Opinions on best policy for Cancel for Any Reason?

[makingwaves6]

So here's the deal. My boyfriend and I are sailing Aug 29 - Sep 5 on the Carnival Pride from Baltimore to the Bahamas. He of course is worried about hurricane season etc. I think just basic medical/evac coverage is fine, but he would like to be covered in case we "decide not to go because the weather is supposed to be bad." Now, i've read a ton of threads about hurricane season and i'm not really worried about it because if the weather is so bad we would NEED to cancel, it is likely that Carnival would be cancelling as well. I've tried to explain that Carnival will avoid the hurricane, keep us safe, etc., but at this point its just easier to look into it to calm his nerves. :p

 

I've been on insuremytrip and squaremouth, but i'd love to hear some opinions on which company is best for the "cancel for any reason" benefit. Specifically, i'm looking at Global Alert's preferred plan that allows you to recoup 100% of the trip cost for any reason. Does anybody have any experience with GA in general that they'd care to share? If not, can anyone recommend a good company to go with that has this benefit?

 

Thank you!!!

[cruiseco]

So here's the deal. My boyfriend and I are sailing Aug 29 - Sep 5 on the Carnival Pride from Baltimore to the Bahamas. He of course is worried about hurricane season etc. I think just basic medical/evac coverage is fine, but he would like to be covered in case we "decide not to go because the weather is supposed to be bad." Now, i've read a ton of threads about hurricane season and i'm not really worried about it because if the weather is so bad we would NEED to cancel, it is likely that Carnival would be cancelling as well. I've tried to explain that Carnival will avoid the hurricane, keep us safe, etc., but at this point its just easier to look into it to calm his nerves. :p

 

I've been on insuremytrip and squaremouth, but i'd love to hear some opinions on which company is best for the "cancel for any reason" benefit. Specifically, i'm looking at Global Alert's preferred plan that allows you to recoup 100% of the trip cost for any reason. Does anybody have any experience with GA in general that they'd care to share? If not, can anyone recommend a good company to go with that has this benefit?

 

Thank you!!!

 

Global Alert does allow you to get paid for 100% of your penalty but only if the total penalty is less than 25% of your total insured trip cost. But with most cruise lines if you're at the 25% penalty amount you're probably at least 30 days away from sailing which, if you're concerned with weather is probably too far out to make that decision. Realistically, you'd better plan on a 90% payout. Here's their schedule of benefits:

 

If Cancellation Penalty Amount Is: Percentage of Penalty Amount Payable Is:

Up to 25% of Trip Cost 100% of Penalty Amount

26% to 50% of Trip Cost 95% of Penalty Amount

Over 50% of Trip Cost 90% of Penalty Amount

 

With all of the plans that let you cancel for any reason that benefit goes away 48 hours prior to your departure so if you want to wait until the very last minute to make a decision to cancel it won't be available to you.

[makingwaves6]

 

With all of the plans that let you cancel for any reason that benefit goes away 48 hours prior to your departure so if you want to wait until the very last minute to make a decision to cancel it won't be available to you.

 

I didn't know that actually. In this case, with a hurricane, they change course so quickly its probably not worth it to pay for the cancel for any reason benefit. This is the way I figure it -- if weather is so bad Carnival has to cancel, the weather/hurricane coverage will cover that. Before 48 hrs, we aren't going to know if thats a real possibility, so I think we're going to just make sure we've got proper hurricane/weather coverage and call it a day. Thanks so much for the tip, saved me a bundle and a ton of hassle!