Celibrity's insurance?

[Xoe]

We've booked a 5-day family cruise in October, intended as a "last hurrah" trip for our elders, ages 91 and 89: two Sky Suites, 2 CC staterooms, 7 family members going. Insurance is essential as a health problem/crisis could occur.

 

My search indicates the best price is Celebrity's own insurance, and their coverage seems comparable with other travel insurance companies' -- with the added plus of providing future cruise credit for a non-covered cancellation. (Probably the premium is less for us because it's based on cruise price, not on ages of travelers, as is true with other insurers.)

 

Has anyone had experience with Celebrity's insurance when a cruise needed to be canceled or interrupted due to an elder's health crisis? Cancellation is our biggest concern -- there will be no air travel and no risk of baggage loss, as we're driving to the pier in Seattle (this cruise was chosen for its close-to-home inside passage itinerary).

 

I am hoping for confirmation on this board that Celebrity's insurance is a safe choice, and would love to hear any reports ("yay" or "nay") that will make this clear. Thanks!

[cruisead]

For anyone with pre-existing conditions (something you're been treated for within the past 180 days---even taking prescription meds is considered treatment), the best way to go is NOT with the cruise line's insurance, but with a third party company like Access America or Travel Guard. Go to insuremytrip.com and take a look at their policies. Also, you need to purchase the insurance within 7 to 14 days of booking your cruise and making the deposit to cover any pre-existing conditions.

[hdawson]

Remember, Medicare and some group health plans do not cover them if outside the US.

[Xoe]

Still puzzling though. As remarkable as it seems, these 89- and 91-year-olds do not have "pre-existing conditions" as normally defined. No heart problems. Mainly just bodies that are getting tired and wearing out!

 

Given that circumstance, shouldn't the cruise ship's insurance cover us if a crisis occurs? I guess the main one I can visualize would be a fall and a broken bone (although in fact they have fallen a couple times and broken nothing).

 

We missed paying for the insurance when we first booked; I thought we had, but apparently I misunderstood. We paid our deposits in early June, and final payments are due in early August. It just seems so silly to pay twice the price for coverage that seems no better . . . Any other advice??

[Scott Cyn]

I am woefully ignorant on trip insurance. I really need to get up to speed on that so I don't feel like I am a) throwing away money needlessly or b) putting myself at undue risk.

 

I started that learning process the other night and it is by no means complete. But I agree with what cruisead said about www.insuremytrip.com. I went there and printed out some comparisons of various policies. It is helpful to stack them up against each other, comparing deductibles and maximums in all the different categories. Also go to the X website and get the same data on their policy.

 

My cursory look the other night said I could get better coverage for fewer dollars with a non-cruise line policy.

 

Scott

[hdawson]

Please buy coverage, not lowest premium. I'm 66 yrs old and spent half my last cruise (Feb) doing twice daily trips to the infirmery for treatments for bronchitis. I agree, third party insurance.

[cruiseco]

If, by the plan's definition, there's no pre-existing medical conditions to worry about why wouldn't you take the cruise line's plan if there's a big savings?

 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with these plans if they do what you want them to do. This is a case where you really don't have to worry about the cruise line going out of business so that concern is a non-issue. So if there's an illness or injury that prevents them from taking the ctuise or cuts the cruise short, requires an emergency evacuation, or if there's a need for onboard medical care this plan will handle it the same as any other plan but at probably half the cost.

 

For those in the upper age brackets the cruise line plans are a great value compared to third-party plans that are age-based.

[Andee]

We were booked on a cruiseline that went bankrupt four days before our cruise. Their insurance certainly wouldn't have done us any good.

[kitty9]

Be careful about the pre-existing conditions thing. If the "seniors" take any kind of medication, for blood pressure, diabetes, or any prescription meds, even that is considered pre-existing. Even if you take meds for something like blood pressure, and you haven't seen your doctor in less than 180 days, but the doc changed the prescription, that's considered pre-existing. Like another poster said, don't make your decision based solely on price. For insurance, you get what you pay for. In the event something should happen, God forbid, on the cruise which calls for a medical evacuation from the ship or an island, make sure whatever coverage you have includes evacuation because that can cost upward of $30,000.