinum loyalty level.

 

If not on Princess we rely on our Chase Sapphire insurance in case of cancellation or trip delay plus our annual plan.  This involves some risk because the Chase insurance doesn't have a pre-existing conditions waiver, but we are ok with that.  We can (wouldn't like) afford to take a hit on the price of the cruise itself (flights are always booked with airline miles, which can be put back into our account) but if we needed extensive medical treatment and/or evacuation, that would be much harder financially.

 

There's no right answer for everyone.  In our case, insurance has reimbursed us close to the $20,000 range for the three trips we had to cancel. Worth it to us.

The three trips you pointed out due to back injury and health crisis of a family member  as you would have also been considered a covered reason for trip cancellation coverage on Sapphire.

[ChutChut]

There is no right or wrong answer to travel insurance. Everyone should assess their own circumstances and risk tolerance and decide accordingly. However, if you decide not to purchase and then come on Cruise Critic and whine about losing money - I (and others) will have no sympathy.

[tetleytea]

The subject line says Platinum insurance is worth it.  I'm sorry, but if they don't actually cover the terms they advertise to, then no, it is not.   We had an airline who was able to fly our bags to the port city on time, but unable to fly the actual human beings.  That is supposed to be a covered claim.  Aon didn't want to cover it.   Skipping over the consumer lawyer consultations, multiple complaints to the feds, 30 emails to Princess and United, and escalating it all the way to the top, we got cruise credit for it.

 

I could care less about getting the sympathy.  Don't advertise the travel insurance is this one wonderful thing, and then when you actually need the insurance do something else.

 

[Level six]

On 4/26/2024 at 12:10 PM, Mark_K said:

With 3,000 or so people on a ship, having one evacuation every 30 or so cruises wouldn’t be far off from odds of 1 in 10,000 of it happening to me.

Definitely do what is best for you.

 

  I can afford to cruise, but I have used my insurance several times.  Sickness onboard a 48 day cruise, missed trains, canceled flights, and a big $12,000 refund for a covid cancellation, etc. I have collected far more than I have paid. 

 

Could I have afforded all of that, absolutely, but was I happy to have gotten the check after the claim, absolutely. Those evacuations can cost over $100,000. I would not be very happy about that, considering you are probably very, very sick on top of that and if you pass, then your family is left with that big bill.  You are probably right that won't happen to you, but it only takes that one time. 

[memoak]

Just now, tetleytea said:

The subject line says Platinum insurance is worth it.  I'm sorry, but if they don't actually cover the terms they advertise to, then no, it is not.   We had an airline who was able to fly our bags to the port city on time, but unable to fly the actual human beings.  That is supposed to be a covered claim.  Aon didn't want to cover it.   Skipping over the consumer lawyer consultations, multiple complaints to the feds, 30 emails to Princess and United, and escalating it all the way to the top, we got cruise credit for it.

 

I could care less about getting the sympathy.  Don't advertise the travel insurance is this one wonderful thing, and then when you actually need the insurance do something else.

 

Was the airline purchased through Princess ?  It is unclear from your post

[suzyed]

On 4/25/2024 at 11:12 PM, memoak said:

When we were young we thought we were invincible and didn’t take any insurance. We just got reimbursed for medical stuff after we got home. Now that we are older we take the insurance

We started taking insurance when our parents got old and infirm.  Now we're the old guys so we still purchase the insurance.

[TRLD]

58 minutes ago, tetleytea said:

The subject line says Platinum insurance is worth it.  I'm sorry, but if they don't actually cover the terms they advertise to, then no, it is not.   We had an airline who was able to fly our bags to the port city on time, but unable to fly the actual human beings.  That is supposed to be a covered claim.  Aon didn't want to cover it.   Skipping over the consumer lawyer consultations, multiple complaints to the feds, 30 emails to Princess and United, and escalating it all the way to the top, we got cruise credit for it.

 

I could care less about getting the sympathy.  Don't advertise the travel insurance is this one wonderful thing, and then when you actually need the insurance do something else.

 

Did you purchase your plane tickets through Princess?

[Nebr.cruiser]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

The three trips you pointed out due to back injury and health crisis of a family member  as you would have also been considered a covered reason for trip cancellation coverage on Sapphire.

True, although I'm not sure about a family member's heart attack when they had a history of heart problems.  Also the first two trips (cancel for family) were mostly land, with some river cruising.  

Of course that doesn't make any difference with most insurance.

 

[TRLD]

Just now, Nebr.cruiser said:

True, although I'm not sure about a family member's heart attack when they had a history of heart problems.  Also the first two trips (cancel for family) were mostly land, with some river cruising.  

Of course that doesn't make any difference with most insurance.

 

My understanding with Sapphire is that as long as there is a identified event that makes a clear change in status as stated by a physician it is covered event so a family member in bad health having a heart attack or stroke would be a covered cause. Having a family member in ill health and just deciding to cancel the trip without a major change would not be.

[Nebr.cruiser]

2 minutes ago, TRLD said:

My understanding with Sapphire is that as long as there is a identified event that makes a clear change in status as stated by a physician it is covered event so a family member in bad health having a heart attack or stroke would be a covered cause. Having a family member in ill health and just deciding to cancel the trip without a major change would not be.

That sounds great; all the fine print makes policies hard to understand.  Has anyone used their Chase Sapphire Preferred policy for a cancelled cruise or trip?  How did it work out.  I realize it is secondary insurance.  

[TRLD]

17 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

That sounds great; all the fine print makes policies hard to understand.  Has anyone used their Chase Sapphire Preferred policy for a cancelled cruise or trip?  How did it work out.  I realize it is secondary insurance.  

We have. Wife broke her wrist skiing two weeks before a trip to Australia. Had 2 cruises booked. Had to cancel the first and was reimbursed for anything not funded by the cruise line. We were able to go later for the second cruise, so we were able to shift the flights and hotel so the cruise was the only out of pocket.

 

Like anything else one needs to evaluate cost vs potential loss. As such we carry the annual medical and evacuation policy for the real big expenses. No one should do international travel without good medical and evacuation coverage with good coverage levels. I consider the cruise line policies to have pretty low limits on medical.

 

Travel insurance costs we have found can run from as low as 3% to as high as 10% depending upon company. Since we travel from 120 to 150 days per year, we find that we save atleast $3000 per year in just insurance costs and running over $30,000 in total savings over the l years with having a couple of claims paid by CC plans, and having in total about $4500 in total out of pocket uncovered losses that would most likely not been covered even if we had insurance. Mostly from deposits/credits we have chosen to let expire or write off, mostly due to non cruise travel impacted by covid.

Edited April 28 by TRLD

[NavyVeteran]

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

I just filed my claim yesterday for a pre-cruise (5 days prior to sail) slip and fall. Medical reason - should get refund of cruise fare at the very least, right? - what else?

If you have adequate documentation from medical professionals that you are unable to sail for the medical condition, you should be covered. A slip and fall should not be considered a pre-existing condition. With Princess Vacation Protection, you should receive a refund for everything you paid Princess except for the cost of the insurance. You will not receive anything for any non-refundable expenses you paid directly to airlines, hotels, or excursion operators not through Princess.

[Nebr.cruiser]

1 minute ago, TRLD said:

We have. Wife broke her wrist skiing two weeks before an trip to Australia. Had 2 cruises booked. Had to cancel the first and was reimbursed for anything not funded by the cruise line. We were able to go later for the second cruise, so we were able to shift the flights and hotel so the cruise was the only out of pocket.

 

Like anything else one needs to evaluate cost vs potential loss. As such we carry the annual medical and evacuation policy for the real big expenses. 

 

Travel insurance costs we have found can run from as low as 3% to as high as 10% depending upon company. Since we travel from 120 to 150 days per year, we find that we save atleast $3000 per year in just insurance costs and running over $30,000 in total savings over the l years with having a couple of claims paid by CC plans, and having in total about $4500 in total out of pocket uncovered losses that would most likely not been covered even if we had insurance. Mostly from deposits/credits we have chosen to let expire or write off, mostly due to non cruise travel impacted by covid.

Thanks for the update.  Makes me feel better.  Strangely, we had two cruises and also land touring in Australia and New Zealand last year--spent almost 6 weeks there.  Absolutely wonderful (except, see below)!  Luckily, we didn't have to cancel, although we all came down with Covid and the flu at the very end of the trip. For that trip we counted on Chase Sapphire for the trip insurance and our normal annual plan for the med/evacuation catastrophic type of coverage.

[TRLD]

2 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

Thanks for the update.  Makes me feel better.  Strangely, we had two cruises and also land touring in Australia and New Zealand last year--spent almost 6 weeks there.  Absolutely wonderful (except, see below)!  Luckily, we didn't have to cancel, although we all came down with Covid and the flu at the very end of the trip. For that trip we counted on Chase Sapphire for the trip insurance and our normal annual plan for the med/evacuation catastrophic type of coverage.

That is the approach we use. However, we also expect the losses in out of out of pocket due to hiccups that one encounters traveling. Just that overall that the total of those losses would be less than the cost of travel insurance policies beyond the  medical and evacuation annual policy. So not upset if something pops up. The money for it already in the bank.

[Nebr.cruiser]

3 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

I just filed my claim yesterday for a pre-cruise (5 days prior to sail) slip and fall. Medical reason - should get refund of cruise fare at the very least, right? - what else?

We cancelled our South America cruise last December with Princess Platinum insurance 3 days before sailing.  My husband had injured his back in October and had numerous dr. appts., epidurals (4), chiropratic treatment and physical therapy in hope he could go.  We made the hard decision to cancel as late as possible as walking was just too painful.

 

We had a really good experience with the Princess Insurance.  I gathered all the needed documentation and submitted it online.  Less than a week later we had all covered expenses reimbursed. We didn't use Princess flights, hotels or tours.  All of our independent tours we were able to cancel also., even the one that was supposedly non-refundable that close.

[Cruisintimer]

We never cruise without insurance.  Last cruise a couple weeks ago to Hawaii we witnessed another medical Coast Guard evacuation.  

[justjan2]

On 4/25/2024 at 9:13 PM, Arizona Wildcat said:

There are a couple of credit cards with excellent coverage including Chase Sapphire.  Does have a fee after the first year.  We found its coverage and claim procedure to be fast and fair.  Even has primary coverage on rental cars.

With Chase Sapphire Preferred, if the cruise line offers travel insurance, then the Chase Sapphire card cannot be used for insurance.

[TRLD]

12 minutes ago, justjan2 said:

With Chase Sapphire Preferred, if the cruise line offers travel insurance, then the Chase Sapphire card cannot be used for insurance.

Would like to know where you got that from. It does not say that on any of the insurance paperwork I have gotten from them. Also was not an issue when we made a claim a few years ago.

 

The Chase web site states

 

If you have thr Sapphire credit card travel protection applies to plane tickets, rental cars and cruise line reservations booked using a Sapphire card or Ultimate Rewards Points.

 

Considering that all cruise lines offer travel insurance it is rather likely that they would explicitly state that cruise booking are covered without making a disclaimer.

 

 

Edited April 29 by TRLD