Travel Insurance

[as41shots]

Do you guys purchase through Royal when booking, your TA, or direct from another source? Any opinions on the policies and companies that are out there?

[glgolfer]

www.insuremytrip.com

 

You can compare policies on this site and pick the one best suited for you.

[glgolfer]

Here's another insurance site for comparison.

 

http://www.squaremouth.com/

[bouhunter]

Tip - buy a policy where the medical is listed as PRIMARY care. If you need to use it they pay first, no need to go through the process of claiming it on your own health insurance first. Three years ago we had a minor reason to see the doctor, 200.00 on our seapass. When we got home we filed a claim with the travel insurance and a couple weeks later got a check for the full amount no questions asked. Never had to go to our health insurance at work:)

[Seatravelers]

Get thru our TA and not RCCL, access america usually.

[NCMtnBoys]

Get thru our TA and not RCCL, access america usually.

 

In the past I've booked insurance through insuremytrip and RCCL directly. Haven't had to use either. I recently booked a couple cruises for next year through a T/A friend of mine and he speaks highly of AccessAmerica also, so we had him do the insurance through them for our cruises next year.

[as41shots]

Thanks for the input. Had been looking at Squaremouth and will probably end up booking through them. it looks very easy to compare and contrast. I REALLY appreciate the tip to look out for "primary" coverage... it's one of those things that can be so easy to overlook.

[seeship]

In ten years of cruising have never purchased insurance. Thought about it when elderly parents were living, but didn't. I guess I consider myself self insured.

[cruisecookie]

We usually book our cruises far in advance of the sail date and we take RCCL's insurance. The reason that we take RCCL's insurance is because it offers a "cancel for any reason" provision. With most travel insurance you must order the insurance within 2 weeks of making your cruise reservation in order to get the "cancel for any reason" provision. If we have to cancel our RCCL cruise (before our final payment date), we can also cancel the RCCL trip insurance with no penalties. And just to let you know, RCCL trip insurance covers your airfare even if you did not book it through RCCL.

[SA Traveler]

We have used Access America and Travelguard but normally use RCL's Cruise Care because at our age it is normally cheaper. It is based on price of the cruise rather than age. For awhile I was using both that and Access America to cover airfare until I actually read the policy and found that it does cover independently booked air.

[cruisinfanatic]

what I like about Royal Caribbean's insurance is that you can cancel up to the day you sail for any reason. You get 75% credit toward a future cruise.

[disneylover89]

Does RCL insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

[RVfromAZ]

what I like about Royal Caribbean's insurance is that you can cancel up to the day you sail for any reason. You get 75% credit toward a future cruise.

 

So you get a credit for a future cruise, not a refund. Just would like to clarify.

Thanks

[SA Traveler]

So you get a credit for a future cruise, not a refund. Just would like to clarify.

Thanks

 

If you cancel for a non-covered reason it is a 75% cruise credit. If for a covered reason it is a refund of the full cost. As for pre-existing conditions - they would be covered IF the condition is treated or controlled solely through the taking of medication and remains treated or controlled with no change in the required prescription throughout the 60 day period before coverage is effective. That is a quote from the Cruise Care booklet. Also the pre-existing limit does not apply to emergency evacuation or repatriation. It does apply to trip cancellation or interruption and the medical benefits.

[cruiseco]

About the travel insurance comparison sites:

 

If you find a plan you like online it never hurts to see if your TA offers the exact same plan (they often carry three or four). If the TA does have that plan, I'd suggest you buy it from him/her. First of all, they'll appreciate the commission. Second, in case of a dispute your TA may have much more leverage with the insurer, especially if it's a large agency. Many times over the years we were able to get the insurer to see things our way on a claim. It wasn't so much a matter of them necessarily wanting to keep the client happy. They really, really wanted to keep US happy.

[Cuizer2]

Do you guys purchase through Royal when booking, your TA, or direct from another source? Any opinions on the policies and companies that are out there?

 

I would suggest you do NOT purchase through the cruise line. That said, I usually purchase the CSA policy. A good site to see what sort of coverages are available is InsureMyTrip dot Com.

[Cruise-Nut]

In ten years of cruising have never purchased insurance. Thought about it when elderly parents were living, but didn't. I guess I consider myself self insured.

 

I never bought either until we had friends with us who had to be evacuated and flown home for a surgery. It was almost $10,000 by the time it was said and done. They bought RCCL insurance and everything was paid including unused cruise portion. I never leave home without it!

[lablvr2]

I've cruised both with and without insurance. The older I get, the more I make sure I purchase it. I have a 90 yr old MIL now. That changes everything.

 

Whatever company you buy from (I don't buy from RCI) take a moment to look at the coverage. If you have no intentions to rent a car on an island, don't buy a policy that charges you for that coverage. Take some time to really look at what you actually need. Without a doubt - make sure it has Medivac in the event you need it should some really intense injury/illness occur. I use insuremytrip.com

[dirtgirl]

Does RCL insurance cover pre-existing conditions?

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/vacationProtectionPlan.do;jsessionid=00002EIECBd37W52_mtLGofj6f7:10ktdmqkf?cS=NAVBAR

 

 

This is their insurance policy. They have a 60 day rule, which isn't too bad. A lot are 90 days or longer.

 

And yes, it doesn cover independently booked flights. A lot of people on CC say that it doesn't, but it clearly states that it does.

 

HAL or Princess is better though, in that they cover 80-90% of your cost for 'cancel for any reason'.

[luckyprincess]

If you cancel for a non-covered reason it is a 75% cruise credit. If for a covered reason it is a refund of the full cost. As for pre-existing conditions - they would be covered IF the condition is treated or controlled solely through the taking of medication and remains treated or controlled with no change in the required prescription throughout the 60 day period before coverage is effective. That is a quote from the Cruise Care booklet. Also the pre-existing limit does not apply to emergency evacuation or repatriation. It does apply to trip cancellation or interruption and the medical benefits.

Does it cover medivac and accidents and that kind of stuff too? It would be easier and cheaper I think to get it through the cruiseline but I want to be sure it covers big ticket items....