Who has the "real" answer about insurance.

[theroos]

The impression I get from reading all these posts about travel insurance is that if a CRUISE LINE cancels the cruise (for whatever reason) you get nothing back except if you have insurance. Is this true? I agree that if you do not have insurance, that you should get nothing for what ever the reason is you do not make it to the ship.

[smeyer418]

No its not true. If the Cruise line cancels you get your money back. If you can't make it to the ship for whatever reason(family, illness, travel problems, accident etc) and the ships sails and you have don't have insurance your money travels with the ship....

[rjg41]

Also, many just think of the insurance for covering the cost of the trip. It offers a much bigger protection for medical costs. The insurance basically covers medical costs not paid by your medical insurer and they could be substantial. For first time cruisers, you might be surprised to know that use of the on board medical facilities, even for sea sickness, is not free and the fees are high. Also, talk to anyone who has had to be medically evacuated to get back home. Costs can easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

No matter what your age, cruise insurance is a good investment.

[darkauf]

We always take Access America insurance. Especially since my husband and I have pre-existing conditions so we take it as soon as we book our cruise. If done within 10 days, they cover all pre-existing conditions. Recently we noticed that their coverages have expanded for little or no increase in the dollar amount. Only once did we forget to take the insurance and that was this past December when we had a snow storm for the second time on 12/6 (my birthday) and we made it out of NY the day before we sailed on the last plane that left La Guardia at 7:00 a.m. We landed in a different airport but who cared...no flights left NY for that day and the next and we would have definately missed the cruise and lost everything. I don't remember why we didn't take insurance but the extra $131 it costs Larry and I to have the insurance is well worth it. We think of it as part of the cost of the vacation. It is the best money we could ever spend. There are several other insurance companies that offer very good insurance, we just use the one above.

 

Darlene & Larry;)

[theroos]

Thanks for the info. You are right that It is good for medical which most people forget about including me.

[Cruise Miriam]

Also, many just think of the insurance for covering the cost of the trip. It offers a much bigger protection for medical costs. The insurance basically covers medical costs not paid by your medical insurer and they could be substantial. For first time cruisers, you might be surprised to know that use of the on board medical facilities, even for sea sickness, is not free and the fees are high. Also, talk to anyone who has had to be medically evacuated to get back home. Costs can easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

No matter what your age, cruise insurance is a good investment.

This is so true. I've had to spend time in the infirmary on the Vision. It was very expensive for the doctors, the nurses who had to keep checking on me, the IV, the antibiotics, the meds they gave me when they finally released me.... Thank goodness for the insurance.

 

It also covers extra time in a hotel when you're on a trip -- say pre-and post cruise stays overseas. I had to make a claim when I got sick the morning we were to leave Lisbon. We were stuck there three extra days. The insurance reimbursed us for the extra time in the hotel, the little food I ate and some of my ex's meals... it covered what it cost for us to change our airline tickets, the doctor who came to the hotel and kept me out of the hosptial, the meds he prescribed.... it all adds up quickly.

 

But, what some people don't realize is that some insurance also covers theft. I had to make a claim a few years ago when on a cruise we were spending the day in a certain port with a cousin of mine (in Israel )and while we were touring somewhere, his car was broken into. We sent in all our receipts for what we had to replace (medicine for my ex, a new camera for which I had a receipt at home, a backpack.. again, it adds up). There were no questions asked, especially when the receipts were in a foreign language, I guess, but it was covered.

[D4]

I just want to clarify something another poster said. Even if you buy trip insurance right away so that pre-existing conditions are waived, there are still some exclusions that are NOT waived including mental illness (including depression), alcohol/drug abuse,...

 

Those exlusions apply to the entire policy along with others such as high-risk sports (parachuting, bodily contact sports, etc.), epidemics (they say a worldwide flu epidemic should be coming sometime), and many others.

 

It's best to read the all the fine print before you buy a trip insurance policy because there are exlusions on every policy. Some of the fine print does vary with the insurer.

 

I buy trip insurance independently partly so it will cover our airfare and to get higher limits of medical evacuation coverage. But if anyone in my family had something that was excluded from all policies and I were going on RCCL, I would get the RCCL Vacation Care Package which allows you to cancel for ANY reason that isn't covered by their insurance and get 75% credit towards a future cruise.

[MrsPete]

Think of it like this: When you book a cruise, you and the cruise line enter into a contract together. They promise to provide a vacation for you.

 

If THEY break the contract for any reason, they must reimburse your money. Why would they break the contract? Well, not many reasons: weather, of course, is the first one that comes to mind. If the crew were to strike or if something else really outrageous occured, then they'd be breaking their contract with you and they'd owe you money. Insurance wouldn't come into play.

 

On the other hand, if something prevents YOU from making it to the ship (airline trouble, car wreck, health problems, weather), then insurance would help you out.

[cruzin2paradise]

Also, talk to anyone who has had to be medically evacuated to get back home. Costs can easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

 

 

We were on a Carnival cruise last Thanksgiving and a 19-year old who was travelling with his family had a BIG problem - his appendix burst -- he was picked up by Coast Guard helicopter (the spotlight woke us up) and we were informed that the cost to his family (if they had NO insurance) would be in upwards of $20,000 -- that was just to move him from the ship to the nearest hospital which just happened to be in Guantanamo (sp?) Bay in Cuba -- parents couldn't go w/him 'cause there wasn't enough room on the helicopter. They had 2 more days on the ship, then had to fly from Miami back to Cuba . . . that's reason enough for me to have insurance.

[NitaBcruising]

We were on a Carnival cruise last Thanksgiving and a 19-year old who was travelling with his family had a BIG problem - his appendix burst -- he was picked up by Coast Guard helicopter (the spotlight woke us up) and we were informed that the cost to his family (if they had NO insurance) would be in upwards of $20,000 -- that was just to move him from the ship to the nearest hospital which just happened to be in Guantanamo (sp?) Bay in Cuba -- parents couldn't go w/him 'cause there wasn't enough room on the helicopter. They had 2 more days on the ship, then had to fly from Miami back to Cuba . . . that's reason enough for me to have insurance.

Exactly!!! I have my appendix, as does DH, so you never know!

I admit, I never bought the insurance before I found CC. But the med-evac prices mentioned here, changed my mind! :D

[bUU]

Think of it like this: When you book a cruise, you and the cruise line enter into a contract together. They promise to provide a vacation for you.

 

If THEY break the contract for any reason, they must reimburse your money. Why would they break the contract? Well, not many reasons: weather, of course, is the first one that comes to mind. If the crew were to strike or if something else really outrageous occured, then they'd be breaking their contract with you and they'd owe you money. Insurance wouldn't come into play.

 

On the other hand, if something prevents YOU from making it to the ship (airline trouble, car wreck, health problems, weather), then insurance would help you out.

Great explanation. One amplification I'd add though is that the contract doesn't guarantee a specific itinerary, but rather simply guarantees a cruise of a certain length.