Another Trip Insurance Question....

[WhitGB]

Thanks to all the information on this site, I finally made a decision to call Insure my Trip to get a little assistance. They were friendly and helpful but I came across one concern that I am hoping to get help with.

We are going on October and concerned about hurricanes. She stated that none of their plans cover a completely canceled trip due to hurricane unless the cruise is canceled 24 hours before leaving HOME. We live in WI and will be at Disney for a few days before the trip. There is no way we would wait until 24 hrs before the trip to leave our house. That is asking for trouble.

So, does Disney itself refund for a fully canceled trip? I understand if you are at sea they will try to route you around the path.

Does the Disney insurance cover this?

Thanks for any information. Just want to make sure I am purchasing the right coverage.

 

[WhitGB]

Anyone???

TIA

 

[sarahgirl]

That should be covered under your trip interruption coverage of the plan. I don't know about Disney travel insurance since I always buy my own but I know that if the cruise were to be canceled you would get the amount that is covered under trip interruption if you were already down there, assuming you have your start and end dates of the coverage period the date you fly down to FL and the date you return home.

 

[kcashner]

OK, you can look at what DCL did in the past. I was on the Hurricane Jeane cruise where our 7 night cruise actually departed after midnight on Tuesday from Fort Lauderdale. We were contacted on Friday late afternoon. Actually, I called DCL on Friday morning from WDW, and they gave me the party line (I'm being kind and not saying that the CM lied...I'll assume the powers that be just hadn't told her anything!)

We were offered the option to cancel our cruise and get a full refund OR to sail on Monday with a 40% refund. DCL would provide free transportation from either MCO or WDW to Fort Lauderdale and from Port Canaveral back to either of those places (whether you had purchased transfers or not). In addition, we could leave our cars at WDW in a remote lot. They later added an onboard credit as well. This was all without insurance. In addition, we got a certificate for 25% off a future cruise.

People with insurance generally got their "added" expenses covered by the insurance--the cost of a hotel room and food for those additional nights. Most didn't get any more cruise cost refund as DCL had already "made good" on that.

If you are doing DCL and WDW, one advantage of private insurance is that you can list the dates that incorporate both. That way, if the issue comes up while you are at WDW, you will get some coverage. I'm not sure about what the insure my trip person told you. Could she be talking about covering the air portion?

You will not get anything if the ship cruises but alters the course or ports due to weather--you got a cruise. In the one instance where the Magic couldn't dock at any of the scheduled ports, DCL gave a partial refund to guests.

 

[mommyz]

We used to go during hurricane season all the time and one year the hurricane hit. The Friday before the flight got cancelled (airline refunded our money). DCL wasn't sure what was going to happen (whether or not ship would be able to even come back to Port Canaveral in time). They gave us the option to cancel with a full refund and no penalties. So in this case travel insurance did not kick in b/c there was money loss.

I agree wholeheartedly make sure you get travel insurance for all the days you will be gone for. IMO you should get reimbursed from either parties. btw DCL gave those who couldn't make it a 25% voucher for future cruise.

 

[WhitGB]

Thanks everyone for responding.

 

[mellers]

Thanks to all the information on this site, I finally made a decision to call Insure my Trip to get a little assistance. They were friendly and helpful but I came across one concern that I am hoping to get help with.

We are going on October and concerned about hurricanes. She stated that none of their plans cover a completely canceled trip due to hurricane unless the cruise is canceled 24 hours before leaving HOME. We live in WI and will be at Disney for a few days before the trip. There is no way we would wait until 24 hrs before the trip to leave our house. That is asking for trouble.

So, does Disney itself refund for a fully canceled trip? I understand if you are at sea they will try to route you around the path.

Does the Disney insurance cover this?

Thanks for any information. Just want to make sure I am purchasing the right coverage.

We usually buy TravelInsured insurance, and they cover trip interruptions (although I would double-check about the hurricane, just to be safe.) They also insure kids for free and, if you buy your insurance within 15 days of booking, they cover pre-existing conditions (this is critical to us.) They have a 6 hour missed connection policy as well.

If you buy them through USAA, they also cover deployments for servicepeople, and tend to have low prices.

The disadvantages are, however, that they also have a $50 co-payment for each medical emergency--other insurers do not. Also, I can't say how well they handle payouts, as we have never needed to collect (given that every member of my family has serious health issues, I consider this a plus, and not a minus.)

For my part, I wouldn't buy Disney, because I am a lot less afraid of losing my cruise fare due to a hurricane than my husband's heart or my liver giving out at the wrong time, and Disney's insurance will not cover our medical pre-existing conditions--cruise fare is chump change compared to what a major medical problem could cost. If you have any pre-existing conditions, I would not buy Disney's insurance.

 

[Disney Addicted]

I was on the Hurricane Jeane cruise where our 7 night cruise actually departed after midnight on Tuesday from Fort Lauderdale.

We were offered the option to cancel our cruise and get a full refund OR to sail on Monday with a 40% refund.

Out of curiosity, when was the cruise scheduled to depart originally?