BEWARE PRINCESS TRIP POTECTION

[paul1439]

16 hours ago, pms4104 said:

The OPs issue is not unique to Princess ..  likely woulda been samr result with any other cruiseline, travel consolidator, or land tour operator such as Odysseys Unlimited

 

Most unfair to cast aspersions on Princess and AON ... for following standard operating procedures

Why should people book travel insurance thru cruise lines when you can book independent travel insurance for any excursions or airlines?

[jangor]

7 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

Normally they (travel agent or Princess agent} ask you if you want travel insurance. After you say yes then they send you the declaration of coverage. 

You can read the Declaration of Coverage online at any time.

[paul1439]

13 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

Actually it would be better titled "Beware of Idiotic Expectations" or else ".  Was the OP really expecting the Princess guarantee to cover services not supplied by Princess.

 

DON

Try going on their website and view their Princess Travel Protection. The website shows in general the same protection plan has independent travel insurance company. The general public think this policy is the same protection plan offered by Princess Cruise line. After reading further down (fine print) click on this and go to another screen is Aon travel policy. Princess website shows a general policy like independent travel policy. This is your first impression of the policy.

[paul1439]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

It's my  understanding that the cost of Princess insurance is based upon the cost of the products purchased through Princess.  There is no reason Princess insurance would cover something that you have not paid a fee for, ie, purchases through independent operators.   You wouldn't expect your auto insurance to cover your home would you?

Again, why would you buy cruise line insurance when you can buy independent travel insurance and you can go on any excursions or air lines?

[paul1439]

45 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Wait till you're in your 70s (as many are) and you'll know the answer.

We are in our 70's and the independent travel protection is 2x greater coverage than cruise lines.

[RocketMan275]

3 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

Again, why would you buy cruise line insurance when you can buy independent travel insurance and you can go on any excursions or air lines?

Cruise line insurance isn't based upon age as is independent insurance. 

It can become a very good deal as one gets older.

I've never purchased cruise line insurance but I can understand why some do.  

 

[Hlitner]

What amazes me are the folks that quickly spend their dollars on the insurance sold by cruise lines that have wholly inadequate medical coverage.  Folks worry about losing a few dollars on a missed excursion but seem to have no worries about needing to file bankruptcy because of a major medical bill (and associated evacuation).  

 

Hank

[paul1439]

That's the reason you need better medical coverage. Independent travel insurance is 2x better coverage than cruise line coverage.

[pms4104]

45 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

Why should people book travel insurance thru cruise lines when you can book independent travel insurance for any excursions or airlines?

Not sure why ... we buy 3rd party to cover ALL nonrefundable trip  costs

 

  

[paul1439]

7 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Not sure why ... we buy 3rd party to cover ALL nonrefundable trip  costs

 

  

I agree 100%

[RocketMan275]

14 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

That's the reason you need better medical coverage. Independent travel insurance is 2x better coverage than cruise line coverage.

I agree that most need better medical coverage.  Some, like myself, have medical coverage outside the US.

Losing $100 on an excursion is unimportant compared to having to cover a $50K medical bill.  Fortunately, one can buy medical coverage for travel outside the US even cheaper than travel insurance.  Take a look at geoblue.  No excursion cancellation coverage but very good medical coverage at a very good rate.  We bought a years worth of coverage for around $250 total for two persons over age seventy.

Even though I have adequate medical coverage, I still get the geoblue as a supplemental policy.  It does cover medical up to $250K and provides $500K of medical evacuation.

[paul1439]

Actually excursions comes under trip interruption. I will look into geoblue.

[TheRabbit]

1 hour ago, paul1439 said:

Normally they (travel agent or Princess agent} ask you if you want travel insurance. After you say yes then they send you the declaration of coverage. 

A very simple search or ask would have found the info. Sounds like you are mad and looking for blame. Consider yourself lucky as it appears it wasn't a major hit, and lesson Learned.

 

As some have pointed out above, Princess insurance is OK under some conditions. We will take it for a coastal out of California, but that is as far as we would go. Where it comes up short is medical emergency and covering outside expenses. As soon as you are doing outside tours and travel along with hotel stays not booked with princess, the coverage is not there. Basic Princess coverage for getting you home in an emergency is only 50K (100K if you qualify for the Platinum coverage). That can be exceeded very quickly. For those on Medicare, the vast majority are not covered outside of the USA and in 2013 the MedEvac bill was over 40K (second hand info) for a person on our land tour through Princess to get back home after being injured in Switzerland. We now buy a 250K MedEvac  minimum policy when cruising outside of the US.

[RocketMan275]

47 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

Actually excursions comes under trip interruption. I will look into geoblue.

Glad I could help.  Most folks aren't aware that they can book just medical insurance.  BTW, sometimes you can purchase medical from Travel Insurers by entering $0.00 as the cost of the trip.  You won't have interruption/cancellation/baggage/etc coverage but you can get their medical coverage.

[Shmoo here]

21 hours ago, paul1439 said:

They do cover excursions. Here is the catch,  ONLY Princess excursions.

Why would they cover anything else?

 

 

[paul1439]

4 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Why would they cover anything else?

 

 

Normal travel insurance cover everything. Why would anybody buy from cruise lines?

[Shmoo here]

4 minutes ago, paul1439 said:

Normal travel insurance cover everything. Why would anybody buy from cruise lines?

Some because they don't know any different.  Others because of the cost difference between cruise line insurance and 3rd party insurance.  Any number of reasons.

[Tucker in Texas]

9 hours ago, Coral said:

I will still buy 3rd party insurance, especially in my 70's. Princess's medical coverage is so poor and I am more likely to need better medical coverage in my 70's than I do now (as I will be on Medicare then).

 

[Tucker in Texas]

 

Just now, Tucker in Texas said:

Medicare does not cover you if you are out of the country although once they gave me $60 on a $700 bill when I was on a trans-Atlantic. I had to submit it to them for denial before my 3rd party insurance would cover the claim. 

 

 I, also, have had Princess add the insurance on without even asking me if I want it.  Fortunately, it does not go into effect until you pay for it which is with final payment so it was easy to "cancel" it.  So, always check your invoice carefully when you book to make sure it hasn't sneaked on (lol).

 

[Luvmyrotti]

We haven’t purchased Princess insurance since our first cruise when we booked on our own.  We now always purchase private insurance, through our TA, with a very reputable insurance company.  The medical evacuation is always far better and the medical is primary.  My DH took a tumble on a privately booked excursion a few years back and the insurance reimbursed us, both ship medical service costs and costs from a clinic in Mexico we needed to go, a total of $800 or $900 US.  Totally worth it.  I wish everyone would be more informed and/or get a good, reputable TA who can help you understand.

[rdsqrl]

On 11/30/2019 at 2:41 PM, paul1439 said:

Normal travel insurance cover everything. Why would anybody buy from cruise lines?

Because not everybody cares about the same things you do.  I wonder why anybody would buy a car that's not a convertible, but some people  don't mind that they're driving around in a dorky SUV instead of a cool ragtop.  Priorities vary. 

 

Right now, I care more about Cancel for Any Reason, which Princess offers and other outside insurers do not, at least not at a reasonable rate.   So, that's why I buy from the cruise line.  You are as free to disdain my preference in trip insurance as I am to disdain your choice of automobile.  Is this a great country or what? 

[Luvmyrotti]

1 hour ago, rdsqrl said:

Because not everybody cares about the same things you do.  I wonder why anybody would buy a car that's not a convertible, but some people  don't mind that they're driving around in a dorky SUV instead of a cool ragtop.  Priorities vary. 

 

Right now, I care more about Cancel for Any Reason, which Princess offers and other outside insurers do not, at least not at a reasonable rate.   So, that's why I buy from the cruise line.  You are as free to disdain my preference in trip insurance as I am to disdain your choice of automobile.  Is this a great country or what? 

You can absolutely get cancel for any reason coverage from private insurance carriers for not much more than Princess and the real key is that you get an actual check payment rather than a credit for a future cruise.

[Thrak]

Blah, blah, blah... People are different. Needs are different. Economic situations are different. Health conditions are different. So very many variables. Don't try to figure out why one person does X and another person does Y. You may turn out to do Z.

[paul1439]

12 hours ago, Luvmyrotti said:

You can absolutely get cancel for any reason coverage from private insurance carriers for not much more than Princess and the real key is that you get an actual check payment rather than a credit for a future cruise.

Princess Insurance does not let you cancel for any reason. Specified reasons only. Any reason is not one of them.

[Reader0108598]

As Thrak said all kinds of reasons  ....Not uniformed we are getting older ! The older you get more insurance costs ! We used to always book private insurance! Had to cancel last cruise doctor filled out paperwork ,hotels were refundable flights were put on hold ! We got most of our money back used the flights later!  We are not stupid just not rich take a cruise out of FLL when I find a good price that is as good as it gets for us .....I am happy with that! Cruise 31 coming up for our 40th wedding anniversary! I weigh my costs!

 

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Reader0108598