Do I really need travel insurance?

[Drr10]

Booked for 1st ever cruise in January. Do I really need travel insurance? Who here has not bought it. Will be coming in two days early staying at SSR and already booked through Disney to take me to Port and then back to SSR when cruise is done.

 

[AnnaS]

It is highly recommended when cruising or foreign travel. Age does no matter. Accidents and illness can happen to anyone at anytime. Worth it for peace of mind.

During one of our cruises, my friend’s dad had an accident on the ship (we were a large group). Had to be evacuated. He never came back home (long and sad story) - but there are so many other stories out there. Leaving the country (not cruising) also needed.

Compare policies and see what you are comfortable with. We went to Italy in 2023. I was not too concerned about late flights/losing money with flight, luggage or B&B/Hotel. I wanted it for medical. I called and insured us heavy on medical but not so much on everything else. Did not even know that was an option until I called.

Good luck!

 

[DCLMP]

I usually just buy the medical and it's not that expensive. If your okay with losing the cost of the cruise if you can't make it then I wouldn't buy the expensive insurance. I also book my cruises with a credit card that offers travel protection. I've never had to file a claim.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Do I really need travel insurance?

Yes. Any manner of problems can happen. Flights delayed. Accidents. I read of a family who were "just taking a quickie" Mexican Riviera cruise and one of the kids got appendicitis and had to be medically evacuated.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Yes you do. We've had to cancel cruises a couple days out. Once on the day of. It's hugely disappointing to have to cancel, but at least the insurance helps soften the blow. Also, if you get injured in a different country, it can quickly cost thousands of dollars.

 

[Pixarfans]

With any insurance, are you willing to pay the cost of not having it? Or make the choice not to get medical care?

 

[Chemist]

Yes. Let's pretend, for the sake of pretending that you or your child comes down with actual influenza, or strep, or COVID, or Noro or something that makes them actually SICK the day you want to leave for the trip. Or the day before. Every single penny you have paid for that trip is non-refundable.

Or let's pretend someone close to you has a heart attack/stroke/cancer diagnosis right before the trip and you need to cancel. Every single penny is non-refundable.

Or, let's say someone gets badly hurt while traveling. Evacuation costs a fortune. (I badly injured my back skiing. Over a thousand dollar ambulance bill and that was just to get me down the mountain.)

Or, let's pretend your flight is cancelled and you can't get a flight for two days and miss your cruise.

Your cruise is actually non-refundable fairly far in advance. Not just non-refundable, not re-bookable for credit. Money just gone. Maybe you can afford to wave good-bye to multiple thousands of dollars, but given that you are balking at insurance, I'm guessing not.

 

[stitchfan75]

Booked for 1st ever cruise in January. Do I really need travel insurance? Who here has not bought it. Will be coming in two days early staying at SSR and already booked through Disney to take me to Port and then back to SSR when cruise is done.

Yes. I tend to decide if I'm going to get insurance based on the amount of money I risk to lose by something happening. I'd rather pay the extra $500 and not lose over $7K if something goes sideways before we leave (or while sailing).

 

[dreamer17555]

The goal of insurance is to have it and hopefully never need to use it. However if you need it, you will be very grateful you have it. Also do not use DCL's insurance. Its not great and outside insurance like Allianz is much better (if you travel twice in a year look at an annual policy)

 

[DCLMP]

Yes. I tend to decide if I'm going to get insurance based on the amount of money I risk to lose by something happening. I'd rather pay the extra $500 and not lose over $7K if something goes sideways before we leave (or while sailing).

Cost of the cruise is usually how I decide how much insurance to buy. My cruise in January is 1200 dollars so I will just buy the medical. Credit cards will cover a lot trip interruption issues. I agree with a cruise costing 7k I would want something more comprehensive.

 

[emchen]

check out allianz...great deal!

 

[John VN]

We have an Annual Policy. One never needs insurance until one does.

Our Annual covered a Quick Cruise that DW took in January with DD and her 2 girls, Our 52nd Anniversary Cruise with DD/husband and DS/friend exactly 6 months ago today and a *spur of the moment trip I am taking this weekend* plus everything already planned for next year. We prefer to call it *Peace of Mind Travel Insurance*

 

[DayOhDisMom]

We have an Annual Policy. One never needs insurance until one does.

Our Annual covered a Quick Cruise that DW took in January with DD and her 2 girls, Our 52nd Anniversary Cruise with DD/husband and DS/friend exactly 6 months ago today and a *spur of the moment trip I am taking this weekend* plus everything already planned for next year. We prefer to call it *Peace of Mind Travel Insurance*

Thanks, didn’t know an annual policy was a option.

 

[DayOhDisMom]

The only time sadly we didn’t get travel insurance was during COVID. We got some money back but not all. Disney started sailing with no option to cancel anytime with full refund other cruise lines did… Lesson learned.

 

[Goofy1932]

To put it simply, yes. Get the insurance.

We have gotten the insurance on every single Disney parks and cruise trips we have ever taken and have never had to use it. I promise you that the first time we decide not to get it is when something will happen and we will wish we had it.

 

[clh2]

We will never leave the country without medical insurance…DH is on Medicare, and if something happens to him, Medicare isn’t available in other countries. After that, we will analyze the trip components (Ie flights, hotels etc) to see if we want/need additional insurance beyond the medical.

We just did a trip to Disney in October (both Disney World and a Disney Cruise. This was in hurricane season, We were 100% insured on all costs, due to park tickets, flights, the cruise cost, Disney Hotels etc. The older you get, the more expensive the insurance is.

 

[dllocals]

Booked for 1st ever cruise in January. Do I really need travel insurance? Who here has not bought it. Will be coming in two days early staying at SSR and already booked through Disney to take me to Port and then back to SSR when cruise is done.

We once used a non Disney Insurance company, one of our kids got an ear ache and we had to see the ship’s doctor. She was fine but we had to pay out of pocket for the visit. We always use the Disney insurance now!

 

[sjuncfan]

I tend to buy insurance for really expensive trips and/or trips where whether may be an issue (snow in winter or thunderstorms in summer). We had never had to use it until last winter - we had a back to back booked (3 day followed by 7 day) and DS got sick the day before we were supposed to leave for the first cruise. Trip insurance reimbursed us for the cost of the 3 day cruise as well as the last minute flight change to get to MCO in time for the 7 day. I'll lean towards getting insurance for all non-refundable trips going forward...

 

[Kennywood]

As the old saying goes, "Better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

[Mommb]

Travel insurance typically covers these situations for you and your traveling companions:
Something happens in your life that causes you to cancel the trip (such as illness or injury, job loss, or serious illness in a family member).
Something happens in the world that prevents you from taking the tri[ (such as natural disaster or flight cancellation).
Something happens during the trip that requires significant expenses (such as injury or illness causing medical bills and/or different transportation to get home).

Some travel insurance will also pay your for trip delays, missing or delayed luggage, and being quarantined during a trip.
Insurance policies vary on exactly what situations are covered.
If you have pre-existing medical conditions, you may be covered for those conditions only if insurance is purchased close to the time you book the trip.

You need to determine whether you want to absorb the cost of the trip (and any other non-refundable expenses, such as airfare and hotel stays) if you need to cancel, and whether you can cover the cost of medical treatment and transportation home if necessary. Some insurance is primary and will take care of costs immediately; most is secondary, so you may need to pay out of pocket and then seek reimbursement from the travel insurance company.

You do not need travel insurance, but you may want it. I always buy trip insurance when travelling from the US to Europe. My first few cruises out of the US I didn't buy insurance, but now that I'm getting older, I insure those trips as well.