How much do you insure a "free" cruise for?

[montekat]

Just booked a free cruise through Carnival. While the cruise itself is free, still have to pay taxes & port fees, which came to $378. I upgraded to a balcony for $140 which increased the total to $518. So, how much do I insure the trip for? $518, $378 or $140? I am not concerned about the cost of the cruise being covered, but do want to cover medical & evacuation costs in case of an emergency.

[caa]

You can buy a medical and evac policy if that's all you care about. If you want a comprehensive policy, then insure the part of the cost that's non-refundable. I believe that's $140, but you should check with Carnival and confirm that they'd refund the taxes and port fees if you did not travel.

[klfrodo]

your non refundable insurable expenses up to now is $140

[ibcnusoon]

You can buy a medical and evac policy if that's all you care about. If you want a comprehensive policy, then insure the part of the cost that's non-refundable. I believe that's $140, but you should check with Carnival and confirm that they'd refund the taxes and port fees if you did not travel.

 

I also have a "free" cruise. I'm concerned what exactly I should insure. I paid $288 total for 2 people.

 

I noticed on the bottom of the invite was this:

 

Carnival's standard cancellation penalties will apply to cancellations and no-shows for any reason and will be assessed based on the prevailing cruise fare at the time of booking. Guest will be informed of the prevailing cruise fare at time of booking. A charge will be made only in the event of a cancellation or no-show.

 

__

 

Does that mean I should insure at the "prevailing rate" or the $288 I paid for. And let's say I get ill and cannot cruise under doctor's order. Will I get back the $288 and not have to pay the "prevailing rate"?

 

I know I should call Carnival, but thought I'd ask here before I do so.

[montekat]

I also have a "free" cruise. I'm concerned what exactly I should insure. I paid $288 total for 2 people.

 

I noticed on the bottom of the invite was this:

 

Carnival's standard cancellation penalties will apply to cancellations and no-shows for any reason and will be assessed based on the prevailing cruise fare at the time of booking. Guest will be informed of the prevailing cruise fare at time of booking. A charge will be made only in the event of a cancellation or no-show.

 

__

 

Does that mean I should insure at the "prevailing rate" or the $288 I paid for. And let's say I get ill and cannot cruise under doctor's order. Will I get back the $288 and not have to pay the "prevailing rate"?

 

I know I should call Carnival, but thought I'd ask here before I do so.

 

Good question! I certainly don't plan on missing the cruise, but anything can happen. I talked to the folks at Insuremytrip.com and was told to insure it for the $140 that I paid for the balcony upgrade. Well, at least now I know I have been overestimating the price of the cruise when getting insurance because I just went by the total paid and not the price of the cabins only.

[caa]

I also have a "free" cruise. I'm concerned what exactly I should insure. I paid $288 total for 2 people.

 

I noticed on the bottom of the invite was this:

 

Carnival's standard cancellation penalties will apply to cancellations and no-shows for any reason and will be assessed based on the prevailing cruise fare at the time of booking. Guest will be informed of the prevailing cruise fare at time of booking. A charge will be made only in the event of a cancellation or no-show.

 

__

 

Does that mean I should insure at the "prevailing rate" or the $288 I paid for. And let's say I get ill and cannot cruise under doctor's order. Will I get back the $288 and not have to pay the "prevailing rate"?

 

I know I should call Carnival, but thought I'd ask here before I do so.

 

This cruise is only free if you actually sail. If you don't sail, then you have to pay for it. You can only collect on the cancellation clause of the insurance if you don't sail for a covered reason (e.g. you get sick and your doctor tells you not to travel), so you should insure for the amount you would pay in that situation.

[ibcnusoon]

Good question! I certainly don't plan on missing the cruise, but anything can happen. I talked to the folks at Insuremytrip.com and was told to insure it for the $140 that I paid for the balcony upgrade. Well, at least now I know I have been overestimating the price of the cruise when getting insurance because I just went by the total paid and not the price of the cabins only.

 

But we paid nothing for our spa interior cabin. If we did "upgrade" on the free cruise, we would have paid for an OV or $140 for the balcony. We paid, technically, nothing for our cabin itself. The $288 we paid for this 8-day cruise was for taxes and fees.

 

I'm still confused.

[tipsyturtle]

ibcnusoon,

You've paid nothing for your cruise so far. Per your comment above

"Carnival's standard cancellation penalties will apply to cancellations and no-shows for any reason and will be assessed based on the prevailing cruise fare at the time of booking. Guest will be informed of the prevailing cruise fare at time of booking. A charge will be made only in the event of a cancellation or no-show."

If you for some reason don't take the cruise you have a contractual obligation to pay the prevailing rate. If your not prepared to pay this out of pocket you should insure for whatever the prevailing rate was when you booked.

[cruiseco]

If you for some reason don't take the cruise you have a contractual obligation to pay the prevailing rate. If your not prepared to pay this out of pocket you should insure for whatever the prevailing rate was when you booked.

 

Before doing that be sure to check with the insurer. Many will only cover pre-paid. non-refundable trip costs and this case might fail the "pre-paid" test. This is why for years CSA has not covered airline change fees as they are not pre-paid (their newer plans now do so).

[sail7seas]

Just booked a free cruise through Carnival. While the cruise itself is free, still have to pay taxes & port fees, which came to $378. I upgraded to a balcony for $140 which increased the total to $518. So, how much do I insure the trip for? $518, $378 or $140? I am not concerned about the cost of the cruise being covered, but do want to cover medical & evacuation costs in case of an emergency.

 

 

Seeing you don't care that much about insuring what you are paying for the trip, compare the premium if you only purchase medical/evacuation/repatriation coverage vs cancellation and medical etc

 

You may find the premium cost is too high for the small amount you are acutally paying for the trip. It might not be worth insuring that amount.

 

[ibcnusoon]

We ended up finding an insurer who will cover us under the "prevailing rate", which, according to a Carnival PVP, is the "Fun Select" Rate. SO I took our "fun select" rate on the day of insurance purchase, and that would be out "total" out of pocket expense.

 

We are now fully covered for sickness, pre-existing, need to fly home, need to be medivac'ed, and even if DD's school goes into extra days and she can't get off of school and we need to cancel.

 

We are pretty much now covered with everything we feel we needed.

[cra-z-2cruise]

We ended up finding an insurer who will cover us under the "prevailing rate", which, according to a Carnival PVP, is the "Fun Select" Rate. SO I took our "fun select" rate on the day of insurance purchase, and that would be out "total" out of pocket expense.

 

We are now fully covered for sickness, pre-existing, need to fly home, need to be medivac'ed, and even if DD's school goes into extra days and she can't get off of school and we need to cancel.

 

We are pretty much now covered with everything we feel we needed.

 

ibcnusoon,

 

Could you please let me know who you found to insure against the "prevailing cruise rate" in the event you miss the trip?

 

I have called The Trip Insurance Store, we have bought from them multiple times in the past, and Carvnival's insurance department. Both said there was no way to cover the potential amount, just the actual prepaid amount. In fact, Steve said that the port charges were actually refundable, so it would not cover that amount either.

To make matters worse, I booked our flight with airline points, so no prepaid expenses there either.

 

My main concern, other than medical, is missing the ship-we could not arrange to fly the day before as usual this time.

 

Steve did say we could get medical/evacuation coverage for $75 for both of us. I will probably go with that, but would love to investigate the policy you found to see if it provides better coverage.

 

Thanks so much!

[cruiseco]

 

 

My main concern, other than medical, is missing the ship-we could not arrange to fly the day before as usual this time.

 

You should check out TravelSafe's Classic plan. It includes a $2500 per person Missed Connection benefit even if you insure $0 for trip cancellation. That should be enough to get you to the next port of call if you miss the ship. Also includes medical, emergency evac, etc. Here's what it covers:

 

"BENEFITS

 

If an Insured is delayed for more than the number of hours shown on the Schedule of Benefits while en route to a Trip, due to:

 

a) any delay of a Common Carrier. The delay must be certified by the Common Carrier; or

b) documented weather condition preventing the Insured from getting to the point of departure;

 

Benefits will be paid, on a one-time basis, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for:

 

a) the Additional Transportation Cost to join the cruise or tour;

b) reasonable accommodation and hotel expenses;"

[cra-z-2cruise]

Thanks so much!:)

Checking it right now...

[ibcnusoon]

ibcnusoon,

 

Could you please let me know who you found to insure against the "prevailing cruise rate" in the event you miss the trip?

My main concern, other than medical, is missing the ship-we could not arrange to fly the day before as usual this time.

 

Steve did say we could get medical/evacuation coverage for $75 for both of us. I will probably go with that, but would love to investigate the policy you found to see if it provides better coverage.

 

Thanks so much!

 

We went through InsureMyTrip and selected Travel Insured's Worldwide Trip Protector.

 

My main concern was not missing the ship because we are just an hour or so away from port.

 

We needed pre-existing waiver and medical/evacuation coverage.

Edited March 5, 2014 by ibcnusoon

[cra-z-2cruise]

You should check out TravelSafe's Classic plan. It includes a $2500 per person Missed Connection benefit even if you insure $0 for trip cancellation. That should be enough to get you to the next port of call if you miss the ship. Also includes medical, emergency evac, etc. Here's what it covers:

 

"BENEFITS

 

If an Insured is delayed for more than the number of hours shown on the Schedule of Benefits while en route to a Trip, due to:

 

a) any delay of a Common Carrier. The delay must be certified by the Common Carrier; or

b) documented weather condition preventing the Insured from getting to the point of departure;

 

Benefits will be paid, on a one-time basis, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for:

 

a) the Additional Transportation Cost to join the cruise or tour;

b) reasonable accommodation and hotel expenses;"

 

 

Thanks Cruiseco,

 

I went to Insure My Trip's site and read through the policy.

 

 

 

If there is no Trip cost insured, the Trip Interruption Benefit will be limited to a maximum amount of $1,000.

 

Missed Connection: If You miss Your cruise or tour departure because Your arrival at Your Trip destination is delayed for 3 or more hours, benefits will be paid, on a one-time basis, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for a) the Additional Transportation Cost to join the Trip and b) the unused portion of the prepaid expenses for land or water Travel Arrangements, due to: a) any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the Common Carrier); b) a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure; c) quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot.

 

 

Then I called and spoke with Matthew (extremely helpful).

He called the company directly to verify and was given the same information that you posted, a one-time $2500 benefit on a $0 cost trip!

 

 

Great! I'll take it. :)

 

However, below is the actual policy I received:

 

MISSED CONNECTION

If You miss Your cruise or tour departure because Your arrival at Your Trip destination is delayed for 3 or more hours, due to: a) any delay of a Common Carrier (the delay must be certified by the Common Carrier); b) a documented weather condition preventing You from getting to the point of departure; c) quarantine, hijacking, Strike, natural disaster, terrorism or riot.

Benefits will be paid, on a one-time basis, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount, for: a) the Additional Transportation Cost to join the Trip and b) reasonable accommodation and meal expenses necessarily incurred by You for which You have proof of purchase and which were not paid for or provided by any other source.

These benefits will not duplicate any benefits payable under the policy or any coverage(s) attached to the policy.

The Maximum Benefit Amount is shown in the Confirmation of Benefits.

 

 

This is what my declarations page says:

 

Trip Cancellation $0

Trip Interruption $0

 

Oh well, at least now I have medical/evacuation coverage and am hoping that I don't have an opportunity to find out what the policy actually covers. :)

 

Thanks again for the help!

Edited March 5, 2014 by cra-z-2cruise