If you are planning to take a cruise you’ll want to make sure you have good cruise travel insurance. You have a choice between the policies offered by the cruise line and those offered by third party suppliers of travel insurance. While it is usually easiest to buy directly from the cruise line you should consider both the advantages and disadvantages of doing that especially since you have so many options.
The price charged by the third party cruise travel insurance supplier usually depends on age, medical conditions, and few other factors. The destination of the cruise is usually not a factor. The price charged by the cruise line is often tailored to the trip, and age is usually not a factor nor is medical condition which means the price of the insurance from the cruise line is often less expensive, especially for older people.
Pre-existing conditions are usually excluded under cruise policies which mean you may not be covered for what you really want. These same pre-existing conditions may or may not be covered by cruise travel insurance. They usually are covered if the insurance is purchased close to the time the trip was paid for. Cruise plans that exclude pre-existing conditions may still cover emergency evacuations caused by pre-existing conditions.
Bankruptcy and failure to sail by the cruise line will not be covered if you buy the cruise line’s coverage, but will probably be covered under a third party plan. As you can see there are definitely differences.
Personally I believe that your coverage for your cruise will be more personal and provide the actual coverage you need if you purchase cruise travel insurance from a third party company and there are many offering all kinds of plans for cruises of all shapes and sizes. You can also look at purchasing valuable medical coverage, trip interruption, emergency travel and health services and more many other services which are not available when you buy from the cruise ship.
Whether you are taking a two-day cruise to the Bahamas or a month-long cruise through the Mediterranean, there is a cruise travel insurance that fits your travel needs.
Cruises are great. You should get on board and enjoy the pampering, scenic ports, incredible food, entertainment, and more. That is usually the case although the cruise line does not like it when we spell it that way.
You might be surprised to find out that cruises offer more than just hangovers and sunburns. There’s a conception that the doctor or nurses on the cruise spend their days dealing with such mediocre incidents when in fact they deal with medical emergencies, heart attacks, broken bones, strokes, and a host of other more serious issues. On any given cruise the medical staff will have to deal with 11% of the guests having serious illness.
Passengers often need to leave a ship for medical reasons. Sometimes passengers can disembark for treatment at a scheduled port but other times a specially equipped medical helicopter is required. That medical evacuation expense can range from $2,000 - $100,000 or more, and may not be covered in a passenger's stateside health insurance plan which is why you need to carry third party cruise travel insurance.
You need to check your cruise travel insurance coverage carefully and be sure to read the fine print. It’s important to have full coverage and the way to do that is with a cruise travel insurance policy which you can even buy online if you like.