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Poll: Take the Cruise Insurance or not...


ChitownGus

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In my younger days, never purchased travel insurance. Last 10-15 years have always purchased travel insurance thru a 3rd party. Had to use it once due to trip cancellation and was reimbursed fully with the requested paper work from the insurance company.

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we always get it and we do so through RCCI . I feel like I am waisting my money but God forbid one of us fell ill or got hurt It would be well worth it. I do have health insurance but it would not cover us if we were out of the country. My husband had a gallbladder attack @home but it was worse than we thought and it was just the tip of the iceburg when they went in to look they found an aterial aneurysm . Thank God for the pain of the gallbladder attack or they would not have found the aneurysm until it was too late. Had this happened while on a cruise it would have cost us our saveings! This was one of those things where he was well one day and violently ill the next so you really can't plan and say well we are basically healthy people ....anything can happen!!

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We did not buy travel insurance until I needed medical care on QM2. Luckily my health insurance reimbursed me for the cost of the treatment. Since then we buy it everytime we cruise. We use either the cruiselines insurance or a third party. You never know what might happen at any age.

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Our first cruise was going to be a family cruise to celebrate my parents 50th anniversary. Saying that should make it obvious my parents aren't spring chickens. Our TA stated that our insurance (along with our cruise reservations) could be tied together in the event of anything. About 3 months prior to the sailing my mother had to have a kidney removed. HAD we had to cancel, we would have been covered. Luckily mom recovered well enough to take the cruise.

 

Ever since then we would rather pay the insurance and not need it then need it and not have it. That said, we always buy through our TA's company. It's affordable and gives us a peace of mind.

 

Erika

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Starting buying only after my 70th.

I buy cruise insurance the others are so expensive when you near 80.

My sister slip at the pool cost here 425.

B uy insurance when you check the prices at the ship doctor you will be sick.

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I purchase an annual trip insurance plan through my bank. It covers trip, baggage, cancellation and health insurance. I need insurance to hop into my car and drive to Buffalo for a day of cross border shopping. Wouldn't leave home without it. Costs me under $150/yr.

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we buy the insurance through a 3rd party. It's so inexpensive!!

 

I took my 2 daughters and we just back yesterday. I did not buy it this time and had a panic about it the day before we left. I was really only interested in the evacuation part since it was only a 5 night trip.

 

It cost me under $20 for the 3 of us.

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I am a fitness freak and healthy. Crap happens to everyone, and it happened to me. I would have been out thousands if not for insurance. I was injured, and stranded in a foreign country without my luggage for 8 days. I had to file four claims. I will never leave home without it, and I make sure my whole family is covered, too.

 

 

 

Very bad advice. Just wait until it happens to you.

 

 

 

Well put. And even 30 year olds can get in a car accident, fall ill, have a parent die, have a child with an ear infection that can't fly - you name it. Out of country medical and emergency medical transportation is the most important to have. But still, I would have been out thousands without cancellation/interruption/baggage. ;)

Great post, most of the folks have no idea of the amount of liability(to their pocketbooks) they are exposing themselves if they have a sickness or accident in a foreign country.!
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Always get the travel insurance...usually thru a 3rd party...but for a quickie weekend trip I use the cruise line ins. I have had to use the insurance one time...."IF" I had medical insurance that covered out of the country I might pass on insurance for a short cruise...but I don't...so insurance is just a part of my cruise price...my next cruise the insurance will be almost $400...enough for a short cruise...but I'm not going out of the country for 10 days without it!!

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Do you take it? Do you use RCCL insurance or a 3rd party? or do you not buy insurance? and would your answer differ if you were driving vs. flying?

I might have been fed a load of BULL from my TA but was told that RCCL in the UK anyway wouldn't issue my tickets if I didn't have Travel Insurance of some kind (didn't have to be from them).

 

Anyway I looked at what RCCL charged for TI and it sounded reasonable - couldn't be bothered to look around and said go for it.

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We have never purchased the insurance from anyone. Are we taking a chance? Maybe. But, we cruise a LOT. We've saved thousands of dollars by not taking insurance. So, if there ever is a time that we miss a cruise, I figure that we've saved more than we'll lose. Does that make sense? LOL. Lose 1 cruise, or pay insurance on over 30 cruises.....If we only cruised occasionally, I might consider it. But, it's kind of like car insurance....great if you cash in, a waste of money if you don't. I've paid car insurance for almost 30 years, and have never filed a claim. Imagine if I had all of that wasted insurance money back.....I could go on more cruises! LOL.

 

We self-insured ( which is actually what you are you are doing) for a while , but at a certain age, our health insurance no longer covered us outside the US.

 

Now we buy it for all travel. We’ve used RCCL and a 3rd party.

m

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If I'm traveling by myself on a short cruise I do not get travel insurance. If I'm traveling with other family members (especially mom) I always get travel insurance. For long cruises with significant costs I always get travel insurance.

 

I'm not so concerned about emergency evacuation for me as my divers insurance covers that for non-diving emergencies as well.

 

 

I usually get my travel insurance through my home and auto insurance company.

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Please don't take this bad advice. If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. You never know what just might happen.

 

My average insurance cost for a cruise is less than 5 percent of the total booking price. Being from New England, I'll take the insurance every time at that price. Before someone says it, yes we fly at least a one sometimes two days early. On the return from one cruise, we actually got stuck in FLL because of major storms up through the northeast. It was nice that insurance paid for an extra day and meals in sunny Florida.

 

For the penny pinchers, I also waste my money on Early Bird check-in with Southwest and Luggage Valet. It's called a NO WORRY vacation. ;)

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I travel as a party of 5 and for many cruises, we did not buy insurance unless the cruise was very expensive (eg Med). Then on our cruise last summer, a family member became critically ill and then my son had an emergency 1 week before the cruise. Things worked out, but I could have been out a lot of money. Since then I buy it just in case. I use CSA, but my sister has used both CSA and Travelguard and has been paid out by both of them with no problems.

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Help me out here. Why do some here say they don't buy trip insurance for short cruises but do so for longer cruises? Is an accident or illness far less likely to happen on a short cruise?

 

I fell forward up the stairs of Jewel's atrium on the first night of the cruise and fractured a bone in the side of my ankle because my foot was caught under a step. That was the very first night, around eight PM. I just don't understand the reasoning behind not buying trip insurance for short cruises.

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I don't go on any cruise without insurance:eek:

 

The best example that I can give is we were scheduled to go on the Oasis last year and came down with a severe Stomach virus a week before we were duu to sail. I notified my TA and with her help got a full refund. :)

 

As far as who to use I usually follow the advise of my TA sometimes it is coverage by the cruiseline itself and sometimes it's one of the companies that cater to the Cruise industry. Bottom lineDO NOT TRAVEL WITHOUT IT!!

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Help me out here. Why do some here say they don't buy trip insurance for short cruises but do so for longer cruises? Is an accident or illness far less likely to happen on a short cruise?

 

I fell forward up the stairs of Jewel's atrium on the first night of the cruise and fractured a bone in the side of my ankle because my foot was caught under a step. That was the very first night, around eight PM. I just don't understand the reasoning behind not buying trip insurance for short cruises.

 

I don't cruise without it but if I lived in Florida, had a good health insurance plan, and was taking a short cruise, I might consider not buying it. In that case it's a matter of whether your comfortable absorbing the price of the cruise if you miss it.

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Would not think of not getting it! And as some have said, not for the cruise alone but for the medical insurance. Most insurance policies in the states do not cover you out of the country, unless you have a rider, like mine does. Travel insurance (from a private company, like Travel Guard) fills in the void as well as providing emergency transport off a ship, which can runs well over $100,000. For the few dollars, it is well worth it.

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Help me out here. Why do some here say they don't buy trip insurance for short cruises but do so for longer cruises? Is an accident or illness far less likely to happen on a short cruise?

 

I fell forward up the stairs of Jewel's atrium on the first night of the cruise and fractured a bone in the side of my ankle because my foot was caught under a step. That was the very first night, around eight PM. I just don't understand the reasoning behind not buying trip insurance for short cruises.

 

 

I think most people think of cruise insurance in terms of recovering the cost of their cruise...and think a short cruise did not cost much so to not be able to go would not be a large financial loss...but as you found out it isn't just missing a cruise that can occur...accidents can happen anytime...we never used to insure short cruises either...until we were on a 3nt Sovereign cruise & someone had to be medi-vac'd from the ship...my husband & I looked at each other & went uh-oh...after that insurance was just automatic...and 2 years later it paid off when my husband passed away 2 weeks before our Serenade cruise out of San Juan...

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Help me out here. Why do some here say they don't buy trip insurance for short cruises but do so for longer cruises? Is an accident or illness far less likely to happen on a short cruise?

 

I fell forward up the stairs of Jewel's atrium on the first night of the cruise and fractured a bone in the side of my ankle because my foot was caught under a step. That was the very first night, around eight PM. I just don't understand the reasoning behind not buying trip insurance for short cruises.

 

As other have said, for a short cruise the financial loss for missing the cruise isn't that great and I live close to the port so I don't have to worry about missing the plane. My various insurance policies (health from work, diver's insurance, etc) pretty much cover me for any medical emergencies so I'm not too worried from that aspect.

 

 

Anytime I'm flying to a cruise, though, I'll get travelers insurance because then that becomes that many more variables that are out of my control.

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We've only bought trip insurance 3 times. Twice for trips to China and the third for our cruise in June. For us it isn't to cover the actual cost of the trip, I'd be willing to gamble that, but rather the peace of mind that we'd get top notch medical care if needed.

 

We always opt for the policy that allows us to be medivaced anywhere we choose at our own discretion. We have great medical insurance but it won't allow us to determine that we need to be taken elsewhere for care. That decision would need to be made by the attending physician wherever we are. I don't know about anyone else but I'm not willing to put my life or my family in the hands of some foreign doctor in a country with subpar medical facilities.

 

I'm fully aware that buying insurance is lining someone else's pockets but that's ok when it gives me peace of mind.

 

We're planning a trip to Ireland and we likely won't bother with insurance for that. I have faith in their medical system and would be very comfortable being treated there if necessary.

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we buy the insurance through a 3rd party. It's so inexpensive!!

 

I took my 2 daughters and we just back yesterday. I did not buy it this time and had a panic about it the day before we left. I was really only interested in the evacuation part since it was only a 5 night trip.

 

It cost me under $20 for the 3 of us.

 

What company offered insurance for 3 people for under $20?

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I was really only interested in medical evac as it was a short trip. I have used this company 3 times now

 

insure my trip dot com

 

here is what the $18.xx included

 

 

Additional Coverage (if any):

Medical Maximum: $50,000.00

Deductible: $250.00

 

$ 500,000.00 - Emergency Medical Evacuation and Repatriation

$ 50,000.00 - Return of Mortal Remains

$ 50,000.00 - Emergency Medical Reunion

$ 50,000.00 - Return of Minor Child(ren)

$ 1,000.00 - In Hospital Indemnity; $100 Per Night 10 Night Maximum (US Citizens Only)

$ 20,000.00 - Sudden Recurrence of a Pre Existing Condition Maximum; $2,500 age 65 and older (US Citizens Only)

$ 5,000.00 - Interruption of Trip

$ 250.00 - Loss of Baggage

$ 50,000.00 - Political and Natural Disaster Evacuation

$ 25,000.00 - Accidental Death and Dismemberment / Disappearance

$ 25,000.00 - Paralysis Maximum

$ 25,000.00 - Coma Benefit Maximum

$ 25,000.00 - Seat Belt and Airbag Maximum

$ 25,000.00 - Felonious Assault Maximum

$ 2,500.00 - Home Alteration and Vehicle Modification Maximum

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we always get it and we do so through RCCI . I feel like I am waisting my money but God forbid one of us fell ill or got hurt It would be well worth it. I do have health insurance but it would not cover us if we were out of the country. My husband had a gallbladder attack @home but it was worse than we thought and it was just the tip of the iceburg when they went in to look they found an aterial aneurysm . Thank God for the pain of the gallbladder attack or they would not have found the aneurysm until it was too late. Had this happened while on a cruise it would have cost us our saveings! This was one of those things where he was well one day and violently ill the next so you really can't plan and say well we are basically healthy people ....anything can happen!!

 

toxicfairy.....Thank you for the sobering reminder that there are NO guarantees in this life. We never really know what a day may bring, regardless of how fortunate we may have been in the past. Out of all of the cruises that I've taken, only my first cruise (many years ago) was uninsured. By grace alone, nothing catastrophic occurred however, I've not traveled without insurance since. I'm always reminded that I have an elderly dad back home in the states, and God forbid should something happen to him, I want to be able to leave A.S.A.P. without cost being a hindrance. For me, it's all about exercising wisdom. Travel insurance is just part of the cost of taking a vacation.:)

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