Advice please - reasonable covid+cruise insurance for one week Noumea cruise

[Tripmode33]

Our friends joined us in booking a last minute cruise to Noumea/Lifou/mystery island. While our complimentary credit card insurance provides the necessary covid & cruise cover (ANZ) that we need to produce, their's does not (Commonwealth).

They are in early 70's and are having trouble finding anything under $500 for the one week trip (no pre existing medical issues). Some appear to cover both covid and cruise, but exclude covid if cruising if read details/PDS.

Has anyone in similar situation found reasonably priced cover?

Thank you for your advice or thoughts.

[SinbadThePorter]

Have you tried Qantas travel insurance?

[Cruisers47]

6 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Have you tried Qantas travel insurance?

I think Qantas travel insurance is only for under 70s.

Our credit card insurance with Bankwest , which is with Covermore has an extras which should be able to add on for much less.   
 

given that Bankwest and Commonwealth are the same company it might be worth asking!
 

Eileen

[Ozwoody]

33 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

I think Qantas travel insurance is only for under 70s.

Our credit card insurance with Bankwest , which is with Covermore has an extras which should be able to add on for much less.   
 

given that Bankwest and Commonwealth are the same company it might be worth asking!
 

Eileen

Bankwest cc insurance I believe does not cover for Covid.

Probably should check that.

 

[cheznandy]

7 hours ago, Tripmode33 said:

Our friends joined us in booking a last minute cruise to Noumea/Lifou/mystery island. While our complimentary credit card insurance provides the necessary covid & cruise cover (ANZ) that we need to produce, their's does not (Commonwealth).

They are in early 70's and are having trouble finding anything under $500 for the one week trip (no pre existing medical issues). Some appear to cover both covid and cruise, but exclude covid if cruising if read details/PDS.

Has anyone in similar situation found reasonably priced cover?

Thank you for your advice or thoughts.

Have a look at Alliance travel insurance, travel.alliance.com.au

A total of $344 including the Cruise pack, I put in South Pacific and two adults aged 75.

Their plans exclude Pandemics in general but when you add the cruise pack it is an inclusion, have a read of the PDS.

Same Alliance Global as your ANZ CC insurance.

 

I was so surprised at the cost of being over 70 for insurance, I had a look at Insure and Go and it was over $1000!

[Galesa]

9 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Have a look at Alliance travel insurance, travel.alliance.com.au

A total of $344 including the Cruise pack, I put in South Pacific and two adults aged 75.

Their plans exclude Pandemics in general but when you add the cruise pack it is an inclusion, have a read of the PDS.

Same Alliance Global as your ANZ CC insurance.

 

I was so surprised at the cost of being over 70 for insurance, I had a look at Insure and Go and it was over $1000!

Currently on a 14 day South Pacific. Cover with Covermore $1300 including EMCs with Covid cover I'm 70, DW 62. Ouch!!

 

Looking around at some of my "shipmates" , their ages and levels of infirmary, I'm stunned that they can TI at all. And it's essential for travelling to Fiji, as we are (they view certificate of insurance as we board). I'm so  tempted to ask from whom and how much....but that would be really rude. 

[Ozwoody]

For Info attached Comparison of CC Travel Insurance Last update Dec 2022

[mum and son]

I used Qantas travel insurance last month for my parents who are in their late 80s. It covers a wide range of pre-existing conditions and I also added a couple more and I recall it was around $400. Some others were over $1000.

 

You have the option to select South Pacific cruise as a destination, and then add New Calendonia and Vanuatu and it covers covid.

 

There is some interesting wording in the PDS around needing to get approval from their authorised doctor before incurring costs (even in an emergency) and I haven't seen that tested anywhere. A phone call to them said that was butt-covering wording to prevent frivolous claims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruisers47]

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

Bankwest cc insurance I believe does not cover for Covid.

Probably should check that.

 

No but you can add extra to their free cover by calling the number they provide to give you Covid cover, cruise cover and extra cancellation costs at least less than another separate policies.   Worth a phone call.   We have added it to our overseas trip for us both being over 70.

 

Eileen

[Ozwoody]

1 minute ago, Cruisers47 said:

No but you can add extra to their free cover by calling the number they provide to give you Covid cover, cruise cover and extra cancellation costs at least less than another separate policies.   Worth a phone call.   We have added it to our overseas trip for us both being over 70.

 

Eileen

That's not in their pds, so that's great info.

If you could do that with Combank it would be a game changer for us.

Were in our late 70s so have been having difficulty in getting reasonable travel cover.

[lissie]

If they've had Covid - maybe just skip the coverage for that ? The chance of getting seriously ill if you've been vaccinated and had hte infection is vanishingly low as far as I can work out. Even less so for short 7 day cruise. If you get infected on board it won't show up until you're home 

[Galesa]

47 minutes ago, mum and son said:

I used Qantas travel insurance last month for my parents who are in their late 80s. It covers a wide range of pre-existing conditions and I also added a couple more and I recall it was around $400. Some others were over $1000.

 

You have the option to select South Pacific cruise as a destination, and then add New Calendonia and Vanuatu and it covers covid.

 

There is some interesting wording in the PDS around needing to get approval from their authorised doctor before incurring costs (even in an emergency) and I haven't seen that tested anywhere. A phone call to them said that was butt-covering wording to prevent frivolous claims.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have very (very) mild angina. Am fit as a fiddle and exercise well, daily. Unfortunately Qantas will not cover that EMC. Shame as I'd have a whole heap of FF points by now.

[cruiser3775]

1 hour ago, lissie said:

f they've had Covid - maybe just skip the coverage for that ? The chance of getting seriously ill if you've been vaccinated and had hte infection is vanishingly low as far as I can work out.

But what happens if you get Covid a week before the cruise?  You need to be covered for cancellation if you are too ill to travel, and I know from experience that if you are older it takes a while to get well again.

[Ozwoody]

2 hours ago, lissie said:

If they've had Covid - maybe just skip the coverage for that ? The chance of getting seriously ill if you've been vaccinated and had hte infection is vanishingly low as far as I can work out. Even less so for short 7 day cruise. If you get infected on board it won't show up until you're home 

On our last cruise it was not and option, no Covid insurance no cruise, as ship required you were covid covered in case you required disembarking at a foreign port, that would only accept you if you were covered for medical treatment.

[lissie]

2 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

But what happens if you get Covid a week before the cruise?  You need to be covered for cancellation if you are too ill to travel, and I know from experience that if you are older it takes a while to get well again.

We were very, very careful to not get sick before we got on our cruises - as we had to test negative - we masked - ate outside - avoided crowded bus tours and similar 

[lissie]

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

On our last cruise it was not and option, no Covid insurance no cruise, as ship required you were covid covered in case you required disembarking at a foreign port, that would only accept you if you were covered for medical treatment.

Curious -did they actually check? I don't think they can enforce that in Asutralia and NZ -certainly on Cunard - UK residents were being told that had to have Covid cover while we were "advised" to have insurance (any) . We had insurance but not for Covid cover.  Both cruises had plenty of Covid on them exactly zero people were medivacced off because of Covid - its just not a thing anymore 

[cruiser3775]

It is not up to the ship. If it is a governme nt requirement , then you will be checked by customs at the port.

[Ozwoody]

51 minutes ago, lissie said:

Curious -did they actually check? I don't think they can enforce that in Asutralia and NZ -certainly on Cunard - UK residents were being told that had to have Covid cover while we were "advised" to have insurance (any) . We had insurance but not for Covid cover.  Both cruises had plenty of Covid on them exactly zero people were medivacced off because of Covid - its just not a thing anymore 

It was part of the P&O cruise check in apps, you had to confirm your covid insurance, and who the insurer was.

[Tripmode33]

8 hours ago, cheznandy said:

Have a look at Alliance travel insurance, travel.alliance.com.au

A total of $344 including the Cruise pack, I put in South Pacific and two adults aged 75.

Their plans exclude Pandemics in general but when you add the cruise pack it is an inclusion, have a read of the PDS.

Same Alliance Global as your ANZ CC insurance.

 

I was so surprised at the cost of being over 70 for insurance, I had a look at Insure and Go and it was over $1000!

Thanks. Yes, Allianz so far the best value. You can increase the excess and reduce cancellation limit to give a figure around $300. The cruise cost very little so no need for high cancellation cover.

[Tripmode33]

15 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

Have you tried Qantas travel insurance?

Thanks. I've had a look now. Qantas does have separate cover quote for 'over 70' but it is more expensive than others.

[Tripmode33]

8 hours ago, Galesa said:

Currently on a 14 day South Pacific. Cover with Covermore $1300 including EMCs with Covid cover I'm 70, DW 62. Ouch!!

 

Looking around at some of my "shipmates" , their ages and levels of infirmary, I'm stunned that they can TI at all. And it's essential for travelling to Fiji, as we are (they view certificate of insurance as we board). I'm so  tempted to ask from whom and how much....but that would be really rude. 

Agree - ouch!  It really does add to the cost of a simple south pacific cruise. Even though it's required, like you I really wonder if everyone has cover!

[Tripmode33]

8 hours ago, Ozwoody said:

For Info attached Comparison of CC Travel Insurance Last update Dec 2022

That is really helpful. Thanks 🙏

[Tripmode33]

7 hours ago, lissie said:

If they've had Covid - maybe just skip the coverage for that ? The chance of getting seriously ill if you've been vaccinated and had hte infection is vanishingly low as far as I can work out. Even less so for short 7 day cruise. If you get infected on board it won't show up until you're home 

As others have said, some destinations (including New Caledonia) make it mandatory to have insurance cover for cruising and covid. Even applies if not disembarking ship at the ports. Others on forum have stated that they had to produce documentation in order to board on embarkation day. So we can't really risk not having it.

[Tripmode33]

9 hours ago, Cruisers47 said:

I think Qantas travel insurance is only for under 70s.

Our credit card insurance with Bankwest , which is with Covermore has an extras which should be able to add on for much less.   
 

given that Bankwest and Commonwealth are the same company it might be worth asking!
 

Eileen

Thanks. Not sure about Bankwest, but definitely with Commonwealth Bank Card insurance, you can add extra cruise cover for sure, and not very expensive, but it definitely doesn't cover covid if on a multi day cruise. 

It would pay to double check the 'General Exclusions' on Bankwest cover just to be sure.

Other less expensive Covermore products such as Australia Post Travel Insurance definitely cover cruising, but again exclude covid if cruising.

[Cruisers47]

2 hours ago, Tripmode33 said:

Thanks. Not sure about Bankwest, but definitely with Commonwealth Bank Card insurance, you can add extra cruise cover for sure, and not very expensive, but it definitely doesn't cover covid if on a multi day cruise. 

It would pay to double check the 'General Exclusions' on Bankwest cover just to be sure.

Other less expensive Covermore products such as Australia Post Travel Insurance definitely cover cruising, but again exclude covid if cruising.

Why is life not easy for us lovely people who just want to cruise?.   We add to the economy but wait they want the economy to slow!!  In my last years I just want to have a few easy holidays with my meals cooked, my bed made and my shower cleaned!

 

is it too much to ask 🤣😎❤️

 

Eileen