Celebrity Travel Protection Insurance

[houtxaj]

Does this type of travel insurance protect you while on board ship and while in ports? And if so, how does it work? We are unsure if this protection offered is worth the expense. Thanks for any informative feedback.

[helen haywood]

Can't answer your question relative to Celebrity's insurance....but go to insuremytrip.com and compare policies and ask questions of the agents and decide for yourself which is the best option.

Edited June 8, 2019 by helen haywood

[cruiserchuck]

You would need to read the terms and conditions, bit travel insurance general would cover you from the time you leave home until the time you return home.  We always go with a third party insurer, not one offered by Celebrity.

[39august]

If by "protect" you mean medically, yes, up to the policy limits. You are also covered for extra expenses on the last day of the cruise until midnight of that day. I have had extensive conversations with the insurance company and have used the policy on three different cruises for covered expenses, but never yet for medical. We buy an annual medical insurance travel policy that gives us more medical and $250, 000 evacuation coverage and is very reasonable. Also  if you purchase your air thru Celebrity your flights are covered as well. 

[Luckiestmanonearth]

Does Celebrity insurance cover a situation when something happens to an elderly parent (meaning needing to cancel due to family member illness or death)?

[ipeeinthepool]

26 minutes ago, houtxaj said:

Does this type of travel insurance protect you while on board ship and while in ports? And if so, how does it work? We are unsure if this protection offered is worth the expense. Thanks for any informative feedback.

 

As you get older third-party travel insurance starts to get really expensive and if you are a US citizen you need some good medical coverage because Medicare does not cover you outside the country.  Medicare supplement plans aren't very good either with a very small limit.  We use the Celebrity insurance to cover the cost of the trip if something happens to us or a relative before the trip and it does offer a last minute cancel for any reason feature with 75% returned in future Celebrity Credits.  We purchase a yearly GeoBlue policy for medical and evacuation.  Many good reviews on Geo Blue coverage in difficult medical situations overseas.  

[Ontario Cruiser]

Can Canadians get the Celebrity insurance?

Ontario Cruiser

[CruisinNole]

1 hour ago, houtxaj said:

Does this type of travel insurance protect you while on board ship and while in ports? And if so, how does it work? We are unsure if this protection offered is worth the expense. Thanks for any informative feedback.

I have used the Celebrity insurance for medical purposes and was pleased with the care I received. It covered my medical expenses on the ship and the entire amount for the procedure that I had to have done at a hospital while in port. I did not have to stay in medical on the ship overnight but because I was there past midnight, I received reimbursement for one night of the cruise. The claim forms were in my inbox when I returned home and I was able to file my claim electronically. I was very pleased with the insurance. 

[TFree]

Just as a general observation, it is not a great idea to base your decisions on travel insurance on comments from others who may or may not have purchased comparable insurance, and may or may not have really understood what they bought.  In addition, policies can change over time, so even knowledgeable comments about a policy from a few years ago may not apply to the policy today. 

 

I agree with the comment that you have to read the terms and conditions yourself.  Or at a minimum quiz the person selling the policy.  Ask lots of questions, it is their job to know the answers.  But don't rely on comments by non-insurance people on a message board.

Tom & Judy

[katiegirl1264]

yes important to do your own research

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

2 hours ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

Does Celebrity insurance cover a situation when something happens to an elderly parent (meaning needing to cancel due to family member illness or death)?

Check your current charge card for travel insurance. We cruise 4-6 times a year. I had a Citi Bank card which had it included at no additional charge. Then they cancelled that perk. I switched to another banks card. The only one I found that had an excellent Travel protection package but it cost me $95.00 a year for the card. Still a lot less than paying extra for the coverage. The coverage is $5000 per person total. So, needless to say, if your cruise is more. You will still need to get it somewhere else. About the only thing it does not cover is medical and if you just do not want to go. You must book with it to get the coverage. I use it on the cruise for everything. I also get 2-1/2% money back on everything I buy. I like it. 

[DanL]

2 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Can't answer your question relative to Celebrity's insurance....but go to insuremytrip.com and compare policies and ask questions of the agents and decide for yourself which is the best option.

Yes or square mouth.com. We've used both and it's important to buy from a third-party when you have to make a claim. If the insurance company is slow as we've seen in the past insure my trip will go to bat for you. After they went to the insurance company on our behalf we had a money in a week. If you don't have a third-party you're dealing with the insurance company by yourself not something I recommend.

Is elderly make sure you have evacuation insurance that will get you home  and a big number.

[ipeeinthepool]

The insurance websites are good sources of information, but I doubt they will ever recommend the insurance through the cruise line because they don't sell the product.  The insurance through the cruise line offers some valuable advantages over third-party insurance companies at a much lower price.  If your primary concern is medical, then perhaps you would be better off buying a specific medical insurance policy with significant evacuation coverage.  You can purchase those policies on an annual basis or for a specific trip.  Nothing will provide better medical coverage than the dedicated medical policies.  There are many excellent reviews about Geo Blue and I have also used them with great results.  Never by anything based on fear.  I am amazed at the argument that if the insurance sold to you by a third party agent is slow or non-responsive the agent will help you.  Maybe they could have helped me more by selling a policy from a better company that doesn't require their intervention for me to get results.

[TeaBag]

5 hours ago, Ontario Cruiser said:

Can Canadians get the Celebrity insurance?

Ontario Cruiser

Yes, they can, but I only have experience with the cancellation insurance.  We buy our health insurance by the year from BCAA.  We had to cancel a 30 day cruise when we were in the 75% penalty time frame.  Celebrity paid us the 25% and their insurance paid the other 75% down to the last penny.  I was very impressed.

[Daisy May]

Yes, Celebrity insurance worked for us for an emergency. It wasn't an elderly parent, but our 32 year old son died unexpectedly the day before our cruise and they refunded our money. They were very helpful and I don't remember it being a hassle to do the paper work. 

 

Sherry

 

[sippican]

As a general rule of thumb, your best value and coverage will be from non-cruiseline policies.

https://www.cruzely.com/should-i-buy-cruise-insurance/

Shop through sites such as squaremouth.com or insuremytrip.com.  Decide which coverage you need most, then find a policy that meets your needs, (cruise line insurance is pretty much one size fits all.) Check the coverage that your credit card may provide. We use our Chase Sapphire Reserve to pay for travel, and it has great coverage. We do not need medical as our supplemental insurace provides coverage for out of country medical costs. The most important coverage to us is medical evacuation. Read policies carefully! Most cover transport to the nearest qualified facility - no matter if that's Timbuktu, or Tasmania. They will not get you home if you require continuing care. We have an annual policy through MedJet Assist. It covers us for any trip more then 150 miles from home. If we are hospitalized and need continued care, they will transport us to a hospital of our choice. It does not require that a doctor certify that a transfer is necessary (as does another major insurance policy). 

[FLbeachbaby]

5 hours ago, Daisy May said:

Yes, Celebrity insurance worked for us for an emergency. It wasn't an elderly parent, but our 32 year old son died unexpectedly the day before our cruise and they refunded our money. They were very helpful and I don't remember it being a hassle to do the paper work. 

 

Sherry

 

So sorry for your unimaginable loss. I hope you get to or have gotten to enjoy some time away.

[ipeeinthepool]

36 minutes ago, sippican said:

As a general rule of thumb, your best value and coverage will be from non-cruiseline policies.

 

Sorry, but this really isn't good advice.  The Best Value depends on your own circumstances and risk tolerance.  The insurance offered through the cruise line is a much better value for many people.

[sippican]

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Sorry, but this really isn't good advice.  The Best Value depends on your own circumstances and risk tolerance.  The insurance offered through the cruise line is a much better value for many people.

 

Others  might agree with my opinion (especially if they read the article, or do an online search), and many won't, but one thing's  for certain, it is a great value if you are the cruise line, or a travel agent!

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, sippican said:

 

Others  might agree with my opinion (especially if they read the article, or do an online search), and many won't, but one thing's  for certain, it is a great value if you are the cruise line, or a travel agent!

 

Really???  Do you have any idea about the source of that article.  The author is paid by all of the third party insurance companies with links in that article.  Hardly an unbiased source.  Is it any wonder the blogger favors third party insurance.  There are a number of other threads on cruise line insurance that can provide better info than this article.   So to be clear, everyone needs to decide what they want to insure and get the best protection for those needs.  If it's medical and evacuation, buy a specific medical policy.  It will provide the best coverage at the cheapest price.  Be careful about relying on supplemental Medicare policies, many are limited to about $50k and may require you to pay for the services first.  If you're concerned about protecting your investment if you need to cancel, perhaps your credit card will offer protection or perhaps the cruise line insurance will provide adequate coverage.  The cruise line rates are not based on age and can be much cheaper for older travelers.   Good Luck

 

https://studentloanhero.com/featured/cruises-blogger-makes-9000-a-month/

Edited June 9, 2019 by ipeeinthepool

[Daisy May]

18 hours ago, FLbeachbaby said:

So sorry for your unimaginable loss. I hope you get to or have gotten to enjoy some time away.

 

Thank you. We just keep going. We have been on a couple of cruises since then. They seem even more special now.

 

Sherry

[houtxaj]

Thank you everyone for the informative feedback. It is most welcome. 

[mayleeman]

The one thing that might be most important is to make your insurance decision within 15 days of your first payment for the cruise. For many policies, this is the period in which you can get coverage for preexisting conditions (they call it waiver of the lookback period, or some such). We didn't do any insurance homework until near final payment for our cruise and discovered we would have had to pay a lot more to get preexisting coverage by then, if it was even available. Turned out we didn't need it, fortunately.

 

If you have a refundable deposit, you can cancel your cruise and rebook and then get insurance.

[ipeeinthepool]

27 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

The one thing that might be most important is to make your insurance decision within 15 days of your first payment for the cruise. For many policies, this is the period in which you can get coverage for preexisting conditions (they call it waiver of the lookback period, or some such). We didn't do any insurance homework until near final payment for our cruise and discovered we would have had to pay a lot more to get preexisting coverage by then, if it was even available. Turned out we didn't need it, fortunately.

 

If you have a refundable deposit, you can cancel your cruise and rebook and then get insurance.

 

This is one example where the cruise line insurance can provide good protection at a good value.  There is an effective cancel for any reason provision where you can get 75% of your deposit, although in cruise credits.  For many that is as good as money. That can be supplemented with a Medical policy like Geo Blue which doesn't have any pre-existing condition constraints.  You just need to have other medical insurance before the trip.

[ghstudio]

8 hours ago, mayleeman said:

The one thing that might be most important is to make your insurance decision within 15 days of your first payment for the cruise. For many policies, this is the period in which you can get coverage for preexisting conditions (they call it waiver of the lookback period, or some such). We didn't do any insurance homework until near final payment for our cruise and discovered we would have had to pay a lot more to get preexisting coverage by then, if it was even available. Turned out we didn't need it, fortunately.

 

If you have a refundable deposit, you can cancel your cruise and rebook and then get insurance.

Pre-existing conditions is the most misunderstood part of a travel policy....intentionally fogged by the insurance and travel industry.  Why? because they want you to pay far in advance and if decide to cancel that cruise, you don't get that money back....and they get your money right away.

 

Read the definition of "pre-existing conditions" in the policy you are thinking about purchasing.  Here's the key thing that most don't know....or just miss.  If you have a medical condition that is stable and has been stable during the lookback period (number of days back from the day you are buying the policy), then you do NOT have a pre-existing condition that would cause the policy not to pay a claim.  What does stable mean...that's defined in the same definition.....it essentially means that you have had no change in medication and no change that caused you, or should have caused you to make a special trip to your doctor...you do not have a "pre-existing condition".  (please don't just trust me, I'm not an insurance agent/specialist/whatever....read the policy....it's not confusing).

 

More can be found in the insurance forum on CC, but try to understand the policy before you buy.

 

We almost always buy our Travel insurance just before final payment.  Note: while you're researching travel insurance, whether it be from the cruise line or an independent agent, consider MedJet Assist insurance in addition. (search cc for info).

Edited June 12, 2019 by ghstudio