Something else to think about regarding your retirement finances. (accident, date, raise)
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My BCBS insurance covers overseas, plus my husband can use the NHS in the UK. I think my card pays $5000 in trip insurance. I have never done Cruise, mostly I won’t either, but not 100% sure. That’s good enough for me.
There are some things that trip insurance covers that BCBS probably does not. Note that the guy in the article had medical insurance but it did NOT cover the exorbitant cost of that medical evacuation. Looking at the eye-watering price, I can see why- if they did cover such things, they'd be stuck paying whatever charges their insureds ran up anywhere in the world, no matter how unconscionable, and the cost would be spread among all their insureds. It makes more sense for those of us fortunate enough to make those exotic trips to buy specialized coverage.
So- check your policy carefully.
And now I'm getting paranoid about my trip to Hawaii in November (Medicare coverage obviously not an issue but I WILL be snorkeling, scrambling up mountains, etc.) Yes, I'd better get coverage.
I just read in my local news how a man and his wife went on a cruise only to have him have a heart attack while on the cruise. It's a long article and you can read it if you go to syracuse.com. He had to take an air ambulance to a hospital here in US (I think FL) which required a $36,000 retainer fee. Once all was said and done, his total bill was over $650,000. His medical insurance is refusing payment, as well as any other insurance he may have had for the trip.
Just a bit of food for thought before going on a nice cruise before (or during) retirement.
Thanks for the heads up. We are only occasional travelers, but we made sure that our supplemental insurance would cover us in another country.
I think part of the problem is that some cruises have become so cheap that people who can't afford to rent an apartment at the beach opt for a cruise instead. Amazing, I know. Apartments at the beach near where I leave rent for around $1500 a week (or rooms at the Quality Inn for $250 a night), whereas a couple can get an interior cabin for $1000, including five-course dinners, buffet breakfasts, hamburgers and pizza for lunch, nightly entertainment, and transport to a variety of ports.
But since these are people on a tight budget, it is unlikely that they would spend $600 ($300 each) for good insurance....
Have no idea where you came up with those figures for trip insurance. If the entire cost of the cruise for a couple is $1,000, they could get good trip insurance for around $100 or less. In fact, I doubt you could find a policy that would cost them $200, much less $600. Even if you doubled the cost of the cruise to $2,000, they could still find policies for $200.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachel976
...That would bring the cost up by more than half.
Not a chance. A good ballpark or budgeting figure for trip insurance is roughly 10%-15% of the total cost of the trip.
Have no idea where you came up with those figures for trip insurance. If the entire cost of the cruise for a couple is $1,000, they could get good trip insurance for around $100 or less. In fact, I doubt you could find a policy that would cost them $200, much less $600. Even if you doubled the cost of the cruise to $2,000, they could still find policies for $200.
Not a chance. A good ballpark or budgeting figure for trip insurance is roughly 10%-15% of the total cost of the trip.
Not the type of insurance I'm talking about - one that will include helicopter evacuation, all local medical expenses, and transport back to your home city when medically possible. Some of the cheaper insurance programs cover trip cancellation, as a percentage of the trip, but not the high-end $50,000 air-evac process.
It's double the age of the poster who asked the question. That's the only significance, I think. At 30, it's still easy to believe that you're invincible. By age 60, you know that's not true, because you've probably been vinced a time or two (or know someone who has).
If the insurance is $100, it's probably worth it for the peace of mind. But what about $300, $400, $500? The more expensive it gets, the more people are going to forego it, especially on a safe and mostly sedentary vacation like a cruise.
It's not about "thinking you're invincible." It's about the risk vs. the cost of something like that. Everyone's tolerance for risk is going to be somewhat different.
So you think you can mitigate every possible loss.
Well, good luck with that.
I didn't say that. But why not mitigate those that you can?
Obviously not every loss is avoidable, but I search for a bargain on the price of the cruise, so paying a bit more for the trip insurance is a financial wash.
I have health insurance, dental insurance, LTC insurance, homeowners' insurance, car insurance, boat insurance, motorcycle insurance, so why would I not buy trip insurance? At some point, for some things you decide whether it's more cost effective to self-insure, i.e. a 3-7 day cruise to the Bahamas or Virgin Islands costing maybe a grand per person. But on a much longer, more expensive trip, for a few hundred bucks if I can possibly avoid a) losing my cruise cost if I have to cancel, and b) the cost of emergency hospitalization and surgery, plus transportation back to the states if something drastic happens, well that sounds like a good bet.
I know for some, illness on vacation sounds like a remote possibility, but we've personally had two relatively minor accidents on our vacations, and my best friend had her father die on their vacation to his homeland, so it's not that remote of a possibility, especially as we age.
Personally, the thought of being stuck on a cruise ship for a week gives me the creeps.
After all the stories of ships infected with norovirus, people puking over the rails, rocking ships and filthy cabins, I can't understand the attraction.
A week of gluttony and excessive drinking is not my idea of a fun vacation.
Come on. Those are isolated stories in an industry that serves millions of people every week. Would you not live in the suburbs because some suburban family was on the news for child abuse?
By the way, cabins are cleaned 1-2 times a day. Drunks are few and far between. I cruise because I get to visit multiple countries in a relatively short period of time.
Personally, the thought of being stuck on a cruise ship for a week gives me the creeps.
After all the stories of ships infected with norovirus, people puking over the rails, rocking ships and filthy cabins, I can't understand the attraction.
A week of gluttony and excessive drinking is not my idea of a fun vacation.
Your post makes it obvious you've never been on a cruise. 20 million people cruise each year, and if the conditions were as you state, no one would ever go on a second cruise. Most ships are exceedingly clean, elegantly decorated, and you feel very little movement. The ship is basically a 15 story building, 1000 feet long. It takes a lot to rock that. You are citing very rare instances as if they are the norm.
On most ships the alcohol is not included and it's a significant upgrade in the price to have the "unlimited" alcohol package. The alcoholic drinks are pretty expensive, so most people are careful about how much they drink to avoid a huge bill at the end of the cruise.
You can eat as much, or as little as you want, gluttony is for gluttons. The rest of us eat 2-3 times a day, just like at home, but enjoy being served restaurant quality food at every meal.
The key is to pick a cruise line and an itinerary that matches your desires. If you don't want to be around rowdy drunks, then don't cruise during spring break on Carnival. We just cruised on a long itinerary European trip, on Princess, during May when kids are all in school. We saw less than 10 people under age 60 on a ship of 3000 passengers. In summer, with shorter itineraries, in tropical waters, you will see many more young people.
Not the type of insurance I'm talking about - one that will include helicopter evacuation, all local medical expenses, and transport back to your home city when medically possible. Some of the cheaper insurance programs cover trip cancellation, as a percentage of the trip, but not the high-end $50,000 air-evac process.
Yes, the type of insurance you're talking about. And lol at $50k for air-evac. Here's a link to an AIG Travel Guard Platinum policy I just picked out at insuremytrip.com for a $1,000 cruise for two 60-year-olds. It includes $50k in medical expenses and up to one million dollars for air-evac. The total cost is $158. Hell, even the Travelex Travel Basic plan includes $100,000 for air-evac (double your lol "high-end $50,000 air-evac process") for a total cost of only $76. And that's $76 for the couple, not per person. So again, the $600 figure you came up with for a $1k cruise is completely laughable.
Just go to https://www.insuremytrip.com/ yourself and plug in the costs for your hypothetical $1000 cruise with whatever medical and air-evac coverage you want and you'll see that the cost isn't anywhere close to that $600 figure you came up with.
Yes, the type of insurance you're talking about. And lol at $50k for air-evac. Here's a link to an AIG Travel Guard Platinum policy I just picked out at insuremytrip.com for a $1,000 cruise for two 60-year-olds. It includes $50k in medical expenses and up to one million dollars for air-evac. The total cost is $158. Hell, even the Travelex Travel Basic plan includes $100,000 for air-evac (double your lol "high-end $50,000 air-evac process") for a total cost of only $76. And that's $76 for the couple, not per person. So again, the $600 figure you came up with for a $1k cruise is completely laughable.
Just go to https://www.insuremytrip.com/ yourself and plug in the costs for your hypothetical $1000 cruise with whatever medical and air-evac coverage you want and you'll see that the cost isn't anywhere close to that $600 figure you came up with.
I just went to your link for the 60-year old, and there was no air evacuation insurance plan available from a cruise ship. Perhaps the air transport was from some island; it's much less costly than flying out to sea to a cruise. I then went to your second link, and step 2 was disabled, so I couldn't proceed.
Also, how much the cruise costs ($1000 or whatever it is) would have no bearing on the cost of the insurance. A $50K helicopter out 200 miles into the ocean costs the same whether you booked an interior cabin or the best suite aboard.
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