Carnival travel insurance vs. outside travel insurance

[GeorgiaMomof4]

I hope it's ok to post this here and not on the other board where there is other insurance information, but I need

Carnival specific insurance information.

 

My husband has some health issues and therefore we need the medical evac and the medical insurance (just in case)

as well as not be excluded because of pre-existing conditions.

 

I'm in a time crunch because I've waited until the last minute to decide what to do. We put our deposit down almost 2 weeks ago and I know if I'm going to purchase outside insurance I need to do it immediately to avoid the pre-existing clause.

 

It seems to me that Carnival's insurance payments are low at $10,000 medical and $30,000 evac. The good thing is though we don't have to purchase their insurance until right before final payment vs. purchasing outside insurance now.

 

If any of you have had to use Carnival's insurance, will you please give me some insight on how things went and also any of you who maybe had to use outside insurance.

 

I've always purchased outside insurance in the past and the only reason I'm questioning this now is because of a stolen cell phone on my last cruise that was not covered by my outside insurance (electronics were excluded) but my PVP tells me that it would have been covered under Carnival's insurance.

 

I've even thought about purchasing outside insurance for my husband and Carnival insurance for myself?

 

Thoughts please?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Micahs Grandad]

Seems unlikely cell phone stolen again and value relatively low. I would be much more concerned with medical and evacuation parts of the insurance.

 

If private has higher limits and lower costs answer seems obvious to me

[Keith1010]

My experience is that many third party insurance companies provide a great level of coverage then that of the cruise line at a lower cost.

 

The devil is in the details so I would just recommend that you compare policies carefully and also recognize that some change over time.

 

Keith

[nutterbutter818]

I have been shopping for travel insurance and I think outside policies offer greater protection and benefits. It all depends on the coverage you want though.

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

Travel insured international has high medical and evacuation coverage. If you have usaa click from your usaa account to get a discount. It might vary by state, but for the policy I just bought I had 30 days to get the pre existing conditions waiver.

 

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[idraconis]

The only reason I purchase out side insurance is the the evac amount. There was an incident that happened to a couple in Tahiti. A accident that caused multiple fractures of a leg, could not treat. Was flow to Hawaii for treatment. Cost was over $75000. Granted it did happen on the other side of the planet and I rarely travel that far. For me, better safe then sorry. For around $125 I have piece of mind. A cell phone can be replaced, I don't have thousand of dollars lying around.

[Moosevilleco]

I use Allianz. They have 3 levels of coverage. I suggest you plug in your info to Allianz and Travel guard and get quotes. It’s easy and free to get quotes online. I have used Allianz classic plan for my last 4 Carnival Cruises.

 

 

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[Pisgah]

Travel Guard is always best for me and my wife. They have great reviews and a great history of paying claims very fast.

[MURCOTT]

I use Allianz. They have 3 levels of coverage. I suggest you plug in your info to Allianz and Travel guard and get quotes. It’s easy and free to get quotes online. I have used Allianz classic plan for my last 4 Carnival Cruises.

 

 

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I have also used Allianz many times and find the cost to be less than the cruise lines and some other Companies. Only had to put in a claim once and it was handled quickly and efficiently.

[LakeWobegon]

I use Nationwide which I found on InsureMyTrip. I usually go with Cruise Choice level and it provides much higher coverage levels across the board. Even if I check off the option to be reimbursed for 70% of the cost of my trip for cancelling for any reason, it's about half what Carnival would charge me for their insurance. And again, much higher coverage levels on medical, medivac, shore excursions, luggage, etc.

[LakeWobegon]

Nothing against Carnival's coverage BTW. It's a viable product and not a scam nor are they taking advantage of people like those nasty porters described on another post. lol. Just done my homework and found this is better and cheaper for me. Just like booking my airfare on my own. I usually use "points" to book plane tickets. One time when I had to buy them, I entertained buying them through the cruise line and the guarantee that comes with them is that they will get you to the next port. Not that the ship will wait for you. It may but there's no guarantee just by booking air through the cruise line. So no value I see in doing that either - personally.

[firemanbobswife]

I also go with Nationwide Choice Cruise. Preexisting conditions are covered if purchased prior to FINAL PAYMENT vs deposit.

 

Preexisting conditions could be an issue with Carnival insurance. You’ll have to read the fine print.

[Jeffy294]

I hope it's ok to post this here and not on the other board where there is other insurance information, but I need

Carnival specific insurance information.

 

My husband has some health issues and therefore we need the medical evac and the medical insurance (just in case)

as well as not be excluded because of pre-existing conditions.

 

I'm in a time crunch because I've waited until the last minute to decide what to do. We put our deposit down almost 2 weeks ago and I know if I'm going to purchase outside insurance I need to do it immediately to avoid the pre-existing clause.

 

It seems to me that Carnival's insurance payments are low at $10,000 medical and $30,000 evac. The good thing is though we don't have to purchase their insurance until right before final payment vs. purchasing outside insurance now.

 

If any of you have had to use Carnival's insurance, will you please give me some insight on how things went and also any of you who maybe had to use outside insurance.

 

I've always purchased outside insurance in the past and the only reason I'm questioning this now is because of a stolen cell phone on my last cruise that was not covered by my outside insurance (electronics were excluded) but my PVP tells me that it would have been covered under Carnival's insurance.

 

I've even thought about purchasing outside insurance for my husband and Carnival insurance for myself?

 

Thoughts please?

 

Thanks in advance!

Because my credit card offers some trip insurance, which does not include medical I don't buy comprehensive travel insurance. I have the Carnival Credit card, and it offers just as much trip cancellation as many comprehensive polices as long as I pay for the entire cruise with the card. And many other credit cards offer this same thing. I purchase separate medical travel insurance through Geo Blue Travel Insurance. It is a Blue Cross Blue shield company and it covers pre-existing medical, and the coverage limits are massive compared to the comprehensive insurance policies. And the cost is substantially less. You should really give this a look. It is only for international travel, which is all you need. I found out about it through http://www.insuremytrip.com.

 

Thankfully I haven't needed it, but the limits are adjustable to what you need for much less. I think it covers like $500,000 in EVAC and I got $1,000,000 in health insurance for $36 for the week. Check and see what your credit card offers first, and then look at this. You can book this close to the trip.

[cruzinlisa]

I always book outside. I have no idea if cell phone would have been covered because I did not need it, but you should be able to find one without the exclusion. I know I have found policies that covered various different things that I did not know would be covered- just shop around.

[marion10]

I want to mention that subject your deductible, loss of personal property is often covered under your homeowners or renters policy.

[summersigh]

If we sail to the Bahamas or the upper Caribbean we go with Carnival's insurance as it's amounts will cover what I want covered like evacuation.

 

When we did Europe and the Southern Caribbean I got private trip insurance with higher coverage.

 

We had to cancel a CCL cruise last December 4 days before sailing. Between CCL refunding taxes, port fees and any purchases/excursions purchased from the ship and their 3rd party insurer we got everything back except the premium for the insurance itself.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Because my credit card offers some trip insurance, which does not include medical I don't buy comprehensive travel insurance. I have the Carnival Credit card, and it offers just as much trip cancellation as many comprehensive polices as long as I pay for the entire cruise with the card. And many other credit cards offer this same thing. I purchase separate medical travel insurance through Geo Blue Travel Insurance. It is a Blue Cross Blue shield company and it covers pre-existing medical, and the coverage limits are massive compared to the comprehensive insurance policies. And the cost is substantially less. You should really give this a look. It is only for international travel, which is all you need. I found out about it through www.insuremytrip.com.

 

Thankfully I haven't needed it, but the limits are adjustable to what you need for much less. I think it covers like $500,000 in EVAC and I got $1,000,000 in health insurance for $36 for the week. Check and see what your credit card offers first, and then look at this. You can book this close to the trip.

 

 

Wow - I have the Carnival card and usually use it for our down payment and final payment. I'll have to check into this - interesting. Thanks so much!

[luvincruising]

Some good advice so far. I would check out squaremouth.com and insuremytrip.com. Pick the coverage options that you feel comfortable with and compare the policies. If you do not feel comfortable choosing a policy or have specific questions, you can always call and speak with a csr at either site. They can walk you through the process and recommend additional coverage options [e.g., personal electronics coverage for cell phones, laptops, etc.]. IMHO squaremouth has a slightly more user-friendly website.

:)

[firemanbobswife]

I also have the Carnival Credit Card but it’s pretty much useless as far as getting points. There are much better cards out there. However, I have been taking advantage of the $100 off a $500 reservation with my 5 Amex cards so the Carnival card isn’t even on my radar no matter what insurance they offer. When the Amex special isn’t there I buy the discounted gift cards. So to me any CC insurance isn’t an option and certainly not worth forgoing my significant savings.

[Live to Dream]

We went with Nationwide Choice for our Splendor cruise last month and as we were leaving the plane from LA here in OKC, my husband had a heart attack and they are picking up everything. They have been great to work with, but unfortunately he passed away after 2 weeks of struggling.😥

 

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[Jeffy294]

I also have the Carnival Credit Card but it’s pretty much useless as far as getting points. There are much better cards out there. However, I have been taking advantage of the $100 off a $500 reservation with my 5 Amex cards so the Carnival card isn’t even on my radar no matter what insurance they offer. When the Amex special isn’t there I buy the discounted gift cards. So to me any CC insurance isn’t an option and certainly not worth forgoing my significant savings.

 

 

 

I still for the life of me can’t understand how people get so off topic on this message board. And I clearly noted that other credit cards offer the same thing, not just the Carnival card. I used that card as an example to help answer the question because this policy offers a substantially larger amount of coverage. And that’s what the OP was asking for. This wasn’t a debate over which card was better.

 

 

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[firemanbobswife]

I still for the life of me can’t understand how people get so off topic on this message board. And I clearly noted that other credit cards offer the same thing, not just the Carnival card. I used that card as an example to help answer the question because this policy offers a substantially larger amount of coverage. And that’s what the OP was asking for. This wasn’t a debate over which card was better.

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If you want to talk about getting off topic, then the mention of insurance through any credit card is just that. They weren’t asking about CC insurance as we have no idea how they paid, but whether or not Carnival’s was good or should they use another 3rd party due to preexisting conditions, the timeframe that they put the deposit down, and concerns over a cell phone having coverage. Sounds to me as if they are looking to purchase a plan. So as long as we’re talking about CC insurance, I simply stated why I and possibly many others would be unable to use it as we don’t pay for our bookings with one CC no matter which brand it is.

[Jeffy294]

If you want to talk about getting off topic, then the mention of insurance through any credit card is just that. They weren’t asking about CC insurance as we have no idea how they paid, but whether or not Carnival’s was good or should they use another 3rd party due to preexisting conditions, the timeframe that they put the deposit down, and concerns over a cell phone having coverage. Sounds to me as if they are looking to purchase a plan. So as long as we’re talking about CC insurance, I simply stated why I and possibly many others would be unable to use it as we don’t pay for our bookings with one CC no matter which brand it is.

 

If it was off topic, how did it answer the OP's question? Which was stated by the OP. And that's exactly what I stated. She is interested in a higher amount in EVAC insurance and health insurance due to a pre-existing issue, which is also covered under these plans. Oh course I don't know the details of her booking, and its none of my business. But I gave her options, and that's what she was looking for. Carnival's insurance did not give her enough for her needs, and comprehensive insurance may be less important to her.

[firemanbobswife]

If it was off topic, how did it answer the OP's question? Which was stated by the OP. And that's exactly what I stated. She is interested in a higher amount in EVAC insurance and health insurance due to a pre-existing issue, which is also covered under these plans. Oh course I don't know the details of her booking, and its none of my business. But I gave her options, and that's what she was looking for. Carnival's insurance did not give her enough for her needs, and comprehensive insurance may be less important to her.

 

I see no mention of evac or medical coverage under Carnival’s credit card insurance. You mentioned that in your previous post (#13) and that’s why you buy a separate medical coverage since the CC insurances do not offer that. In fact the CC insurance only offers trip interruption and accident insurance which is not medical payment or evac related. So again, I suggested Nationwide Choice Cruise in my post previously which does have all those things. CC coverage doesn’t even come close.

Edited March 14, 2018 by firemanbobswife

[Lisah101]

I agree with others in that all insurance is not equal so you have to do your research to know what is covered. Given that, the best travel insurance EVER that I've found is on my Chase Reserve credit card. As long as I pay with that credit card, everything from medical evac to delayed baggage is covered. There is a hefty fee for the card but I pay $450 a year for the card that gives me back the first $300 I spend on anything travel related, access to airport lounges, travel insurance, no foreign fees and price match guarantee on my large purchases. I come out ahead almost every year if you count airport lounge charges, $300 cash back and foreign fees.