Travel Guard Insurance

The following happened to us on a land-based vacation, but it seems relevant to Cruise Critic because Travel Guard offers cruisers the same coverage. Our past couple of cruises have been on RCC, therefore this board.

About two-thirds of the way through our recent trip, a medical crisis sent us to an emergency room in a somewhat remote part of Canada. It was soon determined that my condition was of serious concern but not immediately life-threatening, and I could fly home in reasonable safety if I did so without delay.

We contacted Travel Guard as soon as the situation was clear and could not be more pleased with the service received. After some faxing back and forth of documentation, TG did not just pay for our immediate travel home from an entirely different city than the one on our non-refundable ticket--they made all the arrangements for us including a two-hour shuttle ride to the nearest airport.

Had there been a seat available on such short notice, they were prepared to upgrade me to business class. Failing that, they bought me two economy seats with extra leg-room so I could spread out comfortably.

We were extremely pleased with the treatment received at the small, Canadian hospital, but they were not prepared to file directly with TG so we needed to charge the treatment to our credit card and let TG reimburse us.

Incidentally, we were amazed at how low that bill was compared to our experiences in the US.

As (relatively) young retirees and in (relatively) good health, we have occasionally sailed without insurance but will never do so again. Worth every cent--and now we will likely choose Travel Guard rather than some other companies that might be a bit cheaper simply because we know what we would be getting!

No freakin' kidding, one of the bits of advice my folks have passed down as an absolute must from their decades of cruise experience is always, always, ALWAYS get the insurance.

Only one time did they need to "collect", Dad "tried to have a heart attack" the Monday before a Saturday sailing. Dr. put a stent in and all was well... but he was pretty clear "You're not flying out for a cruise this weekend!!!" Obviously not only was rebooking the cruise going to be a safari, but all the plane tickets redone as well.... sorted, no problems.

Losing the price of a cruise is only half of a reason for insurance.

If a medical emergency happens you will be more than thankful for cruise insurance.

The following happened to us on a land-based vacation, but it seems relevant to Cruise Critic because Travel Guard offers cruisers the same coverage. Our past couple of cruises have been on RCC, therefore this board.

 

About two-thirds of the way through our recent trip, a medical crisis sent us to an emergency room in a somewhat remote part of Canada. It was soon determined that my condition was of serious concern but not immediately life-threatening, and I could fly home in reasonable safety if I did so without delay.

 

We contacted Travel Guard as soon as the situation was clear and could not be more pleased with the service received. After some faxing back and forth of documentation, TG did not just pay for our immediate travel home from an entirely different city than the one on our non-refundable ticket--they made all the arrangements for us including a two-hour shuttle ride to the nearest airport.

 

Had there been a seat available on such short notice, they were prepared to upgrade me to business class. Failing that, they bought me two economy seats with extra leg-room so I could spread out comfortably.

 

We were extremely pleased with the treatment received at the small, Canadian hospital, but they were not prepared to file directly with TG so we needed to charge the treatment to our credit card and let TG reimburse us.

 

Incidentally, we were amazed at how low that bill was compared to our experiences in the US.

 

As (relatively) young retirees and in (relatively) good health, we have occasionally sailed without insurance but will never do so again. Worth every cent--and now we will likely choose Travel Guard rather than some other companies that might be a bit cheaper simply because we know what we would be getting!

Thanks for posting. I'm glad that you had a positive experience with Travel Guard. You might want to post this on the cruise critic travel insurance board. The link is below.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

Thank you so much for sharing your personal experience....TG seems to be the one that Steve at the "Trip Insurance Store" always recommends for us too.

It's reassuring to hear the positive comments about TravelGuard. It's the company we always use but haven't had to file a claim so far.

The following happened to us on a land-based vacation, but it seems relevant to Cruise Critic because Travel Guard offers cruisers the same coverage. Our past couple of cruises have been on RCC, therefore this board.

Thanks for sharing

Thank you for sharing. Thankfully, we've never had a claim (yet anyway) but we've insured with Travel Guard on our last 3 and upcoming cruise. Glad to hear that they made the experience easier to deal with.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

My father was on a cruise when he had a heart attack, He was flown from Dominica to Ft Lauderdale and the insurance he had through AON covered the $29,000 medical evacuation as well as provided an escort and a contact person in Broward Co Hospital. In addition they arranged for a hotel for my stepmother.

I will never travel without some sort of trip insurance ever again

Is this the insurance through RCI???

Losing the price of a cruise is only half of a reason for insurance.

If a medical emergency happens you will be more than thankful for cruise insurance.

ABSOLUTELY!! I booked insurance with travel guard on all our cruises and land based vacations. You never know :eek:

Can I ask what city this was? I am from a Canada and I cannot think of a single remote city that Royal would go to there.

If you read my original post carefully, I explained that this happened on a land-based vacation. I felt it was relevant to Cruise Critic because TravelGuard is a company we cruisers often use, and there's no difference in the policy. I chose the RCC board because I didn't realize there was a board devoted to insurance, and our most recent cruises have been on RCC.

To answer your question: I became ill in the mountains near Banff and flew home by way of Calgary. It felt pretty remote to me!

The following happened to us on a land-based vacation, but it seems relevant to Cruise Critic because Travel Guard offers cruisers the same coverage. Our past couple of cruises have been on RCC, therefore this board.

 

About two-thirds of the way through our recent trip, a medical crisis sent us to an emergency room in a somewhat remote part of Canada. It was soon determined that my condition was of serious concern but not immediately life-threatening, and I could fly home in reasonable safety if I did so without delay.

 

We contacted Travel Guard as soon as the situation was clear and could not be more pleased with the service received. After some faxing back and forth of documentation, TG did not just pay for our immediate travel home from an entirely different city than the one on our non-refundable ticket--they made all the arrangements for us including a two-hour shuttle ride to the nearest airport.

 

Had there been a seat available on such short notice, they were prepared to upgrade me to business class. Failing that, they bought me two economy seats with extra leg-room so I could spread out comfortably.

 

We were extremely pleased with the treatment received at the small, Canadian hospital, but they were not prepared to file directly with TG so we needed to charge the treatment to our credit card and let TG reimburse us.

 

Incidentally, we were amazed at how low that bill was compared to our experiences in the US.

 

As (relatively) young retirees and in (relatively) good health, we have occasionally sailed without insurance but will never do so again. Worth every cent--and now we will likely choose Travel Guard rather than some other companies that might be a bit cheaper simply because we know what we would be getting!

In July 2009 we were enroute from DFW to Copenhagen when a freak hail storm closed the Newark airport causing us to miss our connecting flight. We missed a complete cruise and precruise hotel . Travel Guard stepped up to the plate and got us home to DFW. We recovered most of our money and they have great customer service.

We've claimed on trip insurance twice, and were glad we had it.

We pick a policy appropriate to the particular trip, we always make sure the medevac side is very well covered as well, don't travel enough for an annual plan to be cost effective.

We use insuremytrip.com , always been happy with them.

I was astonished on one cruise to meet a couple who were unaware that Medicare provides NO coverage outside the US.

Can you buy travel insurance after you've booked your cruise? At the time of booking we didn't feel it was necessary but now feel it would be in our best interest.

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Can you buy travel insurance after you've booked your cruise? At the time of booking we didn't feel it was necessary but now feel it would be in our best interest.

Yes, you can purchase insurance after booking, either from the cruise line or third party. However, if your goal is to cover some sort of medical condition, check the policy rules as you may already be too late for pre-existing condition coverage.

We always get travel insurance and thankfully have not needed it.

We buy the travel insurance offered by the cruise line. Next cruise is RCCL, with it being bought at the time of booking.

Does anybody know if the coverage is better, worse, or the same as with a 3rd party like TG?

We always get travel insurance and thankfully have not needed it.

 

We buy the travel insurance offered by the cruise line. Next cruise is RCCL, with it being bought at the time of booking.

 

Does anybody know if the coverage is better, worse, or the same as with a 3rd party like TG?

A couple of advantages of the cruise line insurance:

The premium is not based on age, so older cruisers might find it less expensive.

You can cancel for a non-covered reason and still get a 75% credit for a future cruise.

Disadvantages for me:

Emergency evacuation coverage is not high enough in my opinion.

Does not cover independently booked air.

A couple of advantages of the cruise line insurance:

 

The premium is not based on age, so older cruisers might find it less expensive.

 

You can cancel for a non-covered reason and still get a 75% credit for a future cruise.

 

Disadvantages for me:

 

Emergency evacuation coverage is not high enough in my opinion.

 

Does not cover independently booked air.

Thanks Bob, I knew you would have the answer to my question.

I was astonished on one cruise to meet a couple who were unaware that Medicare provides NO coverage outside the US.

My family member did not know this either.

There are a few very specific situations where they will cover: https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/11037.pdf

We buy the cruiseline insurance but also buy Geo Blue annual policy, to add additional medical and evacuation coverage. Geo Blu covers you, even if you have pre-existing medical problem. The cost for both was less than other single policies and Geo Blue covers you for a year, international travel. Recently, my husband had to see the doctor onboard the Allure. We paid the bill and was quickly reimbursed by insurance company.

I was so happy to see a POSITIVE review of your TG experience, and glad we got the coverage.

Our oldest son had a medical emergency a few years ago, and we had to re-book a family vacation with flights, car rentals, etc. We had never gotten insurance before, and the hubby tacked it on since the price wasn't bad...thank God. One thing we didn't have to worry about in the midst of so many things we couldn't control, and full reimbursements. Have always purchased since...

 

I was astonished on one cruise to meet a couple who were unaware that Medicare provides NO coverage outside the US.

I suppose it's officially called a Medigap policy, but we look at it as Medicare. Schedule F is what MIL has and it covers her in foreign countries. It's expensive but worth it if you travel IMO.

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