Purchasing travel insurance for cruises is something you need to prepare before you leave home. Cruise insurance is a must item. However, cruise insurance is a confusing topic and is somehow tricky.
Why is that?
The billions of websites, blogs and information about insurance are out there. The amount of information is overwhelming indeed. It is confusing. It is also not obvious which policies are included and not.
When you are not certain about cruise insurance, it is always worth to read the terms of insurance
In this article, I will outline one of the most important points you need to know on travel insurance for a cruise. Figure out the most important points in cruise insurance rather than tiny details first. You can save money and time by reading this cruise insurance article.
Prepare the safe cruise trip and insure your cruise for next vacation. Feel safe and protected. Maximise your cruise!
Is Cruise Line’s Insurance different from Cruise Insurance?
When you book a cruise ticket, cruise lines will offer you insurance. Please note that cruise lines’ insurance does not cover ‘cruise insurance feature’ you need.
Make sure whether evacuation and medical emergency policies are included. That is the one you really need and that is the reason why you need to purchase cruise insurance. Many cruise lines do not cover the policies.
There are many good cruise travel insurance companies out there. They cover evacuation and emergency medical care onboard. I will discuss the details in my other article.
Please also note that once you purchased insurance, but you had to cancel your cruise for illness, injury or work, the cruise lines cannot reimburse you the insurance you purchased. I’ve found that many cruisers are questioning and talking about this concern on forums. Insurance works in such a way and will not reimburse you when you cancel a cruise.
Is cruise insurance different to travel insurance?
Cruise Insurance is different from other types of travel insurance. What cruise insurance covers is not only when you are on board but also even before you set sail.
What does it mean by that?
Cruise insurance covers your travel cancellations while cruise lines don’t.
For example, you planned your vacation and paid $1,000 – $3,000 for a cruise. If you get an illness or break your leg and have to cancel a cruise, cruise lines will not reimburse you.
Please remind that cruise lines have a very strict cancellation policy. This is one of the reasons why you need to purchase cruise insurance before you join a ship. Cruise lines’ insurance does not cover cruise cancellation.
Cruise lines need to fill up the staterooms before the ship embarks. This is the reason why they have a strict
Consider insurance that covers your emergency trip cancellation of illness or work reasons as well as a
Do you need cruise insurance?
Yes. Cruise insurance is one of the most important things you need to prepare. You can never predict what might happen even you have a perfect health condition.
When we are having a good time at an open deck, relaxing on a poolside, sipping a
Important!
Make sure insurance that covers both serious health emergencies, helicopter transfer to a shore hospital as well as getting back home if the original flight ticket cannot be used. Just paying a little amount of money per day will protect you from a huge financial loss. Cruise insurance is a must for all the smart cruisers.
“I have credit cards. Does a credit card protection cover my cruise?”
Do not depend on credit card coverage more than anything lost or stolen items. Credit card protection is very limited, well, apart from American Express Gold Card though. Most
Credit cards may cover a part of stolen items, medical expenses and trip cancellation as far as you booked your trip with the credit card. And yet, most of the case, they will not cover you being airlifted to home and an emergency medical treatment.
That is a real reason why you have to get cruise insurance to protect you from an incredible amount of expenses. You purchased cruise insurance but if you did not use it in the end, that’s good. That means you are very lucky. Anyone should enjoy a cruise without having a worry or breaking a bank.
Does an emergency medical problem really happen?
I write to you about my emergency experience because it is important to us all. Heart attacks and strokes really happen onboard. I have faced emergency incidents as a cruise staff on board. We are fully trained for emergency incidents and need to pass the exams. Otherwise, no one can join the ship as a staff crew. Emergency issues really happen onboard.
A medical centre is situated on a ship, and qualified medical doctors are ready for 24 hours, and yet, as you can imagine, their medical treatment is limited on a ship.
When an emergency medical treatment is necessary, a helicopter will transfer a patient to an ashore hospital. After that, a patient will be airlift to home. Can you imagine how much the patient will receive huge emergency medical bills? It will be more than some hundred thousand dollars in total.
Please note that you or your partner or each of the family members must know where the cruise insurance documents are: which part of your suitcase you kept it or put it with a passport together. Showing an actual insurance document is necessary to receive an emergency medical treatment.
I put my cruise insurance document and my passport next to each other. So that I know that my cruise is insured, and anyone can find my insurance document if something really happened.
Many cruise lines do not cover emergency medical or evacuation benefits. They are very important insurance policies, and for this reason, you must prepare cruise insurance before you set sail.
Is cruise insurance just health insurance? What can it cover?
Cruise insurance should not be considered as same as health insurance. It is actually more than that. The most important thing they can cover is emergency transportation: a helicopter transfer from the ship to a shore hospital or airlifts to home. It also covers not only evacuation and emergency illness as well as injuries. It also covers trip cancellation and trip interruption before you join the ship at the cruise ship terminal.
What will not be covered in cruise insurance?
Insurance policies are tricky. They are also not clear what is covered and what isn’t. When you’re checking policies, read the description of coverage carefully and contact the company to resolve any questions you may have.
There are things that are not covered:
Weather and itinerary changes will not be issued. If it rained every single day at the Bahamas or Caribbeans, for example, you cannot claim because of it.
If a hurricane hits, and there was a flight delay, such trip interruption will be covered. Injuries caused by the involvement of drugs or alcohol. Lost or stolen luggage, cameras or bags due to lack of attention to protect them.
When Should You buy cruise insurance?
You can purchase anytime before you set sail. However, it is not recommended to wait for long because you might not be eligible to receive benefits from cruise cancellation.
You also cannot purchase cruise insurance once you can predict or things go wrong. For example, once a hurricane is announced and is heading to a port or a destination you are heading to, you cannot claim and will not be reimbursed.
If you have not decided an airline ticket after booking a cruise, just estimate your flight fare and give the insurance company the exact amount of the cost later. Please make sure that the deadline to do an amendment. It is normally within 10 to 15 days after you
If you were drunk and got an injury by yourself, will cruise insurance cover you?
If an insurance company found that you put yourself at unnecessary risk and that brought you to have the injury, they may decline not to cover your injury. In addition, Injuries caused by the drug are not covered. Well, it is prohibited to bring it into the ship anyway.
Of course, it is a holiday and on a ship, there are parties day and night, elegant dinners, we enjoy drinking and relax onboard. An injury does happen and that will interrupt your vocation. Just remind that you know the limit and that play smart.
I got an injury at an excursion. Can cruise insurance cover me?
Unused excursion protection should pay you if you could not attend an excursion due to an accident, injury or illness. Also, the next day, you probably cannot attend an excursion. You can claim pre-booked excursions. However, if you had an injury while you joined the high-risk activities such as rock climbing, kayaking, skydiving, scuba diving, your claim will be declined.
I got an illness and was in my cabin all day. Can insurance cover my cabin?
You can claim payment if the ship’s medical officer confines you to your cabin for medical reasons. Keep a document from the ship’s medical officer to claim.
Summary
Good cruise insurance plans will offer coverage for unexpected emergency situations and unpredictable incidents. Make sure you review your insurance plan carefully before you purchase it because not all plans offer the same coverage I mentioned. When you’re researching policies, carefully read the description of coverage. Call the insurance companies if you have any questions you may have.
The important point I made was to know whether evacuation and medical emergency policies are included. Make sure insurance that covers serious health emergencies, helicopter transfer to a shore hospital as well as getting back home if the original flight ticket cannot be used. Just paying a
Travel Insurance Resources
Trip Insurance Companies
- Allianz Global Assistance: www.allianztravelinsurance.com; (866) 884-3556
- CSA Travel Protection: www.csatravelprotection.com; (800) 348-9505
- HTH Travel Insurance: www.hthtravelinsurance.com; (888) 243-2358
- Travelex Insurance Services: www.travelexinsurance.com; (800) 228-9792
- AIG Travel Guard: www.travelguard.com; (800) 826-4919
- TravelSafe Insurance: www.travelsafe.com; (888) 885-7233
Travel Insurance Comparison Sites
- Insure My Trip: www.insuremytrip.com; (800) 487-4722
- QuoteWright: www.quotewright.com; (800) 821-4940
- SquareMonth: www.squaremouth.com; (800) 240-0369
Leave a Reply