Is Travel Insurance A Requirement?

[roomba920]

Hello,

My husband and I are U.S. residents going on a P&O cruise next month to Norway. Going over last minute information, it appears it might be required for us to purchase travel insurance. It's always been an option for us on U.S. cruise lines, so we're a bit caught off guard with this.

Will we be denied boarding without it?

I attempted to get a quote through a link provided by P&O, but the insurance company will not accept my U.S. postal code, or mobile number.

Is the insurance comp. P&O works with for U.K. residents only?

Thank you in advance for any and all assistance.

Edited April 23 by roomba920

[mercury7289]

7 minutes ago, roomba920 said:

Hello,

My husband and I are U.S. residents going on a P&O cruise next month to Norway. Going over last minute information, it appears it might be required for us to purchase travel insurance. It's always been an option for us on U.S. cruise lines, so we're a bit caught off guard with this.

Will we be denied boarding without it?

I attempted to get a quote through a link provided by P&O, but the insurance company will not accept my U.S. postal code, or mobile number.

Is the insurance comp. P&O works with for U.K. residents only?

Thank you in advance for any and all assistance.

Yes it is a requirement,under there terms and conditions

 

[roomba920]

I'm really in a mess here. Our cruise is less than 3 weeks away, and I can't find a U.S. insurance agency that covers at P&O's high requirements.

Are there any other Americans on here that have traveled with P&O? If so, what insurance company did you use?

[cublet]

Hello,

 

Whilst insurance is required, I have not experienced being asked to show it at check-in since Covid.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[Snow Hill]

Does your medical insurance cover your medical needs? If so you would potentially only need cover for evacuation and repatriation as well as cancellation cover.

 

Have you asked your Travel Agent for advice on what you need in respect of travel insurance? 
 

I certainly wouldn’t consider travel anywhere outside of the U.K. without Travel Insurance. 

Edited April 24 by Snow Hill

[davecttr]

I suggest you also post your problem on the Princess and Cunard boards in the USA and here. Princess have a ship based in the UK for the summer season and Cunard have  considerable numbers of USA passengers.

[pete14]

43 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

Whilst insurance is required, I have not experienced being asked to show it at check-in since Covid.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

As with any insurance, it seems like an expensive waste of money up until the day you need to make a claim. The cost of a medical evacuation or repatriation doesn’t bear thinking about but it is beyond the means of most people. Asking for proof of insurance as part of the checkin process would add delays and just imagine the complaints about resulting later check in times. P&O make it very clear that full insurance is required and trust that nobody is stupid enough to risk disobeying the requirement (I am not suggesting that anybody on here would take that risk). I know nothing about obtaining suitable insurance in USA but as of course Carnival group operate numerous cruises in USA waters, and worldwide, I cannot understand why their requirements are less than those of P&O as the OP suggests.

Edited April 24 by pete14

[kalos]

54 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

Whilst insurance is required, I have not experienced being asked to show it at check-in since Covid.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

From experience I can tell you anything goes wrong and you end up needing 

a doctor in the medical centre ,the first thing they want is your insurance.

Laid out on their bed came in at £100 ph before any other treatment .

 

Showing your insurance is  by the way . We all tick the box on booking to 

say we have valid insurance in T&C's.

 

 

15 minutes ago, pete14 said:

As with any insurance, it seems like an expensive waste of money up until the day you need to make a claim. The cost of a medical evacuation or repatriation doesn’t bear thinking about but it is beyond the means of most people. Asking for proof of insurance as part of the checkin process would add delays and just imagine the complaints about resulting later check in times. P&O make it very clear that full insurance is required and trust that nobody is stupid enough to risk disobeying the requirement (I am not suggesting that anybody on here would take that risk). I know nothing about obtaining suitable insurance in USA but as of course Carnival group operate numerous cruises in USA waters, and worldwide, I cannot understand why their requirements are less than those of P&O as the OP suggests.

 

Just a thought Pete ?  Maybe the op is trying to get a UK insurance , which we all tick a box to say "WE ARE A UK RESIDENT "  Therefore they cannot proceed further .

Surely in the USA they can get worldwide insurance that covers cruise travel ?

[Megabear2]

48 minutes ago, kalos said:

 

From experience I can tell you anything goes wrong and you end up needing 

a doctor in the medical centre ,the first thing they want is your insurance.

Laid out on their bed came in at £100 ph before any other treatment .

 

Showing your insurance is  by the way . We all tick the box on booking to 

say we have valid insurance in T&C's.

 

 

 

Just a thought Pete ?  Maybe the op is trying to get a UK insurance , which we all tick a box to say "WE ARE A UK RESIDENT "  Therefore they cannot proceed further .

Surely in the USA they can get worldwide insurance that covers cruise travel ?

It's difficult in both the US and Europe to get the £2,000,000 cover as the insurer simply does not offer such an option.  A large number of my US sailing companions on Cunard rely on their own medical insurance and use an additional travel insurance attached to their credit cards for other things.

 

The problem is well discussed on the Cunard boards.  There is a CC insurance section in the general area which may help the OP.

 

The UK has totally different laws on rights to the US, it is not allowed for a company to insist on the purchase of an item to allow a person to partake.

 

It's a bit like the regular complaints over on the Cunard and Princess boards that US guests can book fully deposit refundable cruises.  

 

The problem us starting to be highlighted a lot more as a lot of US guests are now wanting to try P&O which wasn't happening much before.

[roomba920]

I received a response from my travel agent at Vacations To Go this morning, and he stated;

 

"Insurance is no longer a requirement for US citizens. The requirement is only for UK citizens so you will not have to worry about it. Before it was a requirement and we had to tell you up front but that is not the case anymore". 

 

Whew, well that answers that.

[Selbourne]

19 minutes ago, roomba920 said:

I received a response from my travel agent at Vacations To Go this morning, and he stated;

 

"Insurance is no longer a requirement for US citizens. The requirement is only for UK citizens so you will not have to worry about it. Before it was a requirement and we had to tell you up front but that is not the case anymore". 

 

Whew, well that answers that.

Personally, I wouldn’t entertain setting foot on a cruise ship without adequate insurance, whether it was a requirement or not. If one of you was taken seriously ill on board and needed a medical evacuation or transfer to a hospital overseas, you could very easily be looking at many tens of thousands of dollars.

[sandancer]

As per Selbourne. Certainly needed for medical reasons, but also lost luggage or passports, missed ports or indeed missing the ship and getting to the next port. I think I would be inclined to check that with P&O.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, roomba920 said:

I received a response from my travel agent at Vacations To Go this morning, and he stated;

 

"Insurance is no longer a requirement for US citizens. The requirement is only for UK citizens so you will not have to worry about it. Before it was a requirement and we had to tell you up front but that is not the case anymore". 

 

Whew, well that answers that.

Are you covered under your own medical insurance in the US?  If so would it only cover emergency medical costs or are you planning on self funding in an emergency?  

 

I have been involved in two medical problems one on Princess in 2022 and the second on P&O in January this year.  The first was my aunt geing seriously ill in Italy and disembarkation to hospital.  The immediate upfront charge on Princess was £4,000, followed by an immediate £2,000 requirement from the Italian hospital.  Total medical costs for this incident ran into nearly £40,000. Even with full insurance cover we had to spend £9,000 in the first 24 hours.

 

My own illness on Britannia (P&O's flagship) in January this year cost £2,000 onboard followed by a 48 hour hospital stay, 6 days accommodation once I left there, medication and a replacement flight home.  Every penny of £8,000 but thankfully my insurer dealt direct with the onshore medical things and my flight.  I still had to pay P&O direct onboard and claim the money back.

 

Evacuation from the ship would be an extremely large sum. If you plan to self fund you must ensure you have immediate access to a five figure sum - this was the figure stated to me by Princess as what they consider "reasonable".  

 

I have no wish to be alarmist but I would suggest checking very carefully your existing cover via your bank, credit cards etc - I know a large number of US cruisers rely on Chase and Amex for instance.  Sailing with absolutely no cover would be very risky.

 

Edited April 24 by Megabear2

[roomba920]

We're all set. Thank you for your concern.

[pete14]

12 hours ago, roomba920 said:

We're all set. Thank you for your concern.

Does that mean you have sorted out insurance or are you taking the word of your travel agent?

[terrierjohn]

15 hours ago, roomba920 said:

We're all set. Thank you for your concern.

Out of interest, in case this insurance question pops up again. Does your personal medical insurance cover you for any problems that occur on a cruise; and would that include airfares back home if you were admitted to hospital whilst on your cruise?

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Out of interest, in case this insurance question pops up again. Does your personal medical insurance cover you for any problems that occur on a cruise; and would that include airfares back home if you were admitted to hospital whilst on your cruise?

It’s the ‘air fare’ off the ship that would worry me the most! 🚁💰💰💰💰💰

[terrierjohn]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

It’s the ‘air fare’ off the ship that would worry me the most! 🚁💰💰💰💰💰

Helicopter medevac is apparently provided free by the coastguard.

[thornegirl]

But if you have to divert the cost of the fuel to do so is picked up by the guests insurance. 
we were told that by an officer when the ship we were on had to divert to St Lucia, £40k.  

[Selbourne]

18 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Helicopter medevac is apparently provided free by the coastguard.

Interesting, although I wouldn’t like to test that theory!

[solentsam]

for normal seafarers maybe, but for cruisers they would expect travel insurance and would try to claim it I think.🤔

[terrierjohn]

26 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Interesting, although I wouldn’t like to test that theory!

 

[terrierjohn]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

 

Check out post 10.

[Megabear2]

Old threads can say different things!  This one's 14 years old but lots of actual experience.  Also from Allianz - see the first example under how much does emergency evacuation cost

 

https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/medical/emergency-transportation-costs.htm

 

 

Edited April 25 by Megabear2

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Check out post 10.

In a way it’s cosmetic, as there’s no way that I’d take the word of someone posting on a forum (even an esteemed forum such as this 😉) as gospel, and I wouldn’t dream of going on a cruise without comprehensive travel insurance, to cover all eventualities. I know that you are the same. However, whenever I’ve changed travel insurers I’ve always specifically asked about medical evacuation from a ship whilst at sea (in the knowledge that the cost would be devastating) and they confirmed it would be covered, never suggesting that it would be free of charge.