NCL Zika policy

[Fido Chuckwagon]

So my wife and I are looking to book a cruise to Bermuda in October. We are choosing that destination specifically because Bermuda is as yet Zika-free and wife and I may have our second pregnancy within the next year. We are (and always) purchase the NCL trip insurance. If between now and October Zika takes root in Bermuda will we be allowed to cancel or at least get the fare back as a credit? I know with the generic trip insurance we can always get a cruise credit worth 75 percent of the cruise but losing 25 percent of our cruise would really not be great.

[ColinIllinois]

I just put "ncl zika" in Google and came up with this:

 

https://www.ncl.com/press-releases/zika-virus-travel-advisory

 

Hope it helps.

Edited July 31, 2016 by ColinIllinois

[triptolemus]

Why don't you look at purchasing insurance outside of NCL that has the coverage you need.

 

Start here:

 

http://insuremytrip.com

 

Most people seem to think that outside insurance is a superior value compared to any cruise line's policy anyway.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Thanks!

[dcipjr]

Have you thought about waiting to book your cruise until 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the sail date? You can take the wait-and-see approach, plus I doubt that an October cruise would be sold-out.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Hmm, not finding any plans on insuremytrip that offer cancellation for this reason.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Have you thought about waiting to book your cruise until 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the sail date? You can take the wait-and-see approach, plus I doubt that an October cruise would be sold-out.

 

Yeah, I think we're leaning towards that at this point. There are going to be three of us in a room, wife, me, and daughter, so I guess it wouldn't be great if the 3rd and 4th guests sail free promotion ends tommorrow, but worth waiting versus losing 25 percent of our cruise I guess.

[Sauer-kraut]

Hmm, not finding any plans on insuremytrip that offer cancellation for this reason.

 

Cancel for any reason insurance isn't listed?

[triptolemus]

Hmm, not finding any plans on insuremytrip that offer cancellation for this reason.

 

You're going to need to spend a little more than 7 minutes looking at the different options.

 

"Cancel for any reason" is there and some policies will refund 100% of the cruise fare.

 

This isn't like shopping at Amazon. Do your research.

[Turtles06]

Cancel for any reason insurance isn't listed?

 

I'm pretty sure the OP doesn't want "cancel for any reason" insurance since he's mentioned not being happy about having to swallow 25% of the trip cost, and I think that's his reference to such insurance. (Many folks mistakenly believe that cancel for any reason insurance always gets you 100% cash back, but that's not true of all policies; it's pretty pricey, too.) I think the OP is looking for something that will let him cancel specifically because of Zika and get a full refund.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Turtles06

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I'm pretty sure the OP doesn't want "cancel for any reason" insurance since he's mentioned not being happy about having to swallow 25% of the trip cost, and I think that's his reference to such insurance. (Many folks mistakenly believe that cancel for any reason insurance always gets you 100% cash back, but that's not true of all policies; it's pretty pricey, too.) I think the OP is looking for something that will let him cancel specifically because of Zika and get a full refund.

 

Yes, that is what I'm looking for. I do see that there are several cancel for any reason policies but they only refund 75 percent, and I don't need such an expansive coverage, just coverage for this particular eventuality.

[punkincc]

So my wife and I are looking to book a cruise to Bermuda in October. We are choosing that destination specifically because Bermuda is as yet Zika-free and wife and I may have our second pregnancy within the next year. We are (and always) purchase the NCL trip insurance. If between now and October Zika takes root in Bermuda will we be allowed to cancel or at least get the fare back as a credit? I know with the generic trip insurance we can always get a cruise credit worth 75 percent of the cruise but losing 25 percent of our cruise would really not be great.

 

 

According to a 1-28-16 NCl Press Release:

 

"At this time, the only passengers that are advised not to travel to affected areas are expectant mothers and we are making accomodations for those very few affected guests to reschedule their cruise for a future date or change their itinerary to a non affected destination. For those guests who have opted to purchase a Travel Protection Policy, cancellations are covered under the Cancel For Any Reason portion of the policy."

 

So, a pregnant woman may cancel or change their itinerary. It does not sound like their policy extends to women of child bearing age who are not yet pregnant, but hoping to be. I believe it is still unclear how long the virus remains in the body and whether harmful effects could still occur, even to a pregnancy which occurs even months later.

Edited July 31, 2016 by punkincc

[bobg529]

Just a suggestion out of left field, there are two October cruises out of NY that sail to New England and Canada. No Zika virus up there. I know you wanted Bermuda, but a bird in the hand, etc. [emoji6]

[dporter]

Try tripinsurancestore . com, I actually called and all of my questions were answered I am sure they could give you the low down on the policies that they offer.

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Try tripinsurancestore . com, I actually called and all of my questions were answered I am sure they could give you the low down on the policies that they offer.

 

Thanks!

[Cloudyrain]

Book the holiday and go on it and just don't start trying to concieve for 2 months afterwards (if Zika is actually there by then)

 

http://https://britishfertilitysociety.org.uk/2016/02/01/zika-virus-fertility-treatment-and-gamete-donation/

 

Although to put it in perspective, there have been 4000 children with problems, thought to be caused by Zika, from 3 million births (about 0.1%): there have been a lot higher numbers of children with health problems caused by other factors (genetic, accidents, infection etc)

Edited July 31, 2016 by Cloudyrain

[Sauer-kraut]

So my wife and I are looking to book a cruise to Bermuda in October. We are choosing that destination specifically because Bermuda is as yet Zika-free and wife and I may have our second pregnancy within the next year. We are (and always) purchase the NCL trip insurance. If between now and October Zika takes root in Bermuda will we be allowed to cancel or at least get the fare back as a credit? I know with the generic trip insurance we can always get a cruise credit worth 75 percent of the cruise but losing 25 percent of our cruise would really not be great.

 

Have you considered a New England/Canada cruise?

[Loonbeam]

To my knowledge, there are no policies currently extant that specifically cover Zika outbreaks. There are a few that have riders for medical emergencies but they are generally far more expensive than standard policies (they are intended more to deal with things like Ebola or SARS that affect a broader swath of the population).

[DaisyGoldberg]

Between international travellers to the Olympics and the local outbreaks in Miami, I imagine it's going to become far more widespread within the US and neighboring countries over the coming months.

 

Clinical trials are about to begin and hopefully the cold weather will halt local transmission further north, at least through the winter, so that by the time next summer rolls around we will have some kind of vaccine option, but I would expect insurance companies to get leery way before then.

[Alegeeter]

There are no aedes aegyptii mosquitoes (the type of mosquito transmitting Zika) in Bermuda. I don't think you have to worry about Zika spreading there.

[iheartbda]

Have you thought about waiting to book your cruise until 2 or 3 weeks ahead of the sail date? You can take the wait-and-see approach, plus I doubt that an October cruise would be sold-out.

 

Booking late is a possibility but if they are picky about a cabin their choices will be limited. Actually, Bermuda in Oct. is great, we've done it many times and the ships were always sold out.

[firegal2539]

You can call TravelGuard or Allianez Insurance. They will customize any policy. Or make sure she is not pregnant when you go. I understand you want to cruise but you and your wife need to make a decision, a cruise or trying to have another child.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Booking late is a possibility but if they are picky about a cabin their choices will be limited. Actually, Bermuda in Oct. is great, we've done it many times and the ships were always sold out.

 

When was the last time that you did it in October where it sold out? Do you know approximately when it sold out? We are doing the wait and see strategy right now, we are not that picky about our room, and while we would prefer to book a balcony or mini suite, would be willing to sail in a family Oceanside, (or if there's some kind of large family inside, not sure). I figure if we wait till about 3-4 weeks out and still nothing on CDC website we should be good to go. We also have some flexibility on dates, would prefer the October 2nd cruise, but could do October 9th or in a pinch October 17th.

 

If you don't mind me asking, approximately when in October have you gone, and what was the weather like? Thanks in advance!

[iheartbda]

When was the last time that you did it in October where it sold out? Do you know approximately when it sold out? We are doing the wait and see strategy right now, we are not that picky about our room, and while we would prefer to book a balcony or mini suite, would be willing to sail in a family Oceanside, (or if there's some kind of large family inside, not sure). I figure if we wait till about 3-4 weeks out and still nothing on CDC website we should be good to go. We also have some flexibility on dates, would prefer the October 2nd cruise, but could do October 9th or in a pinch October 17th.

 

If you don't mind me asking, approximately when in October have you gone, and what was the weather like? Thanks in advance!

 

As far as sold out, every time we went there was a sign at guest services saying, sold out, no cabins available. I'm assuming it was really sold out and not just a sign to deter people from trying to get a different cabin.

 

We always went the second week in Oct. and I think even the third week once. The number of times we've been to Bermuda is in the double digits. As far as the weather, it has always been almost perfect. The water stays warm well into Oct. so good temps for any water activities. The humidity is also gone so the air temps are very nice. First time we went, I had no idea it would be so warm and actually had to buy another pair of shorts.:D

 

I can only remember it raining twice in all our trips and it didn't last long. However, friends went, I think it was Oct. and it rained the whole week. Said they still had a good time. Your mileage can always vary.;) People always worry about hurricanes but I guess we were lucky because they were never an issue. Now, a TORNADO actually touched ground once. We were in the storm on our way to St. George and by the time we got there, the sun was shining.:)

 

One more thing to add. It was always cool to chilly the first day out and we've left from NYC, NJ, Phila. and Balt. By afternoon of the second day it was getting warm enough to sit out by the pool. We would hit the reverse coming home with the last day getting into port pretty cold.

 

Drop in on the Bermuda Ports of Call board for lots of good Bermuda. information.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=196

Edited August 2, 2016 by iheartbda