Booked 1st Cruise. Alaska in 09. Gaaah!

[JeanfromBNA]

This must seem quaint to those of you with many voyages under your er, life vest, but when Celebrity dropped the price on the Celebrity Suite to Alaska on 09/11/09, I broke out the debit card and promptly broke out in a cold sweat! :eek: I booked online, and suddenly could think of a dozen things that I needed to find out. I promise that I'll do my reasearch, but I hope you all don't mind a few inane questions from a newbie in the future. First up: I need to purchase trip insurance ASAP, right?

[NancyIL]

If you want to have pre-existing conditions covered, then you need to purchase the trip insurance within 10-21 days of making your initial trip deposit - depending on the policy's requirements. (I go to http://www.insuremytrip.com to compare policies.) If you're not sure that you'll really go on the cruise, there are a couple of companies that cover pre-existing conditions as long as the insurance is puchased within 24 hours of making your final payment. Those companies are HTH Worldwide and CSA.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Another piece of advice--switch your booking from your debit card to your credit card. Once a vendor has your debit card number, there's no limit to what it can charge against it and you have very little protection.

 

That said, enjoy September 11 in Alaska! Alaska is wonderful. We were there on September 11 in 2006 and had wonderful weather.

[pattyj 1204]

You will love the colors of Sept. in Alaska. We were there in Sept. 2002 and wouldn't trade that trip for anything else.Alaska is a beautiful state and I'm wishing you good weather. May I also suggest taking a pair of Binoculars? They come in handy and I'm glad I had mine.

[diboja]

Do you need trip insurance?

Of course you do!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274

 

Reasons to buy travel insurance

1. Your flight has been cancelled.

2. Your bags are lost and your medication is in it. You need to have an emergency prescription filled.

3. Your passport and wallet are stolen, and you need emergency cash and a replacement passport.

4. You're involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available. You need medical evacuation.

5. You need to cancel your trip due to illness.

6. Your cruise line, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. You need your non-refundable expenses covered and to get to your destination.

7. You have a medical emergency in a foreign country.

8. A terrorist incident occurs in the city where you’re planning to visit and you want to cancel your trip.

9. A hurricane forces you to evacuate your resort, hotel or cruise.

[diboja]

Jean

I just wanted to add...

Your first cruise will be a wonderful experience - I recall our first cruise was to Alaska and the memories remain vivid in the theatre of my mind...

 

Have a wonderful time...

Dave

[JeanfromBNA]

If you want to have pre-existing conditions covered, then you need to purchase the trip insurance within 10-21 days of making your initial trip deposit - depending on the policy's requirements. (I go to www.insuremytrip.com to compare policies.) If you're not sure that you'll really go on the cruise, there are a couple of companies that cover pre-existing conditions as long as the insurance is puchased within 24 hours of making your final payment. Those companies are HTH Worldwide and CSA.

Thank you for the link, Nancy. I was able to compare benefits and prices readily and purchased a Travelex Travelite policy yesterday.

[JeanfromBNA]

You will love the colors of Sept. in Alaska. We were there in Sept. 2002 and wouldn't trade that trip for anything else.Alaska is a beautiful state and I'm wishing you good weather. May I also suggest taking a pair of Binoculars? They come in handy and I'm glad I had mine.

Thank you for the suggestion about binoculars! Are there any that you recommend? We have some simple binoculars, but I wonder if they would do Alaska justice.

[JeanfromBNA]

Another piece of advice--switch your booking from your debit card to your credit card. Once a vendor has your debit card number, there's no limit to what it can charge against it and you have very little protection.

 

That said, enjoy September 11 in Alaska! Alaska is wonderful. We were there on September 11 in 2006 and had wonderful weather.

Thank you for your good wishes!

[JeanfromBNA]

Do you need trip insurance?

Of course you do!

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274

 

Reasons to buy travel insurance

1. Your flight has been cancelled.

2. Your bags are lost and your medication is in it. You need to have an emergency prescription filled.

3. Your passport and wallet are stolen, and you need emergency cash and a replacement passport.

4. You're involved in an accident and adequate medical treatment is not available. You need medical evacuation.

5. You need to cancel your trip due to illness.

6. Your cruise line, airline or tour operator goes bankrupt. You need your non-refundable expenses covered and to get to your destination.

7. You have a medical emergency in a foreign country.

8. A terrorist incident occurs in the city where you’re planning to visit and you want to cancel your trip.

9. A hurricane forces you to evacuate your resort, hotel or cruise.

Dave, you make excellent points, and I have purchased a policy. If I have questions about others' experience with travel insurance, should I post them on this board, or another?