Cruise insurance recommendations

[arxcards]

27 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I guess it depends what you call a cheapie. 🤣

An annual policy MIGHT  be cheaper than two individual trip policies. It’s worth looking into. YMMV

It should be. We have one. In our case, we get 3 domestic cruises on an annual policy for the price of the two smallest ones. The one thing that affects the price of the annual ones is the max number of days per trip. Pricing is really good for a max of 21 days per trip, but climbs up a bit for longer ones. Then again, insuring for longer individual trips gets exxy too.

[Sparky74]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

It should be. We have one. In our case, we get 3 domestic cruises on an annual policy for the price of the two smallest ones. The one thing that affects the price of the annual ones is the max number of days per trip. Pricing is really good for a max of 21 days per trip, but climbs up a bit for longer ones. Then again, insuring for longer individual trips gets exxy too.

Tell me about it! We’re embarking on a 55 day holiday later this year. 

[arxcards]

7 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Tell me about it! We’re embarking on a 55 day holiday later this year. 

Didn't your post start with .... Are we mad ...? 😁

[pn1]

I have ANZ and Amex credit cards that offer "free travel insurance". Prior to COVID-19, I relied on them for my overseas travels whilst my partner made her own arrangements.

 

With the pandemic, we are getting nervous about the "free travel insurance" and have looked into an annual multi-trip policy that covers:

our ages (71 and 67)
would cover our next trip that is 64 days
would cover a cruise planned for October 2022

 

We have looked at the various postings on here and also several company websites. We remain very confused! We are experienced travellers and have no pre-existing medical conditions. 

Maybe there are others on here in the similar age group with similar requirements?

And thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.

[Aus Traveller]

3 minutes ago, pn1 said:

I have ANZ and Amex credit cards that offer "free travel insurance". Prior to COVID-19, I relied on them for my overseas travels whilst my partner made her own arrangements.

 

With the pandemic, we are getting nervous about the "free travel insurance" and have looked into an annual multi-trip policy that covers:

our ages (71 and 67)
would cover our next trip that is 64 days
would cover a cruise planned for October 2022

 

We have looked at the various postings on here and also several company websites. We remain very confused! We are experienced travellers and have no pre-existing medical conditions. 

Maybe there are others on here in the similar age group with similar requirements?

And thoughts or suggestions would be most appreciated.

Why are you worried about the free travel insurance attached to your credit cards? We are happy to rely on our ANZ visa card insurance. I read the pds recently and can't see anything of concern.

[cruiser3775]

1Cover is definitely still in business. I bought a policy from them a couple of weeks ago. It included Covid cover on board, and a much more generous listing of pre-existing medical conditions (that didn't require extra premiums)  than the insurance linked to Princess.

[SuitesRbest]

NO Cancellation cover if related to coronavirus? see below.

Cover for cancellation fees and lost deposits for pre-paid travel arrangements due to unforeseen circumstances neither expected nor intended by you, and which are outside your control, such as; sickness, injuries, strikes, collisions, retrenchment and natural disasters. Note: All policies contain an epidemic/pandemic exclusion and you will not be covered for any trip cancellation costs relating to the coronavirus.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, SuitesRbest said:

NO Cancellation cover if related to coronavirus? see below.

Cover for cancellation fees and lost deposits for pre-paid travel arrangements due to unforeseen circumstances neither expected nor intended by you, and which are outside your control, such as; sickness, injuries, strikes, collisions, retrenchment and natural disasters. Note: All policies contain an epidemic/pandemic exclusion and you will not be covered for any trip cancellation costs relating to the coronavirus.

Yeah, it is as clear as mud.

- Princess will currently give you a future credit up to the gangway if you are unable to have a negative test prior to embarkation, so that is covered.

- P&O will currently give you a future credit up to 14 days from sailing, for pretty much any reason. There are no conditions detailed around any credits if you are unable to sail because of a positive test prior to boarding.

- The other cruise lines aren't close enough to sailing here to have anything specific on this in Australia

 

The endemic/pandemic exclusion applies to any government decisions to close borders or ports. If you were unable to cruise due to testing positive to covid, it would be about medically unfit to travel, and that isn't clear as to whether it is an exclusion in that section either. If you catch it on the ship, you are medically covered, so it is hard to fathom why the coverage wouldn't extend to being covered for the 7 days prior to boarding.

 

I am awaiting an answer from 1cover

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'm very impressed with Insure & Go. In January 2020 we renewed our annual Gold policy with them. In March 2020 they offered us a choice of deferring that policy or getting a pro-rata refund. We chose the deferral offer.

 

I just phoned them.

Yes, my policy is still valid.

Yes, I can choose when to reactivate it.

Yes, it covers Covid

 

If I reactivate it around the 10th June it will cover all of our booked cruises, domestic and international (excl US etc) through to early April. That's five cruises - June 22, Aug 22, Sep 22, Jan 23 and Mar 23. 

 

I'm very happy about that. 😊

[Ondine]

3 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm very impressed with Insure & Go. In January 2020 we renewed our annual Gold policy with them. In March 2020 they offered us a choice of deferring that policy or getting a pro-rata refund. We chose the deferral offer.

I just phoned them.

Yes, my policy is still valid.

Yes, I can choose when to reactivate it.

Yes, it covers Covid

If I reactivate it around the 10th June it will cover all of our booked cruises, domestic and international (excl US etc) through to early April. That's five cruises - June 22, Aug 22, Sep 22, Jan 23 and Mar 23. 

I'm very happy about that. 😊

 

But this is from their website.  They are not covering cruising at the moment. I always used to use them.  I am confused.

Please, note we are currently not offering Cruise, Annual Multi-trip or Backpacker policies. Check the website regularly for further updates

[OzKiwiJJ]

20 minutes ago, Ondine said:

 

But this is from their website.  They are not covering cruising at the moment. I always used to use them.  I am confused.

Please, note we are currently not offering Cruise, Annual Multi-trip or Backpacker policies. Check the website regularly for further updates

That doesn't mean you aren't covered for standard travel insurance items while on a cruise, it just means they aren't offering the cruise extras policies at the moment. We never thought those were worth getting anyway. 

 

The guy I talked to confirmed we would get Covid cover even though the policy we are reactivating was an annual policy. In fact since our policy had no pandemic restrictions we would be covered for cancellations of any travel due to illness regardless, and Princess cover everything if you contract Covid onboard.

[arxcards]

35 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

That doesn't mean you aren't covered for standard travel insurance items while on a cruise, it just means they aren't offering the cruise extras policies at the moment. We never thought those were worth getting anyway. 

 

The guy I talked to confirmed we would get Covid cover even though the policy we are reactivating was an annual policy. In fact since our policy had no pandemic restrictions we would be covered for cancellations of any travel due to illness regardless, and Princess cover everything if you contract Covid onboard.

I am glad you have had your policy continued, and is perfect for you. For anyone getting a new policy, they also aren't doing annual policies ATM. 

[SinbadThePorter]

I'm still trying to get my head around cruise insurance during covid.

 

If I'm traveling on Princess and test positive to covid before I get onboard, I can't go, but Princess will give me the fare back as Future Cruise Credits.

 

If I catch covid onboard, I will be quarantined, but all onboard covid related medical expenses will be covered by Princess. Plus I'll be given FCC for each day in quarantine.

 

So if I'm OK with getting FCCs, then essentially Princess is covering covid for my cruise and I don't need any covid cover from a third party insurance provider?

 

So is there any point to looking for covid insurance coverage?

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I am glad you have had your policy continued, and is perfect for you. For anyone getting a new policy, they also aren't doing annual policies ATM. 

I believe that's correct. I'd revved myself up for a bit of a battle over that so I was very pleasantly surprised to hear our annual policy could reactivate with no hassles. Still we did leave our money with them during the closures and I guess they took that into account.

[OzKiwiJJ]

20 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

I'm still trying to get my head around cruise insurance during covid.

 

If I'm traveling on Princess and test positive to covid before I get onboard, I can't go, but Princess will give me the fare back as Future Cruise Credits.

 

If I catch covid onboard, I will be quarantined, but all onboard covid related medical expenses will be covered by Princess. Plus I'll be given FCC for each day in quarantine.

 

So if I'm OK with getting FCCs, then essentially Princess is covering covid for my cruise and I don't need any covid cover from a third party insurance provider?

 

So is there any point to looking for covid insurance coverage?

It's not very clear what happens if you test positive a few days before you're due to embark, ie outside the testing window.  Princess have said they will give your fare as FCC if you test positive in a pre-embarkation test and hopefully they would extend the FCC option to cover that event as well. 

 

Also if you have pre or post cruise travel booked - flights, accommodation etc - and have to cancel you might need travel insurance to cover those.

[arxcards]

24 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

I'm still trying to get my head around cruise insurance during covid.

 

If I'm traveling on Princess and test positive to covid before I get onboard, I can't go, but Princess will give me the fare back as Future Cruise Credits.

 

If I catch covid onboard, I will be quarantined, but all onboard covid related medical expenses will be covered by Princess. Plus I'll be given FCC for each day in quarantine.

 

So if I'm OK with getting FCCs, then essentially Princess is covering covid for my cruise and I don't need any covid cover from a third party insurance provider?

 

So is there any point to looking for covid insurance coverage?

For Princess, I would currently say no. Their current terms expire later in the year (I think), so maybe that will change.

 

The only part I haven't examined around that is if you become seriously ill from covid and they decide to medivac you.

[SinbadThePorter]

5 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It's not very clear what happens if you test positive a few days before you're due to embark, ie outside the testing window.

 

I would presume that you'd just test yourself again within the testing window and report that result.

[arxcards]

7 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I would presume that you'd just test yourself again within the testing window and report that result.

No. You just need to complete their health survey and that will disqualify you and any household close contacts from boarding and trigger a cancellation turned into FCCs. This is supported by uploading your positive test result to your state's health department. 

 

Note - For NSW there is a 7 day isolation period. For Princess you are disqualified and excluded from boarding for 10 days.

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by arxcards

[Aus Traveller]

15 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I believe that's correct. I'd revved myself up for a bit of a battle over that so I was very pleasantly surprised to hear our annual policy could reactivate with no hassles. Still we did leave our money with them during the closures and I guess they took that into account.

It's funny that you revved yourself up for a battle. I have found that whenever I expected a battle, the situation (whatever it was) was resolved without difficulty, but when I thought there wouldn't be any problems, that's when it ended up in a battle. 🤣

Edited May 19, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[Aus Traveller]

15 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It's not very clear what happens if you test positive a few days before you're due to embark, ie outside the testing window.  Princess have said they will give your fare as FCC if you test positive in a pre-embarkation test and hopefully they would extend the FCC option to cover that event as well.

Simple - If a person tested positive a few days before their cruise, they could take the required test within 24 hours of their cruise, and voila, they test positive. Report that test result but not the earlier one.

[Aus Traveller]

15 hours ago, arxcards said:

For Princess, I would currently say no. Their current terms expire later in the year (I think), so maybe that will change.

 

The only part I haven't examined around that is if you become seriously ill from covid and they decide to medivac you.

On these initial cruises, there is only a day or two at sea between ports. Maybe the doctor on board would disembark people who were quite ill while they are in port, rather than take the risk that they would deteriorate further while the ship was at sea. I suppose it would also depend on how many people they can care for on board. COVID positive people are initially treated in the quarantine cabins, and only the sickest would be moved to the medical centre where there are limited beds. Maybe this area has been extended during the pause in cruising.

[arxcards]

11 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

On these initial cruises, there is only a day or two at sea between ports. Maybe the doctor on board would disembark people who were quite ill while they are in port, rather than take the risk that they would deteriorate further while the ship was at sea. I suppose it would also depend on how many people they can care for on board. COVID positive people are initially treated in the quarantine cabins, and only the sickest would be moved to the medical centre where there are limited beds. Maybe this area has been extended during the pause in cruising.

It would all depend on whether it triggers an emergency response, ie, with someone having trouble breathing. Unlikely that someone would progress from testing negative prior to boarding to being gravely ill on a short cruise, but still possible.

 

I think the low risk would be accepted as something that doesn't require insuring for a majority of us, but still a risk all the same.

[OzKiwiJJ]

29 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

It's funny that you revved yourself up for a battle. I have found that whenever I expected a battle, the situation (whatever it was) was resolved without difficulty, but when I thought there wouldn't be any problems, that's when it ended up in a battle. 🤣

Yes, that does seem to be the case.

 

Still insurance companies are tricky beasts so best to be mentally prepared before tackling them.

[arxcards]

21 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

Simple - If a person tested positive a few days before their cruise, they could take the required test within 24 hours of their cruise, and voila, they test positive. Report that test result but not the earlier one.

The first test has already provided for non-boarding on covid grounds per the survey.

 

Scenario. You have a mild case with minimal symptoms, so your positive test was taken well into the infection period. You take another test the day before boarding and it returns a negative result. Now there is a dilemma, and a rhetorical question.

 

Do you ignore your earlier positive and pretend it didn't happen, or answer the health survey truthfully like everyone has always done with their health forms?

[Aus Traveller]

6 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, that does seem to be the case.

 

Still insurance companies are tricky beasts so best to be mentally prepared before tackling them.

I have found that the best way to get a good result in any 'battle' is to expect a tough battle, then it usually goes smoothly without any battle at all. 😁 This method usually works for me even though it isn't at all logical.