do you always get insurance?

[Sister Scoop Disney]

i guess there are two sides...i know it is worth it (in the end) if you get insurance and end up having to cancel your trip. but of course, a lof of money for that added security. do you always get insurance? if so, how much is it per person? there will be 2 of us. thank you!

 

[prymsu]

We have been on nine cruises, and other travel trips. The one time i thought i would save myself some money was the one time i needed the insurance and didn't have it. Buy it and hope that you don't need to use it!

 

[CGC33A]

there are many things to consider in the decision to buy insurance. One of the no brainers is not to buy DCLs. It is too expensive. You can get Access America insurance (same company that DCL uses) for less directly (www.accessamerica.com) or go to www.insuremytrip.com to comparison shop. Or if you have booked with an outside TA, they usually have alternatives. The only time DCLs might be cost effective is if you are very old b/c most of the others charge by age (and if you are older seniors, the cost might be higher than DCL). Do a search on these boards on insurance & you will find most people agree with me.

 

[currycook]

one time we did not when we were we purchased the cruise less than 60 days before. I think the less time before the cruis the less need for the insurance. But you are always risking it when you dont get it. Chance are you will not need it, but its that one time that you do need it that will pay for itself time and time again.

 

[Princess Michelle]

My insurance was $100.00 per person but when you look at the cost of the trip, in comparison that's small potatoes if you end up not being able to go due to some unforseen circumstances. I'd rather pay the $100.00 and not need it than need it and be out more than $1,000.00 because I didn't have it.

 

[Tluvs2talk]

I used to not purchase insurance but have started doing so for peace of mind. I like knowing I am covered if something happend before or during my cruise.




Teri

 

[prymsu]

yes, you can purchase insurance shortly before you cruise, but i wouldn't recommend it. It won't cover a pre-existing condition then. You must book between seven and fourteen days with most companies in order to get the pre-existing conditions coverage.

For instance, I found out about two months before we were to go on our cruise that my mother had cancer, and the outlook was not good. I checked around at that time, and I couldn't find any insurance that would cover us if we needed to cancel or interrupt or trip if we went.

With a lot of friends and Hospice help, we were able to go after all, because my Mom didn't want us to cancel. She knew we paid a lot for airfare, cruise and so on. We decided to go ahead and go, but had I purchased the insurance at the time of booking my trip, I could have rescheduled for another time and been refunded the money.

 

[ThreeCircles]

As the others have said, there are a lot of things to consider when looking into insurance for the trip. Among those considerations already listed, you should also always check your regular health insurance policy if you have one. Although these policies generally won't cover the cost of the trip, many of them have coverage for outside of the U.S., including transport costs to medical facilities.

We purchased cruise insurance on our very first cruise in 2000 and have not done so again. Like so much else in life, it's basically a personal decision with what you feel most comfortable with.

 

[disneybride96]

We always book our airfare seperately from our cruise because we can do it much cheaper. From what I understand, the DCL insurance does not cover airfare if it is not purchased through them. My big concern is missed connections, as we ususally fly the morning of the cruise.

We purchased directly through accessamerica, saved money and covered the entire trip.

 

[alexandrew]

we always purchase trip insurance - we buy our policy directly through our Cruise One agent....on our last 3 day, the cost for the 4 of us was $125.00

 

[awatt]

I always get the insurance. Was so glad to have it when I had to cancel last minute due to illness and got a full refund of about $3800.

Also there is some variability in rates and coverage so shop around.

 

[CAMICKEY]

We have always purchased trip insurance - and fortunately never had to use it.

CAMICKEY - 5/08/04 Western

 

[dvarallo]

I would purchase the insurance and as other posters have mentioned, purchase it directly from Access America. I was unfortunate enough to have needed it last year when my son showed symptoms of "gastro-intestinal" illness and we were quarantined for 72 hours. Because we had the insurance, we were reimbursed for the days we missed and were flown home from St. Martin which was an alternative to staying in the cabin for 3 days. A lot of people on these boards don't realize that trip insurance reimburses you when you are quarantined as long as you make a visit to the ship's doctor and have the paperwork to submit. So many people are worried about being quarantined, that they try to hide their sickness, infect other people, and they're too miserable to enjoy the cruise anyway.