Cruise Insurance Demystified： Real Talk from Someone Who Learned the Hard Way

Would you be willing to risk a $50,000 medical bill just to save a few bucks? That's exactly what could happen if you cruise without travel insurance. And I don't mean to be alarmist, and I used to be the same way. I didn't think I needed travel insurance. I'm young. I'm healthy. I'm fit. Until I learned the hard way. In this episode of The Cruise Pod, I'll break down everything you need to know about cruise travel insurance. The why, how, and which plan is right for you, along with my personal experiences. And I know this stuff gets super confusing, and that's why a lot of cruisers avoid it. That's why I did for a really long time. So I'm here to clear it all up for you. So let's dive in. So first, let's talk about why people need travel insurance for a cruise. A cruise is actually one of the worst vacations to take without travel insurance. Unlike a road trip or a resort stay, a cruise involves lots of different moving parts. And there are also strict cancellation policies. There are often multiple destinations, you're traveling in international waters, and there is very limited medical care. And when you're on a cruise ship and you're way out to sea, and you need more advanced medical care, well, sometimes the only way to get you there is via helicopter. Now I used to cruise without travel insurance. I thought I didn't need it. I was again, young, healthy and fit. I actually did a lot of really quite high risk things. I've done rappelling, I've done hot air ballooning, I have done pretty much anything, you name it. And I figured my health insurance will cover me or nothing's going to happen. But after years of cruising and seeing firsthand passengers need emergency medical evacuations, hearing horror stories of these huge medical bills, I started to realize that girl, you're playing with fire. So that's when I started to look into it. And I found it really complex and really confusing. And I wasn't sure if I needed insurance for just one cruise or for my land travel. But I finally found something that worked perfectly for me, which is an annual policy through Allianz. And I share this because people ask me all the time, every time I do a video talking about things that can happen on a cruise or cruise insurance, they ask me what I have, and I have Allianz. Now what's great about Allianz, and I'll give you the link, is that it covers my entire family for all of our trips. All of our trips, including cruises, land travel, road trips, if we fly across the country, whatever. And the reason I love it so much, and I personally recommend it, is because it's really easy to use and it has paid for itself multiple times. Now here's why travel insurance is critical for cruisers. First, it covers trip cancellations and interruptions. Now cruise lines, as you probably know if you're a cruiser, they have really strict cancellation policies. They started to be a little loose with this around 2020 for obvious reasons, but they have really tightened back up. And if you need to cancel due to even an illness, injury, or family emergency, travel insurance can reimburse your non-refundable expenses. It also covers medical emergencies and evacuations. And for me, this was a thing that really kind of scared me into finally getting travel insurance. Because if you get sick or injured at sea, in many cases, not all, but in many cases, your regular health insurance will not cover you. And if you need emergency evacuation, it could cost tens of thousands of dollars, if not potentially six figures. And if you think, again, I'm younger, I'm healthy, unless your appendix is already out, anyone could need an appendectomy on an emergency basis. And I personally know a family that was vacationing in Florida and their daughter had to have her appendix taken out. And thankfully she was on land and not on a cruise ship, because that could have been financially devastating to have to medevac her off of a cruise ship. It also covers missed flights and connections. If a flight delay makes you miss embarkation, you could potentially be stuck paying thousands to either fly yourself on your own dime without travel insurance to the next port of call to try to catch the ship or just to eat the cost of your cruise entirely. It also provides coverage for lost, delayed, and stolen luggage. Travel insurance can reimburse you for your lost items or cover necessities when your bags are delayed. I just got off a celebrity cruise barely a week ago and two of our six bags got lost. Now we did eventually get them back late in the night. I don't know what the celebrity baggage team was doing. I've never had two bags ever get lost, especially for that long, but I was able to reassure my daughter whose bag was lost that it's okay. We have travel insurance because she had her expensive Beats headphones in one of her bags and I'm like, it'll cover you. It's fine. So having that peace of mind is really nice. Travel insurance also covers weather related disruptions. As you know, in cruising, hurricane season is many, many months and I'm not going to avoid cruising during hurricane season because it lasts so long and for me, that's prime cruising time. But hurricanes and severe weather can lead to delays, cancellations, itinerary changes, and travel insurance can help you with rebooking costs or refunds. Now a big misconception when it comes to travel insurance is a lot of people assume what I did for many years, which is the assumption that your medical insurance covers you if you get sick on a cruise. And the short answer is it probably doesn't. And here's why. Most US health insurance plans do not cover international medical care. So if your cruise calls upon Mexico, the Caribbean, or Europe, which are prime cruise locations, your insurance may be worthless abroad. And medical care on cruise ships is expensive. There's a story recently, I covered it in a prior YouTube video of a man who incurred a $50,000 bill because he contracted the flu on a Norwegian cruise ship and he was hospitalized in the med center for two days. But even a simple visit to the med center can cost hundreds. I personally caught the flu on Carnival Mardi Gras about a month ago and it cost me over $500. But Allianz paid for it. I'll tell you about that more in a minute. But more serious treatment, forget about it. You're paying out of pocket. Medical evacuations are rarely covered with traditional medical insurance. So if you need emergency evacuation off a ship, again, it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars and most health insurance does not cover it. And another thing to consider is even if your traditional health or medical insurance covers these things when you're traveling abroad or out at sea, you probably have to pay up front for medical care, even if it's very expensive, and file for reimbursement later and hope you get it. And if you do, it could take time. And I know a lot of people don't have tens of thousands of dollars and just cold hard cash or even credit lines if you have to be medevaced, for example. So if you seek treatment on board or at a foreign hospital, you're probably going to be required to pay the full amount first, then submit for reimbursement. And that's if your insurance even covers it. And that's why I personally carry the annual travel insurance plan because it covers all my medical expenses abroad. I don't have to worry about it. Now, another misconception, again, one that I held forever is doesn't my travel specific credit card cover me? If you have a premium travel credit card, which I am a big advocate of for many reasons, including this, you might get some built in travel protections. But here's the catch. It's usually not enough. I personally am a big fan of the Capital One Venture X card. I had a ton of different travel cards for years. I had Frontier, I had American Airlines, I had Hyatt, I had Hilton, I had United, and I was juggling all these cards and I got tired of figuring out points across multiple cards. So I finally just got Capital One Venture X actually a few months ago, and it's been great. I'll give you more information linked here. But I love about Capital One Venture X is it's great for points and redemptions for travel, but it has a lot of built in protections and a lot of travel specific credit cards do. So regardless of the one that you have or you're going to get, make sure you look at these things because you can get included coverage for things like trip cancellation and interruption, lost luggage reimbursement, and even trip delay coverage. But here's the catch. Most travel specific credit cards, even the gold standard ones like Capital One Venture X, they don't cover things like medical emergencies at sea, emergency evacuations, and full trip cancellation coverage. And also it only provides coverage if you've booked and paid for all of your things in full with that card. So there are quite a few limitations. And that's why while I'm a big fan of travel specific credit cards, I combine my travel card with my annual travel insurance plan. So I have basically double coverage in some ways. So my credit card benefits give me extra perks and some travel coverage, but my travel insurance covers the big stuff that could financially wreck me like medical emergencies and evacuations. Another big question is can't I just get insurance offered by the cruise line? Sure. And in some cases you absolutely should. And again, regardless of what you decide to buy, I just encourage everyone to get some type of insurance on their cruise. Now the benefit of cruise line provided insurance, and these are usually insurance policies underwritten by major providers. Norwegian, for example, their insurance is underwritten by Nationwide. And cruise lines, they make it super easy. When you book a cruise online or you book it with a travel agent or a personal vacation planner that works for the cruise line, they're almost always going to ask you, would you like to add vacation protection or travel insurance offered through the cruise line with your cruise? But is it the best move? Let's break it down. The big side, it is super easy. It covers cruise related issues like itinerary changes, and it often includes some level of trip cancellation protection. Now there are some downsides and quite a few of them. One is that they usually provide limited medical coverage, usually not nearly enough to cover a serious emergency. And for me, that's my big fear. I'm worried about the flu. Even a $500 bill that I got, not really a big deal. I can pay that out of pocket. But a $50,000 bill, no thank you. Another limitation of cruise line travel insurance is that it usually only covers the cruise itself. It doesn't cover your flights, your hotels, your excursions, if you didn't book it through the cruise line, your pre and post travel, things like that. And the big one for me is if you buy the cruise line vacation protection, often they will only reimburse you in the form of future cruise credit, not cash. And sometimes depending on when you cancel, if you have to cancel, that future cruise credit might only be a portion of what you paid for your cruise fare. Usually something like 75 to 80%, but not all of it. And that's why I recommend a third party travel insurance policy. In my opinion, from what I've experienced and what I researched for myself, it does give you much more comprehensive protection for your entire trip, not just the cruise. So what's the best travel insurance option for cruisers? Well, the answer is it's going to depend. It's going to depend on your needs, but I'll walk you through what I chose, which is the Allianz annual travel plan. And I'll also give you some other options. Now, I researched this pretty extensively when I first signed up for it a little over five years ago, and I'm in a lot of travel groups. And whenever people would ask about travel insurance plans on an annual basis, Allianz got a lot of love. And I have to say, I'm now a big fan after having had the plan for over five years. And I'll tell you why I love it so much and why I am evangelical about recommending it. One is that it covers all of my travel for the year. I cruise a lot, at least once a month. It would cost me a fortune to try to buy insurance policies for every single cruise. And while you see me in cruise world, I do land travel too. So my policy doesn't just cover my cruise travel, but it covers all of my travel. It also includes that emergency medical and evacuation protection. That is so important to me. It covers my trips if I have to cancel them with of course conditions, and it covers my entire family. I have two children. I want me and my children protected for the whole year. And it's comprehensive, and it covers all of us for all of our travel for the whole year. And the big thing I love about it is super fast claims processing. Again, I've had the Allianz annual plan for a little over five years. And in that five year span, it's paid for itself three of the five years. I've had to file three claims in different years. One, I had a broken windshield when I rented a car doing witchy stuff in Salem, Massachusetts. And my car insurance for whatever reason just wouldn't pay for it. But Allianz reimbursed me right away. And that pretty much was the cost of my plan for the year. I had a flight cancellation issue one year, got reimbursed very quickly. And then most recently, I have a video about it if you want to check it out, I caught the flu on a cruise. And I got a bill from Carnival for over $500. And Allianz paid it really quickly. And for me, my annual plan is $485 per year. But depending on what state you live in, it could be as low as $435 per year if you go with the basic plan. So again, I've had great experiences. I'm a big fan. So now the question is who should not buy an annual plan? Because while I love Allianz, and they have annual plans and also plans for individual cruises, you can do either whatever suits your situation best. There are some people that it's not best to buy an annual plan. An annual travel insurance plan with Allianz or any provider, it really is not the right fit for everyone. If you only take one trip per year, one big trip, you're probably better off with a single trip policy. Another scenario is if you are big baller, big budget, and you book luxury trips like African safaris or big world cruises, you probably want to go with an individual plan that covers that specific trip that gives you much higher trip cancellation limits. Because my plan, my annual plan with Allianz, it has very limited cancellation coverage. And if I'm taking a $20,000 African safari, only 2000 of that is going to be covered if there's a cancellation, because that's the limitation of my policy. But if you travel multiple times a year, and you're trying to cover multiple people in your household, an annual plan is usually more effective. And I have a web page that explains all of this, you can check it out here. And there are links on there where you can get an instant quote for an individual trip, cruise or land. And you can also price out the annual policy for your family. So that's a perfect segue into my last question, which is how can I buy a policy? If you're interested in an Allianz annual plan, all you have to do is submit my form, I have a whole landing page that describes all of this stuff that I've learned through my own research, and I will send you a personalized price quote. If you only need coverage for one trip, you can also get an instant online quote, you put in your trip details, and it will tell you how much it's going to cost for Allianz to cover you for that one specific trip. And again, that's not just cruise travel, you can get a price quote for land trips as well, all inclusives, everything. And the best thing, what I love about Allianz, and why I am so passionate about it, they offer a 15 day satisfaction guarantee. So if you fill out my form, you buy a plan, you decide you don't want it, you can get a refund, as long as you cancel within 15 days, and as long as you haven't started your trip or filed a claim. So you have that nice risk free kind of trial opportunity. And disclaimer, I am an independent travel agent through Cornerstone, I sell insurance for Allianz, I do receive a small commission if you buy a plan through me, but that comes at no additional cost to you in any way, shape or form. And that does go to support my content, which I provide for free. So I really appreciate it if you do buy a plan if you use my lease. And I am not a certified insurance agent, I'm just sharing with you my own personal experiences, things that I've been through and things that I have learned through my many years of having this type of plan. So before you buy a plan, of course, make sure you review all the documents, all of that is on the webpage I created. So go check it out. But don't be a dummy like me, I cruised for years without travel insurance, I look back at some of the pictures of some of the things that I did some of the risky things that I did. And I think all I had to do was fall off that mountain I was rappelling up and have a catastrophic leg injury and have to be helicoptered out of a canyon. And that would have financially wrecked me. And I cannot believe I took that risk. I went swimming with the sharks in Hawaii without a cage, no joke. And after seeing medical emergencies unfold with other people, and now having visited the Med Center myself, I know that cruise travel insurance for me at least is non negotiable. So whether you choose an annual plan or a single trip policy, whether you go with Allianz or another provider like Chubb, they're also great. Just make sure you're covered. Because the one time you actually need it, trust me, it'll be the best money you ever spent. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to like, comment and subscribe and visit my website profimalisa.com for lots of port guides, cruise tips, and everything in between. Happy cruising!