Note: Cruzely.com nor the author is an insurance professional. Be sure to review any policy and ask your insurance company any questions you might have.
While cruising is often considered an affordable vacation, don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s cheap. Between cruise fares, flights, port fees, taxes, excursions, souvenirs, and even those tropical drinks they serve at the bar, it’s easy to spend thousands of dollars on even a short cruise.
Travel with a family of four and the expenses can get even more expensive.
That’s a lot of money to spend on a trip, especially when there are so many things that could cause an interruption or delay. From airline cancellations causing you to miss the ship to fog delaying cruise departures to and even turning an ankle on a rocking ship, the list of things that could go wrong is seemingly endless.
Because of this, many people opt to buy travel insurance to cover their cruise. Travel insurance is fairly cheap given the cost of your vacation. The rule of thumb that most experts cite is that travel insurance should cost between 5-7% of your cruise. So for a $3,000 trip, they say you can expect to pay between $150 and $210.
Meanwhile, travel insurance covers a myriad of things that could cause an interruption in your trip. But it doesn’t cover everything. That’s why it’s always important to read your policy when you purchase insurance for your cruise.
We recently looked through the policy of a major travel insurer. What we found is that their policy covers quite a few surprising items. Here are nine things that are covered by their insurance… and a few things that aren’t.
Surprising Items Covered By Cruise Insurance
If You Get Quarantined In Your Cabin
No one likes to think about getting sick on a cruise, but it does happen. And given the close quarters of the ship, it’s a worry that virus can spread quickly. That’s why sometimes if a passenger has a nasty virus, they could be quarantined in their room to help prevent the spread of the sickness.
Don’t worry. If you have insurance, many policies will cover a missed trip due to being quarantined in your room so your money won’t be lost on your vacation. (This may not apply to coronavirus or other known pandemics before you sail.)
A Family Member Gives Birth
Expecting that grandchild in a month, but he comes early? Most cruise insurance policies will cover trip cancellation if an immediate family member has a childbirth that you need to attend. They don’t even have to be the person traveling with you on the cruise.
You Get Called in for Jury Duty
Get that little notice in the mail two weeks before your cruise that says you’ve been summoned for jury duty? If you have travel insurance, then you’re covered. We’ve never seen a policy that doesn’t cover jury duty summons.
You Are Laid Off Right Before Your Trip
It’s bad enough to get laid off from a job. But to be laid off right after you’ve spent a fortune on a vacation? If this happens to you, insurance will cover you. There are usually some rules, including that you have to be laid off, and not fired or quit. As well, you typically have to have worked there for at least a year. This protection is a nice safeguard that lets you book worry free that you’ll lose your job.
You Slip on a Banana Peel and Can’t Walk
Ok, it doesn’t have to be a banana peel. But if you have an accident that renders your immobile and you can’t take your trip, then you can get your money back. According to the fine print, “the injury, illness or medical condition must be disabling enough to make a reasonable person delay, cancel or interrupt their trip.” In addition, “a doctor must examine you or a traveling companion and advise you or a traveling companion to cancel or interrupt your trip before you cancel or interrupt it.”
Your House Catches Fire And You Can’t Live In It
Hopefully this never happens, but it’s a good way of showing that travel insurance can cover you in more ways than simply missing the cruise ship. If you have something like a fire that renders your house uninhabitable, you can cancel your trip and get a return of your money. After all, if this happens, you likely have bigger worries than taking a cruise.
Your Luggage Goes Overboard
The chances of your luggage falling overboard? Pretty low. However, if it does take a dive then you are often covered, assuming it was accidental. Every travel insurance policy has coverage for lost or delayed baggage. Be sure to read the fine print, however, because not everything you pack will be covered.
You Get a Divorce
Take a trip to Splitsville before you take your trip to the cruise port? Don’t worry, you don’t have to sleep in the same cabin as your new ex, nor do you have to take the trip solo. If you are divorced while being covered with travel insurance then you can cancel and get your money back. We’ll let you deal with figuring out who gets that cash.
Surprising Items NOT Covered By Cruise Insurance
While insurance can cover lots of things, it doesn’t cover everything. That’s why it’s important to read your policy carefully. Below we have a few surprising things NOT covered under most policies.
You Break Up With Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Get a divorce? You’re covered. Call it quits with your boyfriend or girlfriend and don’t want to take a cruise with him/her anymore? Not so fast. Most policies require a couple be divorced or legally separated before it will cover cancellation of the trip. If you are simply traveling with a partner and you break up before the trip then you’ll have to figure out who gets to go.
An Accident Happens When Scuba Diving Below 120 Feet
Lots of different types of accidents are covered, but there are still plenty of exclusions — mostly related to “extreme” sports like hang gliding or parachuting. The oddest we saw in the plan we reviewed? If you scuba dive below 120 feet. Yes you can scuba dive and be covered, but if something happens due to you being at a depth of more than 120 feet, you are out of luck.
You Have Cash Get Stolen
If your bags are stolen, travel insurance will help make you whole again. However, not everything in your bags is covered. Case in point: Cash. If you have a wad of cash taken from your bag, you won’t be able to get compensated. While this seems harsh, it’s for the insurance company’s protection. It’s just too easy for the $200 stolen from a bag to be claimed to be $500.
Want to learn more about cruise insurance? Read our guide here.
