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To take the insurance or not?


jessegirl88

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We booked our cruise thru a travel agency and my girlfriend originally added in the insurance which was probably I would like about 500.00 for the 4 of us. I told her to take that off. We are a family of 4. Hubby and I are in our early 40's kids are under 16. Did we make a mistake?

 

Also, can I get insurance thru my own health insurance for the cruise?

 

Thanks:)

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We booked our cruise thru a travel agency and my girlfriend originally added in the insurance which was probably I would like about 500.00 for the 4 of us. I told her to take that off. We are a family of 4. Hubby and I are in our early 40's kids are under 16. Did we make a mistake?

 

Also, can I get insurance thru my own health insurance for the cruise?

 

Thanks:)

 

It doesn't matter what your age or your families ages are, insurance is something that if you purchase it and don't need it, you fell like you wasted the money, but if you don't purchase and need it, you will be kicking yourself financially for not having it.

 

Not sure where you live, but most private policys in the U.S. will not cover you out of the country, I know our BC/BS does not (I checked).

 

If you can afford to self insure, meaning you can financially absorb the price of the cruise and airfare if you have to cancel last minute, then don't buy the insurance.

If you have an extra $50,000-$100,000 tucked away that you won't be needing to pay for a medivac off the ship in case of an emergency, then don't purchase any insurance.

If you can afford thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in doctor's and hospital bills without it strapping you financially, then don't purchase insurance.

 

If the answer to any of these questions is 'no, I can't afford that', then you have answered your own question. :) Enjoy your cruise!

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I would not travel with out travel insurance - here are some examples when you would need it (and I am in my 30's):

 

1. Do either of you have parents who can get sick that would affect your travel? A number of people have written in that their parent or grand parent with no known existing conditions has had a stroke or heart attack or died and they did not buy insurance.

2. Remember if you have to fly to get to the port, there could be flight delays, airports can close due to one stupid act such as someone going into a terminal with out clearing security. Denver's airport cancelled hundreds of flights this week due to snow and there were thousands stranded at the airport there. Think of all the blizzards this year. Even though they may not impact where you are flying to or from, your flight may be impacted due to the storm.

3. What if the port you are traveling to has a hurricane or earthquake and you are unable to get to port (these situations have happened quite a few times) - are you willing to eat the cost of the trip? Recently a friend couldn't get to his cruise port because of an earthquake shutting the airport down.

4. Appedicitis or other situation can happen at any age - you may need to be air-evaced from the ship. Probably cost 25K or more.

 

I have known healthy people who have had to declare bankruptcy due to medical emergencies on vacations. I personally wouldn't risk not buying insurance.

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Just look down thru these boards at all the people mad because someone got sick or flights went bad or something else ruined their vacation. When they asked Princess for a refund they said talk to the travel insurance company.

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We booked our cruise thru a travel agency and my girlfriend originally added in the insurance which was probably I would like about 500.00 for the 4 of us. I told her to take that off. We are a family of 4. Hubby and I are in our early 40's kids are under 16. Did we make a mistake? -- In a nutshell, yes. Unless you are financially able to lose the cost of your cruise, transportation, etc. and not have it affect you. You can either add the Princess insurance or you have a limited amount of time from when you book to buy independent insurance. Check out the website: insuremytrip for costs and plans.

 

Also, can I get insurance thru my own health insurance for the cruise?

No, you cannot get insurance through your own health insurance. Plus, there are so many other things besides medical as others have pointed out.

 

On our cruise in January, a woman was walking along the sidewalk in Cabo San Lucas and was distracted; she tripped on a little raised section and fell, breaking her arm in four places. She had medical bills on the ship and flew home from Costa Rica for surgery. Another patient in the medical center was playing basketball on the Sun deck when he sprained his ankle. Several years ago, my daughter had a slight cold when we boarded the ship. Two days later, it turned into bronchitis and an $800 medical center bill. These could happen to anyone, regardless of age, and I guarantee you they happen all the time on ships. Just position yourself near the medical center some day and watch the people come in and out with an assortment of ailments. On the same cruise, my brother-in-law had a medical emergency but we were too far from land to medivac him. They kept him stable onboard the ship for about 20 hours; the cost: $8,000. After an operation in FL and weeks in the ICU, he was finally stable enough to be flown via medical jet to CA, where we live. Cost: $50,000. All covered by insurance.

 

We see posts here on CC from people who were young, athletic, healthy, etc. and didn't get insurance. A parent has a heart attack and they need to fly home. No one likes paying for the insurance and most of us don't need it; but when you do... you're glad you have it.

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Please take Pam's advice especially with kids.

Also on the UST last April with a visit to sick bay and questions to the Dr. He stated he just could not understand passengers on the ship traveling without travel insurance. I agree with him.

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We never got insurance then 3 weeks before were were leaving on our cruise my DH had a heart attack (he's fine now). We had 3 cabins booked and the rest of our party (parents & aunt) would not have gone without us. Doctor cleared him to go as long as he relaxed. Then we worried the whole time since he was adjusting to his medications and really didn't feel great the whole week.

 

If we would have had to cancel it would have been expensive for everyone in our party.

 

It taught us a lesson now we get insurance for each trip we go on.

 

PS hubby was 56 when he had his heart attack.

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http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=274 might help. It sounds like it's a moot point now. As with any insurance, it's weighing costs vs. benefits. Your health insurance doesn't normally cover evacuation, flights, etc., just medical tratment. There are a number of possible travel insurance policies, such as through your credit card or bought on your own. Note the details carefully. Cruise lines don't have their own insurance policies per se, but do contract with a specific company. You can also buy policies on our own. There are usually time limits as to when you can buy (e.g., the same day as you make your final payment for the cruise). My wife and I relied on travel insurance we already had for two cruises, but when she recently went on a cruise with her elderly parents, she got special insurance for them. Note, some policies, such as that offered through Princess, is only available to residents of the U.S., Mexico or Canada.
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I personally would never travel anywhere outside of the UK without insurance. Having said that, this is one area where us Brits have an advantage as we can get excellent cover (up to £1M medical, for example) for a pittance - e.g. insurance for 12 day Med cruise last summer for me & DH was £45 (around $67). After I had booked it, I then found another reputable insurer offering the same cover for half the price! Mind you, I hadn't exactly forked out much to start with so I wasn't that bothered :D

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We always take out our own insurance not the cruiseline's.

 

We were to fly home a day after disembarkment. The day of disembarkment, we found out my mother was on her deathbed. We were able to change our flights and fly back. The insurance paid for everything.

 

I had planned a cruise for the summer. My DH was layed off 3 months before the cruise. Final payment had not been paid so FCC (deposit) was returned but I had paid for airfare, hotel, and car so everything was reimbursed by the insurance company.

 

Our flight home from FLL was delayed due to bad thunder storms and we missed our connecting flight. The insurance company paid for hotel, and meals until we reached our home airport.

 

You never know when something is going happen. You never plan on having accidents.

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I agree to get insurance, but $500 sounds high for a family of four. You can go to insuremytrip.com & compare various policies. It's ESPECIALLY important if your're flying to the ship. Out of all the times I purchased insurance & didn't use it, I actually just did making my way to the Emerald at the end of February. It was at the tail end of that giant blizzard the northeast got & Continental cancelled my flight the day b/4 I was leaving. I had to rebook on Jet Blue at triple the cost & got reimbursed for the difference from the insurance company (TruTravel, I believe).

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Now, I will defiantely get the insurance.

 

I called my healthcare insurance and they said they could cover anything that is considered emergency. But, I would have to fork out the money

and then they would reimburse me. BUT, i never asked about flying us home, medivac etc...

 

I will call the TA and tell her to add it to the bill. Hopefully, I still can.

 

Thanks everyone I appreciate your answers.

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I can also go on about injuries and people I know that took great losses due to lack of insurance. But, I suggest to try Travel Guard insurance. They are an independent agency that we have used for years. The have a family policy that only the 2 adults pay and children are free. You can look them up on travelguard.com. This will no doubt be a lot less than 500. Divide the total trip cost between all family members. Your ta can also help you with this. Buy insurance now.:)

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OK, you guys got me motivated...Just purchased insurance for two of us for the 9-day CB in June: $91 (total).

 

I think you made a very wise decision. If there are no illnesses or injury onboard, or problems getting to or from the cruise, then it was $91 you could have used onboard. BUT, if there is any problem, even one trip to the medical center, and it will have paid for itself very quickly. Enjoy your cruise!

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It's w/TruTravel again. When I had my recent cancelled flight experience, I found them very helpful & very easy to deal with, so nothing but positive things to say. Also, received reimbursement check very quickly.

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Exactly, Toto. This is one cruise I only have to drive to (HOORAY), so luckily there shouldn't be any transportation mishaps. For that reason, I was thinking about NOT getting the insurance, but after reading this thread I was reminded of the many reasons it's good to have it. Better safe than sorry, right? :D

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