? re: Travel Insurance when paying with Future Cruise Certificates

[karen_g]

My next cruise is being paid for almost entirely with Future Cruise Certificates issued to my husband and myself because our last cruise was impacted by Hurricane Irma. Once you add in taxes and fees for our re-scheduled cruise, we only had to pay approximately $700 additional. (The FCCs are worth several thousand dollars).

 

I definitely want to purchase travel insurance to cover us should we need to cancel (I have an elderly parent whose health has its ups and downs). The travel agent I used (found online) says that I only need to buy enough cruise insurance to cover the $700 because if we cancel, the FCCs will just be re-issued.

 

I am skeptical. Is this true? In the (hopefully unlikely) event that we have to cancel, I don't want to lose the thousands of dollars that are now tied up in FCCs.

 

I have e-mailed Royal Caribbean to ask this very question, but it has been over 5 days and I still have not received a response.

 

Does anyone out there happen to KNOW the answer? Thanks so much.

 

Karen

[Clarea]

The FCCs do have a limited lifetime, so even if you cancel and get back the FCCs, you may only have a short time to use them. I would insure the entire amount.

 

I also think the best people to ask would be the insurance company. It's possible they won't even insure the FCCs.

 

We've used www.squaremouth.com several times and been happy with their service. You can call their customer service line and ask questions.

[karen_g]

The FCCs do have a limited lifetime, so even if you cancel and get back the FCCs, you may only have a short time to use them. I would insure the entire amount.

 

I also think the best people to ask would be the insurance company. It's possible they won't even insure the FCCs.

 

We've used www.squaremouth.com several times and been happy with their service. You can call their customer service line and ask questions.

 

So, just so I understand: the FCCs that I used had to be used by September 2018. My scheduled cruise is at the end of June 2018. If I have to cancel my June cruise, chances are my FCCs would still have to be used by September 2018? Sorry to be so dense; I have never used FCCs before.

[Clarea]

So, just so I understand: the FCCs that I used had to be used by September 2018. My scheduled cruise is at the end of June 2018. If I have to cancel my June cruise, chances are my FCCs would still have to be used by September 2018? Sorry to be so dense; I have never used FCCs before.

Correct, unless there is some very unusual circumstance, they FCCs will still have the same expiration date.

[karen_g]

Correct, unless there is some very unusual circumstance, they FCCs will still have the same expiration date.

 

Thank you for this very good information! I had no clue. I would definitely have to insure the whole amount. You gave me good advice to ask the insurance companies directly if they will insure a trip paid with FCCs. I sure hope I can find one that does!

 

Do you think the insurance sold by Royal Caribbean would be sure insure FCCs, or not necessarily?

[geomancer]

Insurance will most likely not cover certificates in the same way they do not reimburse if you use airline miles.

 

The more important thing with travel insurance is the medical coverage anyways, and maybe dealing with a weather delay. In other words, insuring yourself against unexpected costs above and beyond what you already paid.

[Clarea]

Thank you for this very good information! I had no clue. I would definitely have to insure the whole amount. You gave me good advice to ask the insurance companies directly if they will insure a trip paid with FCCs. I sure hope I can find one that does!

 

Do you think the insurance sold by Royal Caribbean would be sure insure FCCs, or not necessarily?

I think you would have to ask them to be sure. And I would not ask the RC customer service people, I'd contact the insurance company directly:

 

https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/Royal

[karen_g]

Insurance will most likely not cover certificates in the same way they do not reimburse if you use airline miles.

 

That's pretty distressing, since it cost me thousands of dollars to "get" those FCCs. But you are probably right. I'll check it out.

[karen_g]

I think you would have to ask them to be sure. And I would not ask the RC customer service people, I'd contact the insurance company directly:

 

https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/Royal

 

Thank you very much. You are so knowledgeable! I will do so.

[Clarea]

Thank you very much. You are so knowledgeable! I will do so.

You're welcome, and please report back if you find out about FCC coverage.

[karen_g]

You're welcome, and please report back if you find out about FCC coverage.

 

I definitely will. :)

[hmorrow]

If it were me, I would insure the whole amount of the cruise. I also use square mouth and all the companies say you have to have the total amount prepaid, non-refundable insured.

It’s probably not that much more and so worth it, if you need it.

I think the insurance companies look for any reason not to pay.

It would be worth the peace of mind (to me) fwiw....

Helaine

[karen_g]

Yes. As I’ve just learned today, though, those FCCs might not *technically* be non-refundable if they could still be used for another 2 months (even though I would not be able to use them due to no more vacation time). What a conundrum!

 

 

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[kc320]

I had a similar situation with a cruise I had booked that was also impacted by Hurricane Irma...the Oasis cruise I booked using my FCC ended up only costing me $500 out of pocket...and that is the amount shown on my booking confirmation...I called the folks at insuremytrip.com to ask them this same question & was told I could insure for the full amount including FCC...BUT...if I had to file an insurance claim they would only cover the amount shown on the invoice of $500...so that is the amount I insured...no sense paying extra for something they weren't going to cover anyhow...

[karen_g]

Well, that answered my question thank you very much.

 

 

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[karen_g]

I had a similar situation with a cruise I had booked that was also impacted by Hurricane Irma...the Oasis cruise I booked using my FCC ended up only costing me $500 out of pocket...and that is the amount shown on my booking confirmation...I called the folks at insuremytrip.com to ask them this same question & was told I could insure for the full amount including FCC...BUT...if I had to file an insurance claim they would only cover the amount shown on the invoice of $500...so that is the amount I insured...no sense paying extra for something they weren't going to cover anyhow...

 

Yes, my invoice for this cruise only shows my new "out of pocket" amount also. So I guess that is the amount I will insure. At least, as a previous poster mentioned, I will have coverage for medical and trip interruption and the like. Should the worst happen and I have to cancel this sailing, I guess I'll just have to "eat" the amount of the FCCs. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all will go smoothly and I won't have to cancel.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with me.

[karen_g]

Well, that answered my question thank you very much.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Tried to edit or delete this post and couldn't. Sorry it sounded so terse. I was dictating into my phone and I guess that wasn't such a good idea!

[karen_g]

You're welcome, and please report back if you find out about FCC coverage.

 

 

 

Well it's Monday and I have an update:

 

I called the Insurance Company that Royal Caribbean uses, and spoke with a representative. I got the very same explanation that kc320 got from InsureMyTrip dot com. The cruise insurance policy would ONLY cover the amount that I paid out-of-pocket over and above the value of the FCCs (so in my case about $700). The FCCs (Rep called them "vouchers") are **NOT** covered if a claim is made. If I had to cancel for some reason, it would be up to RCI (*** NOT the insurance company***) how they would handle the re-issue of the "voucher".

 

So, bottom line, I should buy enough insurance to cover my $700 invoice amount, and if I have to to cancel (I really hope not!), then I would have to contact RCI directly and see what they would do about reissuing my FCC "vouchers".

 

So the 2 different forms of payment for this cruise (FCCs and cash) are handled completely separately and differently. Thank goodness I finally understand! A big Thank You to everyone who contributed info to this thread, especially Bob for giving me the contact info for the Insurance Company that RCI uses!

[Clarea]

Well it's Monday and I have an update:

 

I called the Insurance Company that Royal Caribbean uses, and spoke with a representative. I got the very same explanation that kc320 got from InsureMyTrip dot com. The cruise insurance policy would ONLY cover the amount that I paid out-of-pocket over and above the value of the FCCs (so in my case about $700). The FCCs (Rep called them "vouchers") are **NOT** covered if a claim is made. If I had to cancel for some reason, it would be up to RCI (*** NOT the insurance company***) how they would handle the re-issue of the "voucher".

 

So, bottom line, I should buy enough insurance to cover my $700 invoice amount, and if I have to to cancel (I really hope not!), then I would have to contact RCI directly and see what they would do about reissuing my FCC "vouchers".

 

So the 2 different forms of payment for this cruise (FCCs and cash) are handled completely separately and differently. Thank goodness I finally understand! A big Thank You to everyone who contributed info to this thread, especially Bob for giving me the contact info for the Insurance Company that RCI uses!

Thanks for reporting back.

[karen_g]

My pleasure. [emoji3]

 

 

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