first time booking Carnival, insurance question

I am about to pull the trigger on a cruise for June of 2019 on the Horizon! :)Since I have never sailed on Carnival before, I have a question about insurance. Do I have to book it right away, or do I have until PIF date, or somewhere in between? And I know on Disney it is cheaper to book with 3rd party brokers for travel insurance, is it the same with Carnival? I do want it, as my parents are elderly and who knows what will happen and when at this point. Thanks!

I've used insure my trip dot com before and have been happy with them.

I am about to pull the trigger on a cruise for June of 2019 on the Horizon! :)Since I have never sailed on Carnival before' date=' I have a question about insurance. Do I have to book it right away, or do I have until PIF date, or somewhere in between? And I know on Disney it is cheaper to book with 3rd party brokers for travel insurance, is it the same with Carnival? I do want it, as my parents are elderly and who knows what will happen and when at this point. Thanks![/quote']

As long as you add the insurance at final payment (Carnival) or maybe just prior (3rd party provider), you can wait until you're nearer to final payment. One caveat though, some policies have a 'cancel for any reason' and pre-existing condition options which requires you to buy the insurance within a certain timeframe after initial deposit (not all 3rd party policies but some). If there is concern about either/both of your parents having to cancel, that might be to your/their advantage to get a policy with those options.

We use insuremytrip.com as well because we vacation pre/post cruise also and want everything covered.

Same here insure my trip dot com.

As long as you add the insurance at final payment (Carnival) or maybe just prior (3rd party provider), you can wait until you're nearer to final payment. One caveat though, some policies have a 'cancel for any reason' and pre-existing condition options which requires you to buy the insurance within a certain timeframe after initial deposit (not all 3rd party policies but some). If there is concern about either/both of your parents having to cancel, that might be to your/their advantage to get a policy with those options.

I would say almost every policy that covers pre-existing conditions requires purchase within 14 or 21 days after the cruise deposit is paid.

We also use insuremytrip. Prices are much better and the medical coverage amounts are much higher. As others have pointed out, you need to buy within a couple of weeks of booking your cruise to be sure pre-existing conditions are covered, which may definitely be a consideration with your parents.

We also use insuremytrip for any vacation we want coverage on, especially when leaving the country. The site lets you pick the insurance company and policy that best suits your needs.

As others have stated, you need to purchase within a very short window of the initial deposit if you need pre existing condition coverage or cancel for any reason option.

Enjoy the planning phase and have a great trip!

Also, dont forget that the preexisting condition does not have to be something you have at time of booking the cruise, if something happens between booking and boarding it also becomes preexisting.

If there is an accident, a fall, a condition/sickness that you experience after you book the cruise and then purchase insurance after the fact, issues that could arise due to a result of that issue, may not be covered.

I believe it is Nationwide that has a plan that covers preexisting conditions after the time frame that most require the purchase to include. It costs a little more than others but having something happen on a cruise that requires medical assistance or having to cancel will cost a lot more.

Do some comparisons between different insurance companies' policies to find the coverage you want. Yes, you can purchase your insurance through Carnival, as a matter of convenience. But, it is pricier (with moderate coverage) compared to what you'll find elsewhere. As others have suggested, insure my trip dot com is a very good web site to do side-by-side comparisons on different policies. We have always used CSA (now known as General Global Assistance) since our first cruise way back in 1997. We get the coverage we want at an affordable rate. If you're at all concerned with pre-existing conditions or having "cancel for any reason", lizardhowson is correct. You'll need to purchase your policy within two to three weeks of booking your cruise.