Insurance or no insurance??

[so_excited_to_cruise]

This is our second cruise. Our first cruise I did not purchase the insurance. On our second cruise... we have purchased. but, our final payment is due in April and my hushand is considering cancelling the insurance. Any opinions on the insurance? What does it cover? Our second cruise is in June.

[mld1950]

This is our second cruise. Our first cruise I did not purchase the insurance. On our second cruise... we have purchased. but, our final payment is due in April and my hushand is considering cancelling the insurance. Any opinions on the insurance? What does it cover? Our second cruise is in June.

 

I have several family members with health issues and I always get the insurance. Husband has some also so I get it for that reason. It is just peace of mind of me. I hear good and bad about it.

[kingoftheicedragons]

Things that insurance will cover include catching up to the ship if you miss it, trip interruption expenses, lost or delayed luggage. I believe it will cover medical expenses, and some will cover emergency medical evac.

 

Whether you need travel insurance is dependent on your situation. For instance, my work health insurance covers me where I am worldwide. It also covers worldwide emergency medical evac.

 

If you can afford to eat the cost of your vacation if something goes wrong, then you probably don't need insurance. Or, if you happen to miss your ship, if you're comfortable with losing that money for the cruise and just doing a land vacation instead once you arrive to your embarkation city, again,you don't need travel insurance.

 

For most of our cruises, I don't bother to get travel insurance. I got it for our southern Caribbean itinerary out of Puerto Rico, and I have it for our European cruise, but I haven't had it for other vacations.

[Cushing985]

I guess if you can afford to medically evacuate someone in your party you don't really need it. If you can afford to cancel a cruise and lose all your money when you have someone in your immediate family pass away you won't need it.

 

Getting insurance is a personal decision based on your comfort factor. As far as what is covered I would recommend reading your policy. Every policy is different and what riders you chose.

 

Personally, on our first few cruises we never bothered with it as our lives were a bed of roses and nothing bad happened to us.:rolleyes: Now, not so much. Our parents are a lot older, we enjoy doing crazy stuff that may injure us, etc. We're not comfortable going without insurance.

[cruzn buckeye]

I would keep it. Quick note here, as I have posted this more than once.

I always was very healthy. One night, i started having tingling in my arm, like it was asleep. Of course I started rubbing and shaking it. Next thing i knew, the shot up my arm, across my chest, up my face. Went to the hospital, told I had a minor stroke. Kept overnight, my doc came in to see me, and said no, you didn't have a stroke, you have a growth. Surgeon came in, said he was going to cut the top of my head off, put it in a bowl, remove the tumor, and put skull back. He was trying to keep it not seeming so scarey. It ended up being a tumor the size of a flat orange, It could have affected everything, walking talking, perhaps paralyzed, slobbering, going to a nursing home for recovery. Luckily, I have the best surgeon in the whole world. I came out fine. No problems. Recovery was at home, in about a week, i almost felt normal. Well, except for being bald with staples in my head :D. We were about three weeks away from our cruise we had booked on the Miracle. Totally in cancellation period. Carnival was kind enough to let us use our 600 deposit on a future cruise. Delta was even super nice. Normally a 150pp cancellation fee. I called to see how we need to do that. A supervisor got on the phone and said they decided to let me have the complete airfare to use on future flight. I was able to do 2 cruises with that airfare. Anyway, had this happened 3 weeks later, we would have been at sea. It could have cost up to 35,000 dollars for emergency evac. Which I would have needed. Insurance would cover this.

We didn't purchase insurance up to and including this cruise. I have ever since. It doesn't matter how young or healthy you are. An emergency evac could cost you everything. Unless you are rich. And my next cruise after this was back on the Miracle.. because I truly had one. :D

[leadout_kv]

This question will be debated until the end of time. I'll tell you my story that has convinced me to get insurance for every future cruise.

 

The first couple cruises my wife and I took with our daughter we did not get insurance. We were lucky that to not need it. For some reason two cruises ago I decided that it would be a good idea to start getting insurance. I think multiple factors played into the decision including parents who are advanced in their age and not in 100% health. Funny thing was insurance was not needed for our parents. Our last planned cruise (New Years 2012/2013) we had to cancel because I got the flu two days before sailing. Whew! it was a good thing we had insurance.

 

Weighing your own situation including financial, health, family matters, etc...typically are the factors that should help decide whether to get insurance.

 

Here's one question that you can ask yourself that will hopefully help you decide whether you need insurance - If you had to cancel your cruise is that money that you can afford to lose? For me that's a big NO so insurance is now purchased.

[Gdawgs]

We typically go in the winter time. You can't trust the weather up here, so you can't be guaranteed the flights will make it on time. For that reason alone, I purchase insurance. We also stay over night near the port the day before the cruise to give us a little cushion. If I lived in Florida, I'd have to put a lot more thought into whether or not I'd buy it.

[Jasonmom]

We met a lady once who said she lost her home due to paying bills when husband became ill on cruise. I'm not sure where the gentleman above got the $35,000 figure for medical evacuation. According to the lady we spoke to her costs were closer to $250,000.

 

If I miss my cruise, or lose luggage; it would be sad, but wouldn't affect my life in any lifelong way. I don't worry about that part (although my insurance comes with it). I'll spend my $100-200 for peace of mind. We've bought it about 10 times and only had to use it once (claim for less than $500) and had no problems getting money from insurance.

[so_excited_to_cruise]

From all of the posts..... I think we will keep it. I was just curious as when people actually need to use the insurance... Does Carnival keep their end of the deal. :)

[lady_cruiser]

Well after Carnival's final payment date we had to cancel a cruise when my sister found out she had early stages of breast cance and needed to start radiation ASAP. Since the treatments would have already begun on the first day of the cruise we had to cancel. Thanks to our cruise insurance we were able to get all our money back.

 

You never know what roadblock life places in your way. You riding along thinking you are healthy and feeling great and the next thing you find out that during a routine exam that something is wrong.

 

I would never cruise without cruise insurance.

[Cigar Dude]

Better safe than sorry. Buy the insurance.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

We met a lady once who said she lost her home due to paying bills when husband became ill on cruise. I'm not sure where the gentleman above got the $35' date='000 figure for medical evacuation. According to the lady we spoke to her costs were closer to $250,000.

 

If I miss my cruise, or lose luggage; it would be sad, but wouldn't affect my life in any lifelong way. I don't worry about that part (although my insurance comes with it). I'll spend my $100-200 for peace of mind. We've bought it about 10 times and only had to use it once (claim for less than $500) and had no problems getting money from insurance.[/quote']

 

Amen, mom. I wonder if the same people that think insurance is a waste of money feel the same about car and house insurance. I just blew a wad of dough yesterday on house and car insurance and hope I don't need it.

[girlscruise2011]

In my opinion, even if you can afford to lose the cost of the cruise or pay for medical evacuation, then you certainly can afford the cost of the insurance. I just paid $100 for a policy for my DH & I cruise in 6 weeks. Yes, its only a 4 day cruise but I still don't want to lose the money over $100. To me, just another cost of cruising.

[big_duck]

Better safe than sorry. Buy the insurance.

 

But not necessarily from Carnival.

 

Better less expensive plans are available elsewhere.

[ibcnusoon]

We always buy medical/dental/medivac insurance anytime we leave the country.

 

Our policies and my parent's medicare won't cover us outside the country. It's stupid not to purchase insurance, going into foreign countries and doing excursions, anything can happen and it's best to be prepared. DD is going on a teen trip outside the country this summer and I even purchased insurance for her (within 2 weeks of downpayment).

[bedfordmom]

We always buy medical/dental/medivac insurance anytime we leave the country.

 

Our policies and my parent's medicare won't cover us outside the country. It's stupid not to purchase insurance, going into foreign countries and doing excursions, anything can happen and it's best to be prepared. DD is going on a teen trip outside the country this summer and I even purchased insurance for her (within 2 weeks of downpayment).

 

Its funny; I always buy cruise insurance but for my last two European land vacations, I did not. I think part of the reason is that travel insurance is generally offered upon booking of a cruise. When booking segments of a trip separately, ie plane, hotel etc-they generally don't automatically offer it so I don't think about it as much. I also feel that more can happen on a cruise such as air vacs, missed boats etc; though alot can happen on a land vacation especially in a foreign country.

[onthehighseas606]

This is our second cruise. Our first cruise I did not purchase the insurance. On our second cruise... we have purchased. but, our final payment is due in April and my hushand is considering cancelling the insurance. Any opinions on the insurance? What does it cover? Our second cruise is in June.

 

I haven't read any responses so here's my 2 cents worth. IS YOUR DH CRAZY? I've been on enough cruises to see just why you must carry insurance. Whether you're young or old, stuff happens. I saw a woman laid out on the pavement in front of the ship with a broken leg. I've seen enough people taken off the ship on a stretcher, slipping on the ship happens often. Emergencies do happen, and if you don't have the insurance you are up a creek without a paddle. If you show up at the infirmary, you better have a credit card or cash available to pay for it. No insurance is not in my vacation plans.

[skittl1321]

We essentially self-insure for Carribean cruises. My medical insurance works outside the country, so I'm somewhat covered there.

 

If something happens and we miss the cruise- we know we'll eat the loss. If I need medical evacuation, in all but the most severe situations, we could cover it, and it would eat ALL our savings, but we are in excellent health, and it is a risk we know we are taking.

 

 

Our upcoming Celebrity trip, we are buying insurance. We could not cover evacuation from the Galapagos to the US.

[Earthworm Jim]

We didn't purchase insurance up to and including this cruise. I have ever since. It doesn't matter how young or healthy you are. An emergency evac could cost you everything. Unless you are rich.

 

Or, unless your health insurance would cover you for emergency evacuation, which I suspect is uncommon.

 

Yes, medical issues are the big one. The price of the cruise, well, the insurance might cost 10% of the price of the cruise, and are you likely to miss 1 out of every 10 cruises you book? For generally healthy people, probably not, so if that was the issue you'd save money over the long run without it. But the medical coverage and evacuation coverage are the important thing. Those potential costs make the actual cost of the cruise seem like a penny ante detail in comparison.

[taszmom]

I am a TA and I can tell you all kinds of stories about clients who declined the insurance and then something out of the unexpected happen and they had to cancel their cruise. Well that's what insurance is for, the unexpected things. And there are other insurance providers out there that are less expensive, with better coverage. Shop around and compare. I get to cruise free sometimes and this one time I forgot to buy the insurance, even though I didn't pay anything. Well I got a really bad eye infection while on a cruise. My eye was swollen shut and I was in a panic. I didn't know if I should fly home and get immediate medical care and that's when you realize you should have purchased the insurance. Peace of mind. And not all policies are cancel for any reason, so watch out for that and even when you add Cancel for any reason, it's not 100% reimbursement.

[golfer1903]

go to insuremytrip.com if you want insurance its alot cheaper then carnivals. im the same way dont usually get insurance but everyone told me i better for a cruise, so I did but after i seen the cost vs. the cost on that web site that several people on here use i decided for that price its worth it.

[bayoubabe516]

Last cruise we didn't get insurance because we had won the cruise at Bingo on the Radiance of the seas. The last night of the cruise my 15 yr old had a stomach ache. The morning we docked she looked awful and still wasn't feeling well. The next morning she had a ruptured appendix and was in surgery at noon. Luckily all went well BUT if it had been 48hrs earlier we would have been in Costa Maya or middle of the Gulf. This cruise I bought insurance and it was less than a hundred dollars for 3 of us.

[rok233]

I don't need to purchase it because my visa covers my insurance. If it didn't I would definitely get it.

[lovebelle]

This is our second cruise. Our first cruise I did not purchase the insurance. On our second cruise... we have purchased. but, our final payment is due in April and my hushand is considering cancelling the insurance. Any opinions on the insurance? What does it cover? Our second cruise is in June.

 

I always say to get the insurance because you just never know what could happen. I work as a nurse and we had a patient air lifted from St Thomas to my hospital here in Florida because she tripped and broke her leg while at Port and requiring surgery. Luckily she had insurance to cover the air ambulance which can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Chances are you will never need it, but God forbid one day you find yourself in a situation and do not have any coverage.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

We had a guy get stung by a box jelly in Grand CAyman. I cant image that hospitla bill if he had no type of coverage. Not exactly a cheap place to get anything done.

 

My health insurance covers me even out of country , our credit card does some as well. I stil play the extra $20ish pp on my vacations for additional.