newbie insurance question for our 1st cruise in life

[sharon_pei]

Looking into travel insurance for the upcoming 7-day cruise. According to my research, coverage offered by the cruise line has very limited medical coverage and is generally considered not enough for the elderly. So i am searching for standalone third party insurance coverage. As we will arrive Vancouver 1 day prior to the cruise start and also add 3 day dyi land trip after cruise end, I am not sure if I should buy 'cruise insurance' just for the 7 day cruise part or if i should buy coverage for the entire 11 days? As the insurance is specifically designed for cruise trips, would it make sense to cover the non-cruise part of the trip? And if not, if say for any reason the trip is interrupted in the middle of the cruise, the 3 day land trip is also not going to happen and how to handle that? 100% newbie question i assume. 

[GeezerCouple]

27 minutes ago, sharon_pei said:

Looking into travel insurance for the upcoming 7-day cruise. According to my research, coverage offered by the cruise line has very limited medical coverage and is generally considered not enough for the elderly. So i am searching for standalone third party insurance coverage. As we will arrive Vancouver 1 day prior to the cruise start and also add 3 day dyi land trip after cruise end, I am not sure if I should buy 'cruise insurance' just for the 7 day cruise part or if i should buy coverage for the entire 11 days? As the insurance is specifically designed for cruise trips, would it make sense to cover the non-cruise part of the trip? And if not, if say for any reason the trip is interrupted in the middle of the cruise, the 3 day land trip is also not going to happen and how to handle that? 100% newbie question i assume. Thanks!

Welcome to cruising!

 

In addition to browsing a bit on this CC section, we'd strongly suggest that you CALL:

https://tripinsurancestore.com

Call them so they can discuss things with you, and in addition to any questions you have for them (starting with ALL of your questions above!), they'll probably ask you some questions, too, to help find the best coverage available for your needs.

 

Note that in the future, for any travel insurance, the best choice of policies will be available if you start the coverage when you make the *first* payment, even if that's only the deposit.  You can discuss that with TIS also, for the future.

 

They are a broker and offer policies from several vetted insurers.

No extra cost to the travelers.

And they can help with a claim, should that be needed.

 

We learned about them here on CC, and have had several claims, including some large ones.  All we paid promptly.

 

By the way, I'm assuming you are a resident of the USA.  If not, much of the above may not be relevant.  (Try to at least add the country in your posts, under your UserID for reasons like this.)

 

GC

[CDNPolar]

10 hours ago, sharon_pei said:

Looking into travel insurance for the upcoming 7-day cruise. According to my research, coverage offered by the cruise line has very limited medical coverage and is generally considered not enough for the elderly. So i am searching for standalone third party insurance coverage. As we will arrive Vancouver 1 day prior to the cruise start and also add 3 day dyi land trip after cruise end, I am not sure if I should buy 'cruise insurance' just for the 7 day cruise part or if i should buy coverage for the entire 11 days? As the insurance is specifically designed for cruise trips, would it make sense to cover the non-cruise part of the trip? And if not, if say for any reason the trip is interrupted in the middle of the cruise, the 3 day land trip is also not going to happen and how to handle that? 100% newbie question i assume. Thanks!

 

IMO - always insure the full trip, especially for medical.  You are just as likely to have a medical emergency of any kind on land as you are on the sea.

 

We don't buy insurance that is "just for a cruise" we buy medical, cancellation, and interruption insurance for the amount of the non-refundable costs of the entire trip - land, sea, hotel.

 

Be aware that you only insure non-refundable costs with insurance.

 

For instance - we just bought air for a March 2025 cruise.  We often book our air way in advance like this.  We - on purpose - paid slightly more for 100% cancelable and refundable flights up to the day of departure.  My point to this is we DO NOT include the cost of flights in the total trip cost that we are insuring because we don't need to insure this portion of the cost. 

 

You pay for your insurance against the cost of the trip.  The insurance company will gladly charge you for that portion of cost, but if you do cancel, you won't get compensation because they are refundable.

 

You say that you are starting in Vancouver Canada.  Are you Canadian or American?

 

Insurance is different in both countries.

[klfrodo]

I'm going to take a different approach. First, let me say that I agree with every fiber of my being that what has said been said above is true and correct.

I approach sailing from Vancouver differently than any other cruise or trip. This is because I'm making an assumption that this is for an Alaska cruise, and I fully understand that my opinion only works for me. (If this is a 7-day cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, I might consider the same approach)

 

My opinion is based on my thoughts that travel insurance is a tool to help me share risk of potential financial hardship. With that being said, I'm in a position in life where I can absorb the cost of missing a cruise. I can absorb that $5 to $10K loss. It will hurt and I might have some explaining to do with my spouse, but it won't bankrupt me.

Medical could cause financial devastation, however, in this instance (Alaska Cruise) I weigh my risks. My Health Insurance/Medicare works in Alaska. I choose to risk the miniscule amount of time I'm in Canada. Evacuation from the ship is at no cost to the patient. If I need evacuation from (Ketchikan let's say) to either Anchorage or Seattle for medically necessary care, my health insurance will pick up the costs. (I also have Medjet Assist for anytime I'm more that 150 miles from home).

 

With all that being said, I 100% self-insure my Alaska cruises. Every other cruise, (Caribbean and European) I do purchase a 3rd party policy from Steve at TripInsuranceStore to help mitigate any unexpected expenses.

Edited May 4 by klfrodo

[sharon_pei]

Thank you for all your points of view. Yes this is for a 7-day cruise starting from Vancouver to Anchorage and most of us are American (and most of us are medically insured from our employer sponsored plans), but there are 2 of us who are neither American or Canadian but they are US permanent residents (I am not 100% sure of their medical insurance coverage though as they are retirees). 

 

'Evacuation from the ship is at no cost to the patient' -- I didn't know this. is this true even for those without cruise insurance purchased? do we know this is for evacuation to the nearest port or to wherever there is enough medical facility to treat the patient? I am actually not sure if my employer sponsored insurance covers anything from an Alaskan cruise, but this is a good reminder to call and find out. 

 

[CDNPolar]

19 hours ago, klfrodo said:

Evacuation from the ship is at no cost to the patient.

 

If I need evacuation from (Ketchikan let's say) to either Anchorage or Seattle for medically necessary care, my health insurance will pick up the costs. (I also have Medjet Assist for anytime I'm more that 150 miles from home).

 

 

 

Please can you clarify under what circumstances medical evacuation from the ship at no cost to the patient?

 

Medical evacuation from a ship can be extremely expensive and I have never understood that it is free to the patient.  Even if done in port there can be ambulance charges that are not free.

 

Our employer based insurance up to 5 million in coverage includes evacuation in any circumstance where treatment is not available and you must be moved either home - if medically stable - or to the nearest facility that can adequately deal with your medical situation.  This is a covered cost.

 

I have never been under the impression that evacuation is free.

[klfrodo]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Please can you clarify under what circumstances medical evacuation from the ship at no cost to the patient?

 

International maritime treaties and law. When I say medical evacuation from the ship, I'm speaking of when a helicopter airlifts a patient from the ship while at sea. These are always done by a nations coast guard or navy.

An ambulance ride from the ship while at port to the local hospital will cost money but, in this instance, (a person from the US who has normal health insurance and is in US territory) the health insurance will cover it.

Maybe we can summon @chengkp75 for a more expert explanation regarding ship at sea ambulance airlift and the treaties involved.

[CDNPolar]

5 hours ago, klfrodo said:

International maritime treaties and law. When I say medical evacuation from the ship, I'm speaking of when a helicopter airlifts a patient from the ship while at sea. These are always done by a nations coast guard or navy.

An ambulance ride from the ship while at port to the local hospital will cost money but, in this instance, (a person from the US who has normal health insurance and is in US territory) the health insurance will cover it.

Maybe we can summon @chengkp75 for a more expert explanation regarding ship at sea ambulance airlift and the treaties involved.

 

Why then do some cruise lines ask you to prove that you have medical evacuation insurance?

[klfrodo]

47 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Why then do some cruise lines ask you to prove that you have medical evacuation insurance?

too vague of a question. What is their definition of medical evacuation and are these alleged requirements for evac from sea or evac from a land based facility to another land based facility?

[sharon_pei]

Now the discussion is getting to a level too advanced to a newbie 😄