Cruise insurance

[RocketMan275]

31 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

This brings up another question that came up on the cruise I just came home from yesterday. A passenger was evacuated to a Florida hospital from the ship via Coast Guard helicopter. There was quite a discussion going on regarding insurance and several people were saying that since it was a Coast Guard evacuation there would be no charge to the passenger for the flight.  I find that hard to believe.

 

 Like many others I choose to ensure for a very low value on the trip itself as that is a lower risk amount that I can afford to lose if something happens but I want to make sure I’ve got plenty of coverage for medical and medical evacuation.  A policy that is primarily for medical is very low cost. 

check out GeoBlue

You can get an annual policy that covers all trips.  The Trecker has a limit of seventy days out of country but the number of trips is unlimited.  There is a world wide expat policy that might be more appropriate.

 

There have been numerous discussions of coast guard evac.  The consensus is there is no charge.  It's paid for by the taxpayers.  There are also reciprocal agreements with other countries.  We evac theirs and they evac ours. The real cost of evacuation begins once the Coast Guard delivers you to the shore.  You are responsible for all payments going forward, doctors, hospitals, flights home.  Depending upon your condition, you may require a special aircraft with a medical crew aboard.  Ka ching, Ka chink.

My mother in law, a German National, was visiting her daughter in the states when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  The German health care system doesn't provide coverage in countries with no national systems.  She had bought insurance.  Her policy flew a nurse to the US to accompany her home to Germany.  Her policy flew her business class.

 

 

https://www.geobluetravelinsurance.com/

[RocketMan275]

43 minutes ago, Lbicklel said:

This brings up another question that came up on the cruise I just came home from yesterday. A passenger was evacuated to a Florida hospital from the ship via Coast Guard helicopter. There was quite a discussion going on regarding insurance and several people were saying that since it was a Coast Guard evacuation there would be no charge to the passenger for the flight.  I find that hard to believe.

 

 Like many others I choose to ensure for a very low value on the trip itself as that is a lower risk amount that I can afford to lose if something happens but I want to make sure I’ve got plenty of coverage for medical and medical evacuation.  A policy that is primarily for medical is very low cost. 

Not widely known but  you can turn most travel insurance policies into medical/evac policies.  Enter the cost of the trip as $0.  The quote will be for medical/evac only.

Edited February 16, 2020 by RocketMan275

[bboop51]

On 2/12/2020 at 5:27 PM, disneygirl2 said:

We are back from the Oasis of the Seas cruise that started on Jan 26th.  Yes, you read that right, Jan 26th.  While on the cruise, day 2, I came down with the Flu that was diagnosed in the ship's doctor's office.  I received tamiflu and instructions to stay in my cabin. The following day I was not feeling better so I went back to the doctor hoping for an inhaler.  What occurred next is your worst nightmare.  The doctor on the ship freaked out a bit and decided I needed a CT scan to rule out a blood clot, which by the way I did not ever have. So in Jamaica at 4:00 I left the ship thinking we would be back for 6:30.  Well that never happened!  We ended up at the Jamaica private hospital where they proceeded to tell us that we needed cash otherwise, they would transfer us to the public hospital.  By the time this was all straightened out money wise (no they did not take the cruise insurance or our Aetna) the ship had sailed.  They finally were able to get me to Florida via lear jet on 2/1 where I stayed at Broward International hospital until my return home yesterday.  Let me say being in Jamaica was scary and the treatment was subpar.  Even the EMT's from the jet knew something wasn't right and had to tell the doctors what to do.  The staff in Florida were top notch.  Unfortunately by this point the Flu turned in Pneumonia with a few other things thrown in.  

Moral of the story......get the insurance, because my $2,000 cruise has turned into a $30,000 disaster that I am sure is going to take many months to fix.  Without that insurance though, I don't know where I would be right now.  Get the insurance, it is worth the $200

I wish you a speedy recovery and I am so glad you had to good sense to travel with trip insurance. I had a conversation with my friend this morning who is cruising (soon.)  They did not buy trip insurance. When I asked her why, she said they did not much for the cruise, so it wasn't worth it. I asked about medical / evacuation and almost fainted when she said, well Medicare will pay. I said nope and she said I have a supplement. I told her to check with her supplemental insurance and her credit card and then call insuremytrip.  I know her husband takes care of everything financial and I upset her. I felt badly for that. But I would feel worse if something happened and they had not been forewarned.

[disneygirl2]

On 2/16/2020 at 3:33 PM, bboop51 said:

I wish you a speedy recovery and I am so glad you had to good sense to travel with trip insurance. I had a conversation with my friend this morning who is cruising (soon.)  They did not buy trip insurance. When I asked her why, she said they did not much for the cruise, so it wasn't worth it. I asked about medical / evacuation and almost fainted when she said, well Medicare will pay. I said nope and she said I have a supplement. I told her to check with her supplemental insurance and her credit card and then call insuremytrip.  I know her husband takes care of everything financial and I upset her. I felt badly for that. But I would feel worse if something happened and they had not been forewarned.

Thanks, feeling a bit stronger every day.   I now feel obliged to tell everyone to get it!  Check with your health insurance, your visa cards, and make sure you are covered.  I count my blessings now that I am home weeding through all of this, hoping that the bulk of it gets paid in the end.  

[bboop51]

47 minutes ago, disneygirl2 said:

Thanks, feeling a bit stronger every day.   I now feel obliged to tell everyone to get it!  Check with your health insurance, your visa cards, and make sure you are covered.  I count my blessings now that I am home weeding through all of this, hoping that the bulk of it gets paid in the end.  

I'm so glad you seem to be on the mend. I am big proponent of trip insurance. I buy "any reason to cancel" insurance directly after booking our cruises. It covers any pre-exisiting conditions and look back periods. No Drs. notes etc if we find we have to cancel.  No muss no fuss.

I did get a call this afternoon from my friend who did manage to buy insurance to cover her trip. I was worried I had upset her, but she was grateful.

Be well....

[SRF]

On 2/16/2020 at 3:10 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Not widely known but  you can turn most travel insurance policies into medical/evac policies.  Enter the cost of the trip as $0.  The quote will be for medical/evac only.

 

This is what I do.  I pay $32 for coverage.  But recently figured out, I could insure $500 of the trip cost for a total of $35, so only $3 more.

 

If you want to cover the cruise fare, the cruise line insurance can be a good bargain, especially if you are older.

 

USCG evac is free.  Or at least no direct charge. 

 

GeoBlue is NOT available in all states.  

[molly361]

4 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

This is what I do.  I pay $32 for coverage.  But recently figured out, I could insure $500 of the trip cost for a total of $35, so only $3 more.

 

If you want to cover the cruise fare, the cruise line insurance can be a good bargain, especially if you are older.

 

USCG evac is free.  Or at least no direct charge. 

 

GeoBlue is NOT available in all states.  

You must be a youngster😇

[RocketMan275]

17 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

This is what I do.  I pay $32 for coverage.  But recently figured out, I could insure $500 of the trip cost for a total of $35, so only $3 more.

 

If you want to cover the cruise fare, the cruise line insurance can be a good bargain, especially if you are older.

 

USCG evac is free.  Or at least no direct charge. 

 

GeoBlue is NOT available in all states.  

Two good points. 

First, cruise insurance is sold in $500 increments.  A policy covering $2495 is the same price (usually) as one covering $2001.

Second, GeoBlue isn't available in all states.  Other restrictions apply.  For example, you have to have existing health insurance.  Medicare qualifies.  I believe GeoBlue is available anywhere Blue Cross Blue Shield is available which is a lot of places.

It's like all insurance, you need to check the fine print.

[SRF]

Just now, RocketMan275 said:

I believe GeoBlue is available anywhere Blue Cross Blue Shield is available which is a lot of places.

 

Not correct.

 

I have BC/BS but cannot get GeoBlue.  Maryland.

[CoolNickname]

On 2/12/2020 at 8:18 PM, renza said:

We always buy insurance, one time we didn’t and my son ended up with massive abdominal pain and had to go to hospital in Puerto Rico. We were able to continue cruise but between cruise Drs and hospital it was over $3000. Our medical insurance From home did cover it all though. Long story short he had a non functioning kidney and had it removed when we got home. He is 17 now and fine with one kidney. 

 

If you are an American whatever health insurance you use at home should work the same in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. Or so my insurance agent assures me.

 

If you cruise twice a year you should look into travel health insurance which covers you for a year at a time. We found we got better coverage for less doing a year at a time. We purchase through the company that provides coverage for those who travel overseas at my work but there are many options if you search online for it.

[disneygirl2]

UPDATE:

 

I was reimbursed by my Aetna policy for the money I paid up front in Jamaica, which helped greatly.  I am still awaiting Royal Caribbean to send me documents (waiting for 1 month now) so that I can get everything to AON to finish up with them.  We are going on 3 months post cruise.  I knew this was going to end up dragging into the summer, even before the COVID issues.

 

 

[loudbmw]

GeoBlue refunded my kids premiums for medical only insurance coverage for our May 17 Harmony cruise.  I e-mailed them on Monday with the cancellation info and had my refund credited to my credit card in only 48 hours.

 

My wife and I have an annual medical only policy with GeoBlue and recommend them highly.

 

Lou

[KBD1516]

Both people named on the reservation will be refunded.  I am in the process of filing a claim now and I was told by RCI that there is no problem with us receiving a full refund.

Molly —. You asked if one did not go.
The short answer for us was yes - insurance paid for that person.

We had that situation when one member of our family could not go, but his wife and children went. They bought RC insurance for their cabin.

The insurance paid full reimbursement for his cruise fare only after he submitted the documents to the insurance company.




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