Alaskan Cruises and International Water

[Smitheroo]

Ok, I might not know my geography very well but how far are the US Ports from the route the ship takes through the Interior Passage on the Alaska cruise?   The reason I ask this is because I am deciding on trip insurance and whether it needs to include medical. I am on Original Medicare and have a Plan F Supplement (so I am covered 100% as long as the service is allowed by Medicare and the provider accepts Medicare)   The rule seems to be that Medicare will cover you on a cruise ship if a US port is 6 hrs or less away.  Can anyone give me examples of which cruises would qualify?       

 

 What about transatlantic cruises?  I have EU citizenship and I've been told that allows me to access healthcare in any EU country. I really dont know how this works though, just thought I'd throw it in in case anyone does.

 

And if Medicare does apply would it still provide evacuation  ? Which leads to the next question. If I am in an EU country accessing their healthcare I would still need medical trip insurance for evacuation, correct?

[9tee2Sea]

those are questions you should be asking a Medicare Consulate, or a trip insurance agent.  Its very hard to figure out all the ins and outs of Govt programs ( Its almost like a foreign language).  Somewhere there will probably fine print that will state you are not covered for something.

[BirdTravels]

You need an insurance specialist

 

At best, you could post your question on the Cruise Insurance forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

[dad son team]

for the extra few dollars it costs, take the medical coverage and have peace of mind

[SoloAlaska]

I NEVER travel without extended coverage. Will your basic insurance cover the air rescue or search and rescue? I travel enough to warrant annual coverage and including trip interruption etc it’s such a small cost compared to a cruise I say just do it. If you can’t afford the insurance then you can’t afford the trip. Talk to your provider and make sure you are covered or ask if there is a top up. 

[mugtech]

               I was told my medicare coverage was only accepted in the USA  Or a USA possession.  When I am in the Philippines the closest place I can use my medicare is Guam.

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

those are questions you should be asking a Medicare Consulate, or a trip insurance agent.  Its very hard to figure out all the ins and outs of Govt programs ( Its almost like a foreign language).  Somewhere there will probably fine print that will state you are not covered for something.

I thought since many people on this forum are probably on Medicare someone might know.

 

But Even if they dont know about Medicare they might know if the ship on an Alaskan cruise is over more than 6 hours from a US Port.  That was my real question. I added the Medicare stuff to explain the reason why I was thinking about how far the ship was from a US Port.  Not something one would normally think about.

[Smitheroo]

46 minutes ago, mugtech said:

               I was told my medicare coverage was only accepted in the USA  Or a USA possession.  When I am in the Philippines the closest place I can use my medicare is Guam.

I read that medicare coverage is accepted on a cruise ship when the ship is within 6 hrs of a US Port or Possession, like Guam.

 

But this wasnt really an insurance question, the question was if the ship on an Alaskan cruise is ever more than 6 hrs from a US Port.  I think I confused people by mentioning Medicare.

[Smitheroo]

1 hour ago, SoloAlaska said:

I NEVER travel without extended coverage. Will your basic insurance cover the air rescue or search and rescue? I travel enough to warrant annual coverage and including trip interruption etc it’s such a small cost compared to a cruise I say just do it. If you can’t afford the insurance then you can’t afford the trip. Talk to your provider and make sure you are covered or ask if there is a top up. 

  t it is true that I asked about evacuation. That I still have to ask Medicare about.   But yes,  my medicare coverage  that I have would definitely cover normal medical care on a Ship within 6 hrs of a US Port.  That is why I asked if a ship on an Alaskan cruise is ever more than 6 hours from a US Port.  

[Smitheroo]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

You need an insurance specialist

 

At best, you could post your question on the Cruise Insurance forum

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/

 

 I shouldnt have included the questions about Medicare.  What I was really interested in was to know if a ship on an Alaskan cruise is ever more than 6 hrs from a US Port. Do you know ?

[Smitheroo]

4 hours ago, dad son team said:

for the extra few dollars it costs, take the medical coverage and have peace of mind

I wouldnt exactly call it a "few extra dollars"

[julig22]

44 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

 I shouldnt have included the questions about Medicare.  What I was really interested in was to know if a ship on an Alaskan cruise is ever more than 6 hrs from a US Port. Do you know ?

I think the answer is yes, you can easily be more than 6 hours from a US port. Depending on the itinerary.  It takes over a day to get from Ketchikan to Victoria and I was once told that if you are late in Ketchikan the ship can't wait because they don't have extra time. And once you leave Ketchikan the closest land is Canada.

[phillygwm]

Rule of thumb:  If the casino is open, you'll be in International waters.  Agree with others about travel insurance.  GeoBlue works well if you're just concerned with the medical aspect.  There are myriad options if you're concerned about other travel mishaps (missed flights, luggage, etc.)  

Edited August 18, 2023 by phillygwm

[Smitheroo]

3 minutes ago, julig22 said:

I think the answer is yes, you can easily be more than 6 hours from a US port. Depending on the itinerary.  It takes over a day to get from Ketchikan to Victoria and I was once told that if you are late in Ketchikan the ship can't wait because they don't have extra time. And once you leave Ketchikan the closest land is Canada.

Thanks.   But that just raises more questions lol.   " Medicare will cover you if the cruise ship you are on is within 6 hrs of a US Port or possession"  Ok, the ship is on its way to Ketchikan (I'm assuming that is US) At some point it is going to be within 6 hrs of the port.  So do you wait until that point before being treated, when you are within 6 hrs of the port?  How ridiculous is that?  I think I will just get trip insurance.

[Smitheroo]

3 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

Rule of thumb:  If the casino is open, you'll be in International waters.  Agree with others about travel insurance.  GeoBlue works well if you're just concerned with the medical aspect.  There are myriad options if you're concerned about other travel mishaps (missed flights, luggage, etc.)  

My Medicare supplement will cover anywhere, with a lifetime maximum of 50,000 which is ridiculous. 

 

But what you said about casinos- I read that when the ship passes through the Inside Passage it is not in International Waters. So does that mean that the casino is not open during the Inside Passage part?

[phillygwm]

2 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

Thanks.   But that just raises more questions lol.   " Medicare will cover you if the cruise ship you are on is within 6 hrs of a US Port or possession"  Ok, the ship is on its way to Ketchikan (I'm assuming that is US) At some point it is going to be within 6 hrs of the port.  So do you wait until that point before being treated, when you are within 6 hrs of the port?  How ridiculous is that?  I think I will just get trip insurance.

How does one measure 6 hours?  If you leave port at 6 PM and arrive at the next US port at 8 AM, what happens if you take ill at 7:00?  You're technically an hour away but you're 13 from the next port (presumably, the ship ain't turning around!)  Agree with just getting the insurance.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Smitheroo said:

I thought since many people on this forum are probably on Medicare someone might know.

 

But Even if they dont know about Medicare they might know if the ship on an Alaskan cruise is over more than 6 hours from a US Port.  That was my real question. I added the Medicare stuff to explain the reason why I was thinking about how far the ship was from a US Port.  Not something one would normally think about.

This is a binary question... do you buy insurance or not. Are are more than 6 hours from port or not. 

 

On a R/T Seattle cruise, you will be more than 6 hours away from a US port at some point. So, buy insurance.  

 

On a one way Canada to/from Anchorage, you will be in Canada and more than 6 hours for a US port. So, buy insurance.  

 

Some shore excursions cross into Canada, so you will be outside the United States. 

 

The cruise line considers to be in "international waters" for most of the cruise while you are not in port.

 

While the US Coast Guard will medivac you for free, Canadian rescue may not be the same. On our in 2021, a Canadian rescue helicopter came to pick up a sick passenger. (We spent 1/2 a day sailing back toward a populated Canadian area where a rescue helicopter could fly from). On pandemic cruises, private charter air ambulance planes were used to transport sick passengers. 

[Smitheroo]

47 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

How does one measure 6 hours?  If you leave port at 6 PM and arrive at the next US port at 8 AM, what happens if you take ill at 7:00?  You're technically an hour away but you're 13 from the next port (presumably, the ship ain't turning around!)  Agree with just getting the insurance.

There has to be an answer. Even the government isnt that ridiculous.

[bonvoyagie]

On our last AK cruise we had a medical emergency in the middle of the night and had to turn around and go back to Prince Rupert. Under normal circumstances it would have taken several hours to make this detour. The captain turned on the afterburners and sped back at near full speed for the ship - about 24 kn. So the total amount of time from the emergency call to when we got back underway was 6hrs. From there on to Vancouver BC we were running tull tilt whenever possible and arrived only 3 hrs late.