Travel Insurance

[Magnum60]

I've booked Viking's Romantic Danube 8 day Budapest - Nuremberg cruise for this November. Viking uses an insurance product called Trip Mate (a Viking product?) and for this eight day [coach class air included] cruise Trip Mate's premium is $758.00 a couple :eek:. That's about 10% of the cruise fare which to me seems excessively high. Can I request that Viking remove Trip Mate? I can self insure this trip using a well known company that I've used for other cruises that is much more price friendly. I've already pre paid for the cruise. Am I to late to drop Trip Mate? I ask because I'm about to make a flight modification that Viking is willing to allow (for a fee ;)). That implies to me that the cruise document isn't completely set in stone (moving our flight accommodations up a class or two and adding a two day pre cruise hotel package would certainly alter the insurance premium).

[ea6b5]

I've booked Viking's Romantic Danube 8 day Budapest - Nuremberg cruise for this November. Viking uses an insurance product called Trip Mate (a Viking product?) and for this eight day [coach class air included] cruise Trip Mate's premium is $758.00 a couple :eek:. That's about 10% of the cruise fare which to me seems excessively high. Can I request that Viking remove Trip Mate? I can self insure this trip using a well known company that I've used for other cruises that is much more price friendly. I've already pre paid for the cruise. Am I to late to drop Trip Mate? I ask because I'm about to make a flight modification that Viking is willing to allow (for a fee ;)). That implies to me that the cruise document isn't completely set in stone (moving our flight accommodations up a class or two and adding a two day pre cruise hotel package would certainly alter the insurance premium).

 

You do not have to use Trip Mate, just ask them to remove! Use can go to the airline website and see your reservation and change what class you want as long as you have your confirmation number for the airline!

Edited August 3, 2015 by ea6b5

[orchestrapal]

Never book insurance with cruis line. It is usually more expensive and does not give you the same coverage you will get elsewhere.IN therms of line going bankrupt or giving you back cash and not cruise line credits, you may never use, you will be better off.

Try InsureMYTrip....

Edited August 3, 2015 by orchestrapal

[Host Jazzbeau]

Never book insurance with cruis line. It is usually more expensive and does not give you the same coverage you will get elsewhere.IN therms of line going bankrupt or giving you back cash and not cruise line credits, you may never use, you will be better off.

Try InsureMYTrip....

 

You are correct that it does not include supplier default coverage, but otherwise YMMV. Sometimes we find the ship's coverage to be sufficient, and usually the cost is lower than third-party coverage. If you have MedJet evacuation coverage (and you should), the higher medical limits on "gold" policies are unnecessary. And if you plan to keep traveling with the same cruise line, a voucher is ok in lieu of cash.

[2CatsInFlorida]

We had to use Trip Mate for a river cruise we missed because of a medical problem. We were promptly reimbursed for the air and cruise costs. I would use them again.

[Kenster]

In my experience, Trip Insurance through a cruise line is always much more expensive than if you buy your own. For our upcoming trip, instead of almost $400 each, I bought through the same company that AAA uses at less than half the cost of the cruise line, without cutting coverage. Do a little investigation.

[caviargal]

My mom (84) paid $150 with AMA to cover the cost of her cruise. With TravelGuard, it was over $500 for the same coverage. Since most policies are age based, it definitely pays to research.

[pbnjrockette]

Sometimes an advantage of the cruiseline insurance is the "Cancellation without reason clause". This can be beneficial for a death or illness outside the immediate family or other reason that is not one of the "covered" reasons. This insurance is usually more expensive. It pays to compare and read what's in each policy coverage.

[Hydrokitty]

We had to use Trip Mate for a river cruise we missed because of a medical problem. We were promptly reimbursed for the air and cruise costs. I would use them again.

 

We purchase Trip Mate through Vantage on all of our trips. It is expensive, no question, but once I plug in our ages and the cost of the trip, I have been unable to get the same coverage for the amount I pay. You had experience with having to cancel a trip before you left. Let me tell you what happens if you need them during the trip. We were on a trip this summer when one of our tour group had a massive coronary and died instantly. Our TM notified Vantage immediately and from then on his spouse had to do NOTHING except call her family. Vantage sent a representative to the hospital and took care of everything. All she had to do was tell them what she wanted/needed and it was taken care of. I know I would be incapable of coherent thought if that happened to me and it gives me peace of mind knowing that Vantage and Trip Mate will be there if I ever need them.....and THAT'S what I'm paying for.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[JVilleGal]

My mom (84) paid $150 with AMA to cover the cost of her cruise. With TravelGuard, it was over $500 for the same coverage. Since most policies are age based, it definitely pays to research.

 

 

Cruise line coverage is almost always more cost effective from age 75 on. Cruise line coverage is not (yet) age based, but third party coverage is.....

[Host Jazzbeau]

Cruise line coverage is almost always more cost effective from age 75 on. Cruise line coverage is not (yet) age based, but third party coverage is.....

 

It's been cost-effective for us from age 65 on (which is when we started comparing). But there are different ways to structure policies, so it's almost impossible to compare apples to apples because two policies never have exactly the same coverages. I compare the cruise-line policy cost (if it includes everything I want covered) against the third-party policy cost -- but I often have to bump up to one of their better policies to get all the coverages I want, and that often includes "better" coverage in some areas -- if I don't care about those "better" items I just compare the two costs and the cruise line policy usually wins. The only thing I'm giving up is the "supplier default" coverage in case the cruise lines goes belly-up. Sometimes, if I buy the air through the cruise line, they cover that without increasing the policy cost -- and then they really win the comparison!

[Suzanne123]

Take a look at this thread on the travel insurance board for another perspective on Trip Mate.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2225458

[remydiva]

It's been cost-effective for us from age 65 on (which is when we started comparing). But there are different ways to structure policies, so it's almost impossible to compare apples to apples because two policies never have exactly the same coverages. I compare the cruise-line policy cost (if it includes everything I want covered) against the third-party policy cost -- but I often have to bump up to one of their better policies to get all the coverages I want, and that often includes "better" coverage in some areas -- if I don't care about those "better" items I just compare the two costs and the cruise line policy usually wins. The only thing I'm giving up is the "supplier default" coverage in case the cruise lines goes belly-up. Sometimes, if I buy the air through the cruise line, they cover that without increasing the policy cost -- and then they really win the comparison!

 

Ages 68 and 64 and AAA was half the price of Viking insurance...