Question about specific cruise insurance coverage

[chfenton]

Will be taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral in February (booked today).  I am trying to insure that I purchase the right insurance policy as circumstances are such that we can't fly into Orlando until the morning of the cruise. Flight due to arrive at MCO at 8:15 am so plenty of time if all goes well.  Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?  I read about coverages and can't really find it in the trip cancellation section of some of the policies I just looked at.  Confirmation or advice on what coverage I'm looking for would be appreciated.

[not-enough-cruising]

15 minutes ago, chfenton said:

Will be taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral in February (booked today).  I am trying to insure that I purchase the right insurance policy as circumstances are such that we can't fly into Orlando until the morning of the cruise. Flight due to arrive at MCO at 8:15 am so plenty of time if all goes well.  Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?  I read about coverages and can't really find it in the trip cancellation section of some of the policies I just looked at.  Confirmation or advice on what coverage I'm looking for would be appreciated.

"common carrier" trip interruption/cancellation is what you are looking for.  Winter weather in Connecticut probably won't be covered under that particular umbrella, you will need to be sure you have weather related coverage.

 

ALSO be 100% sure your airline tickets as well as your cruise fare are covered in the policy.

[c-leg5]

54 minutes ago, chfenton said:

Will be taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral in February (booked today).  I am trying to insure that I purchase the right insurance policy as circumstances are such that we can't fly into Orlando until the morning of the cruise. Flight due to arrive at MCO at 8:15 am so plenty of time if all goes well.  Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?  I read about coverages and can't really find it in the trip cancellation section of some of the policies I just looked at.  Confirmation or advice on what coverage I'm looking for would be appreciated.

You woulld do best to talk to someone at one of the broker insurance sites regularly recomended on here for your specific needs snd filters.
 

Check out the insurance forum

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

 

[klfrodo]

6 hours ago, chfenton said:

Will be taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral in February (booked today).  I am trying to insure that I purchase the right insurance policy as circumstances are such that we can't fly into Orlando until the morning of the cruise. Flight due to arrive at MCO at 8:15 am so plenty of time if all goes well.  Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?  I read about coverages and can't really find it in the trip cancellation section of some of the policies I just looked at.  Confirmation or advice on what coverage I'm looking for would be appreciated.

Agree with c-leg. You're best bet is to call and speak to an expert (costs you nothing and they will not high pressure sell you). The broker we use is at Get the Best Trip Insurance Details, Advice (tripinsurancestore.com)

[SubSmithy]

Chuck, A life time ago I lived nearby in Ridgefield.

 

I have used InsureMyTrip.com for many years to compare and by trip insurance with good luck.  Though after all the insurance that I bought, I never really looked at the details of "trip interruption" coverage until today.  I realized that insurance that I had bought in the past had a restriction that limited coverage to only instances where the common carrier had a 24 hour interruption in services due to weather.  So a 6 or 12 hour interruption that caused you to miss your ship would not be covered nor would mechanical failure of the plane.

 

After talking to InsureMyTrip they turned me on to Generali Global Assistance insurance.  From their coverage doc: Covered events include "Common Carrier delays and/or cancellations resulting from adverse weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship, boat or motor coach that you were scheduled to travel on, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation" There is no minimum time for the event.

 

This sold me, as it addressed my major concern.  The price was very reasonable.  

 

Todd

 

 

[chfenton]

2 hours ago, SubSmithy said:

Chuck, A life time ago I lived nearby in Ridgefield.

 

I have used InsureMyTrip.com for many years to compare and by trip insurance with good luck.  Though after all the insurance that I bought, I never really looked at the details of "trip interruption" coverage until today.  I realized that insurance that I had bought in the past had a restriction that limited coverage to only instances where the common carrier had a 24 hour interruption in services due to weather.  So a 6 or 12 hour interruption that caused you to miss your ship would not be covered nor would mechanical failure of the plane.

 

After talking to InsureMyTrip they turned me on to Generali Global Assistance insurance.  From their coverage doc: Covered events include "Common Carrier delays and/or cancellations resulting from adverse weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship, boat or motor coach that you were scheduled to travel on, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation" There is no minimum time for the event.

 

This sold me, as it addressed my major concern.  The price was very reasonable.  

 

Todd

 

 

Thanks Todd---I saw the same thing which led to my original post, it appeared to me that there wasn't coverage in the policies I reviewed for trip interruption unless common carrier was down for 24 hours which obviously wouldn't work.  

[Babr]

If you are talking about the kind of meltdowns we’ve seen lately involving cancellations caused by logistics, I think you’ll find those are not covered. Scheduling of equipment and crews is considered to be within the control of the airline so it is not covered as an unforeseen event like weather or a mechanical breakdown.

[chfenton]

Thanks for your comment Babr--so is there no way to insure a cruise fare if you do nothing wrong, are at the mercy of the airlines and they do not get you from point A to point B for whatever reason as expected and accordingly you miss your ship?.  It almost seems counter-intuitive --- as isn't that what insurance is for?

[Babr]

Insurance covers unforeseen events as defined in the policy. It does not cover everything.

 

Having said that, there’s a lot of variation in the wording of policies so I’d direct the question to a professional. Ask specifically about cancellations caused by logistics. Call The Trip Insurance Store.
 

In any event, if I found myself caught up in snag, I’d call the insurance company’s in-transit emergency number for instructions.

[Jersey42]

2 hours ago, chfenton said:

Thanks for your comment Babr--so is there no way to insure a cruise fare if you do nothing wrong, are at the mercy of the airlines and they do not get you from point A to point B for whatever reason as expected and accordingly you miss your ship?.  It almost seems counter-intuitive --- as isn't that what insurance is for?

@Babr has given you good advice and you probably will not find a policy that will do exactly what you want.  I agree that "It almost seems counter-intuitive", but IMHO trip insurance is much more complicated than it should be. 

 

That said, here are a few ideas that might help, depending on your situation:

I second the suggestion to call Trip Insurance Store.  I have have tried several insurance brokers, and while others offer more policies and have flashier websites, Steve and his people really know the policies they sell. They may not have the answer you want to hear, but they will give you a straight answer.

 

If that does not help, you might want to consider your cruise line's "vacation protection plan".  I normally do not recommend these plans because they have many more holes than third party insurance.  But in some cases, they are the best of imperfect options. 

 

I am guessing you are on Royal Caribbean so my comments are based specifically on RCI.  If you are on another line, then look at your line's plan for Connecticut to see if there are any significant differences.

 

RCI offers Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) as long as you cancel your cruise prior to the scheduled ship departure time.  So in your specific situation you would be covered.  It is a 90% FCC that must be used within a year. It also does not cover your airfare, even if you purchased it through RCI's Air2Sea program. If you can work with that, it may be your best option.

 

Some other downsides that may or may not apply to you:

• Medical is $25K.  Not great unless you have other medical insurance
• It has a pre-existing condition clause with a 60 day lookback period.  It applies to virtually all coverages except medical evacuation and repatriation.  It will not apply to CFAR.
• It will not cover any pre or post cruise travel. 

 

Please let us know if you find a better solution and what you end up doing.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Jersey42

[chfenton]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:41 AM, Jersey42 said:

@Babr has given you good advice and you probably will not find a policy that will do exactly what you want.  I agree that "It almost seems counter-intuitive", but IMHO trip insurance is much more complicated than it should be. 

 

That said, here are a few ideas that might help, depending on your situation:

I second the suggestion to call Trip Insurance Store.  I have have tried several insurance brokers, and while others offer more policies and have flashier websites, Steve and his people really know the policies they sell. They may not have the answer you want to hear, but they will give you a straight answer.

 

If that does not help, you might want to consider your cruise line's "vacation protection plan".  I normally do not recommend these plans because they have many more holes than third party insurance.  But in some cases, they are the best of imperfect options. 

 

I am guessing you are on Royal Caribbean so my comments are based specifically on RCI.  If you are on another line, then look at your line's plan for Connecticut to see if there are any significant differences.

 

RCI offers Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) as long as you cancel your cruise prior to the scheduled ship departure time.  So in your specific situation you would be covered.  It is a 90% FCC that must be used within a year. It also does not cover your airfare, even if you purchased it through RCI's Air2Sea program. If you can work with that, it may be your best option.

 

Some other downsides that may or may not apply to you:

• Medical is $25K.  Not great unless you have other medical insurance
• It has a pre-existing condition clause with a 60 day lookback period.  It applies to virtually all coverages except medical evacuation and repatriation.  It will not apply to CFAR.
• It will not cover any pre or post cruise travel. 

 

Please let us know if you find a better solution and what you end up doing.

Thank you very much!  This is exactly what will give me some peace of mind-that is the Cancel for Any reason prior to scheduled departure.  Obviously, I don't expect to, but have not found any outside policies that offered this with less than 2 days notice prior to departure.  It appears the RCL policy through Arch is what I need for morning of departure issues with flights.  As I mentioned above, supposed to arrive in MCO by 815 in the am so having this policy will be fine if by some very bad luck I can't get to MCO by say noon and risk missing Allure's departure.  Obviously not as good as refund but 90% FCC is fine for me.

 

Thanks again.

[c-leg5]

5 minutes ago, chfenton said:

Thank you very much!  This is exactly what will give me some peace of mind-that is the Cancel for Any reason prior to scheduled departure.  Obviously, I don't expect to, but have not found any outside policies that offered this with less than 2 days notice prior to departure.  It appears the RCL policy through Arch is what I need for morning of departure issues with flights.  As I mentioned above, supposed to arrive in MCO by 815 in the am so having this policy will be fine if by some very bad luck I can't get to MCO by say noon and risk missing Allure's departure.  Obviously not as good as refund but 90% FCC is fine for me.

 

Thanks again.

 

As several have recommended best to contact one of the insurance brokers to discuss best policy for your specific needs. 
 

A lot depends on why you need to cancel.

 

I have no experience making claims due to weather so I don’t know about air fare itself  but it is my understanding that once you have left home if something happens further expenses could be claimed under trip interruption. Of course that would depend on your policy.
 

 

[iamtrustworthy]

On 8/24/2023 at 10:29 AM, chfenton said:

Will be taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral in February (booked today).  I am trying to insure that I purchase the right insurance policy as circumstances are such that we can't fly into Orlando until the morning of the cruise. Flight due to arrive at MCO at 8:15 am so plenty of time if all goes well.  Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?  I read about coverages and can't really find it in the trip cancellation section of some of the policies I just looked at.  Confirmation or advice on what coverage I'm looking for would be appreciated.

Hi Chfenton,

 

> Do all policies reimburse me for the cruise fare in case there is an airline/airport/FAA melt down and we end up stranded and don't get to MCO in time to get over to the cruise?

 

No. Many policies don't cover governmental actions, so be sure to check for this in the Exclusions.

 

Steve Dasseos