Royal travel insurance

[Luvcruisin76]

Does anyone know if the travel insurance that royal offers covers the covid requirements for non vaccinated guests? I thought read it did on the website but when I asked over the phone when making reservations they said it did not...does anyone know for sure?

[Babr]

The Healthy Sail page says it does in the section that explains the requirement for insurance for the unvaccinated. There are links that take you to the actual policy. You have to enter your state to  read the policy that applies to you because the state laws that govern insurance are different.

 

I looked at the policy for my state, and it lists the minimum dollar amounts required by Royal, as expected. It does not mention Covid specifically nor does it exclude it, so it is covering it as any other illness.

 

One thing to note is the evacuation clause. You will be transported to nearest appropriate facility for treatment. After recovery, you will be flown home by commercial air, the most economical and direct route. Don’t expect a chartered jet to whisk you away home.

 

There is no mention of quarantine expenses. If you test positive at some point but do not require medical treatment, you will have to wait until you test negative to return home. If you are disembarked to quarantine, the trip interruption clause would apply. 
 

If you choose to purchase your  insurance from a third-party supplier, you are required to present the policy at check in.

 

You’d expect a Royal representative to know the policies and requirements, but things are changing fast. Perhaps the one you spoke to was not up to date on training. I’d go by what is in writing on the website. You’ve done your due diligence.

[villager70]

This is in their health protocols they e mail out..  Bob

 

 

Additional Information Insurance Requirement As a condition of boarding, each unvaccinated guest 12 and older departing from a Florida homeport on a Royal Caribbean International cruise must provide proof of a valid insurance policy that has a minimum of (a) $25,000 per person in medical expense coverage and (b) $50,000 coverage for emergency medical evacuation and no COVID-19 exclusions. The insurance policy must name the unvaccinated guest as the policy holder or beneficiary and may be purchased from a travel insurance company of the guest's choosing or through the Royal Caribbean Travel Protection Program which fulfills these requirements and provides other benefits for travel protection. Insurance is required for sailings from August 1 through December 31, 2021 (except for bookings made between March 19, 2021 and June 28, 2021).

[Luvcruisin76]

Thank you all, that's how I read it as well but when the RCCL rep told me it didn't cover it I was a little concerned..

[bstel]

would be kind of stupid if the Royal insurance didn't provide the minimum coverages they are requiring, then no one would buy it.

[Travelling2Some]

6 minutes ago, bstel said:

would be kind of stupid if the Royal insurance didn't provide the minimum coverages they are requiring, then no one would buy it.

Totally agree, yet there seems no limits to bureaucratic stupidity lately in many quarters.

[BopRN]

We never get insurance through RCCL. Clark Howard says you should always get insurance from a 3rd party because the tour company places their own interests before yours. 

 

7 Things to Know Before You Buy Travel Insurance - Clark Howard

[ZoeyVictoria]

I ended up with seven unused policies that I purchased through insuremytrip.com.  I requested and received seven vouchers, then matched four of them up with similar (cost wise) cruises earlier this week.  I now have four insured cruises (for an additional $81 total), with a letter included with each;  “To whom it may concern”,  detailing our COVID coverage along with all of the details of the trip.  We are vaccinated and don’t need the letters, but still impressed with the service received.  I believe the letter may be provided by other insurance companies.

[not-enough-cruising]

3 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I ended up with seven unused policies that I purchased through insuremytrip.com.  I requested and received seven vouchers, then matched four of them up with similar (cost wise) cruises earlier this week.  I now have four insured cruises (for an additional $81 total), with a letter included with each;  “To whom it may concern”,  detailing our COVID coverage along with all of the details of the trip.  We are vaccinated and don’t need the letters, but still impressed with the service received.  I believe the letter may be provided by other insurance companies.

Just a little PSA; if you have bought 7 trip policies lately, you may want to investigate an annual policy, I am pretty confident you will be saving money. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Just a little PSA; if you have bought 7 trip policies lately, you may want to investigate an annual policy, I am pretty confident you will be saving money. 

Yes, we researched that last week and will be purchasing an annual plan from Allianz immediately after the seventh cruise.  We were surprised at the relatively low cost once we checked it out, as we thought it would be much more expensive than it is.  It will also be nice to be covered during land trips.

[not-enough-cruising]

7 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

Yes, we researched that last week and will be purchasing an annual plan from Allianz immediately after the seventh cruise.  We were surprised at the relatively low cost once we checked it out, as we thought it would be much more expensive than it is.  It will also be nice to be covered during land trips.

Good for you. We discovered the same thing a couple years ago, I was really surprised at the affordability of the annual policies, plus it takes one less “action item” off of the “to do” list with each booking; we already know we are covered

[Babr]

1 hour ago, BopRN said:

We never get insurance through RCCL. Clark Howard says you should always get insurance from a 3rd party because the tour company places their own interests before yours. 

 

7 Things to Know Before You Buy Travel Insurance - Clark Howard

The reference to a tour company is not necessarily the same thing as a cruise line.

 

The cruise-line branded policies are underwritten by major insurers and sold by the cruise lines as a convenience to their quests and, yes, a profit maker.
 

They often add cancel-for-any-reason vouchers which is not part of the insurance. That can be an incentive to purchase because the same coverage is an add-on for third party policies at extra cost. The difference is voucher vs. cash at at reduced pay out, sometimes only 75%.

 

Another advantage of cruise-line insurance is that the premium does not increase with the age of the policy holder. Some find the modest medical/evacuation coverage acceptable as a trade off. It provides some protection in addition to their primary insurance.

 

Don’t dismiss cruise-line insurance out of hand. It provides comprehensive coverage that can be useful depending on the needs of the person buying it.

[Brucemcdou]

On 7/20/2021 at 4:50 AM, Babr said:

There is no mention of quarantine expenses. If you test positive at some point but do not require medical treatment, you will have to wait until you test negative to return home. If you are disembarked to quarantine, the trip interruption clause would apply. 

This is something that confuses me.  We have travel insurance for an upcoming transatlantic on Harmony OTS leaving Barcelona.  The travel insurance does not exclude COVID, thus it covers COVID like any other illness.  We are vaccinated but, as we all now know, we can still be infected and test positive.  So lets say we get to Barcelona, get a PCR test at a health clinic there in preparation for boarding, the test is positive and thus RCCL denies us boarding.  The particular cruise only has one port stop on day 3 (Malaga) which I presume would be too soon after the positive test for them to allow us to board there.  Then it's at sea for 12 days and we couldn't "rejoin" the cruise.  

 

Is that "trip interruption"?  We're not sick so it's not covered under the medical coverage, and we won't need to be medivacced.  We'll just need to sit in a hotel for 14 days in Spain to be allowed to reenter the USA.  Is all of that extra cost covered by travel insurance: the lost cruise, the hotel during quarantine, incidental expenses, cancellation of our flight from Orlando back home, and the return flight home from BCN?  

 

 

[Babr]

If you test positive in Barcelona, it would come under Trip Interruption because you had already commenced travel to get to Barcelona from your home. 
 

That provision of your policy pays somewhere between 100% to 150% (check your policy)  of your trip cost to reimburse you for unused days and expenses to return home. You’d have to pay for hotels, food, rebooking of air, and incidentals then file a claim once you returned home. You may be booked into a quarantine hotel contracted for that purpose at a reasonable rate. 
 

You’ll be reimbursed up to the policy limit, but the total trip cost will be pro-rated for the days you did use. The amount you get may not cover all expenses if you have to quarantine for several days until you can test negative for the return flight. 

 

There is at least one policy that I know of that allows up to $2,000 for quarantine expenses, Trawick International, but you already have insurance so that is what matters.

 

All of this is new ground. The best thing to do is call your insurance company for clarification. If you do, I’d like to know what they say.

[greatestvalue]

I was looking at RCL Insurance today and it only covers up to $50,000 for evacuation.  My prior policies covered up to 1 million.  

 

So Im leary to take it, as I cant imagine 50k being enough if medical evacuation would be needed. 

 

[Babr]

8 minutes ago, greatestvalue said:

I was looking at RCL Insurance today and it only covers up to $50,000 for evacuation.  My prior policies covered up to 1 million.  

 

So Im leary to take it, as I cant imagine 50k being enough if medical evacuation would be needed. 

 

Evacuation means transporting you to the nearest appropriate facility. It does not mean you’ll be air lifted from the ship. Even if you were, that service is provided by our equivalent of the Coast Guard, depending on where you are. It is done at no cost to you. 

 

Most often a patient who needs medical care beyond the scope of the ship’s facilities is disembarked at the first opportunity and transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital capable of caring for him. In the age of Covid even MedJet Assist, a separate policy for evacuation, is not flying patients with active infections. You don’t get to decide anyway. It is up to the attending physician and the receiving physician along with concurrence from the insurance company doctors. When you have recovered enough to fly, you will be returned home by commercial air.

 

Since Royal is requiring coverage for unvaccinated passengers, I expect they determined, with the help of their underwriters, what would be an adequate amount. Adventure cruises to exotic locations often require quests to have a significantly higher dollar limit, but mostly insurance companies offer million dollar evacuation because they know it rarely costs anywhere near that much. It provides peace of mind, thus incentive to buy for the policy holder with little risk to the insurer.

 

 

 

 

[greatestvalue]

5 minutes ago, Babr said:

Evacuation means transporting you to the nearest appropriate facility. It does not mean you’ll be air lifted from the ship. Even if you were, that service is provided by our equivalent of the Coast Guard, depending on where you are. It is done at no cost to you. 

 

Most often a patient who needs medical care beyond the scope of the ship’s facilities is disembarked at the first opportunity and transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital capable of caring for him. In the age of Covid even MedJet Assist, a separate policy for evacuation, is not flying patients with active infections. You don’t get to decide anyway. It is up to the attending physician and the receiving physician along with concurrence from the insurance company doctors. When you have recovered enough to fly, you will be returned home by commercial air.

 

Since Royal is requiring coverage for unvaccinated passengers, I expect they determined, with the help of their underwriters, what would be an adequate amount. Adventure cruises to exotic locations often require quests to have a significantly higher dollar limit, but mostly insurance companies offer million dollar evacuation because they know it rarely costs anywhere near that much. It provides peace of mind, thus incentive to buy for the policy holder with little risk to the insurer.

 

 

 

 

@Babr- I had no idea of that 1st paragraph. I just always imagined they had to come get you in the middle of the ocean in a helicopter.  Didnt even think to imagine Yeah!! who else would do it other than the Coast Guard or equivalent. 

 

Perfect explanation - and your response certainly debunked a bunch of myths I imagined with travel insurance. - Thank you!!

[Babr]

4 minutes ago, greatestvalue said:

@Babr- I had no idea of that 1st paragraph. I just always imagined they had to come get you in the middle of the ocean in a helicopter.  Didnt even think to imagine Yeah!! who else would do it other than the Coast Guard or equivalent. 

 

Perfect explanation - and your response certainly debunked a bunch of myths I imagined with travel insurance. - Thank you!!

Such evacuations do happen. They are just not routine.  It has to be a matter of imminent life or death. And the ship has to be within range of the helicopter with acceptable weather conditions. Sometimes it is just not possible - say on a transAtlantic. That is why they have morgues on the ship.

[SRF]

18 hours ago, Babr said:

Evacuation means transporting you to the nearest appropriate facility. It does not mean you’ll be air lifted from the ship. Even if you were, that service is provided by our equivalent of the Coast Guard, depending on where you are. It is done at no cost to you. 

 

Most often a patient who needs medical care beyond the scope of the ship’s facilities is disembarked at the first opportunity and transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital capable of caring for him. In the age of Covid even MedJet Assist, a separate policy for evacuation, is not flying patients with active infections. You don’t get to decide anyway. It is up to the attending physician and the receiving physician along with concurrence from the insurance company doctors. When you have recovered enough to fly, you will be returned home by commercial air.

 

Since Royal is requiring coverage for unvaccinated passengers, I expect they determined, with the help of their underwriters, what would be an adequate amount. Adventure cruises to exotic locations often require quests to have a significantly higher dollar limit, but mostly insurance companies offer million dollar evacuation because they know it rarely costs anywhere near that much. It provides peace of mind, thus incentive to buy for the policy holder with little risk to the insurer.

 

 

Sort of true.

 

Medevac coverage will cover getting you from the closest hospital to home, even if you have not recovered.  And no, it is does not need to be commercial air.

 

And yes, med evac can run hundreds of thousands if in flight care is required.

 

My mother had an issue in Halifax on a cruise.  She was taken by ambulance to the local hospital.  My Dad and I disembarked to deal with it.  After about 3 - 4 days, we had her med evaced to DC, where she passed a couple of days later.

 

Med evac for Halifax to DC (in 2014) was $29,000.  It was a Learjet with medical attendant.  There was room for my Dad to ride along.

 

And yes, this was the insurance though RCCL.

[Babr]

1 minute ago, SRF said:

 

Sort of true.

 

Medevac coverage will cover getting you from the closest hospital to home, even if you have not recovered.  And no, it is does not need to be commercial air.

 

And yes, med evac can run hundreds of thousands if in flight care is required.

 

My mother had an issue in Halifax on a cruise.  She was taken by ambulance to the local hospital.  My Dad and I disembarked to deal with it.  After about 3 - 4 days, we had her med evaced to DC, where she passed a couple of days later.

 

Med evac for Halifax to DC (in 2014) was $29,000.  It was a Learjet with medical attendant.  There was room for my Dad to ride along.

 

And yes, this was the insurance though RCCL.

Sorry that you lost your mother and that you had to do so under the extraordinary circumstances of travel.

 

I am aware that people are returned home by air ambulance  before they fully recover.  When the local hospital has stabilized the patient so that it is reasonably safe to transfer, the process can be accomplished with an air ambulance so that the patient can be treated long term at a hospital nearer home. That usually means the patient needs a higher level of care for a longer period of time.

 

That is the real value of evacuation coverage. Yes, it can be terribly expensive depending on where you are and the level of care needed. I’m glad you had the insurance and that it provided you the assistance you needed.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

On 7/20/2021 at 7:50 AM, Babr said:

The Healthy Sail page says it does in the section that explains the requirement for insurance for the unvaccinated. There are links that take you to the actual policy. You have to enter your state to  read the policy that applies to you because the state laws that govern insurance are different.

 

I looked at the policy for my state, and it lists the minimum dollar amounts required by Royal, as expected. It does not mention Covid specifically nor does it exclude it, so it is covering it as any other illness.

 

One thing to note is the evacuation clause. You will be transported to nearest appropriate facility for treatment. After recovery, you will be flown home by commercial air, the most economical and direct route. Don’t expect a chartered jet to whisk you away home.

 

There is no mention of quarantine expenses. If you test positive at some point but do not require medical treatment, you will have to wait until you test negative to return home. If you are disembarked to quarantine, the trip interruption clause would apply. 
 

If you choose to purchase your  insurance from a third-party supplier, you are required to present the policy at check in.

 

You’d expect a Royal representative to know the policies and requirements, but things are changing fast. Perhaps the one you spoke to was not up to date on training. I’d go by what is in writing on the website. You’ve done your due diligence.

Trip interruption is 150% of your base cruise fare. 
If your cruise is free from the casino,

150% x 0= ZERO dollars. 
I couldn’t find a minimum that they WOULD pay. 

[Babr]

5 minutes ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

Trip interruption is 150% of your base cruise fare. 
If your cruise is free from the casino,

150% x 0= ZERO dollars. 
I couldn’t find a minimum that they WOULD pay. 

You are correct. People sometimes put in 0 or a minimum amount when they want to reduce the cost of insurance. By doing that, they still get medical and evacuation, but not cancellation or any of the travel related benefits such as trip delay or trip interruption. You could do that if you want the med/evac coverage, but it looks like you’ll be on the hook if it comes to quarantine and rebooking your return flight. I suppose it is a trade off for a free cruise.

[scorpluvsdolphins]

3 hours ago, Babr said:

You are correct. People sometimes put in 0 or a minimum amount when they want to reduce the cost of insurance. By doing that, they still get medical and evacuation, but not cancellation or any of the travel related benefits such as trip delay or trip interruption. You could do that if you want the med/evac coverage, but it looks like you’ll be on the hook if it comes to quarantine and rebooking your return flight. I suppose it is a trade off for a free cruise.

No. I spend less than $20 per cruise and get $7,500 trip interruption with primary medical as I put in cost of cruise ZERO. Squaremouth or insuremytrip.  

[Babr]

7 hours ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

No. I spend less than $20 per cruise and get $7,500 trip interruption with primary medical as I put in cost of cruise ZERO. Squaremouth or insuremytrip.  

Misunderstood. I thought you said you could not find one that would pay at 0.