Getting travel insurance depends on a lot of factors that include the
cost of the cruise
to how far in advance you book it. Certainly, the older you are there is a greater
chance that an illness, unexpected situation can arise before
or during any type of vacation. However, even younger
travelers could
experience an accident or sudden illness, fire and other life changing
events.
Such an event might cause you to cut
short your cruise or cause your trip to be canceled altogether. Since
the cruise business works on a small profit margin per person, most cruise lines impose penalties for canceling a cruise
within 60 days of departure, up to and including loss of the entire
cruise price. A few lines penalize for cancellations as much as 90 or
120 days in advance of departure. If you get a
last minute cruise deal you may take the chance and not get the
insurance since it would be so close to the cruise date anyway.
But Murphy's Law seems to be par for the course so when you have
insurance you can feel assured that you will be covered.
Because cruises are
not only an investment in your time in planning for your special
getaway but for the cost that you will be paying. So it just
seems reasonable to have some form of insurance to protect
yourself. Cruise lines encourage their passengers to get
insurance so that you will not suffer from any financial loss
in the event something happens. This holds true for auto and
house insurance. Then if some event does happen that would
interrupt your much anticipated vacation, you'll be able to recoup
your losses and be able to plan again when possible. Details and prices vary from
each cruise line. Some lines even cover airfare tickets
and some have exclusions.
Based on
the input that this site has received, most travelers strongly recommend
that you purchase insurance. The cost is
not that high when you consider the possible benefits. There
are at least two options available to you. You can go with the cruise line's plan or use our
independent insurance provider, CSA. Both are good plans and some
offer more coverage than others.
►IMPORTANT!!!! Insurance coverage and availability may not apply to people living
outside the U.S. and Canada. So if you do decide on
obtaining insurance, you should check to see what is offered in
your country.
