Cruising travel insurance requirements??

[OzKiwiJJ]

Our governments don't want cruise ships here as they all seem to think they are floating petri dishes and/or only for those who are rich. 🙄 😡

Edited March 14, 2021 by OzKiwiJJ

[ilikeanswers]

5 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Our governments don't want cruise ships here as they all seem to think they are floating petri dishes and/or only for those who are rich. 🙄 😡

 

Just curious but have cruise lines put any proposals for moving forward? Are they discussing with the government? In USA they have been oddly silent and seem to be just waiting for all restrictions to be lifted rather than even try to negotiate with the restriction that have been announced by I think it is the CDC. Is there a little more conversation happening in Australia?

[OzKiwiJJ]

26 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Just curious but have cruise lines put any proposals for moving forward? Are they discussing with the government? In USA they have been oddly silent and seem to be just waiting for all restrictions to be lifted rather than even try to negotiate with the restriction that have been announced by I think it is the CDC. Is there a little more conversation happening in Australia?

Whatever is happening is not being publicised yet. There are probably negotiations happening behind the scenes. Perhaps the cruise lines have been told to wait until mid-year to start making plans as by then the governments will have a good idea as to how the vaccine rollout is going. I think most of the cruise lines who are down here regularly don't have any cruises scheduled until October or later and I don't expect to hear any confirmation that cruising will recommence until July at least.

[By The Bay]

With the state election result in WA, I would not be surprised if cruising didn't restart until after the next Federal election. Closed borders and anti cruise ships was a vote winner in that state. Cruising is not seen as a vote winner, IMHO.😒

[MMDown Under]

28 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

With the state election result in WA, I would not be surprised if cruising didn't restart until after the next Federal election. Closed borders and anti cruise ships was a vote winner in that state. Cruising is not seen as a vote winner, IMHO.😒

All Australians would have to have been offered two dozes of the vaccine before there will be any cruises or overseas travel.  Indonesia is suggesting  tourists who have been vaccinated or tested negative may be able to holiday in Bali. 

NSW and Qld. have a positive case each of the virus caught from overseas travellers in quarantine.

Returning Aussies are still a problem.  No decision yet re making quarantine facilities away from the big cities.   

[Port Power]

13 hours ago, By The Bay said:

With the state election result in WA, I would not be surprised if cruising didn't restart until after the next Federal election. Closed borders and anti cruise ships was a vote winner in that state. Cruising is not seen as a vote winner, IMHO.😒

I have four domestic cruises booked this year, two of them (in August and September) completely within WA. So cruising has restart dates already. The criteria for the very small ships is that all passengers are Australian residents.  Obviously no international tourists would have been allowed to fly in, anyway.  There is mention of having a PCR test on boarding but no mention of being vaccinated. These cruises are before vaccinations are likely to be completed.

 

I had to take out an international travel policy (for Australia, NZ and Fiji) as this covers domestic cruising.  Evacuation, for instance. Mine is an annual policy.  However, nothing Covid related is covered.  One of the companies wants to know my insurance policy details, but hasn’t asked to actually see the document beforehand or on board.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Port Power

[MMDown Under]

1 hour ago, Port Power said:

I have four domestic cruises booked this year, two of them (in August and September) completely within WA. So cruising has restart dates already. The criteria for the very small ships is that all passengers are Australian residents.  Obviously no international tourists would have been allowed to fly in, anyway.  There is mention of having a PCR test on boarding but no mention of being vaccinated. These cruises are before vaccinations are likely to be completed.

 

I had to take out an international travel policy (for Australia, NZ and Fiji) as this covers domestic cruising.  Evacuation, for instance. Mine is an annual policy.  However, nothing Covid related is covered.  One of the companies wants to know my insurance policy details, but hasn’t asked to actually see the document beforehand or on board.

Yes domestic small ship cruising has commenced in Aust already.  Why did you have to get an international travel policy when your cruise is off WA?  Did you talk with the cruise line abut your travel policy not covering Covid and what is their policy.  In the past, cruise lines just wanted to know your policy no and who it was with.  They didn't ask to see it.  

[By The Bay]

3 hours ago, Port Power said:

I have four domestic cruises booked this year, two of them (in August and September) completely within WA. So cruising has restart dates already. The criteria for the very small ships is that all passengers are Australian residents. 

My comments were with regard to the big 4 cruise lines. Travelling to WA, to undertake an expedition type cruise, from the Eastern States is risking trouble. The borders could be slammed shut at short notice and 14 day quarantine could be an issue. The cost of the cruise is also a deterrent. The Coral Expedition cruises start at around $1,000 a night for the 10-day cruise. Good luck on you being a well off sandgroper. Enjoy your cruising.

[Port Power]

3 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes domestic small ship cruising has commenced in Aust already.  Why did you have to get an international travel policy when your cruise is off WA?  Did you talk with the cruise line abut your travel policy not covering Covid and what is their policy.  In the past, cruise lines just wanted to know your policy no and who it was with.  They didn't ask to see it.  

Domestic travel insurance policies only cover flying and land based activities, not cruising. International policies cover if you need to be air lifted to hospital, costs to get you to the next port if you miss the ship, and medical costs on board the ship, etc. The South Pacific policy is the cheapest, then Europe and USA. Two cruises are west coast, two from Fremantle to east coast. Credit card insurance doesn’t cover domestic travel or cruising domestically.

 

Ponant will completely refund if the cruise doesn’t happen. I think the days of border closures may now be over, but perhaps not self-quarantine.  If you were flying to Broome from Melbourne, for instance, and Melbourne had another Covid outbreak, travel insurance doesn’t cover you missing the cruise.  I checked many insurance companies and several are still not issuing travel insurance at all. I thought the annual policy by HBF for $360 was worth it with four cruises lined up.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, Port Power said:

Domestic travel insurance policies only cover flying and land based activities, not cruising. International policies cover if you need to be air lifted to hospital, costs to get you to the next port if you miss the ship, and medical costs on board the ship, etc. The South Pacific policy is the cheapest, then Europe and USA. Two cruises are west coast, two from Fremantle to east coast. Credit card insurance doesn’t cover domestic travel or cruising domestically.

 

Ponant will completely refund if the cruise doesn’t happen. I think the days of border closures may now be over, but perhaps not self-quarantine.  If you were flying to Broome from Melbourne, for instance, and Melbourne had another Covid outbreak, travel insurance doesn’t cover you missing the cruise.  I checked many insurance companies and several are still not issuing travel insurance at all. I thought the annual policy by HBF for $360 was worth it with four cruises lined up.

Even going back to 2009 when we did the full circumnavigation of Australia on ye olde Sun Princess,  full international travel insurance was required for coverage, cancellation and medical costs.  We did not go outside Australian waters, no foreign ports.

[jland]

5 hours ago, Port Power said:

Ponant will completely refund if the cruise doesn’t happen. I think the days of border closures may now be over, but perhaps not self-quarantine.  If you were flying to Broome from Melbourne, for instance, and Melbourne had another Covid outbreak, travel insurance doesn’t cover you missing the cruise.  I checked many insurance companies and several are still not issuing travel insurance at all. I thought the annual policy by HBF for $360 was worth it with four cruises lined up.

We had a contract with Ponant which stated if Ponant cancelled for any reason they would refund. They then proceeded to change that clause retrospectively and denied all passengers refunds. 
We would never trust them again.

[Port Power]

27 minutes ago, jland said:

We had a contract with Ponant which stated if Ponant cancelled for any reason they would refund. They then proceeded to change that clause retrospectively and denied all passengers refunds. 
We would never trust them again.

Hopefully I won’t have to test it out!  My travel agent, CLIA masters, have also backed up that promise in writing though.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, jland said:

We had a contract with Ponant which stated if Ponant cancelled for any reason they would refund. They then proceeded to change that clause retrospectively and denied all passengers refunds. 
We would never trust them again.

 

Isn't Ponant a French company? I heard that France passed a law that businesses in their travel industry are allowed to deny. 

[NSWP]

32 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

Isn't Ponant a French company? I heard that France passed a law that businesses in their travel industry are allowed to deny. 

Yes it is French.

[MMDown Under]

40 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Yes it is French.

Ponant is now owned by Artemis, a French Holding Company.  

[NSWP]

47 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Ponant is now owned by Artemis, a French Holding Company.  

Years ago there was a P and O UK ship, named Artemis. 

[MMDown Under]

43 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Years ago there was a P and O UK ship, named Artemis. 

Sounded familiar.  I think it is a Greek God or something. 

[Docker123]

1 hour ago, MMDown Under said:

Sounded familiar.  I think it is a Greek God or something. 

Goddess

 

[ilikeanswers]

4 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Ponant is now owned by Artemis, a French Holding Company.  

 

That's probably why they can change their refund policies, the French government made it legally acceptable because of the pandemic🤔

[ilikeanswers]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

Sounded familiar.  I think it is a Greek God or something. 

 

Goddess of the Moon and Hunting unless you're Irish then it is Artemis Fowl boy genius criminal mastermind😆

[Port Power]

On 3/15/2021 at 8:05 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

That's probably why they can change their refund policies, the French government made it legally acceptable because of the pandemic🤔

However, selling an Australian cruise for Australian passengers in Australia, I believe they have to comply with Australian laws.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, Port Power said:

However, selling an Australian cruise for Australian passengers in Australia, I believe they have to comply with Australian laws.

 

In theory yes but in practice it seems to be hard to enforce. I have heard of lots of accounts of Australians dealing with foreign companies who even after succeeding through all the consumer resolution processes can't get their refund🙄. Unless you plan on launching some sort of court case it seems to be hard to get these companies to cough up if they dig their heels in. 

[jland]

It depends on whether the foreign company has an Australian office. Ponant has an Australian office and ABN therefore Australian consumer rules apply. Until ACCC intervened Ponant insisted they could apply French governments rules over ruling the refund clause in our contract.

[NSWP]

I have been a Probus Club member for 15 years and Probus offers members up to 90 years old, reasonably priced.travel insurance . I have not used it, but know some who have. The policies are solid.

 

Who knows, I might use it in future years.

Edited March 17, 2021 by NSWP

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, jland said:

It depends on whether the foreign company has an Australian office. Ponant has an Australian office and ABN therefore Australian consumer rules apply. Until ACCC intervened Ponant insisted they could apply French governments rules over ruling the refund clause in our contract.

 

Good information to know👍 and good to know the ACCC intervened🤗👏