Vacation Protection Plan

[kdep2002]

Looking for input about the vacation protection plan. Is it really worth the money. For my family of four it would cost $236.00. I think I'd rather spend that on an excursion, etc. Any comments much appreciated.:)

[robtulipe]

It all depends on if you have out of the country medical coverage already and if you can afford to take the lost of the vacation cost if something should go wrong like a accident delay going to airport on day of cruise, sickness, death or missed/cancelled air flights, etc. just before the cruise starts. Read the fine print on any policies for exclusions especially for pre-existing health conditions. I know some don't bother at all or for a last minute booking and others won't go without this protection as they are not comfortable with having the lost whether they can afford it or not. Other prefer to arrive at their cruise departure port at least the the day before and use the money saved by not having travel protection to pay for their accommodations and meal expense.

I suggest going to http://www.insuremytrip.com/ for more info on this matter.

[MargaritaPlease]

Insurance is like gambling... Some folks are paid big but, in the end, the house always wins.

 

It comes down to how risk averse you are - and perhaps what medical coverage you already have. What makes you feel better - having an extra few hundred bucks that you can spend on a hotel or an excursion or knowing that, if things go really sour, you'll get some money back?

 

Folks go both ways. We "self-insure" and spend the money.

[oceantravel]

It's worth it if you end up needing it. I always purchase insurance. My piece of mind is worth that much. When you consider the whole cost of the cruise, that isn't very much money to be covered if trouble arises.

[bullsfan]

We got it when we cruised the first time even though the extra $$ did not make me happy. I did get sick and had to see the medical folks (bad sinus infection hit me at the end of the cruise and I had a fever) and our insurance did not cover the cost. I simply submitted their refusal to RCI's carrier and in less than 10 days we had a check reimbursing us for the charges in full.

 

It's a personal choice but I know someone who had a bill from the medical facility on a cruise that was over $3000..........so as said earlier, it is a gamble but to me my peace of mind is well worth the cost.

[Ocean Archer]

Obviously, nobody plans on getting sick (or hurt) while on a cruise. Unfortunately they call them "accidents" for just that reason. The last cruise that I went on, a fellow cruiser was severely injured and could not continue with the cruise. Fortunately, they had cruise insurance, and it paid for the hospitiliztion and care, as well as the cost of a one-way flight back to the States for both he and his wife ... 'nuff said.

[Ladylouwho]

Yes, it is worth it. Almost anything that could happen that would be covered would cost you more than $236. Just think of it as part of the price of the cruise, like the gratuities. We had to use some travel insurance once when we were in London. I got very ill, caught some weird bug. They sent a British doctor up to my hotel room, he did the examination and gave me prescription medicines right on the spot! Didn't even have to go to a pharmacy. They put the cost on our hotel bill and we had the reimbursement check from the travel insurance (through British Airways) in hand before I even got the credit card bill for the hotel. The insurance cost me $59. Needless to say, if I had had to pay the bill myself it would have been much higher. Plus the cancellation coverage for cancelling at the last minute for covered reasons is worth it alone.

[halfvass]

I give a provisional yes to trip insurance. For us, we have a myriad of health problems, are older, etc so we always get it. For you, younger, young family, maybe you don't need it.

 

However, you do need to become informed. I second robtulipe in recommending www.insuremytrip.com. Read the information and then plug in your trip specifics and get some quotes. THEN, compare the specifics to Vacation Protection Plan. Look at limits for different categories, pre-existing condition wavier, med-vac coverage, etc. Don't just look at the price and not know what you're getting. Also look at the underwriter and the rating to see just who you'll be getting your money from if you have to file a claim.

 

As for me, I would never buy my insurance from the cruise line. I think there is a built in conflict of interest and I find that the coverage is not as broad as you can get elsewhere.

[SamInWa]

Don't forget that you can buy just trip insurance without the protection for the cost of the cruise. It is very affordable at generally less than $50 depending on your exact coverage and age.

 

So even if you don't want to insure the whole cost of your trip, I would always want to have this insurance in case I was injured or became sick on the cruise.

 

I would sure hate to have to pay for a helicopter evacuation and would rather have surgery done in Florida than Jamaica if it came to that.

[AFT_LOVER]

if that is the insurer for the policy you are reading then save yourself 50% by going to STATRAVEL.com - same insurer and half the price. No bad weather but they do pay $500 PP to get to the next port.

[ontheopenseas]

Both my mother in law and sister in law ended up in the hospital a few days prior to separately plans cruises. Both were reimbursed in full for their cruises by the trip insurance. I love the anticipation of a cruise and I wouldn't want to be worrying about loosing all that money prior to or during the cruise. I think the insurance is definitely worth it.

 

Do most of you buy the insurance through RCI or through some other means?

[The Viking]

We have only cruised once, January -07 and purchased insurance through RCI so we could cancel for any reason and receive 75% back in credit.

 

We almost needed it, but were so fortunate we could leave 2 days early before the storm came in over SW MO. If we had waited, we would not have made it for the cruise and lost our money had we not had the insurance.

[purplehair]

Definitely worth it, the night before our cruise in Febuary one of our travel mates had to be admitted to the hospital for surgery to remove his appendix. He would certainly tell you it's worth it!

[AFT_LOVER]

as we were stung by many that we;ve purchsed & filed a claim to be turned down.

 

Access America refuses to pay for cruise due to bad weather (Blizzard in Cleveland Xmas Eve 2004) since their policy reads AIRPORT MUST BE CLOSED 24 HOURS. No flights but the airport was never closed. Airlines cancelled their flights so we lost out since we could not get to the ship. To meet the ship at a port, all flights were sold out due to Christmas & NYE so we could not get there & lost $8K.

 

Berkley Care which is cruiseline insurance does not cover bad weather - they term it ACT OF GOD. So now we buy www.STATRAVEL.COM for half the price of the same package. Medical is with our Kaiser Premium policy which pays for med flights, etc.

 

CSA who we have used for years turned our claim form November 2005 when Celebrity Summit cracked 3 toes due to their unsecured gangway. Plus our Concierge Class AFT stateroom (9201) had a teak floored bar with heavy wooden furniture that sounded like a war zone, and they pressure wash it nightly at 2AM & 5AM & they refused to move us or fly us home with my injury. In March a rep named Tony told me all paperwork was approved & a check would be mailed shortly & in June I phoned looking for our money & was told Tony was no longer with them & no one knew what I was calling about. So I filed a greavence with their parent company to be told last December that they never received the accident report or doctor's write up. They wanted me to get it for them. For $425 for 2 week cruise, I was not doing their work. They had no record of work done by Tony. SO NO MORE WITH THEM!

[The Viking]

as we were stung by many that we;ve purchsed & filed a claim to be turned down.

 

Access America refuses to pay for cruise due to bad weather (Blizzard in Cleveland Xmas Eve 2004) since their policy reads AIRPORT MUST BE CLOSED 24 HOURS. No flights but the airport was never closed. Airlines cancelled their flights so we lost out since we could not get to the ship. To meet the ship at a port, all flights were sold out due to Christmas & NYE so we could not get there & lost $8K.

 

 

 

That is the reason we get the "insurance" with RCCI so we can cancel for ANY reason and receive compensation in the form of 75% credit towards a future cruise.

[stl82]

As someone said earlier, whether you buy trip insurance depends on how risk averse you are. And I am very risk averse!

 

We are going on a cruise in March 2008. I already purchased travel insurance even though we only made a minimal down payment because most policies will cover a pre-existing condition (which I have) only if you buy within 15 days of making the first deposit. I used Travel Guard as in looking at various policies I thought they offered the most value.

 

The policy specifically mentions "inclement weather" as a legitimate reason to cancel a trip, with no limit on how long an airport must be shut down. There a list of exclusions like self-inflicted injury, mountain climbing, some stuff like that. Overall I think it provides good coverage.