Travel Insurance for Domestic Australian Cruise

[bermo84]

Hi All,

 

We are going on a NSW/QLD coast domestic cruise (Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas) and have heard conflicting information as to whether international travel insurance will be required or if domestic travel insurance will suffice.

Could anyone with experience in this area please shed some light on this for me and perhaps recommend an insurance provider you have used?

[rkmw]

Hi All,

 

We are going on a NSW/QLD coast domestic cruise (Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas) and have heard conflicting information as to whether international travel insurance will be required or if domestic travel insurance will suffice.

Could anyone with experience in this area please shed some light on this for me and perhaps recommend an insurance provider you have used?

 

for any cruise you must purchase international insurance as they dont have medicare onboard and if you had to see the doctor it would cost you dearly

[BJFG]

If you are on the ship and something happens then you won't be covered by Medicare or normal health insurance.

 

If you are on the Australian mainland, you -might- be fine, but then the domestic insurance companies will probably say that it occurred while you were on the ship and you waited until you were on land to complain and won't do a pay out.

 

For a $100 or so for a young to middle aged healthy couple, why risk it?

Edited December 2, 2013 by BJFG

[bermo84]

I am certainly not questioning the validity of obtaining travel insurance or balking at the cost. I just want to make sure I am covered.

Insurance companies differentiate between insurance for domestic travel and international travel and some offer one but not the other.

For example (from a FAQ on http://www.scti.com.au):

 

I am travelling on a cruise ship around Australia. Can I purchase travel insurance?

Published 11/08/2009 04.56 PM | Updated 19/07/2013 10.18 AM

No. If your cruise ship is only travelling through Australian waters, you are not eligible to purchase a TravelCare policy, as it covers international travel only. We do not offer domestic travel insurance.

 

 

If your cruise ship is travelling through International waters at any point during the duration of your journey, you are eligible to purchase a TravelCare policy.

 

 

Compare this to reading comments suggesting that you must have international travel insurance regardless (as in this thread) and it becomes confusing. :confused:

Edited December 2, 2013 by bermo84

[joejoe 59]

Yes you definitely need international insurance, One that covers the pacific :)

[MicCanberra]

Whether it is needed is anyone's guess as you don't know what will happen but personally I wouldn't want to be caught without any insurance. The medical bills alone could be crippling if something were to happen. I googled for cruise insurance in Australia and several options came up.:D

[mr walker]

we have travel insurance via our credit card, so have not taken out specific travel insurance. I have seen though listings which have countries listed and in the list was 'Australian Cruise' so I think that at least some must have this category.

The worst case scenario when cruising would be the need to be medically evacuated, or worse, and that's when insurance would be very important.

[Fozwald]

I wouldn't be too keen to rely on travel insurance from credit cards. You would need to check the conditions and definitions very carefully.

 

I am sure your TA can advise a reputable travel insurance policy for cruising.

[Pushka]

Yes. The insurance must cover for the pacific region. Once you are physically on the mainland then Medicare and private health insurance takes over. That's why insurance companies get you back to Australia ASAP so they no longer cover the bill for treatment even if the injury occurred on the boat.

[Aus Traveller]

we have travel insurance via our credit card, so have not taken out specific travel insurance. I have seen though listings which have countries listed and in the list was 'Australian Cruise' so I think that at least some must have this category.

The worst case scenario when cruising would be the need to be medically evacuated, or worse, and that's when insurance would be very important.

We have found the 'free' credit card travel insurance to be good. We haven't had to make a claim following a cruise, but we have for incidents in Europe. Large claims were met with no problems. The excess is higher than on 'normal' insurance, but we feel the $200 excess is probably what we would have paid as a premium, but we are only paying it if we have a claim.

 

If anyone is considering relying on this insurance, I suggest they compare the limit of coverage in the relevant categories. Important ones of course are medical/evacuation, possibly loss of luggage, cancellation costs.

 

With the insurance we have used, we had to pay at least $250 of the trip cost on our CC so we used it for the cruise deposit and usually had a small surcharge imposed by the TA or cruise company. The balance we could either send a cheque or make a direct deposit to the TA/cruise company's bank account.

 

I have noticed that some people (and this includes a friend who was a bank manager in his working life) feel that the 'free' insurance is too good to be true and they distrust it. It is worth checking out.

[Royalty X]

Yes, you will need an international policy. Covermore have an "international policy" specifically for domestic cruises (and another for SW Pacific cruises).

[The_Big_M]

There's elements of truth in some of the statements, but different situations mean they don't apply equally.

 

While the coverage can differ between domestic and international e.g. in terms of medicare, worst case is people can sometimes get airlifted off by helicopter. Medicare wouldn't cover you for that. There are also considerations like if you drop your camera in the water and other losses that can happen, so there is a benefit to be covered. However, it's true that some people would risk it themselves on a domestic cruise like yours. Given it is a lower risk cruise, that is an option if you wanted to 'self-insure'.

 

The next thing is to choose an appropriate policy. The provider you linked is saying their policy is not suitable. However, if you search through other providers you should be able to find one that suits that situation.

 

BTW, congrats on the grand suite - and hope you enjoy your first cruise!

[dizzy1948]

Hi All,

 

We are going on a NSW/QLD coast domestic cruise (Royal Caribbean - Radiance of the Seas) and have heard conflicting information as to whether international travel insurance will be required or if domestic travel insurance will suffice.

Could anyone with experience in this area please shed some light on this for me and perhaps recommend an insurance provider you have used?

 

By way of a suggestion - Cruise lines offer Insurance why not contact Royal Caribbean - see what they offer for your particular cruise - then go to the insurance Market and make your comparisons.

 

We all start somewhere - the most important thing is being insured. As mentioned by others - on board medical is not covered by Medicare - emergency evacuations are not covered by Medicare - or even private medical insurance that you may have at home in Aus does not cover you on board ship.

 

Covermore is excellent as is 1cover - we all have our favourites

 

Insurance doesn't cost - it saves.

Edited December 2, 2013 by dizzy1948

[bermo84]

Thank you all for your input.

I think the key will be going with a provider who is experienced with providing cover for cruising.

It seems that for some providers a "domestic" cruise sits in no-mans land in their policies (i.e. Australian waters = domestic but not taking into account international doctors on-board and thus no Medicare coverage).

I will make sure I get Pacific coverage international travel insurance and I will start with the providers suggested above.

Thanks again! :)

[MicCanberra]

We have travel insurance with our credit card as well, but it is for international travel only, this puts domestic cruises in a grey area for us as this may only cover the medical part on the ship. So when cruising out of and around Australia, we take out separate cover.:D

[mr walker]

We have found the 'free' credit card travel insurance to be good.

 

Our credit card issuers travel insurance is thru a large multi-national insurance company. I am no lawyer, but in reading the policy doc it looks similar to other offerings & certainly lists the big ticket items of interest to us - os medical costs, evacuation costs, cancellation costs etc. There is a $250 excess, which we can live with & after that the benefits look to fit our needs - never claimed but expect that it will be ok.

 

We thus pay a 1.5-2% cc fee, which was about $75 for the entire trip cost, so I think that's a reasonable deal.

 

Of course TA's will always be willing to assist with insurance - it is one of the upsells of the trade:D

Edited December 2, 2013 by mr walker

[MicCanberra]

Our credit card issuers travel insurance is thru a large multi-national insurance company. I am no lawyer, but in reading the policy doc it looks similar to other offerings & certainly lists the big ticket items of interest to us - os medical costs, evacuation costs, cancellation costs etc. There is a $250 excess, which we can live with & after that the benefits look to fit our needs - never claimed but expect that it will be ok.

 

We thus pay a 1.5-2% cc fee, which was about $75 for the entire trip cost, so I think that's a reasonable deal.

 

Of course TA's will always be willing to assist with insurance - it is one of the upsells of the trade:D

Finding one online that allows you you claim overseas expenses while cruising around Australia is tricky. The forms online can get confused with what you enter as departure and return ports.:D

[tillydog]

We've done 2 domestic cruises with Royal and all we needed was Domestic Travel Insurance.

 

HTH :-)

[Pushka]

We've done 2 domestic cruises with Royal and all we needed was Domestic Travel Insurance.

 

HTH :-)

 

Sorry, but unless you had a successful claim for this, I think you were just lucky you didn't need to claim on them for medical. It isn't up to the cruise line to determine which Insurance policy is correct; it is the Insurance companies who make the rules. And I received advice from three Insurance companies just prior to a domestic cruise a couple of weeks ago. You must purchase insurance that covers for the Pacific.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Pushka

[Aus Traveller]

Sorry, but unless you had a successful claim for this, I think you were just lucky you didn't need to claim on them for medical. It isn't up to the cruise line to determine which Insurance policy is correct; it is the Insurance companies who make the rules. And I received advice from three Insurance companies just prior to a domestic cruise a couple of weeks ago. You must purchase insurance that covers for the Pacific.

 

I agree with your comments. The domestic travel insurance premium is worked out on the basis that the traveller can access our free hospitals. Medical attention is very expensive on cruise ships. On our recent cruise, one person's bill was $7,000 and running. The lady had a fall and broke a bone in her ankle.

 

I agree that the previous poster was lucky.

[The_Big_M]

Sorry, but unless you had a successful claim for this, I think you were just lucky you didn't need to claim on them for medical. It isn't up to the cruise line to determine which Insurance policy is correct; it is the Insurance companies who make the rules. And I received advice from three Insurance companies just prior to a domestic cruise a couple of weeks ago. You must purchase insurance that covers for the Pacific.

 

Yes, I'd agree with this.

 

The insurers won’t stop you buying their insurance, but if it comes time to claim, the event needs to fit within the policy coverage.

[MicCanberra]

I agree with your comments. The domestic travel insurance premium is worked out on the basis that the traveller can access our free hospitals. Medical attention is very expensive on cruise ships. On our recent cruise, one person's bill was $7,000 and running. The lady had a fall and broke a bone in her ankle.

 

I agree that the previous poster was lucky.

Definitely, one friend had a bill for $2000 just for having some cuts and abrasions looked at and dressed once a day for 5 days. Domestic insurance did not cover these bills.:D

Edited December 3, 2013 by MicCanberra

[Aus Traveller]

Definitely, one friend had a bill for $2000 just for having some cuts and abrasions looked at and dressed once a day for 5 days. Domestic insurance did not cover these bills.:D

We take out own medical kit with antiseptic lotions and creams as well as sterile dressings etc. for minor wounds. But we would have to go to the Medical Centre if we broke a bone.:)

[Pushka]

The domestic cruise I took last month was with my mother. I paid an extra $25 to have a zero excess, thinking that at her age, we would need to visit the Doctor on board - for something?:o

 

Of course, the way with Insurance, neither of us needed to visit.

 

On a QM2 trip last year, while berthed in Melbourne, (so a stationary ship) two people broke a bone and were carted off in an ambulance. I'm thinking the Drs bills wouldn't be covered by medicare either even when berthed?

[MicCanberra]

The domestic cruise I took last month was with my mother. I paid an extra $25 to have a zero excess, thinking that at her age, we would need to visit the Doctor on board - for something?:o

 

Of course, the way with Insurance, neither of us needed to visit.

 

On a QM2 trip last year, while berthed in Melbourne, (so a stationary ship) two people broke a bone and were carted off in an ambulance. I'm thinking the Drs bills wouldn't be covered by medicare either even when berthed?

If they were Aussies, I don't know why the hospital would care where it happened so that should be fine for medicare/ health cover. As for the ambulance bill that may have another story if you didn't have your own ambulance cover.:D