Poll: Take the Cruise Insurance or not...

[eap1986]

I don't know about RCCL insurance as we are taking our first cruise with the line this December, but we always buy cruise insurance through our TA when we book. We used it once when my husband got unbelievably sick on a very rough day at sea. The $$ we were reimbursed for his "treatment" was more than the insurance cost for ALL of our cruises combined, so we feel that it is definitely worth it. Plus it just gives us peace of mind. I would probably always be stressed flying down to the ports if we didn't have the insurance.

[Palmetto Pilot]

I always purchase cruise insurance, always. I've never had to use it and I like it that way!!!

[Tranquil Waters]

I wonder how many on the re-routed/delayed ships wished they had insurance now?

 

I would say that if they were intelligent, look-at-the-big-picture kinda folks they would figure that - over a lifetime of not forking out thousands and thousands of dollars in unnecessary,non-catastrophic insurances - that they were still ahead of the game financially even if they take a hit on this one cruise. ;):)

 

To only look at this one instance and say it was bad to not have insurance just shows a very shortsighted view of the situation.

[bionicman97]

We get insurance each cruise, 3rd party.

 

I've been labeled "a walking accident waiting to happen" by my family ;)

(11 broken bones, 8 surgeries, etc)

 

On the plus side, I rarely get sick :)

[CGMCruisers]

Definitely get the insurance ALWAYS. Sometimes I just hate paying for it, but I hear too many horror stories not to get it. Plus it seems our family is prone to chaos at any moment so, while I've never had to use it,I would not dare book a cruise without insurance. 3rd party insurance is also recommended as the cruise line insurance is not always as all-inclusive.

[IwannaGo Now]

I'll be soon taking my first cruise as a Medicare (Part A & B, plus supplemental private ins) recipient. Anybody tell me if Medicare covers anything on the ship, or in a foreign port?? Trying to figure out if I need 3rd party travel ins. :confused:Thanks.

[texasnana]

I buy cause of insurance. OUr group policy does not cover us outside the US. We usually use a third party. Also a ship board medical evacuations is rather costly if you have to pay yourself. The extra money is well worth the thought of those high costs. Plus it covers airline, lost bags or sickness. Well worth it to us.

[critterchick]

I'll be soon taking my first cruise as a Medicare (Part A & B, plus supplemental private ins) recipient. Anybody tell me if Medicare covers anything on the ship, or in a foreign port?? Trying to figure out if I need 3rd party travel ins. :confused:Thanks.

 

I don't believe that Medicare covers you outside of the United States (and the ship would be outside the US). But I'm not quite there yet, so don't know first hand.;)

[gm1909]

I get the insurance. If somebody gets sick or is injured before the cruise you could be out a lot of money so it is worth it to me to get the insurance. This last cruise we used a travel agent so we got the insurance through the travel agent.

[lemonade-sails]

If you've passed final payment date is it too late to buy insurance?

 

Thanks!

[north29]

No one could convince me of taking travel insurance, but as I have aged, and learned of misfortunes of others without travel insurance, I no longer leave home with out it. I do feel that it is over priced, but a necessary luxury, in case of a emergency, life or death, not necessarily just the obvious issues of missed flights, or god for bid not making it back to the ship on a non ships tour LOL

[Coralc]

I'll be soon taking my first cruise as a Medicare (Part A & B, plus supplemental private ins) recipient. Anybody tell me if Medicare covers anything on the ship, or in a foreign port?? Trying to figure out if I need 3rd party travel ins. :confused:Thanks.

 

Medicare does not cover you on the ship or out of the United States. When we took my mom on an Alaska cruise, I told her that if she wouldn't buy the insurance....whatever the problem, she would have to stay well enough to be wheeled off at an Alaska (US) port if she was going to rely on Medicare. :D:):D

 

She ended up buying the Cruise Care insurance. Cruise line insurance is more affordable for older passengers because it is not age dependent. (but like any insurance, you need to read the policy & exclusions) :)

[KAWS]

No one could convince me of taking travel insurance, but as I have aged, and learned of misfortunes of others without travel insurance, I no longer leave home with out it. I do feel that it is over priced, but a necessary luxury, in case of a emergency, life or death, not necessarily just the obvious issues of missed flights, or god for bid not making it back to the ship on a non ships tour LOL

 

Our medical insurance covers us for travel insurance. Just switched to a new plan that has it. So for our upcoming cruise where we've paid final already, we'll have double. But from here on in, we won't have to buy it. Woohoo! Not really all that expensive but it's a nice perk to the insurance.

[klfrodo]

Our medical insurance covers us for travel insurance. Just switched to a new plan that has it. So for our upcoming cruise where we've paid final already, we'll have double. But from here on in, we won't have to buy it. Woohoo! Not really all that expensive but it's a nice perk to the insurance.

 

Read the fine print or call and ask questions.

 

My health insurance also provides coverage when I travel outside the country with some important (to me) caveats.

 

1. Coverage is provided at "Out of Network" limitations

2. Emergency evacuation to the nearest facility available only

3. No funds provided if a provider requires upfront payment before services begin.

4. No repatriation coverage.

 

Therefore, I still get travel insurance with medical coverage.

[KAWS]

Read the fine print or call and ask questions.

 

My health insurance also provides coverage when I travel outside the country with some important (to me) caveats.

 

1. Coverage is provided at "Out of Network" limitations

2. Emergency evacuation to the nearest facility available only

3. No funds provided if a provider requires upfront payment before services begin.

4. No repatriation coverage.

 

Therefore, I still get travel insurance with medical coverage.

 

We definitely read everything and also called them to be sure. The travel insurance that we get through the TA is very reasonable so we didn't want to mess things up for the sake of a couple of hundred dollars per trip. But this insurance (for retired teachers within my husband's former school board) has it and it's different than any travel insurance, say from a credit card or anywhere else we have seen. It's more in line with what we buy from our TA. And one of the big ones we looked at was #2. No one wants to get stranded somewhere and especially if you're ill. Just get.me.home!

[IwannaGo Now]

Thanks to all. I had been getting 3rd party Ins on previous cruises, but wasn't sure if Medicare would cover anything, as the benefits book is sorta vague. I will buy 3rd party coverage to be sure.....Thanks again!

[weltek]

We are in our 30s and have sailed on four previous cruises. We never purchased insurance because we were young and stupid. We were just thinking "we're in good health and we'll just be careful about accidents." We always fly the day before the cruise, so we have a little cushion for winter travel.

 

Finally, for our cruise this January we bought insurance through the cruise line. My husband has had a few healthy diagnoses in the last two years and we've seen on here a lot of good reasons on Cruise Critic to shell out the extra money. Unfortunately we didn't read up on insurance first. We hadn't talked about it before calling to book the cruise and my husband just said "yes" when asked if we wanted the insurance. Now I realize we probably should've booked through another party. I've been told it's cheaper and offers more options in coverage.

[MAGNUM PI]

A no brainer: BUY travel insurance.

 

On our five caribbean cruises that we have taken, there has always been some type of

medical emergency occur.

 

IF you sustain an injury or suffer a medical problem, the astronomical cost would put the average person, in bankrupcy. Imagine the cost of being airlifted off of the ship, via helicopter to the closest land facility.

 

On one cruise, a person sustained an injury to their foot. Our ship had to veer of course, meet a Coast Guard boat, and transfer the person to it. The cruise continued on; they were left behind at St Kitts.