Do You Get Travel Insurance?

[emilysmom97]

We never do. Cruises seem to sail regardless of the conditions or situation. Yes, I realize I could be injured or become so ill on a cruise that I would need to be airlifted out but what are the chances of that happening?

[cravingacruise]

Yes, we always do....Not so much for covering our cruise and travel costs but for emergency evacuation coverage. Highly unlikely we'll ever need it, but for the minimal price we pay, the peace of mind is more than worth it. We like TravelGuard, and kids under 18 are included (free) if traveling with a paying family member.

[Sinppu]

We have a year-round travel insurance which is updated automatically. Costs next to nothing, so I'd rather have it the one time something goes wrong ;)

[Hstergo]

As long as you can walk away with a total loss and not gripe about it .. then I would say skip it... and if you can afford to be airlifted then you good to go without it, but if the answer is no to those 2 things .. then buy it

[NoobCruise]

Yes, we get insurance. Last cruise, Our morning flight to SFO was cancelled. The next flight wasn't until 3 pm, which would have made us miss our 1pm flight from SFO to Seattle. It was Friday of Labor Day weekend. They tried finding another flight for us, including from all surrounding airports and other airlines and everything was booked. The only option they gave us was to take the 3pm flight to SFO, then fly to Denver, and stanby for a flight to Seattle and *hope* there was room for both of us. Not exactly an acceptable option. Thankfully, we lived close enough to SFO that we drove like crazy and just BARELY made it in time. IF we'd booked through LAX instead of SFO, we would have missed our cruise.

 

How much you pay for your cruise probably matters too for how important insurance is to you. We paid about $6000 for 2 people for a 7 day cruise, not counting flights, hotel, transfers, excursions etc. We weren't about to gamble that on the airlines the way they cancel and delay flights now adays.

[Keith1010]

In the end just like all insurance it comes down to the cost of the insurance versus the risk of not having insurance.

 

For us one of the major concerns is having the health portion of the insurance because without the insurance should one have a medical issue at sea it can run tens of thousands.

 

And age is not the only issue nor past health.

 

Keith

[Sonny]

Yes, we always buy insurance - and I hope I never have to use it.

[Scrapnana]

One major health emergency that required me to be airlifted somewhere and then get treatment would likely wipe out my entire life savings. Yes, I buy insurance.

[LHT28]

Not just for medical reasons

we had to cancel the morning of our flight out because DH had a gallbladder attack

We would have lost a large sum of money if we did not have cancellation insurance

 

The money would have been spent either way but at least we got ours back to cruise again

 

Really a small price to pay for peace of mind

[cj_one2000]

First two cruises I was single and all about saving money so I didn't purchase insurance. I was fortunate to not run into any problems, however, I flew in the day before the cruise and stayed at a hotel near the port to have a buffer of extra time in the event of a delayed flight or something.

 

The next two cruises are with the hubby who is military. Due to the nature of his profession, the unexpected can happen and so we purchased insurance, about $100 for the both of us. When putting down $4k-$5k for a nice European cruise, $100 is a drop in the bucket that our trip is covered should we have to cancel last minute and the peace of mind that you'll get your money back.

[emilysmom97]

Wow...you never know what can happen!!! Thanks for all the feedback. I purchased my cruise through my Marriott time share and they said it would cost $800.00 plus with CSA insurance. I declined. We've purchased travel insurance through CSA on other vacations, not on a cruise, but in no way, was the cost that much!

[emilysmom97]

I'm going to go on CSA's website to see how much it would cost if I purchased it myself.

[emilysmom97]

I tried to get a quote but it asked for a producer/agent code. Unless I have that, it seems like I'm out of luck.

[sparks1093]

I tried to get a quote but it asked for a producer/agent code. Unless I have that, it seems like I'm out of luck.

 

Go to www.insuremytrip.com. You will be able to compare many policies and pick the one that works for you.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes -- we get insurance.

Just an example -- one time I fell and fractured my wrist in 2 places -- the night before we were to fly to Ft Lauderdale for a cruise.

[KirkNC]

We never used to but have recently started to get medivac insurance, it is incredibly cheap.

[Doug R.]

One month before our scheduled honeymoon cruise my wife's 12yo daughter was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Were it not for the insurance we would have lost $1,600 dollars. We always get it because stuff happens without warning. I hear the excuse, "Well we are young and healthy." So was my stepdaughter....just sayin.

[CraftyEC]

We have annual travel insurance and consider it essential. Last fall we went on a cruise, without any problems but the day after we returned I developed some odd symptoms and within a week or so I was diagnosed with a spinal surgery and needed fairly urgent surgery. We had a short trip planned (and paid for) to the Christmas Markets in Germany and France, in early December, which had to be cancelled, and we got our money back. Now, if I'd developed the symptoms two weeks earlier we would have had to cancel the cruise. If I'd developed them a week earlier we would have been on the cruise. OK, I probably wouldn't have sought medical advice until I got back for the symptoms I had (we are both physicians) but if they had been any more severe I would have had to. I was apparently perfectly well before the cruise, you never can tell what is brewing, although risks increase with age the young and middle-aged are not in any way exempt from medical emergencies.

 

I know someone who had a cardio-respiratory arrest on a cruise ship and was successfully treated, transferred to an intensive care unit in Florida and eventually repatriated. The bill was staggeringly large, but paid for by his travel insurance. He did not have established cardiovascular disease prior to his trip.

 

Some years ago we had a vacation planned when a close relative became gravely ill, and we were able to cancel without significant financial penalty.

 

Unless you can stroll into your embarkation port there are myriad reasons why you may be delayed and miss your sailing. Insurance will ensure that you can either cancel the trip without penalty or be transported to the next port, depending on your cover and the liability of initial carriers etc.

 

Unless you really have unlimited back-up funds, it really is NOT worth scrimping on travel insurance, both to cover the travel arrangements / cruise cost and the unforeseen medical expenses you may incur.

[gators70]

We always get travel insurance and it has been invaluable several times. One time we had to cancel a cruise because MIL was hospitalized a week before sailing. Second time, DW had anaphalaxic shock on a med cruise and the insurance covered all medical exoenses on the ship (expensive!). Thirdly, on the last day of an Alaskan cruise in Vancouver, one member of our party died in his sleep. All of the ambulance, and hospital bills were paid and they even covered re-patriation of his body to Florida.

 

For us, it is something we would never do without.

[OCruisers]

Yes .... Always!

 

LuLu

~~~~

[LH25]

We never do. Cruises seem to sail regardless of the conditions or situation. Yes, I realize I could be injured or become so ill on a cruise that I would need to be airlifted out but what are the chances of that happening?

 

Always. It's worth the money for the peace of mind. We are both pretty healthy, but stuff happens. And it's not just us, my MIL is 93 and has had some serious health issues, I've had it impact plans before.

 

I had a friend get sick the day before she was supposed to cruise, and she had to cancel. She was really happy she had insurance.

[agabbymama]

I never used to buy insurance. But I had booked a land trip to New Orleans in 2005. Purchased airfare, paid for tours, booked hotels, etc. through a well known website.

 

Yikes, Katrina showed up.:eek: No refunds offered. I watched the news and internet daily. Making copies of stories of how bad things were there. WOW, then a month Rita hit, :eek::eek: I was very lucky that the City of New Orleans wouldn't let travelers come, I ended up getting a total refund.

 

Since that time, I now always buy travel insurance. I can't afford to eat the cost of the vacation. But it's up to the individual.

[NoobCruise]

Wow...you never know what can happen!!! Thanks for all the feedback. I purchased my cruise through my Marriott time share and they said it would cost $800.00 plus with CSA insurance. I declined. We've purchased travel insurance through CSA on other vacations, not on a cruise, but in no way, was the cost that much!

 

Try Travelguard

[donaldsc]

I have an annual international medical and evacuation policy that is very inexpensive and covers all trips. I do not carry cruise and trip cancellation coverage as I self insure for that. I can afford the small losses - it is the really big ones that I can not afford.

 

DON

[chipq]

When I was much younger and "invinceable" travel insurance was never a thought. I also just thought it was for missed flights. Several years ago I was on a cruise where a woman became very ill and was sent to a hospital in St Maarten. It was a lengthy discussion among our table mates that evening mostly how most health plans are not accepted abroad and how much it may cost to have medical evacuation back home etc. That really got me thinking, what if? Now that I am older and wiser (hopefully), I do not travel abroad without coverage. I personaly like the coverage I get with Travel Safe. Hope I never have to use it but it is good to know I wont get stuck in a foreign country trying to come up with payment in advance of treatment. I did almost need to make a claim for missed connection to cruise once but made it with 5 minutes to spare.