Cruise Vacation Protection

[Happy2BMommy0812]

Am I allowed to ask this?

We, without a doubt, want to add vacation protection to our cruise. I just feel lost about what kind we should add. I see a lot about pre-existing conditions, and last year I had breast cancer and I want to make sure that, god forbid, it returned during my mammogram 1 month before the cruise, we could cancel and be fully refunded. I can't tell if Disney's would cover me....

Also, would love to have good trip interruption, baggage loss, foreign medical, etc. just want to be protected.

When I read the options I just get super overwhelmed because I am not sure what I should be looking for and how much coverage is a "good" amount.

 

[MrsSmalls]

My deciding factor was this - if I had to cancel a vacation... would I want another cruise or just the cash? Because I wanted the cash, I went with trip insurance versus the Disney offered vacation plan. I asked a Disney rep how their plan worked and she explained that they have very broad coverage, but they would offer a replacement cruise. In so far as the amount. I just added up all the expenses and set the limit of insurance to that.

The Disney plan did seem like it had broad (good) coverage and cancellation terms. I'd call Disney and ask them specifically. The person I spoke to was very knowledgeable.

 

[kiford]

How much to cover is usually dictated by a couple of things: first off, what are you paying for the trip that you might be out of pocket if you can't travel. Flights, hotel deposits or total payment, cruise fees, other bookings that might not be refundable. Then, what kind of costs might you incur if you were ON vacation and had to cut short due to illness, etc. So, new flights, hotel, extraction, out of country medical fees.

Usually, the insurance will say that it covers up for, for example, $1M in medical coverage if certain conditions are met and there aren't exemptions like pre-existing conditions - it all depends on what coverage you think you need to have based on your own situation and circumstances and what the policy states. I just basically think of the worst case scenario: I have to be med-evaced off the ship, taken to the closest country and have emergency surgery. DH has to stay in a hotel for a few days and then we have to be flown home. Do we have other insurance that might cover some of that? For example, insurance through work and credit card insurance might cover some of it especially for things like lost luggage and some medical expenses.

My father ended up getting a lung infection while on vacation in Spain a couple of years ago. He spent 9 days in hospital and then had to be flown home accompanied by an EMT with oxygen and they had to fly business class. He calculates that it cost about $40K but it was all covered by his insurance. He was 82 years old and has had a heart valve replacement and single bypass so he`s not young and completely healthy. I don`t recall what he paid for the insurance but it didn`t break the bank especially in comparison to the costs of a 12-day trip to Spain.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

You are certainly allowed to ask. I'm pretty sure we can also share the names of companies we have used. My family used Allianz. We called them on the phone, once we knew how much the (non-refundable portions of) our trip would cost. They explained all of the different options and what they covered and how much each option cost. That made it easier to choose. We were able to call back later and add insurance for other things on the trip as we committed to them. We did file a claim with them once (not for a cruise) and they did pay our claim. It was pretty easy, considering.

 

[JWG]

I found the organization Insure My Trip to be very helpful for this exercise. Does a rate and coverage comparison of all the available plans. Asks a few questions to help narrow in. We used it for our last cruise a few weeks back versus just accepting Disney's coverage. At 8% of rate per cruiser, Disney's is expensive. We paid around $300 total for the 3 of us on our 7-day Eastern. It was a John Hancock policy, but I found and purchased it through insure my trip. They even have an app that you can load your policy into so you can pull it up at anytime during your cruise to reference coverages and the like.

Google "insure my trip" and you should be able to find resources to help you.

 

[princessmommyx3]

I too had breast cancer last year and for that reason I purchased a protection plan for our upcoming cruise that covers pre-existing conditions. I am not certain, but I don't think the DCL insurance does. I used tripinsurancestore.com and they have provided great service so far. Prices seemed good and they paired me with a policy that would cover anything that might pop up to due to my previous bout with cancer. But, in order to qualify to the pre-existing condition waiver, the plan must be purchased within a certain number of days that you made the very first payment on your cruise (the number of days varies by policy). For some of the policies, this means the day that you made the onboard booking for a placeholder which was then later assigned to an actual sailing (if this applies to you). For other policies it is either the day the placeholder was assigned to the sailing, or the day the cruise was booked if not using an onboard booking. Fortunately for us, because we were using an onboard booking, we were able to get a plan that required purchase within 20 days of the date the placeholder was assigned to our specific sailing, which we did. Obviously I cannot speak to the claims process at this time (and hopefully never!).

 

[lanejudy]

I don't believe the coverage provided through DCL has any provisions for pre-existing conditions. Whether your situation may be considered pre-existing or not will likely depend on how long it has been since your last treatment or visit coded as related to the cancer. There is a "look-back" period for pre-existing conditions, and that may vary by coverage. DCL coverage also only includes those aspects of your vacation that are booked directly through DCL -- so if you book airfare or pre-/post-cruise hotel on your own, those items would not be covered.

DCL's coverage does offer a form of "cancel for any reason" -- which would be a catch-all for your situation if you were to purchase the DCL coverage. However, you would need to submit to the insurance company, have the claim denied, and the receive a credit from DCL (which I think is 70% and must be used within a year).

I suggest you look at one of the trip insurance comparison websites -- Google it. You'll find options. Be sure to call and ask any questions about specific scenarios that come to mind. And usually if you purchase the insurance within 14 days of making initial deposit, the pre-existing condition waiver is included for free.

Congrats to you as a survivor, and enjoy your cruise!

 

[elvispursley]

DCL coverage also only includes those aspects of your vacation that are booked directly through DCL -- so if you book airfare or pre-/post-cruise hotel on your own, those items would not be covered.

I didn't think you could book hotel pre/post cruise through DCL anymore (or is this meaning for any hotel or flight not booked directly through WDW vacations)?

 

[lanejudy]

I didn't think you could book hotel pre/post cruise through DCL anymore (or is this meaning for any hotel or flight not booked directly through WDW vacations)?

I believe you can book land-and-sea packages through DCL, though most of us choose not to because we have more options available doing it separately. However, my point was that anything not booked through DCL will not be covered by the insurance DCL offers. If you book WDW separately (even through Disney Travel), it will not be covered under the DCL insurance policy.

Enjoy your cruise!