Although travel insurance is often disregarded as unnecessary or as a “scam” for the cruise lines to make more money, it should be an important part of your cruise booking process. With that being said, here are 5 reasons why you should consider purchasing travel insurance for your next cruise.
Covers You Before Your Cruise – Purchasing travel insurance can cover you if you need to cancel your trip before your cruise. Most cruise lines have a 100% cancellation charge if you cancel within 14 days of your departure date and a 75% charge if you cancel within 30 days.
With travel insurance, you are protected in the event of a sickness, injury, job loss etc. Some insurance policies will even let you cancel for any reason up until 48 hours before your departure date. With Norwegian Cruise Line’s BookSafe, if you need to cancel for a reason that is not covered by their insurance plan, you will receive a credit for a future cruise.
Covers You On Your Way to Your Cruise – Travel insurance also covers trip interruptions, lost luggage, and trip and baggage delays. This can be extremely valuable if you are flying in on the morning of your cruise and your flight gets delayed.
Covers You During Your Cruise – You will be covered for any medical emergencies that you have while on the cruise or in port. Your HMO/PPO or Medicare may not cover you if you are traveling outside the United States, and you also likely won’t be covered if you need an emergency evacuation.
Medical expenses and emergency medical transportation are covered if you purchase travel insurance.
Covers You After Your Cruise – Just like you are covered on the way to your departure port, travel insurance will also cover you on your way home. This includes travel disruptions, lost luggage, and trip and baggage delays.
Gives You Peace of Mind – A great benefit to having travel insurance is being able to have the peace of mind not worrying if something might go wrong. You know that you are covered before, during, and after your cruise so you can kick back and relax and enjoy your vacation even more.
Travel insurance can be purchased directly through the cruise line or through a 3rd party such as Travel Safe, Travel Guard, or Allianz Travel Insurance.
All travel insurance policies are not equal. It is best to compare policies and find the one that best fits your individual needs.
Insurance protects you when the unexpected happens, don’t let an emergency or travel disruption ruin your vacation.
