Trip Insurance and Amsterdam activities

We are from California and going on a 15 day Viking river cruise in Oct. and are considering purchasing trip insurance. Coverages and benefits are very confusing. Is it worth it? Can anyone reccomend a good U.S. company? Also, we are spending a couple extra days in Amsterdam. Can anyone recommend a good hotel in the historic district and some not to miss activities?

Trip insurance is worth the piece of mind. Many things can occur prior to your trip that would prevent you from going. Many things can happen on your trip that the insurance will compensate you for. I think you can probably find some recent posts on this site that have discussed trip insurance. Do some digging and you will find them. I'm sure others will be commenting too. I've used travelguard a number of times. Never had to claim them but I do find them less expensive than cruise line insurance.

You can also find a recent post about Amsterdam hotels on this site. There is so much to do in and around Amsterdam that you will be amazed. Do a canal boat tour, visit the museums, go to the Anne Frank haus, visit the red-light district, go to the Begijnhof, visit a coffee house.

I also urge you to visit the Fodor's and Trip advisor websites and post questions. There are many local, knowledgeable posters on those sites that can help.

Have fun.

Trip insurance is only worth it if you need it. It can cover the cost of your trip, medical expenses, baggage loss, default of company and other benefits.

Go to www.insuremytrip.com and you can see the various coverages and costs.

Also meant to agree with Paulinda about the peace of mind.

You can also find a wealth of info about Amsterdam right here on Cruise Critic ~ go to Ports of Call-Europe-British Isles/Western Europe. You can scroll down to find heading of Amsterdam or fo to "search this forum" (upper right), click on it and enter Amsterdam or Amsterdam hotels, etc. to finds lots of suggestions and advice from other cruisers - Amsterdam is an active port for river and also Baltic cruises.

Enjoy!!

Don't go without travel insurance----friend of ours had a heart attack on his flight over and trip insurance has taken care of everything--hospital, hotel, missimg the cruise and medevac home. He is doing well. Also on one cruise one pax have to have an emergeny appendectomy--no insurance and lost part of trip. Don't leave home without it. Pat

cost, but it does come in handy. Just even on a short trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu, my son's plane was cancelled and it was the last one of the day. He would have lost out on the cost of the hotel and the tour he purchased, everything if he hadn't had it. As it was he had to buy another ticket from another airline to get there, but they refunded part of the cost. Well worth it.

Do the wine and cheese night canal cruise--don't miss!! We went on Lovers canal boat. Guide and captain were wonderful. They also took us off the boat for a short walk thru the red light!

Some times it is a good idea to buy it through the cruise company, we use access america...

In case you want to visit Anne Frankhouse, absolutely make on-line reservations. There is a special entrance door for people holding reservations. Lines often are very long.

Indeed a boarttour (I also love the wine/cheese sailings at night), both Rijksmuseum (Old masters like Rembrandt) and van Goghmuseum.

Walk the Jordaan section (not too far from AF house).

This site gives lots of information about Amsterdam:

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/visitingportal

Consider sidetrips to Zaanse Schans (windmills), maybe the flowerauction in Aalsmeer, a visit to the carhming old town of Delft.

Plenty to see and do.

I agree with the value of Trip Insurance. We had to cancel a cruise due to illness and were very pleased we had insurance.

Has anyone looked into annual umberella trip insurance versus trip by trip insurance ?

We travel more than four times a year, and this might be interesting?

s in Amsterdam. Can anyone recommend a good hotel in the historic district and some not to miss activities?

Spend 1 day just wandering around the city and taking streetcars to places you have never heard of. Amsterdam is a really interesting city.

DON

In case you want to visit Anne Frankhouse, absolutely make on-line reservations. There is a special entrance door for people holding reservations. Lines often are very long.

Indeed a boarttour (I also love the wine/cheese sailings at night), both Rijksmuseum (Old masters like Rembrandt) and van Goghmuseum.

Walk the Jordaan section (not too far from AF house).

This site gives lots of information about Amsterdam:

http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/visitingportal

 

Consider sidetrips to Zaanse Schans (windmills), maybe the flowerauction in Aalsmeer, a visit to the carhming old town of Delft.

Plenty to see and do.

We will be in Amsterdam for 4 nights mid September. Anne Frank tickets online only available up until the 14th, don't know why. Also the Rijksmuseum is apparently closed from Sept 1st for renovations. Any other suggestions? Thanks

Sorry, re the previous post. It is the Van Gogh Museum that is closed during early/mid September and being relocated during renovations, not Rijksmuseum. Sorry for the mistake.

Some times it is a good idea to buy it through the cruise company' date=' we use access america...[/quote']

Only if you buy a complete package including air through the cruise company. Otherwise does not make any sense, since air portion won't be coverered.

Anne Frank house tickets for later dates will open up, just keep watching their website. They only sell tickets so far out.

Yes, trip insurance is worth it because it covers not only what may happen to you on a cruise, but also family members or travel companions if you are sharing a room.

You can go to Squaremouth.com or Insuremytrip.com and compare coverages among companies. They have agents who can help you choose a package.

CSA covers pre-existing conditions that are stable if you buy within so many hours of purchase. (I think it was within 24 hours of final payment, but check to be sure.)

Amsterdam:

Agree about the suggestions plus my husband loved Belgian waffles.

We went on more than one canal cruise.

Just as an aside we still comment about all the people riding bicycles, even going on a date or taking children to day care in the morning.

My daughter and I will be spending 4 days in Amsterdam before our Russian River Cruise next month. I can tell you more afterwards! I think Amsterdam is a city you can't go wrong in- because it offers you everything. Before we set our final itinerary, K and I consulted our cousin's wife, who is from Holland. We also talked to others who'd gone before us, and and did some of our own research. We wanted to get a fine mix of "typical tourist" stuff, as well as some off the beaten path stuff. We are taking a few tours through Viator. You could do the same things on your own cheaper, but the tours offer the bonus of transportation and time management.

We bought tickets online for the Anne Frank house. The tickets allow you to bypass the line. We also bought a day long tour that will take us to Zaanse Schaans to see the windmills, to Delft to see one of the pottery works, a wooden shoe factory, a cheese sampling and Madurodam, which is a miniature village replica of Amsterdam. We also get to see the Hague and some other stuff. We also bought a Red Light District Walking Tour, which takes you to the museum and is led by someone who once worked in the industry- to give you a full view of "the business". Lets see... we also pre-bought meals at the Hard Rock Cafe.

From what I'm learning, Amsterdam can be as crazy or mild as you want. You must take a canal ride, you can go to the flower markets, there is a castle, rent a bike or scooter to explore on your own. You can go crazy in a coffee house and watch a live porn show, or walk around at leisure and people watch and enjoy the history and archetecture. There is the Boom Chicago comedy club that does shows in English, similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway".

We plan to take the train to Haarlem for one day (about 20 minutes from Amsterdam by train. We want to see the Corrie Ten Boom house (she was a Christian whose family was involved with the underground during WW2). Corrie and her family built a secret room in their home and hid Jews and found hiding places for many. Corrie and her sister were in their 50's at the time and their father in his 80's! The family ended up in a concentration camp for their efforts where many of them died. Their home is open for tours for a free will donation. Haarlem is supposed to be great for shopping. St Bavo's Church is there and quite beautiful. There is also the museum of psychiatry, where you are able to "experience" different kinds of mental illness in their displays in order to learn acceptance and understanding. I have a child with autism- which at one time was considered to be a mental illness. I also work with special needs kids, including some with mental disabilities, so I'm excited to see this museum!

Nearby is Leiden, another lovely little town. What most people don't know is that our Pilgrim ancestors lived in Leiden for over 10 years before coming to America. Leiden has a small museum dedicated to the pilgrims.

During our stay, we're renting a room on a houseboat in the Jordaan area. If your budget allows, you can rent an entire houseboat. There are also plenty of hotels to suit any budget or style.

Hope this gives you some ideas! :)

We always buy it

I agree with the value of Trip Insurance. We had to cancel a cruise due to illness and were very pleased we had insurance.

 

Has anyone looked into annual umberella trip insurance versus trip by trip insurance ?

I wish there was .....

I can't believe the buy in on cancellation insurance. I can pretty much guarantee that every one of you will pay more for the insurance than you'd lose if you didn't have it. Take all the payouts and jack them up by 40% and that's what they take in.

I'm an insurance agent. I've never bought it and have never needed it and have saved more than the cost of a missed trip.

I used it 3 times ,You are right .But some trips cost in the 10,000$ range

I never travel without it, even before I became a TA.

Cancellation is the most often needed part of the travel insurance policy, followed by medical. (because many health insurance companies don't cover you out of the country...be sure to check yours) If you have to cancel, you could stand to lose hundreds to many thousands of dollars in non-refundable costs. Now if you can afford to lose that...maybe you don't need the coverage.

But if you need medical coverage, cancellation coverage and the like to protect you and your investment...its money well spent.

People that tell you to go without it are those that have not yet needed it. Once they've needed it...they'll tell you different.

I don't like paying money for something I may not ever use either. I know I rest easier and worry less when I have insurance. Vacations and relieving stress go hand in hand.

I would say...90% of our clients buy third party travel insurance. We only use and recommend the best providers and that is SELDOM the cruise lines policy.

I can't believe the buy in on cancellation insurance. I can pretty much guarantee that every one of you will pay more for the insurance than you'd lose if you didn't have it. Take all the payouts and jack them up by 40% and that's what they take in.

 

I'm an insurance agent. I've never bought it and have never needed it and have saved more than the cost of a missed trip.

Since you posted the airline lost your luggage and you're boarding a cruise in 2 days, I'd guess you pretty much wish you had that insurance now.

I think you jinxed yourself.