Jersey42

5 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

I purchased a private travel insurance plan for my last trip.  One of the ports was cancelled after final payment, as was the morning of another port.  Another passenger on one of the roll calls for may sailing mentioned filing an insurance claim for this specific loss, but I don't know much about travel insurance.  My travel insurance company sent me a claim form but I don't know what to put down for missed expenses since technically there were none . . .

Nationwide cruise specific policies used to offer a specific dollar amount for an itinerary change. The amount varied depending on the policy and if the change was pre or post departure.  I believe all of their current policies only cover missed ports if the change is post departure AND it causes you to miss a pre-paid excursion.  Nationwide was the only company that I have seen that offered any missed port coverage.  But, there may be others.  If your policy does not specifically cover missed ports, you are probably out of luck.  As GeezerCouple said, If you lost money due to a pre-paid excursion then many policies would cover that loss with proper documentation. This is rare, because most tour operators will give you a refund if the ship skips the port.

As @GeezerCouple implied, I bet the numerous port changes due to Covid, made Nationwide (and possibly others) change there policies.

I would read your policy to see if it is worth filing a claim.  Or call the person who sold you the policy and ask them.

6 hours ago, nini said:

It is hardly known... But our Medicare Advantage Plan covers us internationally. It even covers us for a helicopter evacuation from the ship.

While it would not do me any good as I don't live in Washington, I am curious what Medicare Advantage plan covers helicopter evacuations from a cruise ship.  I have never seen this type of coverage in any MA plan I have looked at several eastern states.  If you have a minute, can you post a link to your plan, or at least give us the name of the company and the plan.

I also wonder how many claims are paid annually by any type of insurance to cover the cost of a helicopter evacuation from a cruise ship.

40 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

@60s Wombat

 

Perhaps it would help if you added your Location to your profile. That way it would appear under your join date.

Click your user name toward the top of this page appearing to the right of the Notifications bell. In the drop-down menu that will appear, click Account Settings. Under Other Settings, click Edit Profile. On the next screen to appear, insert UK into the Location area. Scroll down a bit & click the Save button.

 

If there are any areas you want to fill in on the page, please feel free to do so. Per the following from our Guidelines, members share as much or as little as they want. So IF you want to share this personal information, it is totally up to you.

 

"On Cruise Critic roll calls, everyone is anonymous. You have the ability to remain as anonymous as you'd like throughout the entire Roll Call timeframe and throughout your entire cruise if you so desire. You can be JoeCruise101 until the day you disembark. The choice is yours, you share as much or as little as YOU choose to; everyone starts out on a level playing field on Cruise Critic. Anonymous user names only."

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful!

 

Host Kat

 

Good idea, but I think the title  Wombat gave this thread is very clear.

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Sure...I usually deplete their entire stock of diet coke! 😄

Please confirm that you have received unlimited refills of diet coke in the main dining room without a package. Is this all the time, usually, happened once?  Do you also get unlimited refills in other locations? 

Obviously with a beverage package you get unlimited soda anywhere on the ship. But I don't think that is what the OP was asking.

I brought a Waterpik for the first time on my recent Enchanted Princess cruise. My unit said 14 watts. I was not sure of the amperage limitation on the shaver outlet, so I brought it anyway to try.  The shaver outlet would not accept the polarized plug (one blade wider than the other) on my Waterpik, so I never got to try it in the bathroom.  I ended up using it at the desk outlet and spit the water into a drinking glass I borrowed from the buffet.  Not the perfect solution, but it solved the issue.

.

34 minutes ago, Debate said:

We've decided to research trips that are on the lower side of costs and rely on a "Cancel for any Reason" plan offered through a cruise line.  Although these plans generally give you only 75% of your cruise cost back towards a future cruise (depending on the line) at least its something.  I do realize we'd be out the cost of the plan itself as well, hence looking for lower cost cruises to minimize the financial risk (plan cost + 25% of cruise cost).

 

Also, for those researching this topic in a similar situation .... I did confirm the medical coverage on these plans would likely not cover me (or at least anything related to my current injury) so making sure my medical insurance covers me wherever we go is key!  I was told they do a 60 day "look back" to determine coverage - 60 days prior to the date you purchase the coverage.   If anyone has any further tips or information given my situation please share!! Thanks again!  

What you describe here is pretty accurate for the cruise line plans Here are some variations for some of the lines:

• All cruise line plans that I have seen (except HAL) have a pre-existing conditions clause with a 60 day lookback period. HAL has no pre-existing conditions clause.  
• Two (MSC and Viking) provide a waiver of pre-existing conditions. Viking requires you purchase the plan within 15 days of initial payment.  MSC requires purchase within 24 hours of final payment. 
• Pre-existing conditions clauses apply to coverage beyond medical such as cancelation, interruption and delay.  I don't believe pre-existing exclusions apply to medical evacuation and repatriation for any of the cruise line policies. 
• Some lines apply the pre-existing conditions exclusion to travelers while others also apply it to non-traveling family members. For example, if you had to cancel due to an ill parent some lines would not cover the cancelation if the parent had a pre-existing condition.
• The plans underwritten by Nationwide and Generali (Viking, Carnival Cop lines, MSC and NCL) require you be fit for travel on the day of purchase.  I have not seen this requirement for plans underwritten by Arch (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Disney). 
• CFAR is always considered a non-insurance benefit provided by the cruise line.  HAL is the only one that provides refunds in cash (90%) and teats all cancelations the same no matter what the reason. Many lines provide up to 90% FCCs.  Princess and Viking offer 100%.  Carnival and Disney offer 75%.  MSC offers none.
• None of the fit for travel language applies to the non-insurance benefits provided by the cruise line.
• Medical insurance on the cruise line plans (with the exception of Viking) is pretty poor.  They all pay secondary. The limit is only $10K - $25K depending on the line.  So it is not a good idea to rely on a cruise line policy as your only source of medical coverage.  Viking offers $100K coverage which is much more reasonable.

* I believe all of this is accurate as of July 2022, but if any of this is wrong, please correct and provide a link. I have primarily looked at only the major cruise lines that market to US cruisers.

** IMHO - all of this is way too complex and most people only figure it out when a claim is denied.

22 minutes ago, Babr said:

The language is there in the HAL policy. See paragraph 4 under Travel Protection Certificate.

 

Apparently it applies only to the benefits provided by Nationwide. I suppose someone who is receiving treatment or is otherwise unfit to travel could buy the policy for the HAL cancellation waiver, but he’d jeopardize all the other benefits of the plan.

Thanks for the quick research. I believe your interpretation is 100% correct.

If the OP primarily wants CFAR coverage with cash back (which they indicated here https://boards.cruisecritic.com/gallery/image/16327-img_5700/), they will be fine with the HAL plan.  If they are relying on the plan for other benefits, you are correct that they are jeopardizing coverage. But, given there is no pre-existing conditions clause for any of the benefits, more than likely they will be fine. I know of a few instances where people have made claims on the HAL policy (cancellation, medical and baggage delay) . In none of these few cases were they ever asked to prove fitness to travel on the plan purchase date.  It could happen, but I think the risk is very small.  

35 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

I'm going to go with a warning here. I huge "gottcha" is that on the day you purchase Travel Insurance, you must be in a healthy condition to be able to travel on that day. If necessary, you may be required to provide a Dr's note that you were healthy enough to travel on the day the insurance was purchased.

Yes, that is true with most if not all 3rd party insurance plans. That is why I did not mention them.  But, are you sure about the "gottcha" for the HAL plan and if so can you point me to something specific. I have never noticed this with the HAL plan, but I may have missed it.

A couple of unique things about the HAL plan:  

• Unlike other plans, all trip cancelation benefits are not considered insurance, they are a non-insurance benefit provided by Holland America. This is because there are no covered reasons with HAL.
• Unlike other cruise line plans, there is no pre-existing conditions clause for cancelation or any of the "insurance" benefits.

31 minutes ago, Debate said:

I am recovering from foot/ankle surgery and want to plan a summer cruise.  I expect to be able to travel by our trip date however due to my foot I’m not eligible under the pre-existing clauses for cancellation. I want to purchase insurance for the “what if”.  My best bet is a cancel for any reason policy.  Which company has the best policy?  

If you are looking for a cruise line CFAR policy (as the title says), Holland America offers the best option by far.  With their Platinum plan, you get 90% back in cash for any cancelation.  There are no covered reasons for cancelation, so all cancelations are essentially CFAR.  Other cruise lines offer 75% to 100% but it is in the form of a future cruise credit with an expiration date. If an FCC is acceptable, Princess and Viking offer 100%.

On the other hand, HAL's medical coverage is poor ($10K and pays secondary), so I would not rely on the HAL plan as my only source of medical coverage.

As the previous poster suggested, hopefully you received enough documentation from the medical center in order to file a claim.  If not, I wish you luck in getting what you need after the cruise. Sometime this can be very difficult at best.  If you are successful, please let us know how you did it.

If you have the medical documentation, here is what happens next, based on the following assumptions.

• You purchased Princess Platinum insurance through the cruise line (Nationwide policy administered by Aon).
• You have traditional Medicare.
• You have a true Medicare Supplement (i.e. a letter plan) with limited foreign emergency travel coverage.

1. Princess coverage is secondary, so you must first file with Medicare.
2. Medicare will deny coverage and forward to the supplement.
3. The supplement should pay 80% of your bill after the $250 deductible. (this assume you have not reached your $50K lifetime maximum).
4. Once you have the EOBs, you can then file with the Princess Plan (through Aon).  It should cover the deductible and co-pay not covered by your supplement.

If your supplement does not have foreign emergency travel coverage, then all you need is the Medicare denial to file with Princess. 

If my assumptions about what you have are correct, my suggestion for future cruises is to purchase travel medical insurance that pays primary. This simplifies the claims process and avoids using any more of your lifetime maximum for foreign travel.

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Added Mark Gillespie as ED on Island

Nick Nash is the current captain on the Enchanted 

57 minutes ago, SuziQ1 said:

my question is how does Allianz yearly coverage work?  Is there a set limit for the year?  We just booked today and TI usually requires us to book  within 14 days to cover any pre existing conditions.  TIA

Allianz offers four different annual plans.  Here are some of the highlights for the most expensive one (All Trips Premier with the maximum cancellation/interruption available).

• Max trip length - 90 days
• Max trip cancelation and interruption benefit - $15K per year
• Medical - $50K per trip
• Emergency Medical Transportation - $500K per trip
• Preexisting condition lookback - 120 days
• Preexisting condition waiver if you purchase within 14 days of the first trip deposit (annual renewals are also covered)

For me, the $50K medical is not enough.  It may be fine for those with other good foreign emergency medical coverage or a higher risk tolerance.  The $15K cancelation coverage is not enough for some.  It all depends on the quantity of trips, the cost of the trips and your risk tolerance.

These are the terms for most states. As @klfrodo just posted, always look at the policy for your state or any variances to the general policy for your state. 

Also, if you have any Future Cruise Credits, be sure to understand how they are handled if you book a trip with the FCCs.  I don't know for the Allianz annual policies.

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Moved Lauren Meyer from Ruby to Emerald as per previous post.

1 hour ago, NancyDrew1953 said:

I have the GeoBlue coverage for annual medical. I haven’t had any claims with it.  Unfortunately, the emergency medical declines to $50,000 now that I am 70.

 

I haven’t found any provider providing a higher coverage for 70 and over.  
 

Does anyone have a recommendation for annual medical insurance with more coverage for the 70 and overs?

The GeoBlue Trekker plans both drop to $100K per person after age 70 (not $50K).  For many people that is adequate coverage.  The single trip Voyageur plans let you buy more coverage if you are willing to pay the premium for each trip.

From https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com

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 Updated Caribbean as per @chris.cruise

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Updated Majestic Princess as per @CruiseKing

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Took my best shot at incorporating all posts since early December. If I missed anything please post changes.  Some of the difficulties I encountered:

• Updates not always being made to the most up to date list.
• Some updates being made within "Quotes" and sometimes multiple levels of quotes/replies.
• I could not read some pictures of the staff boards that were posted at low resolutions.

PS - I see two different spellings of DRO Jacques Ghennai in the pictures.  I think I used the correct one??

I feel your frustration, but many polices will work the same way with medical coverage.  They only cover you for the duration of the trip and will not pay for medical expenses after you return home, even though the injury/illness first manifested itself while on the trip.  Unfortunately many people purchase policies based solely on online summaries and they do not understand the details until it is time to make a claim.  In the future, using a good broker or reading the policy can help minimize these problems.

Here is the medical language from the Travel Guard Plus plan.  The Premier plan is similar.  If you bought something else, take a look at the wording for your policy. If the exclusion is not in your policy, then appeal again based on what you see.  

TRAVEL MEDICAL EXPENSE BENEFIT

The Company will pay a benefit to reimburse the Insured for the Reasonable and Customary Charges, up to the Maximum Limit shown in the Schedule or Declarations Page (and after satisfaction of the Deductible) if the Insured suffers an Injury or Sickness on the Trip that requires treatment by a Physician. The Injury must occur or the Sickness must first begin while on a Trip. The initial documented treatment must be given by a Physician during the Trip.

Travel Medical Covered Expenses:

The Company will pay a benefit to reimburse the Insured the Medically Necessary expenses incurred for:

(a)   services of a Physician or registered nurse (R.N.), and related tests or treatment; and

(b)  Hospital charges; and

(c)   prescription medication to treat the Injury or Sickness; and

(d)   artificial limbs, artificial eyes, artificial teeth, or other prosthetic devices.

The Company will not pay for any expenses incurred after the Coverage Termination Date as shown in the Effective and Termination Dates section of this Policy, regardless of the reason.

Eyeglasses are specifically excluded from the Plus and Premier plans as well. Check your plan document to see if yours is different.

Baggage Coverage Exclusions

In addition to the General Exclusions, the following exclusions apply to the Baggage Coverage benefit. No benefits will be paid for:

(a) loss caused by animals, rodents, insects or vermin; or

(b) loss of, or damage to, bicycles (except when checked with a Common Carrier); or

(c) loss of, or damage to, motor vehicles; or

(d) loss of, or damage to, artificial prosthetic devices, false teeth, any type of eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, or hearing aids; or . . .

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Added back Royal Princess updates from post 560. Deleted extra text from top of previous post.

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Updated Sky Princess Captain, CD & DRO as per @chris.cruise.

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Added Crown ED as per @scooter6996.  Added Regal Captain as per @LACruiser88.

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Made @dands154's updates to Majestic staff, Coral CD/ED, Grand DRO and removed Crown ED..

Added DRO to Crown as per @pppatpc2. If you attempted to make other changes, please identify them..

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Moved Kevin Tugwell from CD of Coral to CD of Majestic as per @leck57.