Best and Cheapest Cruise Insurance?

[ReneeQ]

Please point me to the thread, if this has already been discussed. What is the best and cheapest cruise insurance? Do they all cover cancellations and medical? Would like to hear from someone that actually used it, and it actually paid.

Thanks!

 

[dursin]

Please point me to the thread, if this has already been discussed. What is the best and cheapest cruise insurance? Do they all cover cancellations and medical? Would like to hear from someone that actually used it, and it actually paid.

Thanks!

We always go with Travelex Lite. Kids are insured for free and even without the kids I think they'd still come out on top. You can compare all of them at http://www.insuremytrip.com

 

[itutorfortravel]

We had a hard time deciding on insurance also. But what I learned about the insurance through Disney is that if you cancel FOR ANY REASON you will get a credit for the non-refundable amount of your trip to be used towards another cruise within the next 12 months. For us that is a biggie. We are taking our child out of school to go on the cruise. We are going later in the 2008-09 school year so hopefully by the time I pay off the trip I will know whether we are okay on absences and if I still feel okay about taking her out of school to go...if not, we cancel. But, I like to think about all possibilities...suppose she ends up missing a lot of days between the time we pay off the trip and when we go and I am forced to make a decision between going on the trip and having her retained or not going on the trip and losing some, if not all, of our cruise payment? Call me paranoid, but I like to think I am thinking through every possible situation. Anyhow, our wanting to cancel the trip because we don't feel we can take her out of school would not be a covered reason for the traditional travel insurance, and it would not be a reason for the Disney sponsored insurance to refund your money either, but at least they will give you a credit so that you can rebook the trip for another time. So, let's say our trip is $2700 plus $300 for their insurance and we cancel a few weeks before the trip. Well, we will be given a $2700 credit towards another trip (I won't get my insurance money back, but heck, that situation is exactly why I bought it!). So, for us, it means not losing our money no matter what. Because we do want to go on the cruise but are realistic enough to know things can happen and I guess paranoid enough to know that insurance companies always have loopholes that allow them to get out of paying if they want to! I know this is kind of confusing, but it's worth a call to Disney and to the insurance company who provides the insurance to check it out yourself. Good luck!

 

[mommasita]

We also use insuremytrip.com.

 

[dursin]

We had a hard time deciding on insurance also. But what I learned about the insurance through Disney is that if you cancel FOR ANY REASON you will get a credit for the non-refundable amount of your trip to be used towards another cruise within the next 12 months.

That's not really true. The insurance that DCL provides is through Access America and only allows cancellations for the reasons that most travel insurance companies typically cover. Specifically, they exclude coverage on cancellation for the following reasons:

1. Any General Program Exclusion or Pre-existing Condition;
2. You or a Traveling Companion:
a) Making changes to personal plans;
b) Having a business or contractual obligation;
c) Being unable to obtain necessary travel
documents; or
d) Being detained or having property confiscated
by any Customs authority.
3. Carrier-caused delays (including bad weather)
unless as covered above;
4. Prohibition or regulation by any government;
or
5. Travel arrangements cancelled by an airline,
cruise line, or tour operator.

So....changing your plans because a child had already missed too many days of school would not be covered. However, I'm pretty sure that DCL will allow you to credit the non-refundable portion of your cruise towards another DCL cruise, though some re-booking fees may be involved when it gets very close to your sail date. That has nothing to do with insurance however so it still doesn't make sense to pay double (or more!) to use the DCL provided insurance.

 

[itutorfortravel]

Dursin, you're right I cannot get my money back unless I cancel for a covered reason. However, in a situtation like ours, with watching school absences, I feel some peace of mind knowing that with the insurance through Disney / Access America, Disney will allow us to re-book the trip and apply the non-refundable portion to another cruise within 12 months. I called Disney directly and asked this question because this is the main thing we are concerned about. Certainly other travelers may have different concerns so I cannot say that the insurance through Disney is best for everyone. Personally, I will be watching our school days like a hawk next year and if I have any doubt about our being close to too many days we will cancel while we can still get our money back. But we really want to go on this cruise so if we had to cancel during a penalty period, I like knowing that we could still apply the money that we paid (minus the insurance) to a future trip.

 

[itutorfortravel]

P.S. Forgot to mention that Dursin is also correct that the credit towards a future cruise is not one of the "terms" of the Disney / Access America insurance, but the Disney rep said you can only get the credit if you buy trip insurance through them. We don't have any unique situations like air travel, etc. We will be driving in the night before and I know a documented traffic accident is covered (again, I asked) so I'm okay with the insurance we purchased and knowing that an 'indirect' benefit of that policy is the ability to rebook with a credit if we need too. Hope that make sense!

 

[loucrew]

In this day and age no school is gonna keep a child back because of days out. Costs too much. There will be an appeal process and rest assured they will be promoted.

 

[dursin]

P.S. Forgot to mention that Dursin is also correct that the credit towards a future cruise is not one of the "terms" of the Disney / Access America insurance, but the Disney rep said you can only get the credit if you buy trip insurance through them. We don't have any unique situations like air travel, etc. We will be driving in the night before and I know a documented traffic accident is covered (again, I asked) so I'm okay with the insurance we purchased and knowing that an 'indirect' benefit of that policy is the ability to rebook with a credit if we need too. Hope that make sense!

I'm pretty sure the rep misled you. You can get a rebook and get a credit towards a future cruise regardless of where you purchased insurance or whether you even purchased any at all. I'm pretty sure there is a change fee of around $50 pp at 60 days out and it goes up more when you are 30 days or less from sail date. I also think there are some reasonable restrictions on this....ie, you couldn't call to make the change the day before your trip.

 

[JsMom2]

I've also used insuremytrip.com and was very happy with the options offered. You can also get a quote for insurance that covers cancellation for any reason.

 

[ReneeQ]

Well, we don't have any children, it's just me and DH. I was thinking of booking through Dreams Unlimited, and we're looking at Fall 2009. DH's grandparents are elderly and not in great health, and that is always in the back of my mind.

Thanks for the help!

 

[itutorfortravel]

I'm pretty sure the rep misled you. You can get a rebook and get a credit towards a future cruise regardless of where you purchased insurance or whether you even purchased any at all. I'm pretty sure there is a change fee of around $50 pp at 60 days out and it goes up more when you are 30 days or less from sail date. I also think there are some reasonable restrictions on this....ie, you couldn't call to make the change the day before your trip.

Can you tell me where you heard that there was a rebooking fee? I'm not doubting what you are saying but I guess I'm going to be more than slightly miffed if I was given inaccurate information because I have agonized over the insurance issue and made a number of calls and done a lot of reading to try to make the best decision (for us and our situation). The Disney rep I talked to gave me an example of someone cancelling a week out and getting the credit for the entire cost less the travel insurance. Likewise, I did ask about rebooking with a credit without having Disney's insurance and was told we would not be allowed to do that. In all honesty, we were very hesitant about booking a cruise in part because of the whole thing of it being the type of vacation where you can lose so much money if "life happens". I just hate the vague insurance language that makes it so confusing to know what is covered and what is not and I felt some sense of peace knowing that at least I would be able to rebook the cruise later on and only lose the cost of the insurance. But now maybe that is not the case...I need to talk to my TA and apparently Disney again...and of course at this point I cannot change my insurance option

 

[dursin]

Can you tell me where you heard that there was a rebooking fee? I'm not doubting what you are saying but I guess I'm going to be more than slightly miffed if I was given inaccurate information because I have agonized over the insurance issue and made a number of calls and done a lot of reading to try to make the best decision (for us and our situation). The Disney rep I talked to gave me an example of someone cancelling a week out and getting the credit for the entire cost less the travel insurance. Likewise, I did ask about rebooking with a credit without having Disney's insurance and was told we would not be allowed to do that. In all honesty, we were very hesitant about booking a cruise in part because of the whole thing of it being the type of vacation where you can lose so much money if "life happens". I just hate the vague insurance language that makes it so confusing to know what is covered and what is not and I felt some sense of peace knowing that at least I would be able to rebook the cruise later on and only lose the cost of the insurance. But now maybe that is not the case...I need to talk to my TA and apparently Disney again...and of course at this point I cannot change my insurance option

Fortunately I've never had to reschedule a DCL cruise, but a couple years ago it was looking like I might have to so I checked what the costs involved were. If I remember correctly, the fee was $50 pp when you were 60 days out and it increased to $85 pp either at 30 days or when the cruise docs were printed and shipped. You'd have to check with DCL or your travel agent to know for sure though since I'm just going from memory and if if those numbers are right, things change year to year.

 

[Mendoza5]

we went through our local AAA office, the insurance was through access america, the kids were free and it was a very low cost for 2 adults. i like everything that was included, and i am preety thourough. also you do not have to be a AAA member to purchase there.

 

[HiddenMickeys]

Well, FWIW, our policy through disney was the highest priced (through access america), insuremytrip.com was second highest (also through Access America, for the Same coverage options), and guess what....When we went to access america's site directly the price was about 2/3 of the price from insuremytrip.com??? I went over all 3 with my TA, and she agreed the coverage was identical, so we booked it through acess directly and saved a bit.

 

[JsMom2]

Well, FWIW, our policy through disney was the highest priced (through access america), insuremytrip.com was second highest (also through Access America, for the Same coverage options), and guess what....When we went to access america's site directly the price was about 2/3 of the price from insuremytrip.com??? I went over all 3 with my TA, and she agreed the coverage was identical, so we booked it through acess directly and saved a bit.

Thanks, that's great info!

 

[traveler07]

It's important to remember too that sometimes cheapest doesn't always mean the best. I'd rather pay a bit more and have all the coverage I need, especially when I cruise. I've gone with Travel Guard and have been very pleased with their coverages. Several of my friends have filed claims as well and have had no complaints. I know they have a Cancel for Any reason coverage, so if you're worried about cancelling for a non-medical or emergency reason, that's a good option to look into. Hope that helps!