Q: I'm booking a cruise with my family. The travel agent is recommending I buy a travel insurance policy. Do I really need this? If we can't go, won't they just reschedule us on another cruise?
~ Meredith, Kansas City, Mo
Sorry Meredith, but without that travel insurance, if something goes awry in your life you're out of luck. First there's the airfare to the cruise port...a pre-cruise hotel...plus you've got the cruise cost. If you're willing to risk all that, then go bare.
Here's a true tale to consider:
A 7-day cruise to Alaska was arranged by members of a family spread throughout the US. A total of 30 were gathering for their bi-annual reunion. *Note...they did not use a travel agent to book their cruise event.
One of the families was involved in a serious auto accident on their way to the airport. Fortunately other than a few bumps and bruises the family was fine...but their car was totaled. Of course their flight was missed.
Desperately they attempted to find other flights that would enable them to still arrive to Seattle in time to get on the ship to enjoy the reunion the best they could. They were unsuccessful.
The family had not taken out travel insurance and requested the cruise line reschedule their trip for a future sailing, though the terms of booking clearly stated that would not be the case without insurance. And while the family felt the cruise line should understand their situation, the cruise line had been clear in advance on the terms. Bottom line: This family of four was out thousands of dollars.
My rule of thumb: Any time you're putting up a substantive amount of money in nonrefundable expenses, you need to take insurance.
That goes double if you have elder parents who might get ill or if someone in your party has had medical issues. At the very least, it provides peace of mind.
Most of the comprehensive policies offered include emergency medical and emergency evacuation, along with lost luggage, trip delays and cancellation for covered reasons.
That last factor is critical. Be sure the reasons that concern you most are covered. Some policies define grandparents as immediate family, for instance, but not Uncle Charlie. Others include getting laid off from your job while others don't. Only a handful will let you cancel your trip if a hurricane is heading this way — and most of those fall under "cancel for any reason" clauses.
There are two other key factors. One is pre-existing conditions — whether you're covered if your diabetes flares, or your previously examined cranky knees just plain give out. (Most policies will cover pre-existing conditions if you buy insurance within one or two weeks of your first trip payment.)
Dancing Moon Travel offers all our clients trip insurance from a well known and reputable insurance company. Don't let the experience above happen to you.
*Note: Not saying it would have made a difference in this particular case but Dancing Moon Travel has been successful in past situations of being able to negotiate for an uninsured client...and receive a small measure of compensation. It pays to have an experienced, volume laden travel agency in your corner. But even that is no guarantee.
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