trip insurance

[sept10dsm]

Just wondering just what is included with RC trip insurance like cancellation - medical etc. Thanks for any help with this. Also in general to you buy or not? Just trying to figues it out. I really only purchased with a large purchase cruise but not with close to the port inexpensive ones? Thanks again for any input!

[JohninDC]

We always buy trip insurance, although not through the cruise line, primarily for the medical evacuation -- those helicopter rides from the ship to some island hospital are not cheap! :eek:

 

We were able to save money by buying a travel insurance policy though the insurance company that provides our auto and home policy. Compare prices from many companies on www.insuremytrip.com

 

Good luck! :)

[lady_cruiser]

We always buy trip insurance too. Last year my sister was diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer and she started 32 treatments of raditation therapy. All this started about two months before we cruise and because we did have trip insurance we were able to cancel without any penalties.

LADIES - please do not forget to have your mammograms every year. Because my sister had hers, her breast cancer was detected early enough where it was considered Stage 0 - yes there is a Stage Zero. Now that she is finished her treatments she is now considered Cancer Free, even though she will need to take a cancer prevention pill every day for the next five years. Just a prevention to help prevent it from coming back in her other breast.

[KuffMUp]

We have always purchased insurance. It is inexpensive for what it covers. My hubby has had heart problems since he was 40:eek:. His mom died of a massive heart attack at 55 and had had many before that. I figured that if he had troubles, it was way better to pay a couple hundred to get him off the ship than what it would be for cash.

 

Then we planned a B2B for our 25th anniversary. I bought the usual trip insurance just in case. 4 months before we were to leave, I passed out because of low blood pressure and hit my eye on the corner of the bathroom counter causing it to rupture :eek:. After 4 surgeries I was looking forward to some R&R. Then my retina became detatched again two weeks before we were set to leave. They really didn't want to put silicone oil back in because that would require another surgery and putting a gas bubble meant I couldn't fly. I defered to the doctors as I was trying to save my eyesight. Well, here I am 2 3/4 years later and still don't have any sight in that eye. We should have said we are going. Well, the insurance paid all my claims. It was a very expensive trip. Flying from Oregon to San Juan and a 2 weeks in an OS. We got it all back. So, yes, we always buy insurance. You just never know.

[Heidils]

We have always purchased insurance. It is inexpensive for what it covers. My hubby has had heart problems since he was 40:eek:. His mom died of a massive heart attack at 55 and had had many before that. I figured that if he had troubles, it was way better to pay a couple hundred to get him off the ship than what it would be for cash.

 

Then we planned a B2B for our 25th anniversary. I bought the usual trip insurance just in case. 4 months before we were to leave, I passed out because of low blood pressure and hit my eye on the corner of the bathroom counter causing it to rupture :eek:. After 4 surgeries I was looking forward to some R&R. Then my retina became detatched again two weeks before we were set to leave. They really didn't want to put silicone oil back in because that would require another surgery and putting a gas bubble meant I couldn't fly. I defered to the doctors as I was trying to save my eyesight. Well, here I am 2 3/4 years later and still don't have any sight in that eye. We should have said we are going. Well, the insurance paid all my claims. It was a very expensive trip. Flying from Oregon to San Juan and a 2 weeks in an OS. We got it all back. So, yes, we always buy insurance. You just never know.

 

Wow that's horrible. Well at least you got your money back. Hope your eysight returns as well. You need a cruise!

[racnwdow]

Our very first cruise we asked about the cruise insurance. Our TA asked, "can you afford to loose the cost of the cruise, if you can't go because of illness or whatever? If the answer is no-you need insurance."

[Heidils]

We got it this time. But I was reading the fine print and it's not unlike the cruise agreements we have to sign to sail. Seems slightly ambiguous but hearing that it has worked for folks gives me a better feeling. I wasn't aware that you could purchase outside trip insurance. I'll have to ask my homeowners policy about it.

[BalekFekete]

We purchased insurance for our upcoming trip via http://www.insuremytrip.com. My brother-in-law is battling stage 4 lung cancer right now, and while I certainly hope nothing goes south in close proximity to the trip, it's far too much money for us to lose straight out in case we need to cancel.

[RC of NC]

We always buy it too for any trip that has a significant non-refundable portion. For us, it's worth it just for the peace of mind knowing that we don't have to worry about a sudden illness or family emergency causing us to lose thousands in deposits or spend many thousands for a medical evacuation.

 

It's really pretty cheap for the amount of coverage you get because the chance of actually needing to use it is low. Though I would still consider it money well spent if I never have to file a claim, I'm glad to hear from lady_cruiser and KuffMUp that it worked for them when they needed it.

 

I also recommend insuremytrip.com. Started using them in 2004 and have many times since. They make it so easy to compare providers and policies. I purchased coverage last week for my next cruise and noticed that some policies even provide coverage if you have to cancel because of changes in work schedule. Keep in mind that the cost they show you is for your entire family/group but that the coverages are per person. For example, if a plan for a group of four is shown costing $100 and it provides (among other things) $1,000 in lost luggage protection, each of the four people traveling together gets $1,000 coverage for their luggage ($4,000 if you all lost your luggage and all maxed out your individual $1,000 claims) but the total cost of the policy for the group combined is only $100 (not $400).

 

There is one particular insurer that I end up selecting most of the time because their policies fit my needs very well and provide a lot of bang for the buck. I won't mention their name because I don't want it to be considered advertising (and just because they fit my needs doesn't mean they will fit yours), but I will caution you to do a bit of research on the company and their underwriter. Insuremytrip.com will show you that information when you look at the plan details. You want to make sure they've been around a while, are financially stable, and have a good track record so you can be confident that they'll be there if needed to pay your claim.

 

I've never purchased travel insurance from a cruise line. I compared them carefully the first few times and always found buying independently to be a much better value, so I don't even bother comparing any more.

[KuffMUp]

Wow that's horrible. Well at least you got your money back. Hope your eysight returns as well. You need a cruise!

 

Looking back, I should have told the doctors to put silicone oil in because I really wanted to go. On top of that, I ended up having surgery again so they could have taken the oil out then. To this day, we say we should have just gone anyway. Hindsight is always 20/20, or in my case 20/15 in one eye, zip in the other :cool:

[Heidils]

Looking back, I should have told the doctors to put silicone oil in because I really wanted to go. On top of that, I ended up having surgery again so they could have taken the oil out then. To this day, we say we should have just gone anyway. Hindsight is always 20/20, or in my case 20/15 in one eye, zip in the other :cool:

 

You are too funny! Living well may be the best revenge, but laughter is the best medicine.

 

Checked my trip insurance site...definately the way to go.

[CruisingMachine]

Just wondering just what is included with RC trip insurance like cancellation - medical etc. Thanks for any help with this. Also in general to you buy or not? Just trying to figues it out. I really only purchased with a large purchase cruise but not with close to the port inexpensive ones? Thanks again for any input!

 

If you purchase the CruiseCare directly from RC, you may get additional benefits not available through other insurance coverage.

 

For one, it covers the airfare, whether you book the air through RC or not.

 

Secondly, if you cancel for a non-emergency, you are probably out of luck with the other insurance coverages; however, with RC's CC, if you cancel for a non-emergency you will still get a 75% cruise credit that you can use toward a future cruise. No, it's not the full cash refund you'll get in case of an emergency cancellation, but it's better than nothing should you need to cancel for any other reason.

[kc320]

If you purchase the CruiseCare directly from RC, you may get additional benefits not available through other insurance coverage.

 

For one, it covers the airfare, whether you book the air through RC or not.

 

Secondly, if you cancel for a non-emergency, you are probably out of luck with the other insurance coverages; however, with RC's CC, if you cancel for a non-emergency you will still get a 75% cruise credit that you can use toward a future cruise. No, it's not the full cash refund you'll get in case of an emergency cancellation, but it's better than nothing should you need to cancel for any other reason.

 

While this may be true, their medical coverage is very skimpy...$25,000 the last time I checked...a medi vac could run this much & more...

[nelblu]

We always buy insurance thru RCL as we cruise in February and as we live in the Norheast there's always a chance of snow. I've had an opportunity to receive payment because mu daughter was rushed to the hospital. Thank God we were near San Juan and were able get a decent flight. We were reimbursed for the air fare difference and unused cruise days/night.

The only items that we weren't reimbursed was approximately $100 in wireless and other communications.

[dreamer976]

Please note that if you have any pre-existing conditions, check the coverage details. The travel insurance company that I have used for all of my travel needs only cover pre-existing if the policy is purchased within a certain number of days after the trip is booked.

[nicknboone]

I never gave a thought to trip insurance, we were healthy, so were the parents and we never cruised in winter when we had to worry about weather. Then 6 days before our last cruise I was in the emergency room with my 50 year old hubby who happened to need 3 heart stents for a blocked artery. Couldn't say a word to him about losing the entire cost of the cruise if he couldn't go. It ended up he was cleared by his doctors to go. but I will never again buy a cruise without the insurance to go along with it.

[sept10dsm]

Thank you all for responding with your thoughts and experience! I guess something to think about. I used to just think on the not going and the cost doifference. Not really the medi:)cal.