Do you get insurance for small, local cruises?

[mafig]

We are thinking of getting back to cruising with a short (5 day) cruise from Tampa.  Tampa is less than 100 miles from us.

 

I am tempted to gamble and not purchase insurance for this trip.  Do you think I'm being foolish?

 

 

[smplybcause]

What type of insurance? You can, and most likely should, purchase medical insurance. 

 

I usually don't purchase cancellation insurance for cruises I can drive to - but being single and childless there's not a lot that would stop me from going. Though a lot of the time I had a credit card that covered that. I do purchase medical coverage now because most US health insurance won't pay for anything on a cruise ship. And you're talking over $100 just to see the ship doctor and prices for tests and procedures go up from there - a few hundred dollars if you need one xray. 

 

I got injured on a cruise ship once before I started buying insurance - lucky for me it was during a game the cruise ship was doing so I ended up not seeing any charges. But as I sat there waiting to be patched up as much as they could I was adding up what they did with the price list they have posted - would have been over $2000 for my sprained ankle. Which would have sucked! Especially since I had to pay to see a doctor multiple times and had to have PT at home which was a chunk of money too. I figure that was my get out of jail free card - so I now pay like $25 for a policy. 

[CruisinNole]

27 minutes ago, mafig said:

We are thinking of getting back to cruising with a short (5 day) cruise from Tampa.  Tampa is less than 100 miles from us.

 

I am tempted to gamble and not purchase insurance for this trip.  Do you think I'm being foolish?

 

 

We also live close to Tampa in North Port, frequently take short cruises from Port Tampa and always purchase insurance. In over 60 cruises we have only filed a claim 3 times but we would have been out thousands of dollars if we'd not have insurance. I guess I'm a fatalist but I have a feeling that if I didn't have insurance, that's when I'd need it!

[zekekelso]

Me? No. 
 

Getting insurance or not is a personal decision. As long as somebody understands the pros and cons, they are the best judge of whether insurance makes sense. 

[mafig]

8 minutes ago, CruisinNole said:

We also live close to Tampa in North Port

Hi, neighbor!  We're in Punta Gorda.

Our first 30 or so cruises we did not buy insurance.  Our last couple we have, since we've gotten older.🙁  For such a short cruise, it's really tempting to gamble.

Actually, we would be ahead, wouldn't we?

Edited July 11, 2021 by mafig

[Ashland]

Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it 

[jalves]

Never bought insurance for cruises, local or distant.  

[GTO-Girl]

We never, ever sail without trip insurance…..ever!!

[ATG]

I have been purchasing an annual policy that covers some cancellations, some medical and a substantial medical evacuation amount.  If I had to cancel, I would not be covered completely, but that’s a risk I feel comfortable taking.

[ReneeFLL]

We always buy at the minimum medical insurance. You never know what will happen. On our first cruise I started having pains so bad I was doubled over and could hardly walk. Ended up in the infirmary and after many tests they decided I was have a gall bladder attack.

 

At first they though I was having a heart attack and my potassium tested low. I made them retest it and it wasn’t low. They told me the first day of the cruise a gentleman was airlifted off the ship and taken back to Atlanta. He was having open heart surgery the day I went in. This might have clouded their judgement a little bit. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Anyway, I ended up having gall bladder surgery not to long after that. Thank goodness hubby had the foresight to buy insurance. I was 50 at the time so you never know when something will happen. Good thing the attack happened on the last night of the cruise. Yep, I have my priorities straight. 😁 🍹

[coldflame]

19 minutes ago, CruisinNole said:

We also live close to Tampa in North Port, frequently take short cruises from Port Tampa and always purchase insurance. In over 60 cruises we have only filed a claim 3 times but we would have been out thousands of dollars if we'd not have insurance. I guess I'm a fatalist but I have a feeling that if I didn't have insurance, that's when I'd need it!

 

Like the old adage goes: it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

[Sunshine3601]

A couple years ago there was a woman with a bloody nose on the sun deck, would not stop bleeding for almost an hour.  She finally decided to go to medical ctr.  I saw her the next day and she said they had to pack her nose and told her bill would be about $1500.   She didnt have insurance.

I much rather pay a small fee for insurance than thousands of $$    You just never know what could happen on land or sea.

[Jasukkie]

I have taken to buying just the medical insurance which saves a good amount. I've seen enough evacuations, don't leave home without it.

[cured]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

We are thinking of getting back to cruising with a short (5 day) cruise from Tampa.  Tampa is less than 100 miles from us.

 

I am tempted to gamble and not purchase insurance for this trip.  Do you think I'm being foolish?

 

 

Starting August 1, passengers 12 and up that are not vaccinated, sailing from Florida, are required to carry trip insurance with specific coverages of $25,000 medical and $50,000 evacuation to cover possible covid.

 

Vaccinated passengers 12+ are not required to have travel insurance and it is up to them.

 

Although vaccinated, we choose to carry insurance. However, we purchase the day before final payment through Nationwide (still get cancel for any reason and preexisting conditions) because no sense in paying a premium that is more than the deposit we would lose if we choose to cancel before final payment.

[lenquixote66]

We always buy insurance and unfortunately have used it on too many cruises.

[coldflame]

51 minutes ago, cured said:

Starting August 1, passengers 12 and up that are not vaccinated, sailing from Florida, are required to carry trip insurance with specific coverages of $25,000 medical and $50,000 evacuation to cover possible covid.

 

Vaccinated passengers 12+ are not required to have travel insurance and it is up to them.

 

Although vaccinated, we choose to carry insurance. However, we purchase the day before final payment through Nationwide (still get cancel for any reason and preexisting conditions) because no sense in paying a premium that is more than the deposit we would lose if we choose to cancel before final payment.

 

There's a confounding element to this: depends when the reservation was made. 

 

Unvaccinated guests age 12 and older sailing from Florida homeports who booked prior to March 19, 2021 or after June 28, 2021 will not be subject to this COVID-19 Assistance, and must provide proof of travel insurance as outlined in prior to boarding

 

 

[Jingerwoppy]

yes

[shellunderwater]

You need to consider medical and evacuation coverage.  Even if I'm not worried about the cost of air/cruise/hotel, I want med and evac.  Your personal insurance might cover.

[shellunderwater]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

A couple years ago there was a woman with a bloody nose on the sun deck, would not stop bleeding for almost an hour.  She finally decided to go to medical ctr.  I saw her the next day and she said they had to pack her nose and told her bill would be about $1500.   She didnt have insurance.

I much rather pay a small fee for insurance than thousands of $$    You just never know what could happen on land or sea.

After a bout of normal while at the airport requiring medical evaluation and also several trips to medical on ships for various reasons, our medical insurance has been a bargain overall.

 

It's about someone's level of comfort with their risks.

[sandebeach]

After my husband retired, we started doing a weekend cruise out of Miami almost monthly. So I decided to buy an annual travel insurance policy from Allianz, it was cheaper than buying insurance for each cruise. It also covers us for any personal land-based trip that is over 200 miles (? it may be even less) from our home and is not a business trip. 

[firefly333]

Idk if they do x Ray's onboard. One of the carnival posts who was posting live got his foot run over by a lady in a scooter ramming thru. He thought was bruised but got it xrayed at home and its broke and hes in a boot. .. lol so you can get hurt cruising. Not sure ships have the medical equipment to xray it though. 

[Bailey & Sophie]

 

We get insurance. It covers a multitude of things...medical, emergency air lifts, hotels if flights cancelled, lost luggage, etc. So many things can go wrong.

[time4u2go]

10 hours ago, jalves said:

Never bought insurance for cruises, local or distant.  

Same here. 

[Travelling2Some]

Our daughter, who was a perfectly healthy 18 year old at the time, had her first ever migraine while we were cruising.  The symptoms were very alarming (numbness down one side of her body, blurred vision, vomiting, etc.) and we had no idea what it was.  So, even if you are not an older person with health issues, you just never know.  We have never sailed without insurance because of the cost of medical evacuation.  We do take land trips (especially domestic ones) without it.

[kearney]

If you go to one of the online travel insurance sites like insuremytrip.com or squaremouth.com. There you can get a customized quote...looking at your specific concerns and leaving out things you are not interested in. Once you sort it out... I would call and then talk it over with an agent... If you cruise or travel a lot..you might consider an annual plan.. these tend to be oriented more to medical.. The companies generally are highly rated insurance companies.

 

In the past I have used Allianz... actually had great experience...but discovered these other sites when I wanted to customize my plan.  As we have gotten older... we realize weird accidents can happen..even when you are healthy... and getting sick on a ship can be very expensive.