Essential Travel Protection thru NCL?

[TACoor]

During on-line check in for an upcoming cruise, Norwegian is offering what they call "essential" protection for $25 per person. Just a bare bones policy I suppose, but is it a good idea? We've never bought trip insurance in the past. Figure if we have to cancel we'll just lose the cost of the trip, but I know medical, evacuation, and repatriation can be very expensive. We're doing the Caribbean from home state of Florida so it's not like we'd need to be flown half way around the world. Take our chances, buy the $25 policy or get "real" insurance?

[GeezerCouple]

Here is a link to the Travel Insurance section of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

We strongly recommend contacting

 

www.TripInsuranceStore.com

 

but CALL and discuss what your concerns are and also let them ask some questions (e.g., are you concerned about non-traveling family members, and lots more).  Then they can recommend one (or more) of quite a few policies they offer from several vetted insurers.

 

We've purchased policies from Travel Insured through them, and yes, we have had claims, including two large ones.  TI paid promptly every time.

 

GC

[TPgal]

Do as Geezer says and do your research on a real policy for travel insurance, but this $25 could be worth it if something should go on.   My FIL had a bout of kidney stones while on their first cruise and needed to visit the on-ship doc.   The $25 insurance was the difference between paying directly on board and then getting reimbursed after the fact by their travel insurance carrier.  They still had to put in a claim with their TIC but they weren't too thrilled about the super high extra charge on their credit card before exiting the ship.  

 

You most likely won't need it, but for my money, it's worth the reduction in paperwork in the middle of a potentially stressful situation.    YMMV, this is just my opinion. 

[tallnthensome]

If you can afford to cruise then you should be able to buy real cruise insurance, not this bare bones stuff. How can spending $25 a person even be something that has to be pondered and thought about? I just spent $681 on insurance for our cruise coming up in 3 weeks. Not taking any chances ....... and the piece of mind knowing our flights, cruise, and medical coverage is there for us and our kids. If you have to be medivac'd from a ship you'd be sorry when you get the $50,000 bill.  Don't buy it from NCL either. 

[tumblew467]

I second call the trip insurance store --they are very knowledgeable and will guide you to the right plan for you.  I always get their plan.  Had an eye issue  2 years ago on the cruise. Between ship doc and having to rent a car when we got to Port Canaveral to see an eye Dr. It was $600 out of my pocket. When I got home filled out the forms with documentation and was 100% reimbursed. So you have to read the fine lines of the policy as well. I always make sure I get my trip insurance within 2 weeks of booking because then I can get the medical waiver for pre-existing conditions. The trip insurance store has a ton of info about policies on their website. I just paid $160 pp for my husband and myself for our may trip. $100,000 accident and sickness medical expense.Emergency evac is  covered  at 1 million- so if you  fall and Fracture your hip -lets say in the Bahamas and need surgery I would rather get stabalized on the ship and have a medical plane come get me and take me to Florida for my surgery. Just my 2 cents

Also Medjet assist  has short term policies starting at $85 if someone you know has medical issues that may need an medical evac. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by tumblew467

[brer111]

We always buy the trip insurance with NCL when we book our cruise and not the 25.00 one that you are talking about. One time my husband did not feel well and we went to medical center and he had to stay in cabin 24 hours but never got charged anything. Last November on our cruise my husband was experiencing a tingling in his arm. We spent 3 or 4 hours in the medical center and they ran all kinds of test. We chose not to go to a hospital and he started feeling better. That night we did have a large  envelope left in our cabin with all the tests and backup and a bill that we had to pay when leaving the ship at the end of the cruise. But NCL helped me contact the insurance company while on the ship via phone to find out what I needed to do. I am happy to say that after filing first with our supplemental insurance and then the cruise insurance purchased with NCL we got all of our money refunded back. So I was very happy and pleased with it. They also have a premium plan which is more money but the coverage we had was just fine fo r us. Hope this helps.

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, TACoor said:

During on-line check in for an upcoming cruise, Norwegian is offering what they call "essential" protection for $25 per person. Just a bare bones policy I suppose, but is it a good idea? We've never bought trip insurance in the past. Figure if we have to cancel we'll just lose the cost of the trip, but I know medical, evacuation, and repatriation can be very expensive. We're doing the Caribbean from home state of Florida so it's not like we'd need to be flown half way around the world. Take our chances, buy the $25 policy or get "real" insurance?

It is really a function of whether you think the coverage is sufficient. 

 

I think it cover $25K for medivac. A "good" policy would cove $1M. How much would it cost to charter an air ambulance from, say, Tortola to Miami (or to your home town)?

 

When you overstay your time in bar and miss your ship, is $500 enough to buy same day plane tickets to your next port of call after spending a night in a hotel (also booked same day). 

 

It does not cover cancel for any reason, so you have to have a "covered reason" to get anything out of a cancellation or no-show. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by BirdTravels

[kkelle17]

18 hours ago, brer111 said:

We always buy the trip insurance with NCL when we book our cruise and not the 25.00 one that you are talking about. One time my husband did not feel well and we went to medical center and he had to stay in cabin 24 hours but never got charged anything. Last November on our cruise my husband was experiencing a tingling in his arm. We spent 3 or 4 hours in the medical center and they ran all kinds of test. We chose not to go to a hospital and he started feeling better. That night we did have a large  envelope left in our cabin with all the tests and backup and a bill that we had to pay when leaving the ship at the end of the cruise. But NCL helped me contact the insurance company while on the ship via phone to find out what I needed to do. I am happy to say that after filing first with our supplemental insurance and then the cruise insurance purchased with NCL we got all of our money refunded back. So I was very happy and pleased with it. They also have a premium plan which is more money but the coverage we had was just fine fo r us. Hope this helps.

We had the exact same experience with the insurance purchased at booking with NCL (not the bare bones policy). My mom got really sick with a flu-like illness, she had all sorts of tests and medications, fluids etc. She had to pay the bill up front, but she was reimbursed 100% of it with the NCL bought insurance. I would never go without good insurance. 

[tulch]

I think the answer to your question is to understand that this is a "get what you pay for" type of policy.  Our health insurance covers us outside of the US (important if you rely on Medicare, which does not offer any coverage if you are traveling abroad).  Our policy also counts any medical expenses outside the US as "in network" since one doesn't have the option of choosing.  However, we purchased NCL bare bones insurance for our upcoming trans-Atlantic as a matter of convenience.  If we need to see the ship's doctor (and there are NO other options out in the middle of the Atlantic), it's worth $50 for the two of us from the standpoint of "no hassle." 

 

We normally don't get any insurance when traveling in the Caribbean.  (We, too, are from Florida.  We might lose the cost of the cruise if we cancelled, but no hotels or airfares or lost luggage or trip delays to worry about.  Again, our health insurance pretty much covers everything else.)

 

If you have non-Medicare coverage, call your health provider and see what they will cover. You may have a clearer idea of what coverage you need before you buy any insurance.

[TACoor]

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions, folks!