Travel Protection Plan

[TheresaN42]

Back again with yet another question: I'm going on my cruise in July, I have yet to purchase my travel protection.  When is the right time to do so & is getting it ftom RC ok? I have paid everything upfront, fully booked cruise, excursions, gratuity etc. Should I purchase it now or ? I think I should've been purchased it. I'm sailing out of NYC where is where I live.

[SpeedNoodles]

There's a lot of variety in travel insurance.  I aim to purchase mine within 14 days of my initial deposit so that I can have Cancel For Any Reason protection (CFAR).  

You can purchase your insurance up until the time you leave.  It's a good idea to cover your trip door-to-door, which will cover your trip from the minute you leave your house to the minute you get home.  If I get in an accident on the way to the port or airport and can't make the sailing, I want coverage.  It's also important for me to have coverage for major medical when outside the country, and coverage to get me back to the US if something happens overseas.  While my own health insurance does cover me, it would all be out-of-network, and they certainly wouldn't pay to get me back by medivac if needed!

But not everyone needs/wants that kind of coverage and maybe just want to cover the sailing.  That's why there's no one answer. I like to purchase off of tripinsurance.com, but there are many insurance aggregation sites.  Check out a few and see what works for you.  I haven't found that the insurance provided by the cruise line covers more than the days you are actually on the ship (you may be able to add onto it, but I don't want the hassle), so I always buy 3rd party.

[TheresaN42]

6 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

There's a lot of variety in travel insurance.  I aim to purchase mine within 14 days of my initial deposit so that I can have Cancel For Any Reason protection (CFAR).  

You can purchase your insurance up until the time you leave.  It's a good idea to cover your trip door-to-door, which will cover your trip from the minute you leave your house to the minute you get home.  If I get in an accident on the way to the port or airport and can't make the sailing, I want coverage.  It's also important for me to have coverage for major medical when outside the country, and coverage to get me back to the US if something happens overseas.  While my own health insurance does cover me, it would all be out-of-network, and they certainly wouldn't pay to get me back by medivac if needed!

But not everyone needs/wants that kind of coverage and maybe just want to cover the sailing.  That's why there's no one answer. I like to purchase off of tripinsurance.com, but there are many insurance aggregation sites.  Check out a few and see what works for you.  I haven't found that the insurance provided by the cruise line covers more than the days you are actually on the ship (you may be able to add onto it, but I don't want the hassle), so I always buy 3rd party.

Thank you very much for your response. I am planning to purchase on the next business day which would be Monday. I'm mad I didn't do it sooner. I read over the protection plan provided by RC and felt it was reasonable. I have my own insurance through work so I just need coverage only for the sailing time. Still debating if I'm going to do CFAR.

[Matt]

My article on travel insurance: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/03/02/travel-insurance-for-cruise-tips