Hurricane Matthew and Trip Insurance questions.

[SpartanKen]

OK, I have all but $400 paid off of our trip next August. At this time I either need to purchase their (Disneys) insurance plan or get our own, since we are at the payoff point. Now I know this is one of those touchy subjects that is asked and debated from time to time.

So, with the recent visit by Matthew and the havoc he created with people's vacation, did the people need the insurance or did DCL reimburse guests fully without it? That being said, if they did it without said insurance, the insurance wasn't really needed. I know other circumstances could have kicked in the need for the insurance, but I'd like to focus on the big bad storm instance of the need for it.

Now before the few of you start typing to light me up for what ever reason you want to be angry about, remember Im just asking and want to make informed decisions... So please, be polite. lol

Any actual guests that were on the Dream this past week or missed their trip because of Matthew, I really want your input.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[Otimon]

I read on the internet (Yahoo) that the cruise guests were reimbursed in full.

 

[lanejudy]

It's my understanding that DCL reimbursed passengers of the 10/7 Dream cruise that was fully cancelled with 100% reimbursement. Those on the 10/8 Fantasy cruise received a pro-rated reimbursement from DCL due to the cruise being shortened to 6 nights. Those on the 10/7 Magic were given the option of cancelling for a full refund from DCL if they did not wish to take the changed itinerary. Insurance was not necessary for any of those offers.

Where insurance may, or may not, have been neeeded would be rescheduling flights and/or changes to pre- or post-cruise hotel and meals. People on the 10/3 Dream had to change their flights if originally scheduled to fly home on Friday or Saturday; those on the 10/1 Fantasy also had to reschedule flights to Sunday or later. Many others who had planned to arrive in Orlando late last week or over the weekend prior to cruise departure had to reschedule flights.

DCL insurance will only cover those portions of the travel purchased through DCL (for most of us that means simply the cruise, not travel to/from or pre- or post-cruise plans).

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[blair327]

OK, I have all but $400 paid off of our trip next August. At this time I either need to purchase their (Disneys) insurance plan or get our own, since we are at the payoff point. Now I know this is one of those touchy subjects that is asked and debated from time to time.

So, with the recent visit by Matthew and the havoc he created with people's vacation, did the people need the insurance or did DCL reimburse guests fully without it? That being said, if they did it without said insurance, the insurance wasn't really needed. I know other circumstances could have kicked in the need for the insurance, but I'd like to focus on the big bad storm instance of the need for it.

Now before the few of you start typing to light me up for what ever reason you want to be angry about, remember Im just asking and want to make informed decisions... So please, be polite. lol

Any actual guests that were on the Dream this past week or missed their trip because of Matthew, I really want your input.

Thanks,

Ken

I just got off the dream yesterday. We ended up getting an extra day and a half with the option to spend last night too. They were so accommodating to everyone. That was our 6th Disney cruise and we have never purchased insurance. We made our on flights so they let us use the phone to reschedule airline tickets. Had Disney booked it for us they would have taken care of it. It was a great cruise!

 

[Sytrace]

It does get a bit tense regarding insurance. Some maintain it is a MUST have and others skate by. I think that having it during hurricane season if you are traveling via airline AND / OR if there are any medical reasons why you would need it, then it should be purchased.

For example, our first few cruises we did not get trip insurance. We live in Florida and drive to the port, so no worries about airlines and hotels etc.
But then my husband had a couple of bad experiences with kidney stones (one required a 4 day hospital stay) and the other 2 were day patient surgeries) we started buying the insurance "just in case" we had to cancel at the last minute due to an emergency.
Not so much for hurricane peace of mind, and 6 of our 10 cruises to date have been during the hurricane season. Our most recent one returned on October 1st.

Disney handled this situation very well and took care of their guests. They kept everyone informed as soon as they had information to share responsibly.
I would just suggest to look at your own family needs and go from there. In the case of something like Matthew happening again, you would be taken care of.
But if it involved something not related to DCL happening that would cause you to delay the trip or have to cancel, I would go for the insurance.

Enjoy your 1st Disney cruise... I hope it is remarkable and memorable.

 

[tee11]

This is good advice by Sytrace -

It really depends on your family...and situation, as well as preferences, and tolerance for risk.

If you have two healthy adults, short drive to port, short cruise, healthy loved ones (parents) staying home, not bad weather season (hurricane, blizzards), have a great credit card (they cover some stuff), have great health insurance (some cover out of country)...you have a great job, that doesn't surprise you with stuff (last minute must attend events), if you could "loose the cruise" without breaking the bank, if it skews this direction...you might be less inclined ...to purchase extra travel insurance...

BUT if you have a large party traveling, kids, babies, elderly, people with health issues, if you are leaving loved ones (parents for example) with health issues or aging at home, travel to or from a more remote destination, if it would be a severe hardship to "loose the cruise", you are going away on a longer cruise, or trip, it's a more complicated trip, several stops, hurricane or blizzard season, you have only basic health insurance, a basic credit card without frills, your employer would fire you if you are not there when they snap their fingers or some other job emergency could arise at your job/profession, all those all would point to getting travel insurance to cover it all for honestly not that much money.

Does this help?

 

[Donna M]

Excellent comments. We have a cruise departing on the 17th which is replacing a trip we had to cancel from April. That trip was the first and only one we bought air insurance for, and thankful so, since there was a job lose and we got a $2000 refunded.

 

[wilkeliza]

So for the "big bad storm" Disney did comp the cruise and give a discount for future cruises since it was last minute but that was only because Port Canaveral was shut down and they could not get the ship in and then out.

Where insurance came into play was flights. In some cases people booked their flights separately and not as a round trip so the first leg was possibly cancelled but their second leg was intact. To get the 2nd leg money back they had to go through their insurance. Others had already flown in before the storm happened and cruises were cancelled so with that they had to scramble for last minute hotel and adjusted flights. Those people will have to go through insurance to try and make up the cost for those hotels and flight adjustment fees.

 

[snoopy5386]

We are just off the 10/3 Dream this morning and we did have trip insurance. That said, we did have to reschedule flights, extend a car rental and cancel a DVC reservation and every company that we had to deal with was very accommodating and we had zero extra charges even though we moved our flight by a day and changed airports and returned our rental car to a different airport.

BUT knowing we had the insurance was great piece of mind and allowed us to enjoy our cruise knowing we were covered. We did not know day to day how or when we were getting home from last Wednesday and we didn't get our getting home plans finalized till about 7 pm last night. We debated flying vs driving home our rental car, we were originally going to have to fly home on Monday and would have needed a hotel, it was great knowing that all those charges would have been covered and we had zero stress about our return home and were able to enjoy our two bonus Dream days.

I do plan to make a claim under trip interruption for meals for today and an extra day of airport parking, but that's about $100, so not the end of the world either way. However, in my many calls to the trip insurance company, they asked me to get documentation from DCL about the cruise, specifically the original end date and then something that had the actual end date. They said it could be as simple as a handwritten note signed by a staff member. I went to guest services twice and they were unable to provide me with this. We'll see what happens when I file my claim.

Also I now see the perks of booking flights through Disney. Everyone who had booked Disney air had to do nothing, their new flight info was automatically delivered to their staterooms. Everyone else has to stand in long lines at guest services to change their travel plans, sometimes more than once as the cruise continued to be extended. I was lucky and was able to cancel our DVC reservation through the DVC office onboard and my SIL on land was able to cancel MIL and FIL's Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort reservation after communicating with her via text. DCL did give out 50 mb of free internet for folks to try and rearrange their travel via the Internet (we used this to rearrange our flights the first time), but it went very fast.

For the 10/7 Dream cruise, their cruise fare was refunded, but not airfare or hotel for before or after their stay etc. We cruised with MIL and FIL, we had private insurance through insure my trip so it would cover our airfare and car rental, etc. In-laws drove to port so for them it was cheaper and made more sense to get the DCL insurance.

 

[FigmentSpark]

The other scenario to consider is whether you need to decide on completing a trip that DCL says is a go, but you are unable to get to the port or unwilling to take the chance. So, for example, DCL didn't let cruisers know about their cancellations until a day or two before the cruise, yet some people made decisions because they were flying in earlier than that or had loved ones that were in wheelchairs and they didn't want to risk them in rough waters or emergency situations. So at what point do you not show up for a cruise that might still go on?

Then there's the one I always think of, even with healthy family members... what do you do in a medical emergency, ie: broken bones or appendicitis, etc.? Will you have insurance to cover such emergencies, including the very remote possibility of needing to be airlifted off the ship?

 

[snoopy5386]

Yes, for us getting ins for medical reasons is just as important as weather if not more so.

 

[AquaDame]

So, with the recent visit by Matthew and the havoc he created with people's vacation, did the people need the insurance or did DCL reimburse guests fully without it? That being said, if they did it without said insurance, the insurance wasn't really needed. I know other circumstances could have kicked in the need for the insurance, but I'd like to focus on the big bad storm instance of the need for it.

In the case of the big bad storm, DCL took care of everyone. This time. There is no guarantee they will do the same for the next storm mind you, but for this one yes, insurance for the cruise portion was not needed.

 

[Steelers0854]

Always have insurance, especially when traveling outside the country, even if it's a short trip. An air evacuation for a badly broken bone for example could easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Also, if possible have a credit card with a large unused balance as some foreign hospitals require payment at the time of service.

IMO third party insurance is the way to go. It's generally cheaper, with better options and higher coverage limits.

Sure it's an additional cost, and you will likely never use it, but when you do you'll be thankful you had it. Also, remember this insurance typically covers things such as lost or even delayed baggage etc, which you are more likely to run into.

Also, there are some policies, nationwide for example, that are tailored to cruises and include line items for cancelled ports, excursion protection etc.