Close to booking Sept Fantasy, so DCL insurance, or private? Help Please :)

[DnA2010]

I am close to pulling the trigger on a cruise on the Fantasy in September, which 'm reading is prime hurricane season, I'm thinking I should consider insurance for that reason, curious what folks recommend for insurance? It's a VGT so I understand that it's non-refundable, non-change etc, but I'm assuming if I purchase insurance, it is? Thanks so much!

 

[sponica]

My question is, can I get to the port? Do I have flexibility to leave a few days earlier based on projected weather or can I stay a couple days later if need be.

But honestly, I have those same problems traveling in the winter. I need to mentally build in a day or two in advance if it snows.

I'm less worried about the cruise being cancelled.

 

[dreamer17555]

Allianz is my go to.

 

[bbn1122]

I am close to pulling the trigger on a cruise on the Fantasy in September, which 'm reading is prime hurricane season, I'm thinking I should consider insurance for that reason, curious what folks recommend for insurance? It's a VGT so I understand that it's non-refundable, non-change etc, but I'm assuming if I purchase insurance, it is? Thanks so much!

You will probably hear from more experience cruisers. I only purchase insurance once and it was for my first an only 7 day cruise back in 2010. It was an Easter week cruise and for a family of 5 it was over 10K.

Since, then I have done smaller 3-5 day cruises. No insurance and have cruised during Hurrican season.

My 2nd cruise was end of August of 2011 and a Hurricane was passing Florida right when our cruise was suppose to leave. I was told Disney never cancels even with Hurricanes. We cruised around the rough seas, as much as possible but this hurrican went thru the Bahamas, so no CC and Nassau but no excurisions. Both island were hit badly. The cruise was still great. Butsad to miss CC.

I had another cruise that sailed aroung a bad tropical storm, a little bumpy but we made our ports.

I am sure Disney has cancel due to bad weather, but they usually find a way around the storms. They will change ports and itinerary if the possible.

 

[Mom2Anna&Elsa]

I always purchase cruise insurance through a separate company-- I find the rates to be better and able to be tailored towards what I want out of trip insurance.

No experience with the travel insurance from Disney, I just find it to be pricey compared to other policies.

I also make sure I get my insurance within a week of putting down my first payment and reserving the trip.

 

[Girl of the South]

DCL insurance ONLY covers the cruise. Private insurance can include flights and hotels.

 

[lanejudy]

Before buying, call and ASK what might be covered. The rules around coverage can vary once a storm is named -- i.e. if you cancel prior to the storm getting named vs cancelling after that point.

DCL's coverage will not include your flights or anything other than the cruise itself. But it does offer the added protection of a cruise credit if you cancel and the insurance doesn't cover.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

DCL insurance ONLY covers the cruise. Private insurance can include flights and hotels.

This. We've usually gone with private insurance. I'm actually more concerned about making sure I have coverage for a medical emergency situation than I am worried about the cost of the cruise or other portions of the trip expenses. I get travel insurance whenever I'm traveling out of the country.

 

[auntlynne]

Look at the private companies, perhaps through the website, “Insure my Trip.” If you have any preexisting medical conditions or need Cancel for any reason, you might need to have the insurance in place early, as @Mom2Anna&Elsa mentioned.

Decide how much you are okay with losing if you don’t carry insurance. Just like auto insurance covers damage to property and medical costs for those in the other car (not just your car’s repairs, travel insurance is for those unexpected problems - which are often the pricey part (emergency medical and evacuation). I get an annual policy that purpose.

Insurance can also pay out for missed ports.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Disney insurance will cover your flights only if it is booked through disney air. The cruise insurance through dcl is expensive. We shop around, make sure our flights, rental car, extra hotel stays etc., are all covered. We had a flight canceled on our way home from a cruise. While we were able to rebook, the flight took us into a different airport. The insurance paid for a very expensive rental car that got our first responder home in time for work that evening. Highly recommend insurance if with just dcl, consider an additional policy for everything else.

 

[mjkacmom]

This. We've usually gone with private insurance. I'm actually more concerned about making sure I have coverage for a medical emergency situation than I am worried about the cost of the cruise or other portions of the trip expenses. I get travel insurance whenever I'm traveling out of the country.

No one should travel without some sort of medical insurance, most health insurance policies don’t cover anything out of the US. Most travel insurance doesn’t cover missing/changing ports, and cruises are very rarely cancelled for weather, they just pivot. Third party insurance is almost always better than going through the cruise line.

 

[Girl of the South]

My Medicare Supplemental (aka Medigap) insurance through Cigna covers foreign medical up to a lifetime cap of $50,000. Yeah, that sounds very low BUT medical care outside of the US is substantially less expensive. I also bought a year long medical evacuation policy, good for a year, for less than $200. If I had a pre-existing serious medical condition, I would consider more coverage - heart issues, etc. Also check your credit card for travel insurance. My Sapphire Reserve Chase card covers Trip cancellation, interruption, delay, baggage delay, luggage loss, rental car collision damage and accident insurance. NOT medical however. It's $95 a year. It's really about your risk tolerance. If you miss a port, the cruise line will reimburse port taxes, any tours bought through them. If you book your own tours you should see what their cancellation policies are.

 

[JWG]

We always book 3rd party insurance. Have had to use it too.

 

[Akck]

We have an annual policy through Allianz. We got it because we have several trips to visit our granddaughter each year. We’ve only come close to utilizing it once, when the hurricane that hit the Orlando area, just before our cruise. I was very calm while scrambling to make changes since I knew we’d lose very little if things didn’t work out.

 

[tlprice]

I always do non-DCL insurance. It's much better insurance than DCL. My last three trips I've used Travel Insured International. I have travelled quite a few times during hurricane season and trips are expensive, so the small amount for trip insurance definitely is worth the peace of mind.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Another aspect to consider is if flights returning home are cancelled and you need to unexpectedly book an additional hotel stay after the cruise (trip interruption). It would cover the costs for having to be stuck a few days extra at debarkation port city.
I used to worry about trip cancellation, not just for weather, but for health of our parents and grandparents: my MIL once had a heart attack on the day we were due to fly to FL. She was okay and had a stent inserted, and insisted we still cruise but I felt so bad to leave at a time like that and honestly if it were my own mother, I would have cancelled.
Another time we had to cancel was when a huge tree fell on our house while we were in FL, the day before our cruise. It pretty much chopped our house in two. I didn't bother with insurance that time because it was only a 3-night cruise and figured odds are so slim something could happen. Lesson learned. Stuff happens.
I always buy basic trip insurance for cruises from Insure My Trip.

Now that it's been almost 20 years since we first booked a cruise with DCL, I worry more about our health while onboard, since we're 20 years older. If dh has a heart attack or something that requires one of us to be helicoptered off the ship, that can be a huge expense and the last thing I'd need at a time like that is more stress about it costing $30k or some crazy amount.

Trip insurance is worth it to me for peace of mind.

 

[insureman]

I noticed that you are Canadian. Here is a Canadian government link to help you decide. Your insurance is different than what we have available in the US.

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/documents/travel-insurance

 

[Cheburashka]

I am close to pulling the trigger on a cruise on the Fantasy in September, which 'm reading is prime hurricane season, I'm thinking I should consider insurance for that reason, curious what folks recommend for insurance? It's a VGT so I understand that it's non-refundable, non-change etc, but I'm assuming if I purchase insurance, it is? Thanks so much!

DCL's insurance doesn't make the cruise refundable or changeable. It means you can get reimbursed 100% of costs if you have documentation of certain covered reasons for cancellation. It means you can get 75% of the value of the cruise applied to another DCL cruise if you cancel for a non-covered reason.

It's a cost benefit analysis, whether to use DCL insurance or another insurer. There is no right or wrong answer, because it's based on what it would cost for you, how likely you are to cancel for a non-covered or difficult to document reason, how likely you are to want to sail on DCL again if you do need to cancel this one for a non-covered reason, etc.

I'm using DCL insurance for a 3-night cruise over Labor Day weekend, because it's cheaper than my usual travel insurance, and I also wanted it all managed via DCL in case anything happened related to a potential hurricane, just to potentially make logistics easier. I also sail DCL multiple times a year, so I know I would use a credit.

Our spring break cruise is covered by my usual travel insurance provider, Travel Insured International via USAA. I have had to make claims with them a few times, and they paid the claims. They have become quite a bit more expensive since Covid, though, and we're also getting older, which also makes things more expensive. That's why I still check out DCL's insurance and compare prices before deciding.

 

[Racer X]

I may have mis-understood the DCL insurance legalize... i thought they ONLY offered to apply the value of your cruise to another cruise... is this true? If because of bad weather/hurricane they cancel would they reimburse full cash value or just offer a future credit?

 

[sponica]

I may have mis-understood the DCL insurance legalize... i thought they ONLY offered to apply the value of your cruise to another cruise... is this true? If because of bad weather/hurricane they cancel would they reimburse full cash value or just offer a future credit?

So if you get the DCL insurance and you cancel for a non covered reason, you get a future cruise credit worth I think 70% of your cruise value.

If they cancel your cruise due to weather or other operational reasons, you get a refund and I think they've included a discount on a future cruise as a gesture of goodwill?