Insurance - necessary?

[antsp]

When I booked via a travel agent, they didn't ask for any insurance details, just the check in process on the princess website does, hence the confusion.

I do live in England, but Princess website doesn't have any information on whether it is mandatory or not, and there will be folks from all over the world on the same cruise departing in a European country (not England), so it would appear strange if only some had that requirement?

 

Health insurance in a way would be covered by european health insurance card. Travel insurance I've always seen as optional

How wrong you are

[antsp]

As doctors I would have thought you were aware that the EHIC doesn't cover you for cruises, even if you are cruising in Europe.

EHIC, won't repatriate you, it's a very basic cover. Absolutely no use to you on the ship itself

[Bethcb]

We always have travel insurance and just figure its the price of the vacation. I had to use it 3 times. Twice for ill elderly parents and one time when there was an earthquake in Santiago, Chile and we were in the air just a few hours from landing. The plane took us back to Atlanta because the airport in Santiago was disabled. The ship was delayed docking in Chile and sailed days late with a drastically changed itinerary. We got our money back and rebooked a Caribbean cruise within a few days. If we had no insurance, despite it being a natural disaster, we would have lost our money.

So, insurance is not just good to have for medical issues. Stuff happens....

[Madio]

Until this past year, we have always gotten the cruise line's insurance policy. We suddenly questioned whether we were covered while ashore on our numerous stops. Our TA said she had never before been asked that question! The answer was "no". We took the advice of a good friend, a maritime historian who lectures on loads of cruises, and got a policy from an outside company, which covers us from door to door. We chose Allianz. Haven't used it yet (thank God), so hope it was a good choice. Food for thought.....for what it's worth.

[eclue]

Go to squaremouth.com and compare the different options and costs of travel insurance.

We cruise a lot and would never go without medical insurance - my husband had a kidney stone attack two years ago and the ship handled it well. Being a nurse, I knew the treatment was excellent by the ship doc and our insurance covered every bit of the bill.

Better to be safe than sorry.

eclue:cool:

[Tina G]

We were scheduled to sail on the Diamond around Japan on August 20. Everything was set. On August 8, I had emergency major surgery and was in hospital for 10 days. Now at home slowly recovering and still in pain. The trip insurance will re-emburse us for the $10,000 we had spent.

What if this had happened while we were on our cruise in Japan? First, they would have assumed I had Noro-virus and locked me in my cabin for a couple of days. When it became clear that I didn't have Noro, they would have dumped us off at the next port. Our insurance is not valid in Japan. How do we get home? What kind of medical care is available in Japanese port towns? Will anybody speak English?

 

YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND IF YOU CRUISE WITHOUT TRIP INSURANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 2, 2017 by Tina G

[jb008]

As has been pointed out already, there are different levels of travel related insurance from emergency only medical to cancel for any reason plans (with price tags ranging from very modest to arm, leg, and first child).

 

For those that travel regularly, an annual travel insurance plan might also be worth considering. During busy travel years you may spend more on individual trip-specific insurance than a 1-year blanket policy would have cost. YMMV, and insurance is very specific to your permanent address and YOU, so the people here can give general advice but do not replace doing your own research (and consulting with a local agent who can give you individualized advice on this).

[pthjudy]

Depends on your individual circumstances. We have been traveling well over 30 years... never took out any insurance, until about 5 years ago. Started doing so when I reached Medicare age because Medicare does not cover health issues outside the USA. We always felt we self insured our trip. We never had more than a bug bit and an ear infection over all those years, in terms of medical issues. Even now, we do not insure our trip, we simply by health and emergency evacuation insurance through Travel Guard, actually purchase an annual business travelers' insurance plan that cost $518 a year for the two of us, covers any travel domestic and international for the year. It has some travel components... but we are most interested in the health insurance portion. We did not buy insurance all those years because we often changed our mind on what trips we booked... booked and cancelled and rebooked cruises... if we had bought insurance we would have lost the money we paid on the insurance when we cancelled. Some would feel we were crazy not to carry insurance so many years... it worked for us. Now that I am 70 and my DH is 83... we decided to start carrying medical etc. Luckily we still have not had to use it.

We have always had some type of travel insurance and yes, Medicare is only valid within the United States. My secondary, however, covers just about everything Medicare doesn't. I have found out that they even cover medical evacuation which is probably the most expensive possibility while on a cruise. Trip interruption, baggage loss, delayed flights and needing to cancel for illness or family illness are not quite as costly but so much more common. For the last several years my credit card has provided this latter insurance and I book all trips for my whole family with this card. Yes, I know there have been problems with successfully using this insurance but I feel that with insurance being so varied and ofttimes vague, my medical and credit card coverage is a fairly satisfactory option for me.

[TheRabbit]

We had to just cancel a 15k trip to europe because of a broken ankle. Insurance saved us. We always buy it. It cost a lady who fell and broke a hip on a land tour prior to a cruise, 50k to get back home.

There is some cancellation insurance through some credit cards and we have spent hours trying to see if we can play that game, but there are always large holes in the coverage.

[Nonnie1975]

Yes!!! We always get insurance. Our very first cruise we missed the ship because of the airplane had problems and then missed our connecting flight. The insurance paid for the rebook of the flight, the hotel in Denver, meals, and the hotel in Alaska and meals there. Stressful, but didn't cost us anything. Now, we always go a day early, lesson learned!

[cusoon]

No one likes to pay for insurance, BUT when the unexpected happens, it's wonderful to know you are covered. On a Panama cruise my mother ended up with pneumonia. She had X-rays, daily breathing treatments, antibiotics and the cabin steward escorted her to and from the infirmary each time.They purchased the insurance protection and when all was said and done they ended up only paying for an office co-pay of $20.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Ginnyfyr]

We are in Canada and we purchase multi-trip comprehensive coverage for the year for about $350 total that covers us for any trip outside of Canada up to 10 days, so we're good if we go on a 9 night cruise or if we venture into the US for a day of shopping. Knock wood, we've never had to use it so far but it's a minuscule cost given that we cruise 2-3 times per year. Wouldn't dream of leaving home without it!

[suzyed]

We did not buy insurance all those years because we often changed our mind on what trips we booked... booked and cancelled and rebooked cruises... if we had bought insurance we would have lost the money we paid on the insurance when we cancelled

We never pay for our insurance until we make final payment on a cruise and the reason being exactly what you stated....we don't want to lose the money. You don't lose it if you haven't already paid for it. So you pay when you are sure you are taking the cruise!

[Tina G]

We did not buy insurance all those years because we often changed our mind on what trips we booked... booked and cancelled and rebooked cruises... if we had bought insurance we would have lost the money we paid on the insurance when we cancelled

We never pay for our insurance until we make final payment on a cruise and the reason being exactly what you stated....we don't want to lose the money. You don't lose it if you haven't already paid for it. So you pay when you are sure you are taking the cruise!

Unless you have a pre-existing condition, like CANCER? I wouldn't have been covered if I hadn't booked that insurance within two weeks of our initial booking.:(

[suzyed]

[/b]

Unless you have a pre-existing condition, like CANCER? I wouldn't have been covered if I hadn't booked that insurance within two weeks of our initial booking.:(

That's true...but if someone changes their minds very often, it may not be a good idea.

Here's a question:

If you purchase your insurance from Princess with your booking or shortly after and you cancel and rebook with Princess, would they just transfer whatever you paid for insurance to your new booking from the canceled cruise?

[bUU]

Unless you have a pre-existing condition, like CANCER? I wouldn't have been covered if I hadn't booked that insurance within two weeks of our initial booking.:(

Which is a reason to choose the insurance we chose, Nationwide Insurance's cruise-specific policies through www.insuremytrip.com. It provides a "Pre-Existing Condition Waiver If purchased prior to final trip payment and all eligibility requirements are met".

[Pierlesscruisers]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here but which would apply to US cruisers who are covered by Medicare is that Medicare does not, to the best of my knowledge, cover you at all while on a cruise. At least part of the reason that is the case is that in most, if not all, of the medical personnel on the cruise ships are not licensed to practice medicine in the US. I'm not saying or intimating that they're not fully trained practitioners, only that they aren't licensed in the US. So if someone believes that "I'm covered by Medicare, so I don't need insurance" I believe that they are dead wrong on this. Someone can and probably will correct me if I'm wrong here or confirm I'm right..

 

Tom

[grannylaw]

While on a British Isles cruise I fell and shattered my acetabulum (hip socket) & broke my pelvis. We had purchased travel insurance through Princess. The hospitals in Ireland declined to perform the necessary surgery & I could not "stand, pivot, & sit", a requirement of commercial airlines, to get home to the U.S. Even though the medical evacuation insurance was $50k we were underinsured -- my flight home was $62k, which we had to pay the $12k up front. The $62k was a discount because they had just flown a passenger from the US to U.K. & didn't want to fly back empty. We've learned our lesson and will buy specific med-evac insurance next time.

Edited September 8, 2017 by grannylaw
Add signature

[DaveinWhales]

On one cruise I was on the medical charges were so high people were bragging about how big their bill was. They of course had insurance.

I would have thought a doctor would have better insight as to the number of people having need for medical treatment when on holiday as eventually they all return to their home surgery. It's a no brainer and by coincidence I renewed mine today. It really isn't that expensive, in fact it's the cost of half a dozen Princess cocktails for me.

[trvlwrld]

OMG-buy the insurance (any insurance) be thankful if you dont have to use it-we were both in perfect health and much younger than most of the passengers-but accidents happen and we found that out the hard way-never leave home without a credit card with a least $15k in an open limit account-you have to pay for everything up front and then be reimbursed

[trvlwrld]

only medicare plan F covers travel -but not outisde of the US -most people dont pay for plan F because it is about $100 more a month and only covers up to $30k-also virtually no docs outside the US are medicare approved-if you can afford to cruise just pay the insurance and stop worrying-enjoy your vacation!

[weedpindle]

On a prior cruise with a gentleman who had a heart attack on a previous Princess cruise he related the following. Princess Insurance covered every dime of shipboard medical cost, air evac from a port ( don't remember which one) to Miami, all hospital costs, air evac ( with a nurse) to his hometown in Michigan, hospitalization there, all home medical costs , over 100,000 total. After I heard that story, We ALWAYS get insurance.

[riclop]

Hello,

 

During the online profile info bit to complete check in for the cruise, it asks for Travel as well as Health insurance and the details thereof.

Is this mandatory to have or can I just write "none" / 0 in there?

 

I couldn't find out whether I must have it or not and I don't normally get it for non-cruise trips.

 

Thanks in advance

Not necessary.

[ar1950]

only medicare plan F covers travel -but not outisde of the US -most people dont pay for plan F because it is about $100 more a month and only covers up to $30k-also virtually no docs outside the US are medicare approved-if you can afford to cruise just pay the insurance and stop worrying-enjoy your vacation!

 

My part F plan says there is an 80% coverage up to a $50,000 lifetime benefit for foreign travel. Probably not a lot in terms of benefits and that is why we always get the travel insurance as well as MedjetAssist.