Trip insurance results...

Hunny and I were booked on the Triumph's September 16 sailing. We booked through my PVP and paid in full (including gratuities, FTTF and trip insurance) at the time of booking (in February). Yes, we purchased the insurance thru Carnival. The carrier was AON.

Everything was great until early September, when I had to go and have a stroke. I was in the hospital for a few days and released in plenty of time go on the cruise. And the doctors had no problem with me taking the cruise. I had the all clear.

Three days before our sail date, I was back in the hospital with stroke symptoms again. Of course, we had no idea how long I'd be there, so we decided to cancel our cruise. I contacted Carnival, who put me in touch with AON, who told me what I needed to do. Among the papers I needed to submit was something from the doctor. That took about a week or so to get from him, but once I had it, I faxed in the papers.

Carnival refunded their part quick enough...it was credited back to my credit card within a few days

I know from reading here that Carnival's insurance isn't the way to go. But I have to say, the people at AON was real easy to deal with and made the process quite painless. We had our refund checks (we each got one) in hand in just over two weeks. I'm not exactly sure what the bias is against buying insurance thru Carnival (cost maybe), but to me it seems unfounded. AON did good by us.

Folks, if you don't buy insurance or are on the fence, trust me...BUY INSURANCE. It is more than worth it.

Thanks for this! I've been reading the insurance threads and regretting getting Carnival Insurance. Glad things worked out for you and the process was smooth. Hope you are feeling better and have recovered.

I always buy independent travel insurance for all my trips. If you buy through the cruise lines I think it covers just the cost of the cruise. We always have additional expenses that might need to be covered. We had a connection issue flying once and the insurance paid our hotel room and meals during the delay.

Glad to hear that you are doing better. I totally agree with getting travel insurance too. Last December my dad was hospitalized and we (me and DH) decided to cancel our cruise a few days before we were scheduled to sail. My dad passed away a couple of days after I cancelled. Carnival was so helpful. We got refunds from them and the insurance company with no hassle at all.

We started out buying Carnival insurance and have switched to independent insurance to get more medical coverage since Medicare does not cover out of country. Another reason we switched was that I read Carnival insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions. Does anyone know if that is really true. We buy independent insurance within 14 days of initial booking so that pre-existing conditions are covered.

So glad your ok! I always purchase the cruise lines insurance, although I do add extra money to get a higher amount for medical care....you have that option also if you weren't aware....I also had to cancel my cruise in May five weeks prior due to a medical problem, like you, I was extremely pleased and very surprised how easy it was and how quickly I got back all my money it was within 16 days time, maybe less I can't recall.

When I travel international I purchase GeoBlue (Blue Cross/Shield International) it covers up to 1 million dollars and everything is included but it does not cover the trip cancellation/delay/lost baggage etc. The way I see things, if my luggage gets lost I just go out and purchase new clothes but on a cruise its nice to have all of that included as you can't get certain female items that we need lol.

Glad it worked out for you as it did for me.

We needed to make a claim on our (third party) travel insurance this year as well - DH had emergency surgery the same morning we were supposed to embark on our cruise. There was no problem being reimbursed, but I do suggest you keep all documentation regarding your booking (confirmations, prices, credit card statements).

I'm glad you are doing better! We are trying again next month:)

I'd like to offer an option that some might want to consider. My wife and I travel fairly frequently and found it cost effective to buy an annual travel policy. CC doesn't allow us to recommend commercial entities by name so let me simply suggest googling to find who offers annual policies and their coverage. Some CC members might find this a cost effective means of protecting themselves.

Sorry you had to use the insurance but I am glad it worked well for you. God bless.

I'd like to offer an option that some might want to consider. My wife and I travel fairly frequently and found it cost effective to buy an annual travel policy. CC doesn't allow us to recommend commercial entities by name so let me simply suggest googling to find who offers annual policies and their coverage. Some CC members might find this a cost effective means of protecting themselves.

I believe you are allowed to mention Insurance Companies among other companies such as tour operators. There is a whole forum about Travel Insurance here on CC and they name insurance companies all the time. What isn't allowed is the naming of Travel Agents and Personal Vacation Planners.

I believe you are allowed to mention Insurance Companies among other companies such as tour operators. There is a whole forum about Travel Insurance here on CC and they name insurance companies all the time. What isn't allowed is the naming of Travel Agents and Personal Vacation Planners.

I stand corrected. I liked the Nationwide policy and opted for it.

This is why we do not use Carnival Cruise Insurance - it excludes preexisting conditions:

Carnival Cruise Insurance

Carnival calls its cruise insurance product Cruise Vacation Protection. This plan refunds the money for the unused portion of your prepaid cruise if you cancel for a covered reason. Carnival's plan excludes some important covered reasons that Allianz includes, such as the birth of an immediate family member, cessation of carrier service for 24 hours, foreign or domestic terrorism and legal separation or divorce. If you need to cancel for any reason, Carnival says you may be eligible for cruise credits equaling up to 75 percent of your nonrefundable costs.8 Carnival's plan does cover independently booked air travel, unlike some other cruise line insurance plans.

Also, Carnival cruise insurance's medical expense coverage is secondary insurance, which means it only pays for expenses not covered by your primary health insurance. Pre-existing conditions are excluded.9

https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/cruise/compare-cruiseline-insurance-vs-allianz.htm

We use Travel guard or you can go to Insuremytrip.com for other travel insurance companies. also, you can get more coverage than what Carnival offers.

Thanks for posting and I hope you're feeling better. My mom and I just had to cancel (it was 22 days until cruising) because she went into heart failure and has cardiomyopathy. She has to wear a wearable defibrilator for three months which meant no cruising. I'm hoping our process with AON goes smoothly and we'll get our money back so we can try again next year.

I was recently on a Princess cruise and had purchased the cruise line's premium coverage through AON and the cruise arrived at our destination 6 hours late. This meant that we had to spend the night in Vancouver, change airline tickets, meals, etc. for the extra day and the insurance company picked up all of the extra costs without any issues.

It's not just medical issues that make it a good decision to purchase insurance.

Thanks for posting and I hope you're feeling better. My mom and I just had to cancel (it was 22 days until cruising) because she went into heart failure and has cardiomyopathy. She has to wear a wearable defibrilator for three months which meant no cruising. I'm hoping our process with AON goes smoothly and we'll get our money back so we can try again next year.

I wish you the best. I wish your mom better than the best.

Hunny and I were booked on the Triumph's September 16 sailing. We booked through my PVP and paid in full (including gratuities, FTTF and trip insurance) at the time of booking (in February). Yes, we purchased the insurance thru Carnival. The carrier was AON.

 

Everything was great until early September, when I had to go and have a stroke. I was in the hospital for a few days and released in plenty of time go on the cruise. And the doctors had no problem with me taking the cruise. I had the all clear.

 

Three days before our sail date, I was back in the hospital with stroke symptoms again. Of course, we had no idea how long I'd be there, so we decided to cancel our cruise. I contacted Carnival, who put me in touch with AON, who told me what I needed to do. Among the papers I needed to submit was something from the doctor. That took about a week or so to get from him, but once I had it, I faxed in the papers.

 

Carnival refunded their part quick enough...it was credited back to my credit card within a few days

 

I know from reading here that Carnival's insurance isn't the way to go. But I have to say, the people at AON was real easy to deal with and made the process quite painless. We had our refund checks (we each got one) in hand in just over two weeks. I'm not exactly sure what the bias is against buying insurance thru Carnival (cost maybe), but to me it seems unfounded. AON did good by us.

 

Folks, if you don't buy insurance or are on the fence, trust me...BUY INSURANCE. It is more than worth it.

We had to cancel in Dec for medical reasons and our experience was just like yours.

We spent $200 on insurance to get $2,000 back within a month,

We got every penny back except the cost of the insurance - and we were booked with Early Saver.

We haven't had to use it but it also included medical and evacuation. If we were going to be sailing in Europe or the like I might get a bigger private policy but this one will work for us in the Caribbean.