Trip Insurance

Trip insurance for minors on KSF. We booked the cruise before KSF promotion and bought the insurance for all 4 of us then the KSF promotion became available. Do we need the trip insurance for the kids since kids sail free? Does the trip insurance cover taxes, fees and port expenses. We only paid $60.00 for the insurance for the kids.

We just insure the total paid for the cruise and split it evenly by passenger. I think that you would want to insure your kids unless you have endless resources to pay for medical treatment or a medical evacuation.

Trip insurance for minors on KSF. We booked the cruise before KSF promotion and bought the insurance for all 4 of us then the KSF promotion became available. Do we need the trip insurance for the kids since kids sail free? Does the trip insurance cover taxes, fees and port expenses. We only paid $60.00 for the insurance for the kids.

How old are you kid's? When I have purchased trip insurance with The Trip Insurance Store for all my extended family cruise's the kid's (my grandchildren) were included in their parents (my adult children) policy at no extra cost.

The insurance is for much more than just the bottom line price of their cruise...it cover's everything travel related including medical, evacuation etc. etc.

We buy insurance for our 19 year old because he has pretty bad asthma and we have had to deal with medical emergencies at home. Insurance for him is pretty cheap. We have never had an issue with him nor needed our insurance but better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks Everyone!!!

Having had to use medical care on a cruise, there is one addition to be aware of: the medical doesn't act as primary coverage. It applies only after your regular insurance has refused to cover the expense, so you will have a bill to pay on board for any use. You MAY/MAY NOT be reimbursed for what you spent. (That was my experience using Royal Car.'s insurance.)

We took our adult kids and their families on a cruise in Oct. Our grandkids sailed under the KSF program. I bought insurance through our TA via a third party insurer. Our grandkids had no charge but were covered for medical, etc. under their parents policy. May want to look at that option.

Having had to use medical care on a cruise, there is one addition to be aware of: the medical doesn't act as primary coverage. It applies only after your regular insurance has refused to cover the expense, so you will have a bill to pay on board for any use. You MAY/MAY NOT be reimbursed for what you spent. (That was my experience using Royal Car.'s insurance.)

That also depends.

My parents had to use the insurance for our first cruise. The hospital and med evac flight dealt directly with the insurance (RCI insurance) so no out of pocket medical.

Other expenses, such as hotel, rental car, meals were reimbursed upon application.

My experience was having to see the doctor on board the ship--nothing as serious as med evac.

People LOVE to blur the lines..... Putting yourself in ANY situation where your healthcare costs are not insured is a risky proposition. HOWEVER, many people already have travel coverage through their insurer. The first thing to do is find out what is and isn't covered. Then, knowing your own (or your family/travel companions) risk, make a determination if you are adequately covered.

Medical evacuation coverage is tricky and there are numerous different kinds of coverage. Personally, I travel enough times a year, I just have a blanket policy from MedJetAssist, rather than purchasing it per trip.

As far as reimbursement/cancellation insurance. Most financial advisors and organizations will confirm that this is almost NEVER considered a sound investment option.

But people here will pummel you with their stories, just remember, the plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Make your own decision, but make it an educated one!

As far as reimbursement/cancellation insurance. Most financial advisors and organizations will confirm that this is almost NEVER considered a sound investment option.

Like anything else, you have to look at YOUR situation. And I agree, check your medical coverage outside the US. For retired, like many cruisers, MediCare does not cover you outside the US. So, you probably need some coverage. My health coverage actually also covers med evac, but only to the nearest location with acceptable care, not necessarily back to the US, or even any evac if in a first world country.

Some people have work situations that are not as flexible, so some form of cancellation insurance may make sense for them. Also, the financial burden of cancellation

I just found, that through my insurance company, I can get trip insurance with no coverage of cancellation coverage, but putting $0 into the trip cost. Then I get medical, med evac, and even trip delay coverage. And at a lower price than covering cancellation.

But the cancellation coverage does not cost that much extra.

Everyone needs to evaluate THEIR situation and what level of risk is worth it to them.

And shop around.

I am doing a land trip in a couple of month. I will be renting a car, and need some coverage. The insurance company has several levels of packages. Only the top package has rental car coverage, but it can be added to the other ones. But then it costs more than the top package. :)

Also, the financial burden of cancellation

This is one of the misconceptions. Technically, there is no "financial burden" in cancellation. Financial burden is why we carry liability insurance on our cars. It's why you might carry collision insurance as well. If something should happen, there is a significant financial burden in paying the damages.

If you have to cancel a trip, you can be disappointed, even devastated. However, there is no actual financial burden. You are no poorer than you would have been had you taken the trip (in fact, you're actually better off because of the ancillary expenses you avoid).

I get that people want the money back to take another "replacement" trip. But not doing so is not a "financial burden". But, the insurance companies do LOVE that people look at it this way...