Cruise Insurance?

Hello.

I was just wondering, is it a good idea to get traveler's insurance? Did you get it when you went to a cruise? I know all the benefits, just was interested if people do get it.

cheers.

People absolutely get insurance.

One saying is: You insure what you can't afford to lose.

Yes! I get insurance EVERYTIME I cruise. Never had to file any claims, but there are situations and circumstances that can happen when on a cruise that could add up to big bucks if something goes wrong. From hospitalization overseas to a broken limb during an excursion to being airlifted off the ship--we are talking about services that cost an astounding amount of money. Much better to have that protection just in case.

We would never go on a cruise without buying the insurance. The cancellation part is very important; you just never know what might happen before that long-awaited day you actually board the ship..... and it's more money than we want to forfeit! The medical, and med-evac parts are just as important of course; the costs if one had to fund it oneself would add up to a cruise a month for the next ten years.:eek:

We are always sure to have medical coverage outside the country and evacuation/repatriation coverage. We never insure the cost of the cruise. We did early in our cruising 'career' but at a certain point, when premiums became much higher, we made a choice to stop insuring for cancellation. We could afford the price of the trip or we would not have booked it and calculated that after about the first 4-5 cruises, we would be at break even if we had to cancel. The real risk for high financial risk is high medical bills/evacuation. The price of the trip, in most cases, is less significant than a bad injury/illness could cost.

We were willing to risk the loss of price of the trip and save the premiums. We have now sailed well over 60+ cruises since we stopped insuring for cancellation and are so far ahead (never having had to cancel while in the penalty period), that though we'd hate to lose the money, we would have saved tens of thousands of dollars in premiums we didn't pay.

The premiums for medical/evacuation/repatriation only are very low. The majority of the premium for full coverage is for the cancellation/interruption feature.

We have bought insurance for almost every cruise and out of country trip since a friend shattered her leg on day 12 of a 14 day trip to Italy.

The only time we don't buy insurance is the 3 or 4 day cruise from LA. Ensenada is a 3 hour drive from our house.

I definitely buy it for every cruise mainly for the medical insurance.

Short answer is YES. But the question is very general as there are several types of insurance one has to consider. Often one can get a package that covers the various concerns.

If your health insurance doesn't provide international coverage travel medical is needed. (If one is from Canada, as I am, travel medical is definitely required as most provincial plans provide very low or no coverage out of country.) One may also want to investigate coverage for emergency evacuation from a ship - not all travel medical plans include this coverage.

Trip interruption, baggage damage/loss, LDW on car rentals are all good things to have.

Trip cancellation is a good idea. Two general types, cancellation for medical emergency reasons only and cancellation for any reason. The later tends to be fairly expensive, but the first may have pre-existing condition exclusions.

Check existing policies and credit card agreements first. Often one will find that they provide some coverage.

Thanks guys for all the replies. I will be getting the insurance. The package is relatively a fair price.

It covers:

24-Hour Emergency Assistance Services

consult doctor

id theft

Concierge Services

emergency assistance

travel delays

travel emergency (rescue)

travel cancellation

baggage

and a few more

We are always sure to have medical coverage outside the country and evacuation/repatriation coverage. We never insure the cost of the cruise. We did early in our cruising 'career' but at a certain point, when premiums became much higher, we made a choice to stop insuring for cancellation. We could afford the price of the trip or we would not have booked it and calculated that after about the first 4-5 cruises, we would be at break even if we had to cancel. The real risk for high financial risk is high medical bills/evacuation. The price of the trip, in most cases, is less significant than a bad injury/illness could cost.

 

We were willing to risk the loss of price of the trip and save the premiums. We have now sailed well over 60+ cruises since we stopped insuring for cancellation and are so far ahead (never having had to cancel while in the penalty period), that though we'd hate to lose the money, we would have saved tens of thousands of dollars in premiums we didn't pay.

 

The premiums for medical/evacuation/repatriation only are very low. The majority of the premium for full coverage is for the cancellation/interruption feature.

 

This. It's almost exactly what I would have written, except that we have always self-insured the cruise.

This. It's almost exactly what I would have written, except that we have always self-insured the cruise.

When we first started cruising, coverage was about $89 for both of us and it seemed silly to not take it. We have always had pricey cabins and like comfortable seats on planes. We didn't always have enough 'points' to get our air on FF miles. For such a small sum, it was worth it to insure though in 'those days' our air tickets were mostly refundable.

The cruise lines then realized they could make it a real money maker and premiums rose and terms changed dramatically.

We stopped insuring for cancellation/interruption. Our previous medical covered internationally and we had coverage for evacuation/repatriation. Our insurance now does not cover out of country so we buy that for travel at very moderate premiums.

Short answer is YES. But the question is very general as there are several types of insurance one has to consider. Often one can get a package that covers the various concerns.

 

If your health insurance doesn't provide international coverage travel medical is needed. (If one is from Canada, as I am, travel medical is definitely required as most provincial plans provide very low or no coverage out of country.) One may also want to investigate coverage for emergency evacuation from a ship - not all travel medical plans include this coverage.

 

Trip interruption, baggage damage/loss, LDW on car rentals are all good things to have.

 

Trip cancellation is a good idea. Two general types, cancellation for medical emergency reasons only and cancellation for any reason. The later tends to be fairly expensive, but the first may have pre-existing condition exclusions.

 

Check existing policies and credit card agreements first. Often one will find that they provide some coverage.

How do you know what your insurance covers? I just took the one that was offered when I booked my cruise with RCCL. I thought it was just for cancellations, as that was primary reason to I agreed to purchase it.

One thing I have noticed.....the insurance the cruiselines offer when you book, are 'one price for all' with a basic or a better package.....the outside insurance carrier's charge is based on age...a very elderly passenger will pay a huge premium.

One thing I have noticed.....the insurance the cruiselines offer when you book, are 'one price for all' with a basic or a better package.....the outside insurance carrier's charge is based on age...a very elderly passenger will pay a huge premium.

Read an article that outside insurance is actually better. Don't know how accurate that is.

How do you know what your insurance covers? I just took the one that was offered when I booked my cruise with RCCL. I thought it was just for cancellations, as that was primary reason to I agreed to purchase it.

I am getting outside insurance. You can read more about why insurance is needed here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274

Also, you have to contact the place where you got it from to find out.

How do you know what your insurance covers? I just took the one that was offered when I booked my cruise with RCCL. I thought it was just for cancellations, as that was primary reason to I agreed to purchase it.

You should be able to find information on the coverage you purchased at the Royal Caribbean web site. If they sent you a confirmation email there should be a link in the email to the policy or at least a web page that outlines the coverage and exclusions. If not, call them and ask for the information.

So I guess another question arises.. people who bought their insurance, did you buy the outside insurance or the insurance the booking company gave you?

The answer is YES! My wife broke her foot a week before our cruise, and the insurance refunded us the cost.

So I guess another question arises.. people who bought their insurance, did you buy the outside insurance or the insurance the booking company gave you?

Outside. One is able to pick a policy that most suits their needs. In my experience cruise lines only offer cancellation that covers the cruise fare, but nothing else, unless air is booked through the line.

Yes, yes yes. We were scheduled to go on our first cruise last July. The morning of the cruise my husband got very ill and we drove to the hospital in Orlando. He was admitted with kidney stones in one kidney and the other kidney wasn't functioning. We are glad we had cruise insurance. We are rescheduling our cruise for this July and purchased both cruise ins and flight ins this time.

We do get it.

I use insuremytrip.com to compare policies.

Keith

We always buy insurance.

Also check your own insurance. I called my auto policy company and they offered better travel insurance at a lesser price than any I had checked into from travel insurance companies. They also covered us regardless of our age.

We absolutely get insurance and so far always outside insurance, because we need to have a policy that covers pre-existing conditions for family members, due to elderly parents.

We have had to cancel 3 cruises/vacations because of health crisis's in others, so it has paid off well for us. All three happened to be longer, more expensive cruise tours than we normally take.

You should be able to find information on the coverage you purchased at the Royal Caribbean web site. If they sent you a confirmation email there should be a link in the email to the policy or at least a web page that outlines the coverage and exclusions. If not, call them and ask for the information.

Thanks. I checked their web site, and there are three types of insurance described there, and what MY CRUISE lists is not one of the three, so was curious if I got all three or just one. I will check the paperwork that the sent me when I booked.

Absolutely buy insurance. It has saved me twice in the past two years. Last summer we had to cancel a 7-day Caribben cruise because my DMIL had a fall anf was hospitalized. Secondly, in reality, I am supposed to be on the Ruby Princess right now in the Med. We had booked this cruise taking the kids and grandkids (and DMIL). We had about $40K invested, including flights and pre/post hotels. Four weeks ago our son's daughter (age 5) got sick and died. Needless to say this put a damper on the trip and nobody could envision getting any enjoyment out of the cruise so we canceled. We're still processing the claim, but will get our money back, Whew!

DW and I decided we still needed some time away to ourselves. We didn't keep our reservations on RP because we had seen the Med just 3 years ago and the joy of the cruise was going to see all of the kids and grandkids enjoy the sights. So, DW and I quickly booked a 7-day Southern Caribbean out of San Juan leaving this Sunday.

We will try to do a family cruise or trip next year.