Insurance coverage - flight delays/cancellations

[GettotheSun]

My own recent post and some others got me thinking about the cancellation insurance.  I purchased the standard package for upcoming cruise on the Bliss.

 

Aside from the many reasons one would buy insurance, I was also concerned about flight issues.  Our cruise is mid-March flying out of Toronto, so that is a bit "iffy" at that time of year...could be clear and 65F or late winter snow storm and 30F.  

 

As I understand it, there doesn't seem to be a difference whether you book your flight with NCL or by yourself, with respect to reimbursement for flight delays or cancellations resulting in us missing the cruise?  And I believe what you are covered for is the 75% "cruise credit" under the Standard Plan, not reimbursement.  There is mention of up to $500 consideration for hotel if displaced.  What I'm unclear about is the cited $500 could be towards "catch up transportation expenses" according to the online documentation.  So does this mean that if I miss the cruise departure due to a flight issue, they would offer me $500 towards me booking my own flights (at my cost) to the first port of call to "catch up"?  Am I interpreting that correctly? (that seems ridiculous)

 

 

I booked an air deviation to arrive 1 day early for our cruise as I didn't want to risk missing the departure, but I guess if there is severe late winter weather, even that does not guarantee you will make the cruise.  

 

 

I had ruled out any Saturday departures as I wanted to arrive a day ahead of time (due to our circumstances, we can't fly out before Saturday morning or late Friday night).  But I also then wondered, if I booked a flight through NCL to arrive the morning of the cruise, would they not need to book me on an arrival flight that would necessarily allow me to make the cruise, if there were no delays?  (i.e. wouldn't they book you direct if you were flying in the same morning to your city of departure?)

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by GettotheSun

[julig22]

1 hour ago, GettotheSun said:

I had ruled out any Saturday departures as I wanted to arrive a day ahead of time (due to our circumstances, we can't fly out before Saturday morning or late Friday night).  But I also then wondered, if I booked a flight through NCL to arrive the morning of the cruise, would they not need to book me on an arrival flight that would necessarily allow me to make the cruise, if there were no delays?  (i.e. wouldn't they book you direct if you were flying in the same morning to your city of departure?)

 

My experience is that NCL will most likely book you on a red-eye flight that gets you to the airport mid-morning  - not necessarily non-stop.  It could be non-stop but they are looking at arrival times and cost, not your convenience.  But yes, they will book a flight that takes into consideration when your cruise leaves.  They will automatically add a transfer from the airport to the ship, which also assumes no delays.  The airport greeters have a roster of flights and who to expect, so if your plane is late, the shuttle will wait, within reason, until you arrive (I've been on a cruise where this happened). If the shuttle is caught in traffic, the cruise will wait, just as it would wait for an excursion.

 

There are quite a few options with respect to insurance.  You can go with NCL, which seems to be fairly competitive, but you have to commit to that when you book.  Most private policies have restrictions if you don't buy them as soon as you book - I'm not sure if you can get a refund on the premium if you cancel the trip before the penalty phase.  So that's a consideration.  NCL also has a policy you can buy later, for like $25, that covers luggage, delays, medical and so forth.  But not cancellation. Catch-up transportation expenses should include transportation to the next port. 

 

Medical insurance is probably a must-have, but many people are covered through their own medical insurance.  You can also get medical travel insurance that would cover transportation, etc.

 

Some credit cards will refund your trip costs, plus cover lost luggage, delays, transportation to the next port, medical evacuation.  Cancellation policy is limited and you would only recover that part of the trip that was paid on that card.

 

If you travel a lot, you can also get an annual travel policy - something I plan to look into.   For now, I go piecemeal - medical is covered by my regular insurance, cancellation through my credit card.

Edited November 10, 2019 by julig22

[GettotheSun]

43 minutes ago, julig22 said:

My experience is that NCL will most likely book you on a red-eye flight that gets you to the airport mid-morning  - not necessarily non-stop.  It could be non-stop but they are looking at arrival times and cost, not your convenience.  But yes, they will book a flight that takes into consideration when your cruise leaves.  

 

Ok that is good to know, I didn't actually think of a red-eye until you mentioned it.  I think that would be okay but I would hope no more than one connection...that makes for a brutally long travel day there and back.  

 

43 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Medical insurance is probably a must-have, but many people are covered through their own medical insurance.  You can also get medical travel insurance that would cover transportation, etc.

Agree, I always take advantage of the offer through my work.

[julig22]

2 minutes ago, GettotheSun said:

 

Ok that is good to know, I didn't actually think of a red-eye until you mentioned it.  I think that would be okay but I would hope no more than one connection...that makes for a brutally long travel day there and back. 

Not sure where I got the info (might be wishful thinking) but I believe that they do try to limit the connections to 1 if at all possible.