Cruise Insurance

[Sky Sweet]

If someone has a health insurance policy which covers them outside of the country, are they risking anything besides the cost of the cruise itself by not buying cruise insurance? We usually get it but since it will cost us an additional $600.00 for insurance, I am willing to take that risk.

[Lou33]

My health insurance also covers us outside the country just the same as if we were at home, so we usually don't take cruise insurance.

 

Your main risk is that you would have to cancel your cruise at the last minute, then you would lose the cost of your cruise. If you bought airline tickets, you might be able to get credit for future flights.

 

Otherwise, there might be some misc. expenses related to trip delays. If that happens, then I should be able to cover that out of my pocket, and the money that I saved by not buying cruise insurance over the years, should more than pay for it.

 

Be sure that you are already covered by your health insurance for things like medical evacuation. I know that we are covered, but maybe some plans are different.

[Fblack]

I have been on 30+ cruises and usually get insurance. I don't see how it could cost you $600. Go to the CSA travel insurance web site and get a quote. It also depends if I am flying to a port or just getting the ship locally.

 

My big worry is if we get injured in a far away port and need to get back to the U.S. Or miss a flight or lose luggage, or???

[Sky Sweet]

I have been on 30+ cruises and usually get insurance. I don't see how it could cost you $600. Go to the CSA travel insurance web site and get a quote. It also depends if I am flying to a port or just getting the ship locally.

 

My big worry is if we get injured in a far away port and need to get back to the U.S. Or miss a flight or lose luggage, or???

 

That is for two ($299 per person).

[SheilaNC]

The most it has ever cost us is $400 for both of us...we make sure that we have Medevac coverage as well as the usual medica/cruise. Don't forget the possibility of lost luggage - we've sailed without luggage and without insurance - never again! When we're spending so much on a cruise - especially a long one in foreign lands, I just wouldn't take the chance. Check out tripinsurancestore.com or one of the others where you can compare multiple policies.

[PattyMichael]

We get insurance everytime. I am a worry wart. What if something happens to a family member and we need to cancele our trip.

[ocngypz]

Health insurance plans who provide coverage outside the US are a rarity.

 

Medicare does not cover outside the US.

 

Most health plans who do provide emergency evacuation.. will evacuate you to the nearest approved medical facility. They do not provide coverage to get you to your hospital of choice or home.

 

Heck, most insurance now won't even cover the cost of an emergency ambulance ride from your home to the ER!

 

You need to check all the fine print in your health insurance plans every year.. the premiums go up.. and the coverages go down. We just went thru this at work... and it wasn't pretty.

 

I hear all sorts of reasons for not buying travel insurance every day at work.

These are the very same people, who when something happens expect our customer service department to work miracles.

 

Even when I travel on reduced rates, I still buy travel insurance. To me it's just part of the travel package. Heck... who knew air space in Charlotte would be closed and instead of landing in FLL at 1030am, I would land at 415PM the day of the cruise!!

 

I've been reimbursed over the years, more money than I have paid in premiums.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I agree with all of the above posts. I strongly believe in taking the Cruise insurance. It saved me big time last year, and I like to have the additional comfort of knowing I am covered for any problems.

[Sky Sweet]

I have been on 30+ cruises and usually get insurance. I don't see how it could cost you $600. Go to the CSA travel insurance web site and get a quote. It also depends if I am flying to a port or just getting the ship locally.

 

My big worry is if we get injured in a far away port and need to get back to the U.S. Or miss a flight or lose luggage, or???

 

Hi Fblack :)

 

Thank you for the suggestion. I got a quote from CSA's website which was only $393 for the both of us, as opposed to $299 per person (almost $600 total) from Celebrity. I plan to call CSA tomorrow and buy that policy.

[Sky Sweet]

I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who responded to my post. I now realize that even though our health insurance provides for emergency medical care worldwide, that might not be sufficient if we ever needed to be air lifted to a hospital. It is also nice to know that there are other insurance companies that charge a lot less for a travel protection plan than Celebrity.

[usha]

You can look at http://insuremytrip.com/ and compare many different trip coverage plans, get quotes, and even purchase your trip insurance online.

[palolake]

Go to http://www.quotetravelinsurance.com. They list different companies with the prices and it's really easy to do. We've bought insurance with Travel Safe the last couple of years. We just paid $95 for two of us and we are 50.

[dmk]

I have Health Insurance that covers me outside of Canada. On one cruise, I did have to use it. We always book Trip Cancellation Insurance that covers Lost Luggage. We do not take the Health Ins. part. It is a big saving. Can you do this in the US also.?

[scubaran]

Hi,

 

Lost luggage. End of story. Actually we did lose our luggage, two out of three bags didn't show up. While the cruise line gave us a clothing allowance, it didn't cover much (ever bought socks aboard a cruise ship? you could supply your whole drawer at home for the cost of one pair). The insurance gave us a larger allowance (actually paid out more than the cost of the insurance) though you should know that we had to pay for our clothes on board first and the insurance refunded our money once we got home and submitted a claim with receipts.

[Ships R Great]

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, buy travel insurance. There have been too many horror stories from those who did not. We have seen ambulances take people off the ship and helicopters evacuating from sea more than once. It is worth the peace of mind. When you need it, you ned it. That's why it's called insurance!

[CaribbeanBound]

Good suggestions. There are 16 important things to consider when buying cruise insurance, http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/travel-insurance.com

[JNLROSE]

We have only purchased insurance once and as fate would have it, that was the only cruise we have ever had to cancel & we lost all the insurance $$$$! We don't buy it any more, what a rip off! There are ssooooooo many extenuating circumstances that nothing is really covered! Unbelievable! I guess when you're as young or as old, as our kids would say---there is no need for it!:rolleyes:

[Host Anne]

I wouldn't leave home without travel insurance. I agree with everything Ocngypz said above. The important thing is to be certain what you are purchasing and what is covered. Too many people buy insurance and don't have any idea what is really covered.

[signman]

Rosie, I think I understand what you said, that's why I only buy the insurance after I've made final payment.

 

Had an accident claim once with CSA and they handled it perfectly.

[cruzky]

May 26th will be our 8th cruise. We have always purchased insurance. We have had to use it twice. Once several years ago when I had to have emergency surgery 4 days before we were scheduled to sail and the time our luggage was left on the tarmac at O'Hare and we had already arrived at Heathrow and sailed from Southhampton before it was located. Worth every penny it cost.

[cruzky]

May 26th will be our 8th cruise. We have always purchased insurance. I had to have emergency surgery 4 days before we were scheduled to sail several years ago. Also 2 years ago our luggage was left on the tarmac at O'Hare and we had already sailed from Southampton when the luggage was found. As far as I'm concerned it is worth every penny. $600 does seem extremely high.

[CSloan]

I've purchased insurance before final payment, then had to cancel my cruise. It was no problem applying the insurance I already paid for to my next cruise. So, if you buy in advance, you don't necessarily lose the $$ you paid for insurance - depending on the company and your future travel plans.

[Lou33]

I would like to express my appreciation to everyone who responded to my post. I now realize that even though our health insurance provides for emergency medical care worldwide, that might not be sufficient if we ever needed to be air lifted to a hospital. It is also nice to know that there are other insurance companies that charge a lot less for a travel protection plan than Celebrity.

 

 

Sky Sweet,

 

Please check what your health insurance covers. How do you know that you are not already covered if you need to be airlifted to a hospital? I have a feeling that many people who buy insurance are really not sure if they are already covered or not.

 

If I am driving in the middle of the Nevada desert, and I get in a car accident, then I am covered for air evactuation to an appropriate medical facility. If I am skiing at Lake Tahoe, and I have a terrible accident, I am covered for air evacuation. If I am on a cruiseship in the Caribbean, I'm covered for air evacutaion. Just about everyone I know has similar coverage outside the United States. If this is your main concern then you should at least check.

[ChuckL]

What are your thoughts regarding purchasing Celebrity's insurance for an Alaska cruisetour? I want to have "cancel for any reason" coverage, as well as the customary cancellation coverage, but from what it looks like on Internet insurance boards, I can't get the "cancel for ....." insurance from any other carriers than Celebrity (Berkeley Care), since my initial deposit was already made many months ago. Medical coverage is already part of my own POS (point of service) insurance plan in the U.S., so the only time it wouldn't cover me would be for the Canadian portion of the cruise.

[Patrick IL.]

We always get insurance. Our TA knows exactly what she is doing and finds the best policy for us.