Jersey42

Call the plan and ask how they pay for service out of the country. Is it treated as any other out of network claim? Usual and customary charges? Deductibles? Co-pays? No one here will know unless they live in your area of Colorado and have the same exact plan. Medicare advantage plans (even those marketed through AARP) are localized, although how local they are depends on the plan and where you live. For example in Florida, Advantage plans from the same company can differ by county.

I agree, but that is a completely different situation than the one presented by the OP with PVSA violations.

True, but @voljeep asked about "posters who have actually missed the boat and got on at the next port".

It would be interesting to find out what happened in the past. But I am only interested in people who have done this in the same situation as presented by the OP with no distant foreign port call: Board in one US port. Depart in a different US port. Reboard in a third US port. Final disembarkation in the original US port (with a stop in a nearby foreign port). For those people who did this, did the cruise line charge them for two PVSA violations (one for the first illegal segment and one for the second)? If not, did they get hit with one or no fines and do they know why?

Sorry that you have not gotten any responses. Unfortunately there is no "Best travel insurance for cruising". Insurance is more complicated than it should be and what works for one person could be a terrible solution for someone else. Instead, here are a few thoughts that might help: How does your current medical insurance cover you outside of the US? To me, this is the most important part of travel insurance, and you really need to know what you already have. Covered completely with no limits? No coverage? Covered completely with a potentially high out of network deductible and co pays? Covered with a limited lifetime maximum? Travel insurance must be a good fit with your existing coverage. Do you have any medical evacuation and repatriation coverage with your existing medical insurance? Most do not. Do you have any pre-existing conditions? You need to understand the insurance company definition. How important is cancelation and interruption coverage? Are you concerned about one or more specific cancelation reasons that you want to be sure are covered? Some people look at cancelation as a sunk cost, but care more about the unknowns related to medical. How important is Cancel For Any Reason coverage? Do you have any planned cruises and when did you make your initial deposit? After you understand the first two bullets I would recommend calling tripinsurancestore.com to discuss options for a specific cruise or in general. They will spend time with you and ask you questions. If you like what you hear and are comfortable with the premiums, that is all you need to do. Unfortunately third party insurance premiums increase with age so the premiums are not cheap. At least you have learned something and will have a basis of comparison if you want to still consider the cheaper Carnival plan. I agree that what you have heard about Carnival's plan is true. I think most cruise line plans have severe limitations and Carnival's may be the worst ($10K medical, $30K med repatriation, no waiver of pre-existing conditions, CFAR is a limited 75% future cruise credit . . .), but the premiums are not age dependent. So if you have good existing medical coverage and no pre-existing conditions it may be worth a look at your age. Another non-age-dependent plan is available to members of a major big box store if you purchase your cruise through them. I have taken a brief look at that plan and from what I can tell the coverage is good. (apparently they offer another version of the plan if you purchased your cruise elsewhere, but premiums are age dependent) Unfortunately I am only hitting some of the highlights (lowlights???). Good luck and please share what you find.

I think you have a good handle on this. Here are a few additional things to consider as none of this is as easy as it should be. Third party CFAR will be more costly and will require you cancel at least 48 hours prior to departure. You will also have to pay for it in that 14-21 day window. But you will typically get a 75% cash refund. Medicare and your supplement will cover you on land in Alaska. But the rules change in Canada and in most instances on the ship. Assuming your supplement covers foreign emergency travel (such as plan G or N), your supplement will cover 80% after your annual deductible, then the Princess plan will cover the rest. Whatever the supplement covers will go against your lifetime $50K foreign travel benefit. If you get a third party plan with primary medical (Princess' plan pays secondary), then you do not need to file with Medicare and use any of your lifetime maximum.

Yes to your second question. Pre-existing conditions do not matter if you cancel for any reason. 75% FCC for Standard or 100% FCC for Platinum. On the first question you sort of have it backwards, but it can be more complicated than that and it somewhat depends on the condition. Here is the definition: Pre-Existing Condition means an illness, disease, or other condition during the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the Effective Date of Your Certificate for which You, Your Traveling Companion, or a Family Member booked to travel with You: 1) exhibited symptoms that would have caused a typical person to seek care or treatment; or 2) received or received a recommendation for a test, examination, or medical treatment; or 3) took or received a prescription for drugs or medicine. Item (3) of this definition does not apply to a condition that is treated or controlled solely through the taking of prescription drugs or medicine and remains treated or controlled without any adjustment or change in the required prescription throughout the sixty (60) day period before the Effective Date of Your Certificate. So if you were diagnosed more than 60 days before paying for the insurance (the effective date), and you have had no need for treatment, tests, exams etc in the 60 days before paying for the insurance you should be covered. But if you regularly go back for checkups or treatments, the 60 day window starts again with each doctor visit. A big advantage of a policy with a pre-existing conditions waiver is you do not need to worry about any of this. And, when you submit a claim you won't be asked to submit medical and prescription records to prove you did not have a pre-existing condition.

Annual comprehensive travel insurance plans do not offer the same coverage as purchasing plans for each trip. They do not work well for us and I suspect they are not a good choice for many people. That said, there are situations where they can be a good value. Take a look at what I have posted previously for some insights. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2946701-annual-trip-insurance-policy/?do=findComment&comment=65622760 Here are some additional thoughts from the current special forum - "Q&A: Cruise Insurance with Steve Dasseos of the TripInsuranceStore.com - Summer 2023" https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2960032-annual-policy-or-singletrip If the limitations don't affect your needs, then one of the Allianz plans is your only option in New York state. None of the other plans I am aware of can be sold in New York.

Unlike most third party insurance, neither of the Princess plans (standard or platinum) offers a waiver of pre-existing conditions. In most cases, third party plans offer better coverage at a better price. Many of those plans require purchase within X days of your initial deposit to get the pre-existing conditions waiver. I highly recommend tripinsurancestore.com. Call them, don't rely on online summaries. As @Coral said, the Princess plan has a 60 day lookback period from the day you purchase the plan. So depending on the pre-existing condition, the date someone purchases the plan can be very important. For example if your only "pre-existing condition" is a change in blood pressure medication, then wait at least 60 days after the medication change before purchasing the plan. The plan can be purchased up until final payment date. Also, pre-existing conditions do not matter for the Cancel For Any Reason benefit.

I agree, your language is definitely clearer. All third party CFAR plans that I am aware of require purchase no more than X (typically 21) days after your initial trip deposit. Many other third party plans (without CFAR) also require purchase within X days of your initial deposit if you want a pre-existing conditions waiver. The HAL plan does not have these restrictions. ___________________________ By the way, after seeing comments from @RuthC, I did some investigating. "One must purchase HAL insurance by final payment date" is correct for most future HAL cruises. It is correct for all HAL cruises departing June 1, 2024 or later. It is also correct for all cruises where penalties start at less than 120 days (i.e. 89 or 74 days) prior to sailing. With "special" cruises departing before 6/1/24 where cancelation penalties begin 120 days before sailing, it is more complicated. A handful of these cruises require final payment at 90 days, so on these cruises you need to buy the insurance about a month before final payment date. For the rest of these special cruises, final payment date is exactly 120 days before sailing. So technically you may have to purchase the HAL insurance the day before final payment date. I do not know if they enforce this one day discrepancy. Post June 2024 HAL seems to have set final payment date exactly one day before cancelation penalties kick in for all special cruises. And, all of the special cruises now have final payment dates of 120 days prior to sailing. HAL already adjusted the dates more than a year ago for cruises with 90 (and 75) day final payments. I have looked at dozens of cruises pre and post 6/1/24 and can find no exceptions to what I have posted here. Here are the "special" cruises: Grand world, grand voyages, any segment of a grand world or grand voyage; 28+ day ultimate Alaska; 28+ day Australia circumnavigation and any segment of an Australia circumnavigation; 28+ day Hawaii, Tahiti & Marquesas; Tales of the South Pacific; Amazon explorer; Incan empires (including segments); 30+ day transatlantic voyages and any segment of a 30+ day transatlantic

Ruth - I apologize for any misinformation I may have posted, but help educate me on what I am missing. I agree that HAL insurance must be purchased by the day before penalties start accruing. But penalties usually start accruing at the 89 day mark, not the 90 day mark (see link below). So for these typical cruises, why wouldn't you be able to purchase HAL insurance at final payment? What are examples of cruises that meet the exception you mentioned in your last sentence? I tried a bunch of sample bookings of "120 day penalty cruises" and I only found one cruise where penalties began at 120 days, but final payment is due after that. (2/28/2024 24 day Grand World Voyage) I am curious on how often this exception occurs. By the way, beginning in June 2024, penalties for certain longer cruises will begin at 119 days before sailing instead of 120. Here is a link to what I believe to be HAL's current cancelation policy. It also defines the type of cruises where the longer (and shorter) penalty period applies. https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/legal-privacy/cancellation-policy-US-default.html

That is correct. But penalties start accruing on final payment due date so I believe we are saying the same thing. For the OP, that would normally be 90 days prior to sailing. Am I missing something?

A few things I neglected to mention about HAL Platinum. It will only work if everyone in the same cabin cancels. If only one person in a cabin cancels, the other will probably be charged a single supplement. The HAL plan will not cover the supplement. HAL will cover airfare and pre/post cruise travels booked through HAL, not just the cruise fare. You do not need to purchase the plan before final payment.

Holland America's own plans are probably the best option if all you care about is CFAR coverage. The Platinum plan will give you back 90% of the non-refundable cruise cost in cash as long as you cancel prior to the scheduled departure. It is available to Canadians except residents of Quebec. I don't know about Canadian CFAR plans, but in the US, third party plans that offer a CFAR option are usually much more expensive, only give you back 75% (or less) and usually require at least a 48 hour cancelation notice. Third party plans will cover pre and post cruise items including non-refundable air and hotels and offer much better medical coverage. The Holland plan has weaknesses including very limited medical coverage. I would never recommend the plan to anyone who does not have other medical coverage. But for CFAR, it is excellent.

Thanks to @waldorf

Chase will not cover cancelation or interruption due to a pre-existing condition. If your parent has a pre-existing condition, the date you made the deposit or final payment makes no difference. That said, your booking or initial payment date could impact whether someone actually has a pre-existing condition. Believe it or not you/they could have a pre-existing condition for some cruises and not for others. Here is the definition for my Chase card. I expect yours to be the same or similar. Pre–existing Condition – illness, disease or accidental injury of You or Your Traveling Companion, Your Immediate Family Member or the Immediate Family Member of Your Traveling Companion, for which medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received within the sixty (60) day period immediately prior to the initial deposit or booking date (whichever occurs first) of a Trip; the taking of prescription drugs or medication for a controlled condition throughout this sixty (60) day period will not be considered to be a treatment of illness or disease This is way more complicated than it should be. Unfortunately many people think they are covered for something and only find out that they are not when they file a claim.

Without knowing the specific policy and your parent's health situation, it is impossible to give a definitive answer. They all have their nuances. Do your parents have any pre-existing conditions that could cause you to cancel or interrupt a trip? Make sure you understand the insurance company's definition of a pre-existing condition. In the unlikely situation where they don't have pre-existing conditions, the timing will not matter for most policies. But be sure to read your specific policy for any purchase timing requirements. Any policy with a waiver of pre-existing conditions is great for everyone, even if they don't have a pre-existing condition. The biggest advantage is in the claims process. The insurance company has no need to ask for prior medical records to prove there was no pre-existing condition. All you may need to prove is you were fit to travel on the day to purchased the policy. If you want/need a waiver, Allianz is the only real choice with an annual policy. As @Babr, mentioned you need to purchase within 14 days of your initial trip deposit. It does not matter if the deposit is refundable or not. Depending on your parent's health, you might be able to work with a policy that has a pre-existing condition lookback period. If your parents have not visited a doctor nor had a change in medications in the XX days prior to the day you purchase the policy, you might be ok. Even in this case, you will probably have to prove there was no pre-existing condition if you file a claim related to their health. I say might, because it all depends on their condition and if it is controlled by a prescription. A doctor visit, might also be OK, depending on the purpose as written up in their medical records. By the way, I see you also posted a question about credit card insurance. If you are considering that route, all of the Chase cards with travel insurance have a 60 day pre-existing conditions lookback period that includes non-traveling family members. There is no waiver. PS - There may be annual plans with pre-existing conditions exclusions that do not apply to non-traveling family members. I am just not sure. Perhaps Nationwide???

To update this list Do not push the "Quote" button. (It creates a copy that the next person cannot properly update). Instead: Find the most recent post with the list. Select and copy all of the text in that post except the change notes. (from To update this list up to <Copy to this line . . .>) Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the "Reply to this topic..." box. Paste your copied text into that box to create a new post. Make your modifications to the list. Add change notes at the bottom. Click the Submit Reply button just below your new post. Confirm that everything is correct! You can edit for up to 20 minutes. Ship Captain Cruise Director Entertainment Director Director Restaurant Ops Caribbean Orzen Marelic Sophie Gideon Ben Powney Neville Saldanha Coral Gavin Pears Aaron Hawkins Sara Romera Joachim Rothe Crown Christopher Lye Nick Van Zyl Michael Kujawski Mariusz Czemarmazowicz Diamond Stefano Ravera Natalie Costa & Mikiko Ikemoto Jean Paul Musiu Discovery Tony Ruggero DuVaul Gamble Neil Rose Catalin Ionel Emerald Martin Stenzel Fernando Duran Geof O'Rourke Carlos Marques Enchanted Nick Nash Jayson Douglass Samantha McDonough Lotfi Barrani Grand Raffaele DiMartino David Frost Callie Smit Giuseppe Franchina Island Paul Slight Andi Sanders Sue Rawlings Daniele Rosafio Majestic John Foster Kristoff Greyling Kevin Tugwell Douw Steyl Regal Tim Stringer Sophie Gideon Martyn Moss Nicola Furlan Royal Steven Holland Jody Miles Caitlin Messerschmidt Paul Ciobanu Ruby Steven Lewis Cole Bockman Lauren Meyer Giuseppe Gelmini Sapphire Paulo Ravera Armando Merin Tobias Stewart Mario Propato Sky Marco Fortezze Dan France Matt Barnard Ciprian Hoidreag <Copy to this line so there is space to type "change notes" after this line> Added Crown CD as per previous post.

Thanks to @caribill who is currently on the Crown. Captain Christopher Lye will be leaving on September 15 and returning in December.

It all depends on the plan and your situation. All of the annual plans have a pre-existing conditions lookback period of 60 to 365 days and the pre-existing conditions clause often applies to non traveling family members. If this affects you, then plan your purchase accordingly. As @Babr mentioned, Allianz does offer a pre existing conditions waiver and they are the only company I am aware of that does this. (** I have actually seen another one, but the cost structure makes it cheaper to purchase individual trip policies). Otherwise the timing should not matter, although purchasing by final payment date of your first trip will give you cancelation coverage for that trip. Also - I have seen at least one policy that requires purchase at least 30 days before your first trip. As with all trip insurance, you really need to read the policies you are considering. It will answer your question. More importantly, anyone considering an annual policy can understand its limitations and how they may or may not affect your. I assume you have already done your due diligence on this, but many have not.

To update this list Do not push the "Quote" button. (It creates a copy that the next person cannot properly update). Instead: Find the most recent post with the list. Select and copy all of the text in that post except the change notes. (from To update this list up to <Copy to this line . . .>) Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the "Reply to this topic..." box. Paste your copied text into that box to create a new post. Make your modifications to the list. Add change notes at the bottom. Click the Submit Reply button just below your new post. Confirm that everything is correct! You can edit for up to 20 minutes. Ship Captain Cruise Director Entertainment Director Director Restaurant Ops Caribbean Orzen Marelic Sophie Gideon Ben Powney Neville Saldanha Coral Gavin Pears Aaron Hawkins Sara Romera Joachim Rothe Crown Christopher Lye Michael Kujawski Mariusz Czemarmazowicz Diamond Stefano Ravera Natalie Costa & Mikiko Ikemoto Jean Paul Musiu Discovery Tony Ruggero DuVaul Gamble Neil Rose Catalin Ionel Emerald Martin Stenzel Fernando Duran Geof O'Rourke Carlos Marques Enchanted Nick Nash Jayson Douglass Samantha McDonough Lotfi Barrani Grand Raffaele DiMartino David Frost Callie Smit Giuseppe Franchina Island Paul Slight Andi Sanders Sue Rawlings Daniele Rosafio Majestic John Foster Kristoff Greyling Marissa Wurms Douw Steyl Regal Tim Stringer Sophie Gideon Martyn Moss Nicola Furlan Royal Steven Holland Michael Reitano Caitlin Messerschmidt Paul Ciobanu Ruby Steven Lewis Cole Bockman Lauren Meyer Giuseppe Gelmini Sapphire Paulo Ravera Armando Merin Tobias Stewart Mario Propato Sky Marco Fortezze Dan France Matt Barnard Ciprian Hoidreag <Copy to this line so there is space to type "change notes" after this line> Fixed spelling of Grand Captain and Discovery DRO. @kamelia - The Enchanted DRO is correct. Cleaned up some formatting including eliminating some hidden characters that mess up the table on some devices. Tried to clarify some instructions.

There was another thread that started back in May. One poster said they called Cover-More and found out there was an alternate plan available to Costco members who did not purchase their cruise or any part of their trip through Costco. At the time I asked questions on the thread about the differences, but I never got a complete answer. There may be more, but it looks like these are two significant differences between the plans: Premium is age dependent No 50% Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) If you are still interested you might want to call them about the alternate plan.. If you get any better information (perhaps a link to a sample policy) can you please post here..

I don't believe annual comprehensive travel insurance plans work well for many people because of their limitations. But if all or most of the limitations do not affect your personal situation, they can be a good deal. Things to consider: How does your existing medical insurance cover you outside of the US? If it doesn't, I would be concerned about an annual plan. If you have good coverage or even coverage with high out of network deductibles or co-pays, some annual plans could work. How expensive are your cruise trips (non-refundable coats) and how important is having full coverage for cancelation and interruption. One of the Allianz plans offers $15K cancelation per year. All of the other plans I have seen are $10K or less. These amounts are usually per policy, not per person. Do you have any pre-existing conditions as defined by the policy? The Allianz plans offer a waiver if you meet their requirements. Most other plans I have seen do not. By the way none of the travel insurance brokers frequently mentioned in this forum sell annual comprehensive travel insurance plans. So you probably need to deal directly with the insurance company. If you decide to purchase an annual plan, be sure to read the entire policy, not just the high level summaries on the web pages. Each policy is different, but all of them have holes. You just need to know what they are before you purchase. Here is some more thoughts I posted previously.

@Babr has given you good advice and you probably will not find a policy that will do exactly what you want. I agree that "It almost seems counter-intuitive", but IMHO trip insurance is much more complicated than it should be. That said, here are a few ideas that might help, depending on your situation: I second the suggestion to call Trip Insurance Store. I have have tried several insurance brokers, and while others offer more policies and have flashier websites, Steve and his people really know the policies they sell. They may not have the answer you want to hear, but they will give you a straight answer. If that does not help, you might want to consider your cruise line's "vacation protection plan". I normally do not recommend these plans because they have many more holes than third party insurance. But in some cases, they are the best of imperfect options. I am guessing you are on Royal Caribbean so my comments are based specifically on RCI. If you are on another line, then look at your line's plan for Connecticut to see if there are any significant differences. RCI offers Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) as long as you cancel your cruise prior to the scheduled ship departure time. So in your specific situation you would be covered. It is a 90% FCC that must be used within a year. It also does not cover your airfare, even if you purchased it through RCI's Air2Sea program. If you can work with that, it may be your best option. Some other downsides that may or may not apply to you: Medical is $25K. Not great unless you have other medical insurance It has a pre-existing condition clause with a 60 day lookback period. It applies to virtually all coverages except medical evacuation and repatriation. It will not apply to CFAR. It will not cover any pre or post cruise travel. Please let us know if you find a better solution and what you end up doing.

I am also glad that you are doing well. @Babr and @Bo1953 both provided excellent info. But let me expand upon your warning for others in a similar situation. Your warning does not apply to just NCL. Most of the plans offered by the major cruise lines have similar pre-existing conditions clause with a 60 day lookback period. In addition, unlike most third party travel insurance policies, most cruise line plans do not offer a waiver of pre-existing conditions. That waiver is critical for people in a similar situation. It is also really nice to have for anyone, because the claims administrator will not ask for prior medical records when you file a claim. Here are cruise line plan exceptions I am aware of: Holland America has no pre-existing conditions clause or cancelation reasons. The Platinum plan provides a 90% cash refund for any cancelation. But, medical coverage is only $10K. MSC will waive the pre-existing conditions clause if the plan is purchased up to 24 hours after final payment. Medical is $25K. Viking will waive the pre-existing conditions clause if the plan is purchased up to 15 days after initial payment. Medical is $100K (the only cruise line plan I am aware of that offers more than $25K). Other Notes: The pre-existing conditions clause applies not only to trip cancelation, but also to trip interruption and medical. Depending on the plan, some coverages such as trip delay, baggage and medical evacuation may not be subject to the pre-existing conditions clause. Credit card travel insurance benefits are often more restrictive than the cruise line plans regarding pre-existing conditions.