GeezerCouple

However you handle it, don't double dip! IF you get credit from the cruise company, then do NOT claim that amount from insurance. But it's likely to be better to get the cash from the insurance rather than a "credit" from the cruise company, which is limited in use and possibly in time duration. GC

Welcome to cruising! In addition to browsing a bit on this CC section, we'd strongly suggest that you CALL: https://tripinsurancestore.com Call them so they can discuss things with you, and in addition to any questions you have for them (starting with ALL of your questions above!), they'll probably ask you some questions, too, to help find the best coverage available for your needs. Note that in the future, for any travel insurance, the best choice of policies will be available if you start the coverage when you make the *first* payment, even if that's only the deposit. You can discuss that with TIS also, for the future. They are a broker and offer policies from several vetted insurers. No extra cost to the travelers. And they can help with a claim, should that be needed. We learned about them here on CC, and have had several claims, including some large ones. All we paid promptly. By the way, I'm assuming you are a resident of the USA. If not, much of the above may not be relevant. (Try to at least add the country in your posts, under your UserID for reasons like this.) GC

We've never had any problem at all with rebanking miles either, with any of the programs we use. But the programs/airlines we use have very modest "rebanking fees" to do it. It's not enough to fret about at all, but since that IS included in the travel insurance, we do add it to the claim each time we've had to do that. GC

We travel a lot with the air being using awards. Fortunately, although that part of the trip - the "regular cash price of the air trip" - is not insuranble, for a very modest cost, we can re-bank the points (almost always, IIRC). And we can insure that modest cost, which we only do because our insurance type requires that we insure ALL non-refundable costs. Even though we didn't pre-pay that fee, we include it. It's small enough that it's never kicked us into a higher tier of coverage (it goes by increments of the total cost), so it was always a non-issue. Better to include anything that MIGHT be in the "everything"...! And yes, we've recovered that "rebanking fee" a few times, although that was never a real concern, obviously. But if we were filing a claim, we'll include everything there, too. GC

Do you mean, like leave the ship while there are still passengers on board!?? 😱 Do you really think that the Costa Concordia captain "FELL" into that lifeboat? If so, I have this bridge for sale... 😉 GC

What cruise line/ship are you thinking about? Because, yes, "It depends", 😉 but in part that "depends" upon where you are. Some of the premium/luxury lines are able to accommodate special requests (including occasionally something that is not on the regular menu at all, if they have the ingredients, etc.). That's part of what the extra costs might include (among many other niceties, of course). GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! You probably should also post this on the NCL section of CC: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/ And you might want to browse through other sections of CC for assorted general information. 🙂 https://boards.cruisecritic.com GC

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Jakefromcanada: We love your UserName! 😄 GC

The weather can be *very* unpredictable. We went in late May/early June. The weather was predicted to be rainy the entire way, so we brought rain gear, etc. It was sunny *every* day! We obviously had no complaints, but much of what we brought? Never touched. GC

This doesn't directly answer your question, but are you sure you want an annual policy? Have you checked the various restrictions and limitations, in terms of total $$ limits and also how pre-existing conditions are handled (or not)? As long as you fully understand the complete Terms and Conditions, then you should also be able to compare the policies. Or is your question about the two insurers more generally, and not regarding the specific type of policy? GC

I suggest you call a travel insurance agent or broker. There are quite a few different types of "medical evacuation" services, and they can be for different situations. Many (most?) travel insurance already includes "medical evacuation", but that may only be "if necessary". MedJetAssist leaves the choice to the patient ==> once they are already an INpatient at a hospital. I'm not familiar with Airmed or other similar services. A travel insurance professional can discuss with you what your concerns and possible needs are/would be and help you decide what type of policy would be the best fit. GC

Apparently the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is very good, but regarding travel insurance... When using *any* charge card linked insurance, please make certain that you understand all of the Terms & Conditions (T&Cs). These can be quite different from outside/3rd party travel insurance. The main thing to watch for (for most claims) concern "pre-existing conditions", with a second concern being the maximum coverage per trip (or perhaps per year). Some of the card-linked travel insurance does NOT cover claims relating to pre-existing conditions. Also make note of how the specific policy defines "pre-existing condition". There are several definitions, and the travel insurance usage can be VERY different from what we think of in everyday life. In some cases, this could be a negative or a positive, but it's critical to know what is or is not covered for *your* policy. GC

I should also have emphasized that travel insurance may be especially important for you. We feel that way in general (and have had several claims ourselves), but especially if there is something like this that could easily make someone sick enough to need to leave the ship for a hospital! Here is the section on CC about travel insurance: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/ You may want to browse there or also ask questions. Note that as klfrodo wrote, you should be looking for a policy that *does* cover any pre-existing condtions. This usually means that you MUST start the insurance within about 10-20 days of making your very FIRST payment (timing depends upon state of residence). Then you up the coverage promptly as more non-refundable payments are made. (There may be other ways to get coverage that doesn't exclude pre-existing conditions, but starting the insurance right away gives you the best choice of policies.) You should definitely contact a travel insurance agent or broker so they can help you make sure that you get this right. We are among those here on CC who use and recommend: https://tripinsurancestore.com But CALL them; don't just rely upon the short policy summaries on the website. Those cannot capture all of the "fine print", which is especially important with insurance. TIS is a broker, and they work with a few vetted insurers. They can also help if there is a claim. They are wonderfully patient with those who have lots of questions; that included us just over 10 years ago, when we learned about travel insurance here on CC. And we had a large claim the very first time we purchased travel insurance, and we were reimbursed for all of our non-refundable payments within about 2 weeks of submitting the documentation! (And we've since had several more claims. Now... we don't go far from home without that coverage!) There is no extra charge to purchase insurance through them. GC

Note: We ALWAYS bring a bunch of pre-packaged diet-appropriate snacks (e.g., protein bars...) "just in case". These can also be very handy for any excursions where either there is no diet-appropriate food, or the organizers didn't understand the needs and "thought" they were able to do it. These are always in our hand luggage when traveling, too. For example, what if we have an unexpected overnight between flights, maybe due to weather. We always know DH will have something safe to eat. GC