"Close" call, glad we got trip insurance

[sparky-elpaso]

Black ice is the most dangerous kind as you can't see it. It makes early morning driving very tricky until things warm up enough for the salt to take effect.

 

You should try to explain black ice to someone who's grown up here in El Paso. We're from Michigan so we know how to drive on ice or snow so when it snows a couple of inches here we stay off the roads.

[Randyk47]

We typically don't get travel insurance. In fact, if it's what we consider a standard cruise out of Florida we don't bother. Everybody has to judge their own situation and balance the risks versus the benefits and for us it just doesn't make sense and we've saved enough by not getting insurance to pay for one in four cruises give or take. To our benefit we have an extremely small family, there are only five of us in the world, and the other three, not counting my wife and I, are in their thirties and very healthy. The OP's jury duty isn't an issue with us for a couple of reasons. One, locally you're allowed a certain number....like two or three....exemptions without really having to prove anything. For instance, when I got my call last spring it was for a Monday two days before I was scheduled to have cataract surgery. I called the court clerk and asked what I needed to do and she said it was no problem, she'd give me an exemption and I'd be delayed three months. No proof, no doctor's note, just my phone call. Might add that I did receive the delayed summons and reported accordingly. Two, we've both been recently called, reported, and were not selected so we have another two years before we can be called again. So now that I've gone through all that explanation of why we typically don't get insurance I'll tell you that we will be insuring our Med cruise on the Silversea Wind next year. It's an expensive and complicated cruise with significant air travel, pre and post cruise hotels, and the cruise fare is a bit more than a nickel. :rolleyes: We do have some limits and that cruise exceeds our level of comfort. :)

[GmaPajama]

We're another couple that doesn't typically buy the trip insurance. Like Randy, we've paid for additional cruises with our savings.

 

We did insure our first HAL cruise, and we actually did use that insurance. As newbies, we didn't know how much better it was to find our own air. HAL had us coming home on Northwest, changing planes in Memphis ... which only had one flight a day to Chicago. The FLL flight was late and we missed that connection, so spent the night in a Memphis hotel. The airline claimed it was a weather delay, and as such was absolved of responsibiltiy. As I recall, the insurance was around $450 for the two of us, and the Memphis hotel was just over $100 - leaving us down by $350. That's when we decided to self-insure. At least for the less pricey cruises out of FLL and SAN.

 

Also like Randy, though, there is a limit to what we're willing to risk.

[CtheW0rld]

not that close of a call, really.

[sapper1]

You should try to explain black ice to someone who's grown up here in El Paso. We're from Michigan so we know how to drive on ice or snow so when it snows a couple of inches here we stay off the roads.

Usually ice will appear as white and shiny on the roads and you can see it and drive accordingly. Black ice is not really black--it's invisible and the wet, dark road is all you see---not the ice layer. Hence, the term "black ice". It will also form on steps and sidewalks and be completely invisible until you step on it and your feet fly out from underneath you.

 

The radio will often warn if those conditions exist for the morning commute. If the temperature is really cold, salt will have no effect and we just deal with it until the temps warm up enough for the salt to work.

 

It doesn't sound too jolly but on the bright side, we don't have to deal with the tornados you face in Texas. Every place has it's peculiar problems that we just have to learn to deal with.

[sail7seas]

I agree with Randy and Donna and we (almost) never insure for trip cancellation. We have emergency evacuation coverage and lately I have been buying extra medical. The premiums are so low for coverage when you omit cancellation that it's hardly a dent.

 

We only insured for medical evacuation for about our last 50 cruises and once we passed the 'break even' point of when the savings in unpaid premiums about equaled the cost of our usual cruise, we started to save tens of thousands of dollars. (Premiums are based on price of your cruise and in some cases, age.)

 

We are comfortable about self-insuring and very fortunately have never had to cancel a cruise after final payment. We came close when I learned I needed a very serious surgery just one day before we would have made final payment for Eurodam's Inaugural cruise. At this point, even if (certainly hope not) we have to cancel a cruise and lose our money, we are so far ahead due to all those unpaid premiums, we would have made the right choice, for us.

 

 

 

 

[arzz]

Ahhh ... Jury duty

 

Upon returning home from 65 days aboard the Amsterdam in '08 we found a call to jury duty in the mail our house sitter had collected for us. The jury call date had been announced, had come and passed in the two months we were away!:eek:

 

Our area assigns each prospective juror a number and then based upon anticipated need -- a couple of days before the jury call they determine how many folks they need to actually report (if you are in the area you call in the night before to find out if you need to report) -- turns out the juror number was high enough not to be required to actually report. Dodged that bullet! Whew!

[NMLady]

In our rural area jury duty assignment is for 6 months, with weekly call-in to see if we're needed the next week. However, if we have proof of already booked trips, then we're excused on those dates.

 

We always make sure we have medical evacuation and medical insurance.

Whether we have other trip insurance depends on a variety of factors.

[kyriecat]

Is Texas more understanding about personal plans that other states? I would hate to live somewhere that they can tell you that you have to cancel your vacation plans for jury duty. I've had to defer jury duty twice and both times was an easy process to reschedule. Once I was scheduled to go offshore for some installation work when I was supposed to report for jury duty. I called and was told to have my boss submit a letter on company letterhead stating that I needed to be "out of the country on business" on my jury duty date. The second time I had a cruise scheduled. I had to send in a copy of my air and cruise documents to prove I would be out of the country. I live in a fairly populous county in Texas so maybe we have a big enough pool of potential jurors that having a few who cannot show up doesn't present a problem.

[almare]

I agree with Randy and Donna and we (almost) never insure for trip cancellation. We have emergency evacuation coverage and lately I have been buying extra medical. The premiums are so low for coverage when you omit cancellation that it's hardly a dent.

 

We only insured for medical evacuation for about our last 50 cruises and once we passed the 'break even' point of when the savings in unpaid premiums about equaled the cost of our usual cruise, we started to save tens of thousands of dollars. (Premiums are based on price of your cruise and in some cases, age.)

 

We are comfortable about self-insuring and very fortunately have never had to cancel a cruise after final payment. We came close when I learned I needed a very serious surgery just one day before we would have made final payment for Eurodam's Inaugural cruise. At this point, even if (certainly hope not) we have to cancel a cruise and lose our money, we are so far ahead due to all those unpaid premiums, we would have made the right choice, for us.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm with you. Medical and evacuation coverage is what is key.

 

Your method of self-insuring works when the cruise length is relatively short. Are you comfortable self-insuring when taking a Grand Voyage? It would seem to me you would have had to bank a lot of HAL sea days to cover a longer voyage. What voyage length do you begin to consider taking out cancellation insurance, if at all?

 

Thanks.

 

Ron

[Randyk47]

I'm with you. Medical and evacuation coverage is what is key.

 

Your method of self-insuring works when the cruise length is relatively short. Are you comfortable self-insuring when taking a Grand Voyage? It would seem to me you would have had to bank a lot of HAL sea days to cover a longer voyage. What voyage length do you begin to consider taking out cancellation insurance, if at all?

 

Thanks.

 

Ron

 

As I said in my post on this thread we don't consider insuring any cruise out of Ft Lauderdale, Tampa, San Diego, etc., and those cruises are usually ten to fourteen days in length. Our Med cruise we just booked is fourteen days and that in and of itself wouldn't normally qualify for cancellation insurance except there are a lot of other pieces and parts to that cruise. While we're still planning we're talking potentially two to three days pre cruise in Spain and post cruise in Turkey. Most of the hotels we've looked at so far want a non-refundable deposit to get the relatively better rates. Top that off with business class airfare from at least our major US departure airport, most probably Dallas non-stop to Barcelona, and then Istanbul back to initial entry into the US, most probably New York, and you're talking some significant change in either non-refundable deposits or air travel cancellation fees. The at-risk amount is probably equal to a very nice ten-day Caribbean cruise in an S cat cabin if you cancel before or at final payment up to three times that amount if you can't make the cruise at the last moment. :eek::) The difference of potentially losing several hundred on a Caribbean cruise versus several thousand on a Med cruise outweighs my aversion to cancellation insurance. Guess I call it the twitch factor....when the amount at risk gets to the point I start twitching then it's time for travel insurance. :)

[Randyk47]

Is Texas more understanding about personal plans that other states? I would hate to live somewhere that they can tell you that you have to cancel your vacation plans for jury duty. I've had to defer jury duty twice and both times was an easy process to reschedule. Once I was scheduled to go offshore for some installation work when I was supposed to report for jury duty. I called and was told to have my boss submit a letter on company letterhead stating that I needed to be "out of the country on business" on my jury duty date. The second time I had a cruise scheduled. I had to send in a copy of my air and cruise documents to prove I would be out of the country. I live in a fairly populous county in Texas so maybe we have a big enough pool of potential jurors that having a few who cannot show up doesn't present a problem.

 

Heck...here in San Antonio we don't even need documentation. :D Tell them you're too busy and they'll let you off at least a couple of times. Maybe after that you'd have to supply something in writing. Once you reach 70 I think you get an automatic deferment for the rest of your life unless you volunteer for duty. Of course, pretty much my whole adult life I've gotten kicked off jury duty once they see I'm a shrink. Seems neither side wants me on the jury. :)

[Cruising-along]

Is Texas more understanding about personal plans that other states? I would hate to live somewhere that they can tell you that you have to cancel your vacation plans for jury duty. I've had to defer jury duty twice and both times was an easy process to reschedule. Once I was scheduled to go offshore for some installation work when I was supposed to report for jury duty. I called and was told to have my boss submit a letter on company letterhead stating that I needed to be "out of the country on business" on my jury duty date. The second time I had a cruise scheduled. I had to send in a copy of my air and cruise documents to prove I would be out of the country. I live in a fairly populous county in Texas so maybe we have a big enough pool of potential jurors that having a few who cannot show up doesn't present a problem.

 

It's the same way here, but I wonder how many people realize that? Previous travel plans, health concerns, work, etc., all are very easy to show and prove -- in fact I don't think we even have to show proof of travel here (probably do for health, and I know we have to send in a letter from our employer for work related excuses)

 

As someone else said, if you show willingness to serve at a later date, they're especially understanding. :D I would never cancel a cruise because of getting a jury summons, as we always book our cruises much further out than the summons are sent out! :eek:

[sail7seas]

I'm with you. Medical and evacuation coverage is what is key.

 

Your method of self-insuring works when the cruise length is relatively short. Are you comfortable self-insuring when taking a Grand Voyage? It would seem to me you would have had to bank a lot of HAL sea days to cover a longer voyage. What voyage length do you begin to consider taking out cancellation insurance, if at all?

 

Thanks.

 

Ron

 

 

Were we booking a Grand Voyage, I agree we would probably have to evaluate before we would automatically forego cancellation coverage.

 

But for now, it isn't a consideration as DH is still very busy in his profession and is making no noises that sound anything like Retirement. :) The longest he will leave his office is about 16-17 days.

[sapper1]

Is Texas more understanding about personal plans that other states? I would hate to live somewhere that they can tell you that you have to cancel your vacation plans for jury duty. I've had to defer jury duty twice and both times was an easy process to reschedule. Once I was scheduled to go offshore for some installation work when I was supposed to report for jury duty. I called and was told to have my boss submit a letter on company letterhead stating that I needed to be "out of the country on business" on my jury duty date. The second time I had a cruise scheduled. I had to send in a copy of my air and cruise documents to prove I would be out of the country. I live in a fairly populous county in Texas so maybe we have a big enough pool of potential jurors that having a few who cannot show up doesn't present a problem.

I was called for jury duty a few years ago and had to turn up at a local theatre along with a few hundred other people for selection. My husband told me that if I wore a suit, my fur coat and had on good jewellrey, I would not have to say a word. The defense would take one look at me and I would be gone. Since my husband is a very wise man, I took his advice and once I was called up on the stage, I was dismissed so fast it made my head spin. They didn't ask me a single question. ;)

[Cruising-along]

I was called for jury duty a few years ago and had to turn up at a local theatre along with a few hundred other people for selection. My husband told me that if I wore a suit, my fur coat and had on good jewellrey, I would not have to say a word. The defense would take one look at me and I would be gone. Since my husband is a very wise man, I took his advice and once I was called up on the stage, I was dismissed so fast it made my head spin. They didn't ask me a single question. ;)

 

Yes, your husband is a very wise man! :D

[timothy998]

I was called for jury duty a few years ago and had to turn up at a local theatre along with a few hundred other people for selection. My husband told me that if I wore a suit, my fur coat and had on good jewellrey, I would not have to say a word. The defense would take one look at me and I would be gone. Since my husband is a very wise man, I took his advice and once I was called up on the stage, I was dismissed so fast it made my head spin. They didn't ask me a single question. ;)

 

 

A good one...and I bet that if I did the same, I'd also be dismissed with my head spinning!!!!!! (I don't think I would look so good in ladies' clothing!) Good idea, however to wear a jacket & tie when I have to show up in May.

[kazu]

I was called for jury duty a few years ago and had to turn up at a local theatre along with a few hundred other people for selection. My husband told me that if I wore a suit, my fur coat and had on good jewellrey, I would not have to say a word. The defense would take one look at me and I would be gone. Since my husband is a very wise man, I took his advice and once I was called up on the stage, I was dismissed so fast it made my head spin. They didn't ask me a single question. ;)

 

Love it Sapper - I'll keep that one in mind when I get the call :)

['The Bear']

Excellent suggestion by your DH ---- I never thought about that posssibility!! :cool:

 

You actually gain a lot more than cruise trips on this board !! :D

[althescotsmam]

Hi guys, I lost the total cost of a cruise with my grandchildren last year because of the volcano. My situation was a bit complicated as I live in Ireland and the kids live in NY State. My flight was cancelled the morning I was due to leave. Now here comes the stinger. My holiday insurance didn't cover the loss of the cruise because the flight was cancelled due to a government edict. The boys had insurance but weren't covered cos there was no reason for them not to make the ship (except that the adult taking them couldn't get there). Anyway, suffice to say that I lost a packet and everyone was terribly disappointed.

 

I have saved again and intend trying again this year, I have put a deposit on a cruise in June but can't find insurance that will cover us all should for any reason I can't get out of Ireland again! With strikes and weather and politics here I can't take a chance on losing the money again.

 

Does anyone know of an insurance that will cover me for cancellation or abandonment for any reason.

[timothy998]

Hi guys, I lost the total cost of a cruise with my grandchildren last year because of the volcano. My situation was a bit complicated as I live in Ireland and the kids live in NY State. My flight was cancelled the morning I was due to leave. Now here comes the stinger. My holiday insurance didn't cover the loss of the cruise because the flight was cancelled due to a government edict. The boys had insurance but weren't covered cos there was no reason for them not to make the ship (except that the adult taking them couldn't get there). Anyway, suffice to say that I lost a packet and everyone was terribly disappointed.

 

I have saved again and intend trying again this year, I have put a deposit on a cruise in June but can't find insurance that will cover us all should for any reason I can't get out of Ireland again! With strikes and weather and politics here I can't take a chance on losing the money again.

 

Does anyone know of an insurance that will cover me for cancellation or abandonment for any reason.

 

 

From what I gather, the company, "www.insuremytrip.com" is an aggregator and you can speak with them, as they work with many different insurers and may be able to help you figure out a coverage package for you. This is sort of like when you book a complicated trip, use a TA...or have a complicated plumbing mess, call a plumber!