Question about trip insurance

[TMaine]

I am looking for information regarding the pros and cons of using the Celebrity trip insurance versus private insurance. The reason I ask is I am currently booked with cruise air and the insurance through Celebrity. Is it worth it to look at booking my own flights and private insurance? Since I booked the cruise through a TA, can I book my own flights and still have the whole trip covered buy the private insurance? Does the private insurance cover the same things as Celebrity trip insurance? Thanks for all of your help!

[wvufan]

We always go throught insuremytrip.com and can pretty much tailor the insurance to our needs.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[ghstudio]

You really should read the celebrity policy to see if it's right for you....you should read any policy and not believe anything but what is written.

 

As far as I know, the celebrity policy is the only one where, if you cancel for a non covered reason (you just decide not to go) after full payment is due but before the cruise begins, you will get a credit of 75% of your payment towards another celebrity cruise within a year. A nice option if you might have a business deal come up suddenly, etc.

 

But, read the policy....at

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/pdf/insurance/DofC%20CEL%20060607.pdf

[TMaine]

Thanks for posting. It sounds like I can keep the Celebrity insurance, book my own flights and those will still be covered, is that the way other people interpret the policy? Here is the reaosn I am asking:

 

I booked the cruise/air almost a year ago. The cabin price dropped last week, I was told I can't get the reduced rate without the airfare going up more then the savings. I can book my own air for cheaper and get the reduced cabin rate but I still want the trip insured.

[TomCruises]

I am looking for information regarding the pros and cons of using the Celebrity trip insurance versus private insurance. The reason I ask is I am currently booked with cruise air and the insurance through Celebrity. Is it worth it to look at booking my own flights and private insurance? Since I booked the cruise through a TA, can I book my own flights and still have the whole trip covered buy the private insurance? Does the private insurance cover the same things as Celebrity trip insurance? Thanks for all of your help!

 

You can go to insuremytrip.com There are 30-40 different companies to choose from and compare. I'm sure you can find coverage that includes air and your cruise! You'll also figure out that there are other "critical" important coverages/benefits with these companies that are not offered with the packaged insurance offered by the cruise line.

[Karynanne]

We use insuremytrip.com. This site allows you to compare different companies and their rates.

[TRadle]

There are cancel for any reason policies out there that provide full refunds, not just 75%; there are policies out there that cover for job related issues; there is one policy that allows you to buy the insurance at the time of final payment which covers pre-existing conditions.

 

Go to insuremytrip dot com and find the policy that fits your needs.

[Ships R Great]

I looked at the insure web site. It boggles the mind! My poor old brain suffered severe overload. I decided to keep X insurance for a Carib cruise. Overseas---I might reconsider.

[pcur]

I'd keep Celebrity's insurance for the cruise portion, since as mentioned above, they are a little more liberal with the non-covered cancellations.

 

Then, I would buy the air independently, but check with your credit card company for what travel insurance they include. I think most of them have trip delay and luggage of some kind. I book air with cancellation insurance through the airline or booking site. That air cost is not included in the trip insurance quote. I only include the air that truly has a hefty cancellation fee.

 

Then, I would go to insuremytrip or quotewright and look for medical only travel insurance for the cost of the trip that you haven't got covered already. I think you'll pay a lot less. Make sure your health insurance doesn't cover outside the U.S., too. If it does, then you don't need a hefty medical policy.

 

When you get all the info put together, write it down and keep it for future reference, because this is the "package" you will want in the future.

 

For instance, I just purchased cruise and air coverage for two cruises this year, not using RCCL's insurance, but going on my own for it. The cruises are back-to-back and I got a separate policy for each, because they exceeded the maximum number of days covered by a single policy. I got medical included just because that's the way it is packaged, but I don't need the medical.

 

 

So, my insurance was cruise and partial air only with a little medical thrown in. (Remember, I have some coverage through my credit card, and I bought cancellation coverage from the airline on part of my air.)

 

For a 16 night cruise it cost me $179 for two people.

 

If you piece it together like this you pay less, IMO.

[TMaine]

Thanks for all of the input, I did go to the website and did a quick quote. It was quite a bit more expensive then what you got PCUR, I very well could have made a mistake while filling out the form though. I don't need any medical coverage, just the flight and cruise. I will check with my CC too, thanks!!!

[rebar-art]

Don't purchase TravelGuard. In addition to being put out by the scum-sucking-bottom-dwellers at AIG, if your cruise is cancelled by Celebrity for mechanical issues, they will not pay.

[Buellwinkle]

We used Costco's trip insurance and their travel department was very good. We paid $31 each on our last cruise.

[jerseygirl3]

The only advantage I can see with Celebrity's insurance policy is the fact that they will give you a 75% credit (reimbursement?) if you choose to cancel for any reason. However, the coverage is usually quite lacking compared to other travel insurance policies, and usually more expensive (unless you are elderly, in which case the cruise line insurance may be less expensive).

 

First of all, if you book your own air, Celebrity's insurance will not cover any air issues (in other words, if you miss the cruise because your flight was delayed, you are out of luck entirely).

 

Secondly, you say you don't need medical coverage. Are you sure your medical insurance covers you out of the country, and if so, do they cover air evacuation as well? Most don't.

 

Also, I don't think Celebrity's insurance covers pre-existing conditions. If they do, I don't think it covers family members/business partners not traveling with you. While you may not have any health issues, a family member may (and it can be as simple as the fact that they take hypertension meds). If something were to happen to one of them that would result in your cancelling or having to cut your trip short, you may not be covered with Celebrity's insurance. Most other third party policies will cover you (if purchased within a certain timeframe of making your initial trip deposit).

 

We always purchase at insuremytrip.com and take out the Travelex Travel Lite policy. It is competitively priced, they are primary insurers (meaning nothing has to be submitted to your own medical insurance or homeowners insurance first...they pay upfront), they will allow you to switch your policy over to a new trip if you decide to change travel plans, and they will cover pre-existing conditions for you, your traveling companion, and any family member or business partner even if they are not traveling with you as long as you purchase the insurance within 21 days of making your initial trip deposit. If you are outside the 21 day limit, then you may want to look at CSA Luxe policy...they allow you to purchase up to within 24 hours of final payment and they will cover pre-existing conditions. It's pricier than Travelex, but gets less expensive the closer to your sailing date that you purchase.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jo-Ann

[pcur]

Thanks for all of the input, I did go to the website and did a quick quote. It was quite a bit more expensive then what you got PCUR, I very well could have made a mistake while filling out the form though. I don't need any medical coverage, just the flight and cruise. I will check with my CC too, thanks!!!

 

Be sure to go all the way down the list of policies. I got the SuperSaver by TruTravel which is at the bottom. They don't list the policies by lowest-highest, so you have to look at all the prices. Also, because I didn't buy this earlier, there's no pre-existing coverage, so that may be why it's cheaper. Even so, I found the SuperSaver to meet my needs.

[TMaine]

More things to consider, thank you all!!

[halbfl2]

I am looking for information regarding the pros and cons of using the Celebrity trip insurance versus private insurance. The reason I ask is I am currently booked with cruise air and the insurance through Celebrity. Is it worth it to look at booking my own flights and private insurance? Since I booked the cruise through a TA, can I book my own flights and still have the whole trip covered buy the private insurance? Does the private insurance cover the same things as Celebrity trip insurance? Thanks for all of your help!

 

My guess is that you cannot cover the air if it isn't booked with the cruise. If you book your own air, look into the insurance that the airline will probably offer you at the end of the booking. I think it is fairly reasonable (however, I don't know exactly what it covers--cancel for any reason???) If you book your own insurance, you can cover yourself portal to portal with the total cost of the cruise and the air. If you need to buy the insurance within 14 days of first payment in order to cover pre-existing conditions, you'll just have to guess at the amt. that the air might be.

[eandj]

Don't purchase TravelGuard. In addition to being put out by the scum-sucking-bottom-dwellers at AIG, if your cruise is cancelled by Celebrity for mechanical issues, they will not pay.

 

Totally different "piece" of AIG. Not related to AIG's problems today.

 

If X cancels or shortens a cruise due to their mechanical issues, they reimburse and offer the fix. No insurance is liable for that.

[TMaine]

Has anyone used the USAA travel insurance?

[ghstudio]

I'd keep Celebrity's insurance for the cruise portion, since as mentioned above, they are a little more liberal with the non-covered cancellations.

 

Then, I would buy the air independently, but check with your credit card company for what travel insurance they include. I think most of them have trip delay and luggage of some kind. I book air with cancellation insurance through the airline or booking site. That air cost is not included in the trip insurance quote. I only include the air that truly has a hefty cancellation fee.

 

Then, I would go to insuremytrip or quotewright and look for medical only travel insurance for the cost of the trip that you haven't got covered already. I think you'll pay a lot less. Make sure your health insurance doesn't cover outside the U.S., too. If it does, then you don't need a hefty medical policy.

 

When you get all the info put together, write it down and keep it for future reference, because this is the "package" you will want in the future.

 

For instance, I just purchased cruise and air coverage for two cruises this year, not using RCCL's insurance, but going on my own for it. The cruises are back-to-back and I got a separate policy for each, because they exceeded the maximum number of days covered by a single policy. I got medical included just because that's the way it is packaged, but I don't need the medical.

 

 

So, my insurance was cruise and partial air only with a little medical thrown in. (Remember, I have some coverage through my credit card, and I bought cancellation coverage from the airline on part of my air.)

 

For a 16 night cruise it cost me $179 for two people.

 

If you piece it together like this you pay less, IMO.

 

I can only assume that you've never read the celebrity policy found at:

http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/heroSingleTxtSub.do?pagename=vacation_insurance

 

Had you read it, you would have found that a) it does cover independent air travel; b) it does cover trip delays even if caused by independently booked air; c) cancellation due to illness (etc) of immediate family members...and much more including the 75% credit if you cancel for any reason at all. It also covers pre-existing conditions based on pretty much the same basis that most other policies do....if you're on stable meds, you're covered.

 

I don't know if it's the best policy or not....and I don't care if anyone signs up for it or not.....but don't make claims about what it does and does not cover without taking the time to actually read the policy.

 

BTW...just for the record, I do take the celebrity policy because while I want all the standard coverage including pre-existing conditions, I also want the flexibility to just cancel the trip and not lose everything.