Travel Insurance (Carnival)

So I never really thought about this until a Carnival Rep called me and tried to sell it to me.

Is it worth it? We have traveled and vacationed before and nothing bad has happened before to any of us. Nothing medical at all, no medical issues either.

also not going on any risk taking excursions.

I'm assuming if the ship were to break down during the crusie, it would be on carnival, not us so insurance would not help here.

(obviously most people who have a story about travel insurance to tell me involves the insurance being useful but what about you guys who bought it and never used it or have never bought it or needed it?)

Just need a few opinions on this!!

Thank you guys in advance! this forum has been amazing!!

I always buy travel insurance. If nothing else for the medical. To answer your question,,, If I KNEW it was never going to be used,,, then there is no way I would buy it. That would be plain silly. However, I DON'T know it will never be used, therefore I share the risk. They're betting nothing will happen,,, I'm hoping nothing happens.

10 cruises. 2 all inclusives in Jamaica

On one cruise, after I came home, I realized my wedding band was missing. Filed a claim for lost, misplaced, or stolen wedding band. Provided receipt and received max reimbursement within a couple of weeks.

On one all inclusive, a hurricane came thru Miami the day we were to leave Jamaica. Had to stay an extra 2 days because our flight connections were in Miami. Filed a claim and received reimbursement.

Some 40+ years of holidays always bought insurance sometimes just medical if a driving vacation but cruises I buy trip cancellation/interruption as well

used the medical portion a few times

March 2013 the morning we were to fly to Miami to get our cruise the next day DH had a gallbladder attack...

canceled the trip 2 hrs prior to the flight

took less than a month & got fully reimbursed

Yes we could of not bought insurance & been out $15,000.

we already spent the money for the cruise anyway

Lucky for us I did buy insurance so we can cruise again with the money we got back

It really is a personal decision only you can make

Some people are willing to self insure & will take the hit ...I am not one of them;)

Medical emergencies are just that, unforeseen events. If your primary medical covers you out of the country then you may not need other insurance. But do consider the cost of transport back to the US.

Cancellation insurance is something else entirely, and some people like having that coverage, others save money and self- insure. Your choice, just be informed.

We've been on 7 cruises and 1 all inclusive resort. Bought the travel insurance

First cruise - husband got sick and saw ship's doctor. we were reimbursed.

One other time, I got sick AND we couldn't get home due to a blizzard. we were stranded for 2 days - had to get hotel nights and find an alternative way to get home. Our flight was not direct and we were stranded at both the port debarkation and the layover.

we were reimbursed for the medical, trip interruption, trip delay - all the meals that we had receipts for, the hotels, doctor on board the ship, etc., even the cab ride from Dulles Airport to DC so that we can take the train home. The train was also reimbursed.

Buying the cruise line insurance is not always the best way to go. Look at insuremytrip.com and see what the different insurers have and compare to Carnival's.

I have bought insurance on my last 4 cruise and (thankfully) never had to use it. Do I feel like I have wasted my money - NO! My health insurance does not cover me outside of the US. A medical emergency in a foreign country could easily wipe out my entire life savings. I'm not willing to chance that.

We've bought trip insurance and never needed it. We'll continue to buy it and hopefully never need it. We primarily get it for the medical/medivac coverage. We buy insurance to cover the cost of a Bad Thing that would too expensive to deal with. I can afford to cancel the cruise and not get reimbursed. I might be really, really sad, but it won't cause a financial hardship. The cost to treat a burst appendix in a foreign country and the cost to medivac back would cause a hardship. I view the other stuff like trip cancellation/trip interruption as nice-to-have if the additional cost isn't too much.

Ultimately, you need to decide the likelihood of something happening, and are you willing to pay an insurance company to assume that risk, or is the chance of it happening small enough that you'll self-insure. Lots of people go on cruises without having a burst appendix or something else requiring medical attention. All our cruises have been like that (knock on wood). For us, we're willing to pay to push the risk off on an insurance company.

or whatever their name is, don't buy this insurance. IT ONLY COVERS WHAT YOU BUY FROM CARNIVAL. This insurance is way more expensive than other trip insurance that you can buy and you get better coverage than paying Carnival and this Stonebridge $200 plus dollars for very narrow coverage. READ THE SMALL PRINT....

It is not REAL travel interruption insurance, they have a lot of small print. You cannot just buy this insurance over the phone from the person that sells you the cruise and expect it to pay for all your expenses that are lost when you have an interruption in your travel.

There are other and better companies and you will save yourself a lot of frustration if you have to use the insurance.

or whatever their name is, don't buy this insurance. IT ONLY COVERS WHAT YOU BUY FROM CARNIVAL.

Actually, they cover independently booked airfare at no additional cost which can be a big savings.

This insurance is way more expensive than other trip insurance that you can buy

For some people this is true, for others it isn't. For someone in the upper age brackets the cruise line's plan can be a big savings since seniors aren't penalized and plus you get the airfare covered for free even if you didn't get it through Carnival and you also get their Cancel For Any Reason benefit at no additional charge.

It is not REAL travel interruption insurance, they have a lot of small print.

Since the insurance regulators in all 50 states all agree that this is REAL travel interruption insurance I don't quite know what you mean. But it's always good advice to read the fine print. I have and it reads pretty similar to any other insurer out there.

Is this plan for everyone? Of course not, no plan is. But there are some who will find this to be their best combination of cost and benefits.

We just returned home from the cruise to no where. After going through the pains of a very late embarkation and muster (1:30 A.M.) Carnival decided to cancel the cruise. We did purchase their insurance whatever that is. It seems that it really isn't insurance at all. I would have thought that if the trip was cancelled we should be reimbursed for our gas and hotel. That is not the way Carnival sees it. Anyone have any experience with this please tell us what we can do. They have offered us a free cruise but after seeing that ship I will never go anywhere with Carnival again. Thanks!

JK

We ALWAYS suggest getting third party insurance, through

http://www.TripInsuranceStore.com

They have several companies they've vetted, each with a few different policies.

We've had *claims* experience twice with Travel Insured, purchased through TripInsuranceStore, and the claims were paid promptly with no nonsense.

In one case, an unusual situation, Steve (of TripInsuranceStore) helped us about "how" to file the unusual claim - and it worked!