Hypothetically Speaking...Should Travel Insurance Be Purchased?

[gigs]

Is the $59 insurance purchased through X sufficient or do I go to another source to be adquately covered for most all possibilities (medical evacuation, illness prior to sailing, etc.)

[derf5585]

Where can I buy Act of God insurance witch will cover everything. Because what isn't and act of God?

 

I found my Act Of God Insurance certificate

 

Click on Thumbnail

[wwcruisers]

I found my Act Of God Insurance certificate

 

Click on Thumbnail

 

Derf -- you're a hoot! :D

[Lou33]

Maybe not...I don't feel it is fair that some people say that "one must *always* buy insurance.....because ya never know what might happen".

 

If your health provider does not cover you outside the country, then yes, I feel travel insurance is a must. But if you are already covered, and many if not most people *are* already covered, then you might choose to not buy travel insurance. Check that you are also covered for medical evacuation.

 

You are concerned about the hurricane season. If there is a hurricane, and your ship does not sail, then you will get a 100% refund for your cruise. If your flight is cancelled, then you will get a 100% refund for your flight. So no problem there.

 

Another big reason for travel insurance is to be protected if you need to cancel because you or a family member becomes sick. But remember, that even without insurance, you will never lose everything. Most cruise lines will refund at least 50% up to 1-2 weeks before your cruise. And even if you need to cancel within the last week, they will always refund the taxes, port charges, and prepaid gratuities.

 

And you may not lose all of your airfare. Most airlines will give you credit towards a future flight if you need to reschedule.

 

So it is your decision to make. We are already covered for medical by my health prodvider, so we usually do not buy cruise insurance. But we did buy minimal insurance for our next cruise.

[Tucker in Texas]

 

 

You are concerned about the hurricane season. If there is a hurricane, and your ship does not sail, then you will get a 100% refund for your cruise. If your flight is cancelled, then you will get a 100% refund for your flight. So no problem there.

If the ship sails and you don't get there because a hurricane caused your flight to be canceled, delayed, etc. you lose.

 

Talk to the people during Hurricane Ike that happened while they were at sea. Not only did they have to come into New Orleans because Galveston was knocked out, they lost their cars from the storm surge. They were delayed 2-3 days getting home because of disruption of flights and finding seats.

 

Another big reason for travel insurance is to be protected if you need to cancel because you or a family member becomes sick. But remember, that even without insurance, you will never lose everything. Most cruise lines will refund at least 50% up to 1-2 weeks before your cruise. And even if you need to cancel within the last week, they will always refund the taxes, port charges, and prepaid gratuities.

If you are on a ship and need to get home midway through due to an emergency, you have lots of expenses for that.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Lou33]

Tucker,

 

Most likely your flight *and* your ship would be affected at the same time. If a Hurricane hits Miami. The ship will not sail as scheduled, *and* the flights would not be landing there. Travel insurance would not cover damage to your car. You have car insurance for that. If there are no flights leaving, then your travel insurance can't do much except pay for a hotel room, if there are even any available. But if they drove to Galveston, they probably wouldn't be taking a flight home from New Orleans anyway.

 

Yes, there could be significant expenses to return home mid-cruise if there is an emergency. But an emergency that serious may be very unlikely for many people.

 

The point of my post was to get people to think, and to check if they are already covered by their health provider. Then then can make an informed decision.

[UKBayern]

If your health provider does not cover you outside the country, then yes, I feel travel insurance is a must. But if you are already covered, and many if not most people *are* already covered, then you might choose to not buy travel insurance.

 

Health insurance normally does not cover medical treatment by the ships doctor. If you are able to crawl on land and break down there, you are alright...

 

Yes, there could be significant expenses to return home mid-cruise if there is an emergency. But an emergency that serious may be very unlikely for many people.

 

When I talked about "silly things happening" I meant exactly that: stupid situations you think are unlikely. How about 29 year old honeymoon couple on their dream vacation where the husband is dead in bed the next morning because of a heart attack nobody saw coming? Or a healthy young lady goes to the beach and is hit by unusually large wave breaking her hip? What about a young man going to the bathroom whilst on an excursion and tripping over the step in front of the toilet, fracturing his ankle? Of course, lik I already said, the chance for a 70 year old male to have to cancel his holiday because he is pregnant is not just unlikely but impossible, but in all other cases....

[terrierjohn]

Are Celebrity's US booking conditions different to those in the UK?

 

We must have travel insurance, and provide the details to Celebrity in our cruise personaliser. Booking conditions 1.12 detail this need in their brochures.

[Tucker in Texas]

Tucker,

 

Most likely your flight *and* your ship would be affected at the same time. If a Hurricane hits Miami. The ship will not sail as scheduled, *and* the flights would not be landing there. Travel insurance would not cover damage to your car. You have car insurance for that. If there are no flights leaving, then your travel insurance can't do much except pay for a hotel room, if there are even any available. But if they drove to Galveston, they probably wouldn't be taking a flight home from New Orleans anyway.

 

My son's in-laws lost a cruise in Alaska because their plane was delayed in Houston due to thunderstorms (not hurricane related) making them miss their connection to Anchorage. They couldn't arrange other transportation to "catch up" with the ship until Juneau and by then the cruise was just about over. They didn't have insurance.

 

Twice flying in to FLL, we have been delayed in Orlando due to thunderstorms in Ft. Lauderdale. While we were flying in a day early, others flying in the day of the cruise were crossing fingers and toes the ship would wait for them. I know they held the ship once because a mighty cheer went up when we were approaching and they could see the ship still docked even though it was 6:00 p.m. Can't remember the first time it happened.

 

Southwest Airlines was very cooperative in allowing passengers holding SWA tickets to fly out of New Orleans home with them after Ike for no additional charge. Quite a few passengers stayed on the ship until the ship could port in the new "Field of Dreams" terminal in Baytown. Those people had a change charge for their tickets or had to buy a new one to get from Houston home. Yes, those that lost their cars were covered with car insurance but they had to either rent a car to get home (and rentals were not exactly abundant) or fly to their homes.

 

I almost didn't buy the insurance for the Norway cruise but did at the last minute because it was only $92 for both of us. Never did I expect to need it because the ship blew up canceling the cruise. I had non-refundable air which would have left me with $500 worth of useless tickets.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Lou33]

Health insurance normally does not cover medical treatment by the ships doctor. If you are able to crawl on land and break down there, you are alright...

 

I know that my health provider would cover me if I'm treated by the ship's doctor. I would pay them first, then I submit a claim to my health provider. But that is true even for someone who has travel insurance. You still need to pay first, then submit a claim later.

[80sramfan]

Being as we are predicted to have an active hurricane season and I am set to sail in August, which is usually a fairly active time for hurricanes / tropical storms in the Atlantic, what would happen if there was a hurricane or tropical storm in the Ft. Lauderdale area and the ship couldn't sail or we couldn't get to the ship? Would I need travel insurance in this case?

 

Thanks,

 

Rita

 

no. I've sailded in August many times never had a problem. I have a cruise this August I don't have insurance it will be fine

[Lou33]

While we were flying in a day early, others flying in the day of the cruise were crossing fingers and toes the ship would wait for them.

Tucker in Texas

 

That's why we always fly in 1-3 days early. It's some of the best insurance that you can get, and you get to extend your vacation. It's no fun to miss the ship even if you have insurance.

 

I had non-refundable air which would have left me with $500 worth of useless tickets.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

For non-refundable air, most airlines will let you reschedule your flight for a change fee, or give you a voucher that you can use for one year.

[Lou33]

Are Celebrity's US booking conditions different to those in the UK?

 

We must have travel insurance, and provide the details to Celebrity in our cruise personaliser. Booking conditions 1.12 detail this need in their brochures.

 

Yes it is different for Americans. It could be that with national health insurance in the UK, nobody is covered when out of the country. But in America, many, if not most people are already covered by their health provider. So they may choose to go without additional insurance.

[sptrout]

For non-refundable air, most airlines will let you reschedule your flight for a change fee, or give you a voucher that you can use for one year.

 

The cost of a change fee is getting to the point where it does make many tickets nearly useless. Continental (CO) for example charges $150 for a change. Obviously, $150 change makes most low-to-medium costs tickets nearly useless, or more trouble than they are worth.

 

It really PO's me when they charge a change fee (in addition to the costs of the actual first class ticket) if you want to buy a first class upgrade. The airlines are getting very close IMO to becoming true shakedown artists in how they do their pricing.

 

Real world example (mine): Last week, I wanted to use FF miles to get two FC tickets to Seattle from Houston for a trip next May. CO's webpage said that none where available (at least at standard mileage rates) so I go ahead and buy two coach tickets. During the booking process I picked the seats I wanted, guess what, the plane was completely empty, every seat was empty even FC. I went ahead and bought the two coach tickets.

 

Then I went back into the system to use FF miles to "upgrade" my two coach tickets to first class and CO said that I had to be waitlisted even though; 1) I had to immediately use 60,000 miles, 2) I had to immediately pay $100 p/p per flight ($400 total), and 3) the two flights were completely empty. I guess I will find out sometime in the next 10 months if I gave CO $400 in advance for nothing.

 

My apologies for stealing the thread, just needed to rant:mad:........

[sptrout]

Back on subject......

 

I always buy travel insurance. I am in the process of looking at prices and I was wondering if anyone knows if the charges for "taxes" and "prepaid gratuities" are refundable if a person has a last minute cancelation. Seems like they should be fully refundable, but I cannot find anything in Celebrity's Cancelation Policy that says for sure one way or the other. In our case, these two items are nearly $600 and I do not want to price insurance for something that will be refunded.

[citruscruiser]

If you have the cruise insurance, how does it work if the Hurricane is anticipated to hit your residence just prior or during the cruise?

[Lou33]

Back on subject......

 

I always buy travel insurance. I am in the process of looking at prices and I was wondering if anyone knows if the charges for "taxes" and "prepaid gratuities" are refundable if a person has a last minute cancelation

 

Yes, taxes and port charges are *always* refundable if you cancel. Also prepaid gratuities. You want to price your insurance with and without the taxes and port charges. It may work out that the insurance cost is exactly the same anyway. If so, then there is no harm including taxes in your trip cost. But if it puts you into a different cost bracket, then don't include it. Your insurance will *not* cover something that Celebrity will refund anyway. You can't double dip.

 

I would bet that most people unknowingly include the taxes and port charges for their insurance cost basis.

[sptrout]

Yes, taxes and port charges are *always* refundable if you cancel. Also prepaid gratuities. You want to price your insurance with and without the taxes and port charges. It may work out that the insurance cost is exactly the same anyway. If so, then there is no harm including taxes in your trip cost. But if it puts you into a different cost bracket, then don't include it. Your insurance will *not* cover something that Celebrity will refund anyway. You can't double dip.

 

I would bet that most people unknowingly include the taxes and port charges for their insurance cost basis.

 

Thanks Lou! And I agree that most folks probably include refundable items in their insurance quote since the cruise lines are not real clear exactly what is refundable.

[terrierjohn]

Yes it is different for Americans. It could be that with national health insurance in the UK, nobody is covered when out of the country. But in America, many, if not most people are already covered by their health provider. So they may choose to go without additional insurance.

So do normal US health providers cover items like helicopter transfer from a cruise ship in an emergency, or repatriation to the US by medical air, or similar?

[SusieV]

We never buy travel insurance. We already have health insurance which covers medivac, etc. For the cost of the insurance we haven't spent, we could take another vacation!

 

If we happen to miss a trip because something happens, oh well. We're already ahead of the game. Our idea of insurance is to fly a day or two early and enjoy the port.

[Lou33]

So do normal US health providers cover items like helicopter transfer from a cruise ship in an emergency, or repatriation to the US by medical air, or similar?

 

Every plan is different since it is private insurance. But my plan will cover medical evacuation and repatriation. Basically we're covered oversees, just the same as if we're traveling in America.

[terrierjohn]

We never buy travel insurance. We already have health insurance which covers medivac, etc. For the cost of the insurance we haven't spent, we could take another vacation!

 

If we happen to miss a trip because something happens, oh well. We're already ahead of the game. Our idea of insurance is to fly a day or two early and enjoy the port.

 

Every plan is different since it is private insurance. But my plan will cover medical evacuation and repatriation. Basically we're covered oversees, just the same as if we're traveling in America.

 

I find this attitude quite fascinating, presumably US travel insurance is much more costly than in the UK. We can get full travel insurance covering delays, cancellation, lost luggage, lost travel money plus full medical and legal cover up to approx. £5m, for a lot less than you pay for normal gratuities on a 7 day cruise; and some home insurance policies do cover loss of luggage and money which enables you to discount the travel insurance premium. If that is also the case in the US then you should only need cover for delays and cancellation.

Why aren't you up in arms at the insurance companies to provide you with reasonably priced cover for these elements?

It seems to me that Americans have a similar attitude to travel insurance that we Brits have to tipping, ie it's overpriced and should be optional. (I will now go off and hide;)).

[UKBayern]

I know that my health provider would cover me if I'm treated by the ship's doctor. I would pay them first, then I submit a claim to my health provider. But that is true even for someone who has travel insurance. You still need to pay first, then submit a claim later.

 

Be very careful... There us a big "but" here, I know because it happened to my mum a couple of times that she needed the in-house doctor on several different cruises and other vacations. Most of the time, travel and health insurances will only refund the doctors costs up until the level which is normal in your own country or the country you were travelling in. So if a certain treatment would have cost $50 at home, and on the ship $150, some insurances will only give you back $50 and tell you to cough up the other $100 yourself. There are also a lot of insurances that will argue that you could have waited until the ship was in port and go to a cheaper doctor there, in other words "you were not dying madam, you would have survived another 24 hours". Great...so if the next port of call is some hole where the doctor only cost $10, then you only get $10 out of the $150 that the doctor on the ship charged. Be warned.....

 

I know of a collegue who went on holiday to Guatemala. During her transfer in Miami Airport, she suddenly fell ill and needed immediate medical attention. The insurance argued that the purpose of her trip was travel to Guatemala, not USA, and were only willing to cover the cost up to a level that was normal for Guatemala. They stiffed her with a $3000 hospital bill.

[Gonzo70]

So do normal US health providers cover items like helicopter transfer from a cruise ship in an emergency, or repatriation to the US by medical air, or similar?

 

No. Very, very few normal U.S. health insurance plans cover this.

[Gonzo70]

Why aren't you up in arms at the insurance companies to provide you with reasonably priced cover for these elements?

 

 

I think that most of us in the U.S. believe that travel insurance is fairly priced. If they were to sell travel insurance much cheaper, the insurance companies would lose money on the transaction! The only way for there to be lower costs for the same benefits would be if the government subsidized the insurance companies for offering cheap travel insurance, and then the money would be coming from our taxes. IMHO things are fine as is with the current travel insurance options here.