Could Your Cruise Cost You More Than You Think?

The demand for cruise holidays is always on the rise, with more people being enchanted by the lure of the waves for their next holiday every year and there are always deals to be had every day.  This is brilliant for passengers, as who doesn’t love a great deal?

But could your cruise end up costing you a whole lot more than you think due to two little words – Travel Insurance.

The amount of people who admit that they travel without travel insurance or on a policy where they have not declared their pre-existing medical history to their insurance company is staggering and would scare you.

Whenever I speak with any of my customers and book their cruise for them, before I take any money from them, I make sure I have advised them that travel insurance is a mandatory condition of boarding your cruise and to ensure that any policy you take out the cruise is covered, with the right type of cover for you and the destinations you are travelling to.  Yet the amount of people I speak to who still don’t get cover worries me.

People also tell me a lot that they have an annual policy with their banks, which is fantastic, this means you are automatically covered where ever you go, often for free as part of a perk from your bank.  Many banks though, will only provide you with a basic level of cover in your policy, often only to Europe.  Even if you are cruising in Europe, your bank may not cover you for a cruise.

Often cruises are not covered as part of their policies as standard due to the high costs that can be incurred if the worst should happen and you fall seriously ill on your cruise.  It’s not often as simple as on a land-based holiday where you can call for an ambulance to take you to hospital.  If you are sailing the open ocean and you need more medical attention than the ship can provide, then you may need to be airlifted to shore, the cost on this alone can be close to £100,000 before you have even been seen by a doctor.

The worst doesn’t even have to happen for you to get a large bill.  The use of any medical facilities on a ship can be a costly experience, even for some simple procedures such as treatment for sea sickness can hurt your pocket more than you would think.

Travel insurance companies are bound by rules and regulations, but when the costs can spiral, if you have failed to declare anything to them, or take a trip that is not covered as part of your policy they will not pay out and revoke your cover where they feel they can.  You are gambling heavy.

When people say to me that they are covered by their banks, I do always advise them to speak with their bank and to double check that cruise is covered as part of their policy.  For the sake of one short telephone call, it is better to be safe than sorry and if you aren’t covered for a cruise, often it just a small supplement to add this on.

Don’t be caught out!  Make sure you are covered!