Big bad Princess

[shredie]

My question is most of the people are mentioning that they always get insurance so do most american credit cards(assuming most posters are in the US) not come with travel insurance?

 

Not that it makes any difference, but the couple in the video were Canadian.

[princessfan12]

Not that it makes any difference, but the couple in the video were Canadian.

 

I know that they were canadian, as I watched it on my local news before I read about it on cc. I believe most people replying are US which is why i asked if there was a difference between US and CND credit cards insurance wise. Some people have posted that they learned from experience and that they will never travel without insurance. I'm only asking if I am missing something or not understanding something properly about using the insurance on your credit card...I would like to learn from their experience:)

 

Just to be clear, I am not advocating people travel without insurance in any way.

 

And yes, i do know that not all cards have insurance but most premium cards do and usually people on cc are seasoned travellers therefore I would assume most or at least some have "travel credit cards":))

[shredie]

I know that they were canadian, as I watched it on my local news before I read about it on cc. I believe most people replying are US which is why i asked if there was a difference between US and CND credit cards insurance wise. ...And yes, i do know that not all cards have insurance but most premium cards do and usually people on cc are seasoned travellers therefore I would assume most or at least some have "travel credit cards":))

 

And these are very good questions I would like to know the answers to myself. :)

[DougH]

I think the man said that the fcc couldn't be transferred into obc.

 

My husband and I have never bought travel insurance.. we have to pinch pennies to cruise, and didn't think it was a worth it. Our health insurance will cover us if we need care abroad. We DID buy insurance for my mother and nephew for our upcoming cruise, though.

 

I can say for sure, I've been scared straight, and will add on insurance next time!

 

A number of years ago my Mom and Dad boarded the Grand Princess in Ft Lauderdale for a cruise. Shortly before sailing Mom fell in the cabin and broke her hip (she was about 85) After surgery she had complications and the hospital would not release her except to another medical facility. Dad had stayed in Florida with her for the 10+ days (we live in CA) and they could not estimate when she would be released. They ended up taking a medical evacuation flight back to CA and Mom was in a facility for another 6 weeks at least. The air evac bill alone was over $120K with at least 50-60K+ in other bills, Without insurance it would have been a disaster. Losing a couple of thousand dollars for the cruise is no fun, losing a couple hundred thousand means a life changing experience.

[elliair]

A number of years ago my Mom and Dad boarded the Grand Princess in Ft Lauderdale for a cruise. Shortly before sailing Mom fell in the cabin and broke her hip (she was about 85) After surgery she had complications and the hospital would not release her except to another medical facility. Dad had stayed in Florida with her for the 10+ days (we live in CA) and they could not estimate when she would be released. They ended up taking a medical evacuation flight back to CA and Mom was in a facility for another 6 weeks at least. The air evac bill alone was over $120K with at least 50-60K+ in other bills, Without insurance it would have been a disaster. Losing a couple of thousand dollars for the cruise is no fun, losing a couple hundred thousand means a life changing experience.

 

It's experiences like this that we often read about, some take it to heart and some think that nothing bad could happen to them. No one is immune from anything bad happening to them. I'd rather lay out $500 for trip insurance (which is what we have done for both upcoming cruises), than to give up everything that we have worked for just because we were too cheap to buy insurance.

[Thrak]

A number of years ago my Mom and Dad boarded the Grand Princess in Ft Lauderdale for a cruise. Shortly before sailing Mom fell in the cabin and broke her hip (she was about 85) After surgery she had complications and the hospital would not release her except to another medical facility. Dad had stayed in Florida with her for the 10+ days (we live in CA) and they could not estimate when she would be released. They ended up taking a medical evacuation flight back to CA and Mom was in a facility for another 6 weeks at least. The air evac bill alone was over $120K with at least 50-60K+ in other bills, Without insurance it would have been a disaster. Losing a couple of thousand dollars for the cruise is no fun, losing a couple hundred thousand means a life changing experience.

 

Sounds like they had a lot more than the Princess insurance...

[DougH]

Sounds like they had a lot more than the Princess insurance...

 

I never buy insurance thru the cruise line directly anymore, neither did Mom and Pop. Last time I bought direct from a cruise line was I believe American Hawaii cruises in 2001. I had a cruise booked over Thanksgiving 2001 and they folded in Oct after 9/11 when nobody wanted to fly anywhere for a while. I ended up with a refund thru my CC company for non performance of service.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Sounds like they had a lot more than the Princess insurance...

 

I'm sure you are correct on that. I don't let my 84-year-old mother travel without Medjet Assist. For those of you not familiar, it provides air evac to your hometown from anywhere in the world, without requiring approval from your medical insurance. It is a stand-alone policy. They won't cover anyone over the age of 85, though.

 

I would be interested in knowing what coverage the OP's mother had.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I never buy insurance thru the cruise line directly anymore, neither did Mom and Pop. Last time I bought direct from a cruise line was I believe American Hawaii cruises in 2001. I had a cruise booked over Thanksgiving 2001 and they folded in Oct after 9/11 when nobody wanted to fly anywhere for a while. I ended up with a refund thru my CC company for non performance of service.

 

Glad you got a refund. I believe American Hawaii's policy (I bought it once, too) was underwritten by the cruise line itself. Princess' is underwritten by a third-party insurer, so should survive a corporate failure.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[nbsjcruiser]

As I read through this thread I have a question and the OP touched on it a few posts back.

 

So when I book my cruises or other vacations, I don't feel the need to purchase extra insurance as I have coverage for if I get sick before or have an accident/get sick during from my credit card(covers the family). If something happened like a loved or close friend got sick/passed, I'm sure it wouldn't cover that and I'm fine with that, I accept responsibility for the possibility of something going wrong and me losing my cruise with no reimbursement. My question is most of the people are mentioning that they always get insurance so do most american credit cards(assuming most posters are in the US) not come with travel insurance? I have confirmed my insurance since having kids, as I could not travel not knowing if they were properly insured. Am I missing something that I should take into consideration?

 

We are from Canada so I can only speak about what we have. Only certain cc come with insurance as a coverage ( usually only high end cards). We have a Capital one Delta Mastercard. With this card we have cancellation and medical insurance. To have the insurance we must book the whole trip on the card ( hotels, flights and cruise). We also have full world wide medical through work (we pay a little extra for this through our pay).

 

As we found out there are some places that will not accept insurance and require you to pay the bill upfront. When I got hurt in Nassau I was taken to the ship to be seen by the DR.s there ( that was $395 ) then the ambulance came to take me to the hospital just to be double checked ( that was $300 ). When I finally made it to the hospital they needed the cc for everything that they needed to do ( that was another $1400 ). All these expenses were out of pocket at the time but when I got home I submitted to the insurance and was fully payed back.

 

Just an FYI if you need to go to a hospital in Nassau there are 2 different ones. 1. there is the public hospital ( $40 ) plus a 4 hour wait. 2. Private hospital which is called The Doctors hospital ( no wait but you must pay ). We picked the Doctors Hospital because if we did not we would have missed the ship than we would have had other expenses ( hotels flights and back home). I was glad that I picked the Doctors because the Dr. the treated me was trained by my Dr. back home. This gave me a lot of comfort.

 

This accident took 1 second to happen to a healthy person. Getting hit by 1 whacked wave caused 1 broken collar bone, bruised ribs and a blown out knee. Moral of the story you just never know what might happen and when.

Edited September 12, 2014 by nbsjcruiser

[Thrak]

I book insurance through Princess but I have just sent a note to my personnel specialist at work asking for info regarding whether or not my insurance is valid outside the US. I haven't needed it yet but came close.

 

I was hit by a car in Ketchican. Fortunately it wasn't moving fast but I thought for a bit that it wasn't going to stop and would just continue on right over me. I think I did end up slightly concussed as I was pretty "out of it" afterward and returned to the ship where I lay down and immediately fell asleep for the next few hours. (Note: I was in the crosswalk and obeying the traffic signal when I was hit. Once I got up and out of the way the driver just left the scene.)

 

I hadn't really considered if my insurance works in other countries but I am certainly going to find out.

[Colo Cruiser]

Delete

Edited September 12, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[Shogun]

Hi All

Big differences between USA and us, we travel with year round insurance normally top tier level cost less than one day of a cruise includes medical vac return to home etc, but not cancel cruise for any reason. But we can cancel if our pets become I'll etc

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[rocker57]

the other thing to look at is perhaps your credit card. The type of credit card I have, gives me cancellation insurance, medical insurance if I booked the vacation with my credit card. And since I collect points, I do everything with my credit card. Through my husbands work, also has out of country medical, so between the two, I don't worry about it. And I work in insurance - but property insurance :)