Passports & Insurance

[Sarpy1]

As always, I am turning to this post for much needed advice. We are going on a cruise in October to the Bahamas and leaving out of PC. My sister and niece live in Tampa, so they are meeting us at the hotel. We are coming in a day early and staying an extra day after the cruise. So question is this, would you get passports for everyone and would you take the insurance? We won't be purchasing the insurance until right before we leave. There will be 8 adults and 2 children. Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. :)

[paul929207]

I guess the insurance depends on your risk tolerance. If one of you has a serious accident or illness out of the US, many regular medical insurance plans will NOT cover the expenses. How difficult would it be for you to pay those expenses out of pocket?

[sparks1093]

As always, I am turning to this post for much needed advice. We are going on a cruise in October to the Bahamas and leaving out of PC. My sister and niece live in Tampa, so they are meeting us at the hotel. We are coming in a day early and staying an extra day after the cruise. So question is this, would you get passports for everyone and would you take the insurance? We won't be purchasing the insurance until right before we leave. There will be 8 adults and 2 children. Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. :)

 

I guess the insurance depends on your risk tolerance. If one of you has a serious accident or illness out of the US, many regular medical insurance plans will NOT cover the expenses. How difficult would it be for you to pay those expenses out of pocket?

 

Paul's answer applies to the passport question also. It is also important to remember that not all insurance policies will reimburse if some or any of the loss is due to not have the appropriate travel documentation. What exactly are you looking for insurance to cover?

[cherylandtk]

If I were to purchase insurance I would have done so at the time of deposit. This late in the game, for that close of a destination, probably not so much. BUT, as asked above, what do you want the insurance to cover?

 

When asked, I always recommend a passport.

[Kamloops50]

I always recommend a least a passport and some kind of medical insurance . You probably should buy trip insurance as well . It will cover the loss of the cruise if you are injured while traveling to the port. If you are flying or driving start it midnight the day you will travel. If you can buy trip cancellation insurance as well.

In other words buy the full package if possible even at this late date , some insurance is better than none.

[Sarpy1]

We were just confused at what to do. We all have medical coverage and all but 4 adults have a passport. Should we at least make sure the children have a passport? Since we didn't book the insurance right away (kids are paying for their own way) at time of booking, we were not going with insurance that covered the cancellation part since we were arriving a day early and then leaving the next day after we return. Just didn't know what to do since this is just a 4 day cruise. Thanks so much for all of the advice so far!

[Kamloops50]

We were just confused at what to do. We all have medical coverage and all but 4 adults have a passport. Should we at least make sure the children have a passport? Since we didn't book the insurance right away (kids are paying for their own way) at time of booking, we were not going with insurance that covered the cancellation part since we were arriving a day early and then leaving the next day after we return. Just didn't know what to do since this is just a 4 day cruise. Thanks so much for all of the advice so far!

Can the kids afford to lose their cruise fare . For example they break a leg three days before departure , can they afford the losing the money ? The same applies for all the adults . If you have time get passports.

[donaldsc]

We won't be purchasing the insurance until right before we leave. There will be 8 adults and 2 children. Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. :)

 

I do not get it. What would purchasing the insurance the night before you leave cover?

 

DO

[PennyAgain]

Not all medical insurance includes coverage when outside the United States. Especially for folks on Medicare.

 

Veryify what coverage each person has long before the date of your cruise so you can buy coverage if needed.

 

My own Medicare does not cover anything outside of the USA so I buy additonal coverage.

[Shorex]

I do not get it. What would purchasing the insurance the night before you leave cover?

 

DO

 

A week or so before departure (not the night before), I'll purchase "post departure" trip insurance. This does not cover sunk costs such as the cost of the cruise or non refundable air. For that we self insure. It does cover medical costs, evacuation costs, and trip disruption. Coupled with a MedJet policy, we are protected against major financial loss.

 

However, it's not a strategy I would recommend for a large group or for someone without a full understanding of the risks/benefits.

 

Don't know what else "night before" insurance could cover.

[Sarpy1]

Guess I should have explained that we wouldn't purchase the insurance the night before we leave, but at least a week out before we leave. Thanks so much for all the advice, you have helped me out so much. I appreciate everyone's view. Do you have any advice for me on the passport part of the trip? Is everyone agreeing that we should have those also? :)

[Kamloops50]

Guess I should have explained that we wouldn't purchase the insurance the night before we leave, but at least a week out before we leave. Thanks so much for all the advice, you have helped me out so much. I appreciate everyone's view. Do you have any advice for me on the passport part of the trip? Is everyone agreeing that we should have those also? :)

On closed loops cruises you don't require a passport . The big but is if you need to fly home due to injury or family emergency , you'll require a passport to fly. Having a passport is just an extra piece of mind for me.

[sparks1093]

Guess I should have explained that we wouldn't purchase the insurance the night before we leave, but at least a week out before we leave. Thanks so much for all the advice, you have helped me out so much. I appreciate everyone's view. Do you have any advice for me on the passport part of the trip? Is everyone agreeing that we should have those also? :)

 

It would depend on a lot of factors, not the least of which is your comfort level in assuming the risk of traveling without a passport. I personally have decided to forego a passport until the time is nearer that we actually need one for travel but I've looked at the risks for our trips and it is low. Getting a passport would eliminate a lot of questions and is the best form of travel ID, but many US citizens travel on closed loop cruises just fine without one (especially on the shorter itineraries).

[kitty9]

Guess I should have explained that we wouldn't purchase the insurance the night before we leave, but at least a week out before we leave. Thanks so much for all the advice, you have helped me out so much. I appreciate everyone's view. Do you have any advice for me on the passport part of the trip? Is everyone agreeing that we should have those also? :)

 

Here's a problem with that. You're cruising during what is normally the busiest hurricane time. I just read an article talking about insurance and hurricanes, and if you buy insurance that late, and there's a named hurricane heading in the direction you're going, the insurance won't cover you if you have to miss the cruise because of the hurricane. Just a little bit of info.

 

BTW, is there any reason why you're purchasing the insurance so late? Do any in your party have pre-existing conditions? If so, you may have a hard time finding insurance that will cover pre-existing. You can get coverage, but it will be more expensive.

 

As for the passports, they're always the best idea.

[Sarpy1]

Since there are different ages as well as incomes in the group going we are trying to figure out if they had to pay for one or the other which one would be the best for them to purchase. From what everyone is telling me, we should at least get the travel insurance. :)

[jsmeeker]

how old are the kids and do you foresee additional international travel in the future?

[Sarpy1]

The children are pretty young. one is 4yrs old and the other is 6 months old. We will get passports for them for sure. There are 4 adults in the group that do not have passports. :)

[jsmeeker]

Passports are only good for 5 years for kids under 16. If there were kids really close to 16, but still under, I would probably recommend against them unless you really knew they would take a trip that required them before they could get a passport good for 10 years. But you don't have to worry about that. For the little ones, do you really think there is a reasonable chance they will be on a trip that requires them within 5 years? If so, go get 'em passports.

 

 

For the adults, how many of them are you or spouse/partner? I'd let the other adults make their own decisions. You might not all have the same needs now or in the future. I'm a big fan of having them, but I realize not everyone feels that way or will ever have a desire to actually use them where they must.

[Sarpy1]

What you say makes sense. Since they are little the passports are only good for 5 years should we get them now and by the time we use them again they could expire. Tough decisions here. So still not sure on the passports and insurance. Should we or not. Thanks for all of your help.