Insurance | TheIntelligentCruiser.com Cruise Blog

You are here: Home » Archives for insurance

Hurricane Irene… a Learning Experience

Written by T.I. Cruiser on August 31, 2011 · Leave a Comment

Of course the big story of last week was Hurricane Irene. The storm, which reached category 3 status, wreaked havoc from the Bahamas all the way up to Canada. Multiple cruises were affected; thousands of flights canceled and millions of travelers were impacted. Personally I battened down the hatches and spent the weekend dealing with a flooded basement. In other words it was kind of a big deal.

On Saturday I wrote a post that kind of rambled on about what it was like waiting around for the hurricane to hit. Although it wasn’t the first time I had to deal with a hurricane it was the first hurricane that I needed to deal with at home. I was nervous and I’m sure it showed. I was prepared as well as I knew how but even so some things were missed. However, I do believe that every negative experience is a learning opportunity so, just as Hurricane Irene gave us North Easterners a great learning opportunity, hurricanes in general give cruisers great learning opportunities.

Travel insurance is essential – On Sunday August 21st passengers in San Juan Puerto Rico were set to board Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Normally those ships depart later in the evening (9-10pm) however due to the incoming storm they departed hours earlier. The passengers who were already onboard obviously had no problems but those who were set to arrive late found that the ships had already departed by the time they arrived.

Depending on the cruise line affected passengers were offered varying levels of assistance. In some cases travel arrangements were made for them to meet their ship in other cases they were merely supplied with a list of hotels with available room. In all cases the message was clear that travel insurance is an absolute necessity when sailing during hurricane season.

Fly in a day early – Once you are onboard the cruise ship the rest is up to the Captain. I can tell you from personal experience that once you are onboard you will have a fantastic time. The Captain may alter the itinerary to steer clear of the storm but in most cases you enjoy the same sun-drenched experience you expected. The problem is depending on where you are flying from and flying to a hurricane can severely affect your ability to get to your port of embarkation.

Always give yourself as much time as possible by flying in a day or two early. That way even if your flight gets delayed or canceled you should still be able make it to your port of departure long before you are supposed to set sail.

Flexible plans – One of the best cost saving measures happens to be booking your own excursions in lieu of those provided by the cruise ship. Not only will you save quite a bit of cashola but you can also get a more tailor made experience on that excursion. The problem is you booked an excursion in Tortola but a hurricane caused you to be diverted to Cozumel.

Although deposits are perfectly fine, don’t pre-pay the full amount for an independently booked excursion. Additionally always make certain any deposits paid in advance are fully refundable in the case of your ship not making it to that port of call. You should also have full contact information in case you are still scheduled to visit the port but will be experiencing a change of time.

Go with the flow – Oftentimes when we book cruises we create an incredible story of what it’s going to be like. Our minds weave a fairy tale where everything always turns out perfect and we all live happily ever after. 8 months out of the year this isn’t much of a problem however during hurricane season fairytales don’t always have happy endings.

What you need to do is remain open minded and remember that any decisions being made are with your safety in mind. Well, except the decision where they decide to float you out to sea locked on the ship gambling and drinking all day that’s purely for monetary reasons. But in most cases safety and providing you with an experience as close to what you expected as possible are the motivations. You may not see everything you wanted to or do all the things you expected but you are still getting a great cruise and a wonderful vacation. Don’t dwell on all of the things you expected to do but can’t, instead embrace the adventure and craft an all new story. Think of it as one of those choose your adventure books; it can turn out as good or bad as you want it to be.

When Protection Doesn’t Mean Protection

Written by T.I. Cruiser on July 13, 2009 · Leave a Comment

It is obvious that Mr. Bendor had the wrong idea about what “protection” means here, and it is equally obvious that the operator was careful not to disabuse him of his misimpression. Instead, she read from a script that sounds lawyered to a fare-thee-well, a description that tiptoes, to the Haggler’s ears, close to the line that separates literally true from outright misleading.

You’ve booked your dream cruise and paid in full. In fact, you even went as far as to get the travel insurance the agent recommends. While the travel insurance does increase the price of your cruise by 10 percent, it is a small price to pay for the assurance that your vacation is fully covered, especially in these times. Who doesn’t want the ability to cancel a pricey vacation at any time and for any reason, without penalty. The healthiest among us can still get sick, family emergencies cannot be planned for one could even lose their job. Those are all reasons why it is imperative to at the very least investigate whether your current situation warrants you getting vacation insurance every time you book a cruise.

So, what happens when after you have booked your dream cruise and paid for insurance the company won’t pay up? Think it can’t happen to you? Well, read this article from the New York Times to see what this poor woman had to go through when tragedy struck. That is why in addition to deciding whether or not insurance is right for you it is equally important that you read the fine print.

NCL’s New Plan to Protect Cruisers in Today’s Economic Climate

Written by T.I. Cruiser on February 26, 2009 · Leave a Comment

As of today Norwegian Cruise Lines has implemented a new plan to protect cruisers in case one of their worst fears was to come true, the loss of your job. The new plan, called the Booksafe travel protection plan will provide a full reimbursement to passengers who need to cancel a cruise due to the loss of a job.

The new policy works just like a travel insurance policy. Passengers make a payment based on the cost of your cruise; coverage starts at the low price of $29, a small price to pay for peace of mind. The new Booksafe plan will cover everything purchased through NCL, including any airfare and accommodations. The only cost that will not be reimbursed is the cost of the actual plan.

Booksafe may be purchased by anyone that has been an active employee in your company for at least one year. The best part is passengers can purchase this plan at anytime before your final payment date, not within two weeks of booking like most travel insurance packages.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the existence of “for any reason” travel insurance. However, note that you will need to purchase travel insurance within a certain timeframe of booking (usually two weeks). Also, note that most plans do not refund 100% of your costs. As I mentioned earlier you can purchase the plan at any time before final payment is due and NCL will reimburse you 100 percent of your costs minus the plan fee. I would ask anyone who is interested in learning more about Booksafe to speak to either the cruise line or a qualified travel professional.