Travel Insurance ? Survey Says....

[attipay]

My family of five is travelling on the Grandeur on Feb 5th out of New Orleans. I know the chances of not being insured but my question is... How many of you out there take a chance and travel without insurance? We are flying out of Logan Airport in Boston.

I would love to hear from you!

[barbarajoy]

We never bought travel insurance until this year. Two reasons: First, last fall, the night before our cruise, our son fell out of bed in our Miami hotel and broke his arm. Luckily we could get him fixed up prior to the ship leaving, but that taught us that travelling with toddlers is full of surprises. Second, with all the hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean, we are nervous about possible cancellation of our cruise next month!

[glgolfer]

We always get insurance. All it takes is one time to have a medical emergency and have to be flown someplace for it to pay for all the times we paid for the insurance. It's not just not being able to go on the cruise, it's for all the things that can happen while you are on one.

[Pat in NC]

We never travel without travel insurance; better safe than sorry. Several years ago, a dear friend did not take the insurance for one of our trips; her husband, I am sad to say, had a slight stroke the week we were to leave. They are just average people, they had "to save" for this trip and it was gone.

[Mrs Seabird]

Getting out of Logan in Feb. is risky considering the weather. Get the insurance IMO.

[tinker]

If you are spending a couple of thousand on the vacation, a couple of hundred for travel insurance should not be a problem. The piece of mind alone is worth the price. It covers so many scenerios with the worst being injured or becoming ill in a foreign country and/or medical evacuation. If you are going to purchase it you might as well do it within 7 to 21 days (each company varies) of booking your trip if you want pre-existing conditions to be covered.

 

I injured my back the morning of our vacation in May. (and have gotten rid of that 30 inch suitcase!) We had saved two years for that trip and because of having travel insurance we received a refund and chose a cruise since the rest of our group already had their vacation and my husband and I leave on the Empress on Saturday. We used Travelex and because of spending just $112, we got a $1800 refund. They require you purchase it within 14 days of booking to cover pre-existing conditions.

 

I did lots of research and used the insuremytrip site but you really have to read the policy details to compare. Most dollar reimbursement is the same but the "definitions" are different. One example is "travel delay" which one policy defines as the carrier being delayed 3 hours and another policy your carrier has to be delayed 24 hours. So of course buy the one with the 3 hour delay as the chances of being delayed for 24 hours pretty remote. I found Travelex to have the best coverage along with TravelGuard but the Travelex a bit less expensive.

 

Again, don't leave home without it.

[rascalious]

We always buy insurance. We just witnessed a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter (two helicopters sent from Puerto Rico) evacuation at sea while aboard the AOS (9/19/04 sailing). It was quite dramatic. A person collapsed in the Windjammer while we were going from Curacao to St. Martin. Ship security sealed-off the area and medical staff responded quickly. This was at 7:30AM. We diverted toward P.R. in order to be in range of the helicopters. They arrived about 4:30PM.

I don't know the person's condition or if they had insurance. The talk was that they did not - thus the Coast Guard (i.e. taxpayers) got to foot the bill. I wonder if a "private company" air rescue would have been available from a closer port if they had purchased insurance.

The 8 hours of emergency care aboard the ship must have been very costly. I applaud RCI crew for their quick response and action taken to insure the patient's well-being. We continued on to St. Martin and docked on schedule.

[CarolinaGirl]

I am scheduled to sail on the Mariner this Sunday. I purchased TravelGuard insurance, as always. Last week my father had a heart attack, along with several other complications. He has been in intensive care for over a week. I am going to have to cancel the cruise, and thank goodness I have insurance. It's a small investment for the peace of mind.

[NYDee]

We always take insurance. While we wouldn't like to, we could absorb the cost of the trip. But even though we are both healthy, medical care is a concern when out of the country.

[harry0]

I stopped buying insurance. I am not going to be in the poor house if I miss a vacation. Here in NJ I pay thousands for insurance annually. If its not mandatory, I am not getting it. You cannot cover all the bases, why try-imo-Harry

[attipay]

Thanks everyone, I do believe I will look for some insurance.

Thanks again

Attipay

[FinelyCruising]

Here in NJ I pay thousands for insurance annually. I

That's because we have the best highways and the safest drivers! New Jersey and You. Pefect together. :mad:

[Honey's Gal]

Sailing out of Boston on Feb 5th...? Come now, you know that that is the worst time of the year here, snow storms, what ever. If you can afford to lose the money you have put out for your cruise, no problem. If you save all year for this trip, what is another 100 or so? We never know what the future is.

 

My BIL was to go with us on the Serenade on 10/18, we were paid in full. Then, he found out he has cancer and must start chemo and radiation immediately and cannot stop to cruise.. He did have insurance and they will get it all back, and he will now be fortunate enough to book a cruise next spring when he beats this god awful illness and not have to worry about money. He needs to concentrate on his survival..

 

Last year, our friends were booked with us on the Grandeur leaving Boston on 10/31. After final payment, he found out the infection in his foot was a result of diabetes and he had to be on many weeks of a strong antibiotic. Unfortunately, they did not have insurance and they lost it all.

 

It really all depends on what you can afford to lose.

[jerzzgirl]

I stopped buying insurance. I am not going to be in the poor house if I miss a vacation. Here in NJ I pay thousands for insurance annually. If its not mandatory, I am not getting it. You cannot cover all the bases, why try-imo-Harry

Oh, please don't EVEN get me started w/ auto insurance here in the lovely Garden State! :mad:

[hstrybuf]

We don't leave home for a cruise without the travel insurance. I've heard way too many horror stories about those that did and ended up shelling out thousands because of missed flights, cruises, or accidents outside the U.S.

[dad son team]

I don't know the person's condition or if they had insurance. The talk was that they did not - thus the Coast Guard (i.e. taxpayers) got to foot the bill. I wonder if a "private company" air rescue would have been available from a closer port if they had purchased insurance.

 

This happened to a friend of mine. He had an apendicitis(sp), and did not have the insurace. He received a bill for $12,000 for his medical transport that his regular medical insurance did not cover. I think he may still be paying on it.

[DEL67]

We never used to take insurance because I thought that worst case we would lose our cruise fare which I wouldn't like, but would not be an absolute disaster. I also did not buy it because my husband had multiple health conditions and at one time policies did not cover pre-existing conditions. Now they do, as long as you but them within 10 days of making your reservation.

 

Two years ago, my husband had a heart attack while we were docked in Panama. Luckily it wasn't serious and our medical insurance covered the ship and hospital expenses, but we still had to pay $700 for airfare home. Later I found out that we would have had to pay $10,000/hour or over $70,000 if he had to be medivaced (sp?) to Miami. Now we always buy insurance.

[rascalious]

We never used to take insurance because I thought that worst case we would lose our cruise fare which I wouldn't like, but would not be an absolute disaster. I also did not buy it because my husband had multiple health conditions and at one time policies did not cover pre-existing conditions. Now they do, as long as you but them within 10 days of making your reservation.

 

Two years ago, my husband had a heart attack while we were docked in Panama. Luckily it wasn't serious and our medical insurance covered the ship and hospital expenses, but we still had to pay $700 for airfare home. Later I found out that we would have had to pay $10,000/hour or over $70,000 if he had to be medivaced (sp?) to Miami. Now we always buy insurance.

My point exactly. I rest my case!

[abridalmaven]

My DH and I are in our mid fifties, and while very healthy, the thought of any possible illnesses and the costs, like airlifting alone, are good reasons, along with loss of luggage, travel delays and so on. Cancelling would not be the issue for me because the money was already laid out by then. So we do buy it.

[Cruisin' Patty]

We always get insurance and Air through the ship.

[laginog]

We've bought it on 5 of our last 6 cruises....and used it twice!!!

[hdawson]

It is my understanding that the Coast Guard DOES bill for their services.

Suggest going to http://www.insuremytrip.com to compare policies.

Remember, the preexisting conditions waiver in most cases cover the close family members at home not traveling, in case something happens that requires you to interrupt your trip and fly home at last minute fares.

[Seaside2358]

I ALWAYS buy insurance and I second the www.insuremytrip.com

[Soozin]

We always buy it and hope to not have to use it. Unfortunately, while on the Serenade a couple of weeks ago my healthy-as-a-horse (or so we thought) 61 year old husband had a heart attack. We were crossing the Pacific on our way to Ensenada at the time - they allowed us to stay on the ship until we got to San Diego, where he was taken to the hospital. The 48 hours in the ship's medical facility was over $5200. After a week in the hospital in San Diego the travel insurance company booked our airline tickets (first class!) and we were able to fly home to NJ. I had to prepay my ticket but I expect to recover it all when I file the claim.

 

I would never travel without insurance - you just never know. I'm still in shock that it happened to us.

 

Soozin

[hdawson]

Soozin. Hope hubby is doing well. Bad ticker here too.