Vacation Protection?

[BigMomma409]

Honestly....is it worth it? We're pretty local to the port, so we'll be driving in and parking near the terminal so no airfare type issues. We plan on giving our suitcases to the porter when we arrive but carrying them off ourselves. Besides medical issues, what does this $109pp for this protection really cover? Do I need it?

[forwardcabin]

See the info at...

http://www.carnival.com/about-carnival/vacation-protection.aspx

[GTO-Girl]

I always get trip insurance but NEVER through the cruise line. You can get better coverage, for less money through a third party. Look at www.insuremytrip.com and compare prices.

 

To me having enough medical coverage is the number one thing I need. Although you may be young and healthy these boards are full of people who had accidents, fell, or got sick.

 

Only you can decided if you really "need" insurance........for me I could never leave the USA without it!!

 

I do hope you have a wonderful cruise!!!

[snc_cam]

Not sure if the OP has been just reading the posts (lurking) vs being a new person here.

 

There are a variety of threads that have discussed travel insurance and with these threads are experiences of why you should have it.

 

But as stated, it is really up to you if you want it or not. Me, I wouldn't travel outside the US without it either.

[Sparky2]

We always purhase trip insurance in case something happens where we need to be medivaced back to the states. We can afford to lose the cost of the cruise & even airfare, but a medivac trip would really take a hit of our savings.

[TrqoisWtrs]

What credit card do you have? I recently found out one of the benefits of mine includes basic travel insurance - having to cancel due to sick/death, lost luggage, etc. Glad I found out. Saves me from buying duplicate coverage.

[elliair]

I've seen more medical issues than any other issues I've seen on cruises. Can you afford to self insure? Can you afford to be flown somewhere at your own expense JIC you or someone in your family gets sick. I've seen heart attacks, broken bones, bowel obstructions, just to name a few on cruises. Lucky for some we were close to a port, for others, they had to be helicoptered off. We've never gotten the insurance through the cruise line, you can do better. Go to insure my trip dot com, and there's several insurance companies that you can choose from. Better to be safe than sorry.

[audcc77]

What credit card do you have? I recently found out one of the benefits of mine includes basic travel insurance - having to cancel due to sick/death, lost luggage, etc. Glad I found out. Saves me from buying duplicate coverage.

 

Me too! My Barclay's Arrival Card has insurance, so I haven't bought it since discovering that. I do not think it covers medivac, but my husband's work insurance covers that for our family. You can purchase only "medivac" insurance for about $36 through TravelGuard.

[BigMomma409]

I apologize for asking a question that's obviously been asked before. I should have searched, I was just looking for more specific to me responses I guess. I thought a lot of times the vacation protection deals more with transfers from the plane to the ship and vice versa & I won't be dealing with any of that.

 

As for whether I'm "new" or a "lurker", I don't come on these boards 24/7/365. I come here when I book a cruise and want information. I've been a member here for over 5 years if that answers your question.

 

For those of you who actually answered my question and/or shared your experiences and input, thank you. I think I'll keep the protection, just to be on the safe side. Thanks.

[SeaGoingDAD]

Honestly....is it worth it? We're pretty local to the port, so we'll be driving in and parking near the terminal so no airfare type issues. We plan on giving our suitcases to the porter when we arrive but carrying them off ourselves. Besides medical issues, what does this $109pp for this protection really cover? Do I need it?

 

It's really a gamble, which pays off if you need it.

 

But never take the cruise lines insurance. Always go third party.

[travler27]

It's like any other insurance. If you have to file a claim then it's worth the cost. If you don't need it then it's money down the drain. "question is punk. Do you feel lucky today?" I think that's Dirty Harry. :)

 

If you get it don't get it thru Carnival. Better coverage for less money can be had from 3rd parties. Medical evacuations are why I get it. They can cost many tens of thousands of dollars and your healthcare insurance won't cover it in most cases. That can easily be a bankrupting expense.

Edited January 8, 2015 by travler27

[travler27]

I apologize for asking a question that's obviously been asked before. I should have searched, I was just looking for more specific to me responses I guess. I thought a lot of times the vacation protection deals more with transfers from the plane to the ship and vice versa & I won't be dealing with any of that.

 

As for whether I'm "new" or a "lurker", I don't come on these boards 24/7/365. I come here when I book a cruise and want information. I've been a member here for over 5 years if that answers your question.

 

For those of you who actually answered my question and/or shared your experiences and input, thank you. I think I'll keep the protection, just to be on the safe side. Thanks.

 

No need to apologize. You got questions, we got answers. Just ignore the rude folks.

[cosmo cruiser]

We sailed on the Splendor out of Miami on 1/11/15. It was out 26th cruise and we have never sailed without insurance. Never in the past have we used one penny of insurance. I am right now sitting in the Broward County hospital in Ft Lauderdale Florida while my husband is critically ill in the ICU unit. We have been here 8 days and it looks like it could be weeks until we are even able to consider going home. My husband had a heart attack 9 hours after getting on board. We used the infirmary on board ($2000+) then they diverted the ship to Freeport (not somewhere we were supposed to go) so we could be taken off by a smaller transport boat (40 minutes by boat to the nearest land) He was transported to a hospital in Freeport where he was for 12 hours while he was stabilized. He was then medi-vac flight to Ft Lauderdale. He aspirated on the medi-vac flight and it has been down hill from there. I have paid for cruise insurance on every cruise we have been on and the medi-vac flight alone is more money than I have paid for insurance over the years in total. We are looking at 12K JUST for that flight alone. 26 cruises times approx $200 each trip is only $5400. Approx cost of 2 cruises but still less than half of the medi-vac flight we took one week ago today!

 

I am reading cruise critic to keep my mind off what is going on around me. I wouldn't wish this situation on my worst enemy. Buy the insurance.......even if yu never use it is peace of mind. This situation could bankrupt a family in very short order. We are well into 6 figures already and no where near done. Yes we also thought he was healthy and it wouldn't happen........don't kid yourself, it can happen to anyone. Illness, injury, heart attack, trip and fall. Trust me when I say you do not want your loved one in a hospital outside of the US, the care that is available is not what you would want or expect. Getting them back to the US can be critical and time can be a huge issue.

[thomarvin]

I just bought insurance for my May trip. my son under 18 was free. For the other 3 of us we paid $149 total. It covers medical evacuation among other charges. My sister has used this company (travel Guard) in the past and had to file a claim for a B2B when our mom unexpectedly pasted away. She got all her expenses back very quickly. If you go on their website you can see the costs and what it covers. With our dad now living alone at 91, I thought it was needed to get insurance just in case we needed to cancel because of him.

[Donh44]

I apologize for asking a question that's obviously been asked before. I should have searched, I was just looking for more specific to me responses I guess. I thought a lot of times the vacation protection deals more with transfers from the plane to the ship and vice versa & I won't be dealing with any of that.

 

As for whether I'm "new" or a "lurker", I don't come on these boards 24/7/365. I come here when I book a cruise and want information. I've been a member here for over 5 years if that answers your question.

 

For those of you who actually answered my question and/or shared your experiences and input, thank you. I think I'll keep the protection, just to be on the safe side. Thanks.

 

 

You are smart for keeping the protection that you have. I would never take the risk of leaving the US without having coverage to get me back should an emergency come up. It could, literally, cost you thousands of dollars. I am acquainted with someone who took a land trip several years ago and landed in Italy. Within an hour he had a heart attack and was hospitalized in an Italian hospital and eventually had to be flown back here.

[Jasalth]

Like was said there are much much better deals outside of the cruise line you can get for insurance.

 

Since you said in your post that you are near the port and driving there is no real need for full coverage for everything. Last cruise we got travel insurance much more specific to our needs.

 

It was cheaper because it didn't cover air at all, but it still did have a 3 hour trip delay payment. I don't know exactly how far you are, but with making a total of 12 long trips by car (14+ hour each way trips) I have had this happen to me 25% of the time. Accidents, construction, accidents IN construction you name it, I have been stuck in the traffic from it! The only thing I have never had happen was a car breaking down.

 

This actually covered about $60 an hour up to 10 hours if we ran into something. It also covered the nearest rental car and all repairs if something was to happen to our car on the way. Yes, car insurance does this, but the travel insurance covers your deductible.

 

The website that was posted before here was amazing when I get travel insurance. I call them up, explain my needs and they find the perfect match for me. Our last cruise I insured the trip and travel with a value of $8500 (mostly cruise cost) and it cost me less than $200 for all 4 of us.

[acceber32]

We started buying insurance when we had kids. I don't like to take chances when it comes to my kids. We've never used it until this last trip when I broke my foot. Insurance paid everything minus the $50 deductible and was easy to file my claim.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rlkubi]

Big Momma, IMO yes it is worth it. My friend always says the cost of the cruise is not much so doesn't matter. I always tell her it isn't just to refund for the cruise but just in case of medical problems. I have heard the cost to airlift you off the ship or to go into a hospital is expensive. Worth it for me. I just count it as cost of the cruises.

[CruizinMama1026]

Does the Carnival Trip Insurance cover for a medivac?

[grandmacani]

We have never had to use insurance on any of our cruises. We've always used Travelguard. But..... When we recently took a cruise i purchased CCL insurance. Two days after sailing I Went to medical and incurred a $200.00 charge. I never thought I'd need the medical dept. Dr visit and meds. My own dr said if I'd have ignored this it could've been worse. It's a crap shoot at best.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[crazycruzer68]

If you do have the insurance do you pay for the services up front and then get reimbursed?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[DareTooDream]

Cosmo Cruiser......my thoughts are with you and your husband!

 

We sailed on the Splendor out of Miami on 1/11/15. It was out 26th cruise and we have never sailed without insurance. Never in the past have we used one penny of insurance. I am right now sitting in the Broward County hospital in Ft Lauderdale Florida while my husband is critically ill in the ICU unit. We have been here 8 days and it looks like it could be weeks until we are even able to consider going home. My husband had a heart attack 9 hours after getting on board. We used the infirmary on board ($2000+) then they diverted the ship to Freeport (not somewhere we were supposed to go) so we could be taken off by a smaller transport boat (40 minutes by boat to the nearest land) He was transported to a hospital in Freeport where he was for 12 hours while he was stabilized. He was then medi-vac flight to Ft Lauderdale. He aspirated on the medi-vac flight and it has been down hill from there. I have paid for cruise insurance on every cruise we have been on and the medi-vac flight alone is more money than I have paid for insurance over the years in total. We are looking at 12K JUST for that flight alone. 26 cruises times approx $200 each trip is only $5400. Approx cost of 2 cruises but still less than half of the medi-vac flight we took one week ago today!

 

I am reading cruise critic to keep my mind off what is going on around me. I wouldn't wish this situation on my worst enemy. Buy the insurance.......even if yu never use it is peace of mind. This situation could bankrupt a family in very short order. We are well into 6 figures already and no where near done. Yes we also thought he was healthy and it wouldn't happen........don't kid yourself, it can happen to anyone. Illness, injury, heart attack, trip and fall. Trust me when I say you do not want your loved one in a hospital outside of the US, the care that is available is not what you would want or expect. Getting them back to the US can be critical and time can be a huge issue.