What preparations are needed for cruising? Insurance, Passports, etc.

[internetwhiz]

Sure, I haven't had to test this out yet, so I don't have personal experience, but it's suppose to be as long as your entire trip is on the card, you get up to $5k per a person. There are several covered reasons but the weather related are:

 

 

 

■ Severe weather or natural disaster causes all travel to or from theCovered Traveler’s Trip destination to stop for at least 24 hours.

 

■ A mandatory evacuation is ordered by a government or publicsafety agency at the Covered Traveler’s Trip destination.

 

 

 

They will cover:

 

■ Unused tickets

 

■ Change fees

 

■ Unused travel expenses like a hotel stay

 

■ Expenses like accommodations or meals that were occurred during an interruption in the trip

 

 

 

They also have stuff like lost or delayed luggage coverage and delayed trip coverage.

 

 

No medical coverage or evacuation coverage?

[scubaslayer]

I for the life of me can't figure out why so many people are so reluctant to get a passport.

 

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Money. Especially for children, it is only good for 5 years. That expense adds up quickly for a family, and if you don't travel much it seems silly. My kids should have theirs in a few weeks, but if we had no other big plans and I was told we only need birth certificates, we may have skipped it.

 

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[xpcdoojk]

After our recent extended cruise on Liberty of the Seas from Galveston, from August 20 into September, I decided to write a list of things to remember and do before and when you cruise or travel. I may add on to this as time moves along.

1. Have trip insurance. Purchase trip insurance for cruises/travel. It’s not only for cancellation of a cruise, but for the unforeseen, which can be any of many things. We have seen someone who is a thirty something have a heart attack onboard, and on our cruise, three people were taken by ambulance from the ship to hospitals. We had been at sea ten days (7 night cruise) at the point we were able to get into port. I do not know the condition they were in.

People had to pay to fly home from Miami if there was no reason for them to go back to Galveston. Travel insurance will pay for that. NOTE: RC insurance will NOT pay for insurance reimbursement for interrupted flights if you are not booked with their air2sea program. Independent air is not covered with their insurance, or change fees, etc. READ your policy well. Have coverage from the time you leave your house until you expect to return to your house. All policies are not equal. READ THOROUGHLY. Trip insurance is also needed if you were like folks from the August 27 cruise who were stranded in Galveston or Houston when the storm hit, and their cruise was canceled. Extra days of rooms, food, would have been covered.

 

2. Get a passport. Many people on our sailing traveled with a birth certificate and drivers license. That method of cruising is meant for “closed loop” cruises, meaning you embark and disembark at the same port, in this case, Galveston. We had many onboard headed for Galveston that could not disembark in Miami. In today’s world, do not be out of the country without a passport, which is the USA’s official documentation. The US is about the only country around that doesn’t require a passport for travel.

 

3. Take way more medicine with you than you need. Many people, even me, only took meds for 9-10 days. We had 11 days. We arrived in Miami on Day 10, and it was very stressful that day to get off the ship, having already contacted doctors and pharmacies at home to transfer meds that we could pick up in Miami. One family had a large taxi bill traveling to the Children’s hospital there, as regular drugstores did not have the seizure meds their child required. We always take more with us overseas, but it never occurred to me to take more than 11 days of meds on a 7 night cruise. Never again will that happen.

 

4. Do not travel without additional funds in cash or access to them via credit/debit card. We had several unforeseen expenses that had to be paid as incurred, even if travel insurance was going to cover them. Many had brought cash to pay their account, and they had additional expenses onboard after our 7 days. They kept calling names for people to come to guest services, which often means your funds are depleted. Things like alcohol packages were good for 7 days. They did offer them at half price. Even people who saw the ship’s doctor for their meds had to pay for the medical visit and meds on their bill. We were able to use our insurance in Miami, so we were only out co-pays and a $45 cab ride. A doctor’s visit and getting meds onboard can run $100 to $300 or more.

I may add more to this later. Karen

 

Welcome back. Quite the ordeal. Glad you made it home to make this post.

 

JC

[lbjen]

We get cruise specific insurance with Nationwide. They are competitive on price, but what sold us was that you get $750pp for any port changes.

 

Because we cruise out of Galveston, the famous 'poop cruise' is still on our minds, even after all these years, so we always take at least an extra week of meds, and never book a trip that ends right before an important date, like back to school. We actually had considered this sailing, but decided against it since it got back in the day before school was starting. A lucky escape I think, since we did get some roof leaks during the storm that would have been expensive if we'd not spotted them in time.

 

You also have to be careful with credit card coverage on rental cars. Most coverage does not include everything you think it will. My sister recently got into a wreck in a brand new rental that was a total loss and they tried to put almost $20k on her credit card. Luckily she had taken all the coverage they had offered at the desk, because the coverage her card gave her was minimal at best.

[Toofarfromthesea]

I for the life of me can't figure out why so many people are so reluctant to get a passport.

 

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Because it is not a problem to travel without one.

 

Until it IS a problem.

[Artemis908]

No medical coverage or evacuation coverage?

 

They are! That's actually an entirely different section in coverage (Travel Assistance). Here's a PDF of the guide

 

http://i.info4.citi.com/wpm/100164/PDF/Guide8.pdf

[Artemis908]

You also have to be careful with credit card coverage on rental cars. Most coverage does not include everything you think it will. My sister recently got into a wreck in a brand new rental that was a total loss and they tried to put almost $20k on her credit card. Luckily she had taken all the coverage they had offered at the desk, because the coverage her card gave her was minimal at best.

 

Totally off topic, but did she have car insurance on her personal car? I never take rental insurance because my car insurance on my car covers rentals. They always try to push the insurance on you at the rental place and when I tell them I have my own insurance they try to convince me by mentioning my deductible.

[Ofmyheart]

I swear by my Chase Sapphire Preferred, never go or buy anything without it. I have canceled an entire cruise...2 days before departure (my mom passed) and I got back every penny.

 

I have booked shore excursions and the port was missed due to weather, again full refund.

 

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

[FloridaCrazy]

Taken plenty of trips without the insurance coverage. I don't risk more than I'm willing to lose. Some people purchase every extended warranty offered to them and I purchase none of them. On the ship I don't gamble at all... never set foot in the casino. I guess I'm only willing to gamble if the odds are heavily in my favor. It's the nature of most insurance that you are paying a little to protect a bigger investment all the while hoping you don't end up needing it.

[internetwhiz]

I buy travel insurance but not every extended warranty offered to me. lol. I have had to claim 4x on trip insurance and I have received more in refund than I will ever pay in premiums. The main thing it also buys me is peace of mind. Everyone has different needs/opinions. I sure saw a lot of people in a mess last week without it.

[internetwhiz]

Empress added to the cancelled list, and Oasis, Allure, and Harmony have been extended at sea. Hope these folks do.

 

Since we now have three other extended cruises, could we think about the other points too, having enough meds with you, and cash for additional spending.

[constable145]

Because it is not a problem to travel without one.

 

Until it IS a problem.

And that could happen at any time. All of a sudden one of the islands you visit could say that you need a passport.

 

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[Artemis908]

Since we now have three other extended cruises, could we think about the other points too, having enough meds with you, and cash for additional spending.

 

I heard after Harvey, people that had been stuck on the cruise ship were in massive lines trying to get medications because they didn't have enough. Definitely need to make sure you bring extra.

 

And if you have medication that needs to be refrigerated, bring a cold pack just in case you have to be somewhere without electricity. When I was on insulin I bought a pack that only required cold water to pack my insulin pen in.

[lbjen]

Totally off topic, but did she have car insurance on her personal car? I never take rental insurance because my car insurance on my car covers rentals. They always try to push the insurance on you at the rental place and when I tell them I have my own insurance they try to convince me by mentioning my deductible.

 

She lives in the U.K. and I think insurance coverage is different there.

[internetwhiz]

I heard after Harvey, people that had been stuck on the cruise ship were in massive lines trying to get medications because they didn't have enough. Definitely need to make sure you bring extra.

 

 

 

And if you have medication that needs to be refrigerated, bring a cold pack just in case you have to be somewhere without electricity. When I was on insulin I bought a pack that only required cold water to pack my insulin pen in.

 

 

I was on Liberty last Tuesday, and got off the ship in Miami to get more meds. I had 11 days of meds on me and Miami was Day 10 for us and we weren't back in Galveston until Day 13.

 

Part of the reason I put the "bring more meds" in my original post. The ship's medical office just cannot carry everything

Folks need onboard.

[constable145]

Money. Especially for children, it is only good for 5 years. That expense adds up quickly for a family, and if you don't travel much it seems silly. My kids should have theirs in a few weeks, but if we had no other big plans and I was told we only need birth certificates, we may have skipped it.

 

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It cost me 56 bucks to get my daughter a passport. That is money well spent. The piece of mind knowing that we can travel virtually anywhere with her hassle free is a nice feeling.

 

Not to sound insensitive but if you can afford a cruise you should be able to spring for a passport.

 

Especially since it is the preferred document for every country. Plus, what if all of a sudden you pull up to the port and they ask for a passport?

 

A country could change their entrance requirements with the stroke of a pen.

 

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[NatsFanOnBoard]

It cost me 56 bucks to get my daughter a passport. That is money well spent. The piece of mind knowing that we can travel virtually anywhere with her hassle free is a nice feeling.

 

Not to sound insensitive but if you can afford a cruise you should be able to spring for a passport.

That must have been a long time ago when you paid $56 for a passport! Current fees are $135 for a child over 16 and $105 for younger children. Add in photo costs, and for my five kids, that would have cost me over $600. If they don't need them, I'm not getting them.

[lbjen]

We are dual nationality so we have 8 passports to pay for, we still get them.

[mollyeilis]

That must have been a long time ago when you paid $56 for a passport! Current fees are $135 for a child over 16 and $105 for younger children.

 

 

Yah that child was an adult long ago. My guy is 13 and his first passport was more than that.

 

 

I'm a passport person (if you have the kids and you're traveling with them, imo you find a way to afford the passports) but it does "the cause" no good whatsoever to lowball the cost of them.

[constable145]

That must have been a long time ago when you paid $56 for a passport! Current fees are $135 for a child over 16 and $105 for younger children. Add in photo costs, and for my five kids, that would have cost me over $600. If they don't need them, I'm not getting them.

That's the Canadian fee. That's all I can speak about.

 

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[mollyeilis]

And that could happen at any time. All of a sudden one of the islands you visit could say that you need a passport.

 

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Just because the US did that doesn't mean that any other country in the world is going to do that. Most countries have people in charge who actually know how to be in charge and how to not irritate travelers.

 

Only way I would worry about such a thing is if I hadn't had the misfortune of being born in the states and were for some reason coming here. But for people going to other countries, I don't think that's a valid concern.

 

Totally off topic, but did she have car insurance on her personal car? I never take rental insurance because my car insurance on my car covers rentals. They always try to push the insurance on you at the rental place and when I tell them I have my own insurance they try to convince me by mentioning my deductible.

 

 

And it's a righteous mention. Also something your insurance likely won't charge is the bill for the car being out of service until its fixed or replaced. Which the rental agency will charge and their insurance will cover. But your insurance likely won't. Worth checking.

[ginger123snaps]

I was on the same Aug 20th Liberty of the Seas cruise. I agree with OP completely. It was stressful for those of us on the ship needing medications, essentials, etc. Bring extras

 

A couple things i will add:

 

Copies of passports, travel documents, insurance to take on ports. I know its just a copy but at least you have the information in case of an emergency.

 

Fill up your gas tank BEFORE you park your car to leave for a cruise. So many did that but we didn't even think about filling our tank.

[scubaslayer]

It cost me 56 bucks to get my daughter a passport. That is money well spent. The piece of mind knowing that we can travel virtually anywhere with her hassle free is a nice feeling.

 

Not to sound insensitive but if you can afford a cruise you should be able to spring for a passport.

 

Especially since it is the preferred document for every country. Plus, what if all of a sudden you pull up to the port and they ask for a passport?

 

A country could change their entrance requirements with the stroke of a pen.

 

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US passports are more than that. My kids have passports coming, but when the cruise line states you only need a birth certificate, why would most parents think they need to fork over the money for a passport? Especially if it is a one time trip to leave the country. I'm glad this was brought up, but saying people should spend the money on a passport, when the cruise line clearly states a birth certificate is fine, people don't realize it could be necessary. It family cruise is looking to cost quite a bit more than our 8 day dream Disneyworld vacation.

 

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[Steelers0854]

We get cruise specific insurance with Nationwide. They are competitive on price, but what sold us was that you get $750pp for any port changes.

 

Because we cruise out of Galveston, the famous 'poop cruise' is still on our minds, even after all these years, so we always take at least an extra week of meds, and never book a trip that ends right before an important date, like back to school. We actually had considered this sailing, but decided against it since it got back in the day before school was starting. A lucky escape I think, since we did get some roof leaks during the storm that would have been expensive if we'd not spotted them in time.

 

You also have to be careful with credit card coverage on rental cars. Most coverage does not include everything you think it will. My sister recently got into a wreck in a brand new rental that was a total loss and they tried to put almost $20k on her credit card. Luckily she had taken all the coverage they had offered at the desk, because the coverage her card gave her was minimal at best.

 

 

 

We also go with Nationwides luxury cruise policy. On our January DCL cruise out of Galveston we left the next day due to fog and missed key west. We each got $250 and the policy cost is $220 for both of us. Great coverages, easy claim process and really high medical limits. Can't say enough good things about them.

 

On rental cars the important thing about the credit card protection is that it covers the rental car itself. Your main car insurance should pickup any medical/liability items but having the CC insurance cover anything with the car (make sure it's PRIMARY insurance from the CC company, many are secondary) even in just a minor incident is what's most important.

[Steelers0854]

I would also like to add to this post that traveling with a high limit credit card is essential as well. It's all well and good to have travel insurance for emergencies but that will most likely (unless you get one of the rare primary coverage plans) just reimburse you once you return for the costs. Many people don't realize that many foreign doctors and hospitals require payment before treatment or before you are discharged. And that's payment for the full amount!