Trip Insurance question that came to mind because of Royal fire

[happy cruzer]

But it is next to impossible to figure out the "acceptable reasons" for making a claim. Cancel for any reason is seldom covered unless one pays extra and it is offered. Similarly, if one buys insurance when booking an air, it will cover only the list of specific events and I have yet to see a separate air insurance that covers cancellation for any reason. Cruise cancellation is not a covered reason for independently booked air cancellation.

 

This is vey good information.

 

I also asked over on the cruise air board about what to actually do about the air ticket assuming that

 

24 hours before departure your cruise gets cancelled

 

We had some interesting discussion but the bottom line to me is

 

if you don't know absolutely that the full trip value including your self booked air is covered, Call the airline and follow their particular guidelines for canceling/rebooking to save the value of the ticket less rebooking fee.

 

Hopefully we never need to know this information :o

[spongerob]

Thanks for starting that thread. Even though airfare might be non-refundable, it doesn't mean that you have to lose it if a cruise is cancelled. You will have to pay change fees (which might be reimbursable) and use the credit within a certain time frame.

 

I never insure airfare. The cost of insurance is usually only slightly less than the penalties to change, so it's not a cost-effective option.

[tequilatamm]

But it is next to impossible to figure out the "acceptable reasons" for making a claim. Cancel for any reason is seldom covered unless one pays extra and it is offered. Similarly, if one buys insurance when booking an air, it will cover only the list of specific events and I have yet to see a separate air insurance that covers cancellation for any reason. Cruise cancellation is not a covered reason for independently booked air cancellation.

 

If the ship is having some sort of problem that prevents you from making it to the booked flight in time, that is a valid reason for making a claim. You are forfeiting your passage on that flight ticket due to a problem with the ship.

 

In the case of the Royal, independently booked passengers would still have had time to take their flights, as the cruise was ending EARLY. I doubt insurance companies or the ship would pay for a new flight home, but they WOULD be obligated to pay for your accommodation during the interim period if you couldn't remain on the ship, plus transportation from wherever you are to your departing airport, plus daily incidentals (as all your food would have been covered on the ship).

 

That means that either the cruise company or your insurance should cover you in one way or another for either of these situations.

 

The price of your ticket or who you purchased it from has no bearing on a new ticket to get you home.

 

When my husband's neck went out in Thailand, he was traveling on a mileage ticket purchased with points, in first class.

 

The insurance company had no choice but to buy him a new ticket to travel first class when he WAS able to get home. Whether they arrange this for you or reimburse you for out-of-pocket expense for the new ticket is irrelevant. They MUST provide you with the same product that you were denied, no matter what the cost was to you or to them.

 

The same could be said for any interim accommodation/incidental costs and transport to get you to your departing airport.

 

Although you should always contact your insurance company, make them aware of the situation, and ask them how they would like you to proceed before outlaying the money yourself. They may have strict rules, in the case of accommodation and such, about how much they will fork out per day. They may also wish to book any new departing flights or accommodation for you.

 

Please not that insurance companies will ALWAYS try to get away with paying as little as they can, so don't let them bamboozle you or put you off.

 

My husband once spent 6 months chasing up a claim. They would wait several weeks and then ask him to provide more information. He finally told them if they didn't settle the matter immediately he would start charging them interest and get his lawer involved. He had a check in his hot little hands the very next day.

 

Know your rights. Read the fine print. Know what you're entitled to, and go after it.

 

Of course, as I said above, contacting the insurance company ahead of time and making notes of who you spoke to and what they authorized you for will go a long way to making sure they can't deny any claims you've made.

 

In the case of the Royal above, I'm pretty sure anyone's insurance company would tell them that they must try to claim the costs from the cruise company first, and would only pay a claim in the event that the cruise company refused. They would probably also go after the cruise company themselves first, if they refused to pay.

[happy cruzer]

Hi, tequila

 

You have good points about the trip delay caused by the fire.

 

My questions was about the next cruise that was cancelled. The trip cancellation section on US travel policies is different from trip delay.

 

Hence the need to take action (i.e. make sure you don't lose the value of your air ticket) if the cruise is cancelled and you have independently booked air.

[Sunsailor]

Hi, tequila

 

You have good points about the trip delay caused by the fire.

 

My questions was about the next cruise that was cancelled. The trip cancellation section on US travel policies is different from trip delay.

 

Hence the need to take action (i.e. make sure you don't lose the value of your air ticket) if the cruise is cancelled and you have independently booked air.

 

We have had experience with a cruise canceled after we made our own air arrangements. Our travel insurance did NOT cover the airfare because the airline did not cancel the flight nor was our trip interrupted. We did call Travelex at the time but it clearly was not covered. We always insure both the cruise and the air and will continue to do so and have canceled for reimbursable reasons ( illness, death in Family) and have had no problems with those.

[happy cruzer]

We have had experience with a cruise canceled after we made our own air arrangements. Our travel insurance did NOT cover the airfare because the airline did not cancel the flight nor was our trip interrupted. We did call Travelex at the time but it clearly was not covered. We always insure both the cruise and the air and will continue to do so and have canceled for reimbursable reasons ( illness, death in Family) and have had no problems with those.

 

Thanks for sharing an actual experience. I got laughed at pretty good for suggesting that's how the travel insurance could work.

 

Most love to think the travel insurance covers "everything".

 

Again, thanks for sharing your particual experience; it will help alot of us.

[dance4fun]

I've always been a "we're healthy & don't need insurance" type of reckless person until an appendix issue (luckily not on vacation) made me rethink things. Since then I have started buying insurance for the cruise portion and now after a snowstorm incident last year, I am thinking of purchasing airfare insurance as well for more expensive flights. I know I'm a slow learner.;)

 

My question is, on the thread that was closed someone spoke of consolidated airfare and I don't know what that means? Is that like booking through an online agency instead of direct with the airline? It seemed like last time I used an online agency they offered airfare insurance, is it just not good insurance?

 

We use squaremouth.com to compare policies. You can download policy terms and conditions.