Travel insurance is a must for cruises—but it doesn’t cover everything.
After all, when you’re traveling domestically, Most private health insurance plans will cover you for emergency situations. And if you have to get back home ‘right now,’ last-minute flights may not be cheap, but they may still be manageable.
However, when you’re on a cruise ship, it’s a whole different story. Most private insurance plans don’t cover shipboard medical services, and the cost for those services (here are some examples) can add up very quickly. An air medical evacuation can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000. And if there’s an emergency at home, the cost to fly there, last-minute, from far-flung places such as Europe, Asia or Antarctica, can be a small fortune.
So yes, travel insurance while you’re cruising is very much recommended.
That being said, even when you get travel insurance for your cruise, it often doesn’t cover every single thing that could happen to a passenger. There are certain situations where you might request reimbursement and the insurance company will reject the claim.
Here are some scenarios where a standard travel insurance policy might not cover you during your cruise, and why:
You were injured while participating in an adventure sport
Cruises often offer excursions for things that you might not do if you were home. And some of those opportunities might be for activities that can potentially be, well, dangerous. Ziplining. Jeeping. Parasailing.
Travel insurance may not cover you if you were injured while doing something that had a high potential for injury.
How to potentially get around this
Obviously, you could simply NOT go jet skiing ;-). Or you could also purchase insurance (or an additional policy) that covers adventure sports.
You were injured while inebriated
Lots of people tend to over imbibe when they’re on a cruise. After all, they got that drink package and need to get their money’s worth! Plus they don’t have to drive home that night. And they’re ON VACATION! So when they miss their footing on the stairs, fall and break an ankle, they shouldn’t be surprised when their travel insurance doesn’t cover them. Insurance rarely, if ever, covers accidents/injuries that happened because of intoxication.
How to potentially get around this
Don’t drink so much that you become intoxicated. FAFO. Otherwise? Nope, no way around it.
You want to go home because your pet is ill or passed away
My husband and I have crappy luck with Disney Cruises and parents passing away.
My dad passed away 2 days before I was supposed to go on a Disney Cruise in 1998. Joe’s mom passed while we were ON a Disney Cruise in 2011. (And no, we don’t ‘do’ Disney Cruises anymore. )
But we were smart and had proper insurance in both cases, so we were fine.
But had our dog passed away? Nope, that wouldn’t have been covered. Because as much as WE think that pets are an important part of our respective families, insurance companies generally do not. So they won’t reimburse for your travel home because your pet suddenly needed medical care or passed away.
How to potentially get around this
There is add-on coverage available to some policies that covers for trip interruption due to a pet’s critical condition or even demise.
You booked with rewards or points
There are some cruise lines where you can pay for your cruise with points – Virgin Voyages is one of those (here’s more about it). And some people have gambled so much on some cruise lines that they can earn free cruises (so they can gamble some more LOL). Although your hotel and/or airfare might be eligible for reimbursement from your insurance company, generally speaking, most policies only reimburse if the purchase was made via cash, credit/debit card or bank transfers – not points or rewards.
How to potentially get around this
Cruises paid with points might not be a great deal anyway, so don’t pay for them that way. If you pay via traditional money methods, you should have a better chance of reimbursement (depending on the rules of your policy, of course). That being said, anything that you DID pay via actual money may still be reimbursable.
You cancelled because of acts of war and unrest
Between what’s happening in the Gulf and the unrest that recently occurred in Mexico, this is a particularly pertinent time to bring up the clause about acts of war and unrest. Multiple cruise lines have cancelled their upcoming cruises due to the issues in the Arabian Gulf. Passengers will therefore get compensation from the cruise line, usually in the form of a future cruise credit. But what if they already have their flight and hotel booked? Surely their travel insurance will reimburse them for that, right?
Probably not.
How to potentially get around this
Insurance companies do sell Interruption For Any Reason (IFAR) and Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR). It costs significantly more, but even if your reason for cancelling is unrest or an act of war, you’ll still be covered.
You were late to the port and the ship left without you
When you leave the ship at a port of call, you’re told, in one way or another, when you need to be back on board. They even tell you what to do if you’re just going to be a couple of minutes late. But if you’re significantly late, the ship leaves without you and you have to pay to get to your next port of call so you can board the ship again, nope, your insurance won’t cover you.
How to potentially get around this
Ummm…have a better idea of the time so you’re not late? (there’s no way to get around this one)
You cruised somewhere where the government said not to go
Say the CDC cautions against going somewhere because of a particular disease outbreak. Or the State Department issues a travel warning for somewhere that you’re cruising to. If your cruise line goes there anyway and something happens to you and you want reimbursement? Not going to happen.
How to get around this
Not going to happen.
At the end of the day, travel insurance is still worth having—but it’s just as important to understand what it doesn’t cover as what it does.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
