A Guide to Travel Insurance for Cruise Travelers (2024)

Why is insurance necessary?

Quite simply, it covers the traveller against things that could go wrong, such as holiday companies going bust, flights being delayed or people having to cancel trips due to illness. Medical bills for holidaymakers who are taken ill abroad can be huge and there have been cases of family members using their own savings or setting up crowd-funding appeals to bring home an uninsured, or inadequately insured, relative. According to insurance company AllClear, 22 percent of travellers need medical attention when abroad and an air ambulance rescue in the USA could cost £80,000 to £100,000.

This cost could be significantly more when a patient needs to be airlifted from the middle of the ocean.

A spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) told Cruise Critic: “Getting someone critically ill off a cruise ship and to a hospital will commonly require an air ambulance, or diverting an entire cruise ship. We are aware, for example, of a passenger who had a heart attack and his insurer paid more than £200,000 in total for his medical and transport requirements. For this reason, insurers will want to know if their customers are going to be on a cruise and it may make a difference to the cost of your premium.”

A third of those who don’t take out insurance say the cost is too high. Yet, it’s a very small percentage of the cruise-package cost and provides priceless peace of mind.

What does travel insurance cover?

Most standard travel policies cover:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) adviceFCO advice against all, or all but essential, travel to a destination (if the policy is bought before the FCO issues the advice).See section on Coronavirus, below, for more information.

Cancellation and delayMissed departures and trip curtailment, which could include illness of the traveller or the serious illness or death of a family member.

Medical expensesCosts incurred from having to visit a doctor or hospital abroad. In addition, a good insurance policy would also pay for a family member to fly out to be with their relative.

Personal liabilityIf you cause damage to possessions or injure someone, cover is provided.

**Emergency assistance/repatriation **If you need to be brought back to the UK due to injury, your costs will be met.

**Lost, stolen or damaged luggage and possessions **Loss of passport and other travel documents

Financial default by a travel providerGood policies will cover financial default of airlines, hotels, cruise lines and tour operators, but many offered directly through cruise lines do not include financial default coverage. Check each policy carefully.

What's not covered?

It’s not always clear what's covered and what isn't. Read the description of coverage and call the insurer to double-check. Things that aren't usually covered by travel insurance include:

• Pre-existing medical conditions

• Alcohol-related accidents

• Natural disasters and outbreaks of illness and disease

• Extreme sports

• Terrorism

• Disinclination to travel (such as wanting to cancel a trip because of concerns over coronavirus)

A la carte policy additions

Insurers also offer a la carte add-ons. They may include:

Cancel for any reasonCoverage varies, so check what percentage of the trip or deposit is reimbursed. These policies are expensive and may only make sense in certain circ*mstances, such as a very costly itinerary or world cruise.

Adventure travelCover for adventure travel or extreme sports that aren’t included in the travel policy (although policies do generally cover many sports and activities).

Wedding coverOne to think about if getting married onboard as this provides cover for wedding attire, gifts and photography.

**Scheduled airline failure insurance **Provides cover for losses incurred if a scheduled airline is unable to fulfil its obligations due to financial failure.

Airspace closureFinancial cover for losses incurred due to airspace closure (such as an ash cloud).

Natural disasterSuch as an earthquake, tsunami, etc.

TerrorismA policy may cover for an act of terrorism at a trip destination but won’t pay out if you simply get nervous about going. A more expensive ‘cancel for any reason’ policy would.

Cruise-specific insurance

Policies are now widely available specifically for cruise passengers. In fact, without 'Cruise Cover' some travel insurance policies won’t pay out for losses incurred during a cruise.

Insurance expert Andrea Norris says: “Some insurers charge up to 200 percent extra to take into account the huge cost of having to airlift an ill passenger. Some don’t cover cruises at all, while others offer a 'top-up' cruise policy (usually at around a 40 percent premium) to offer specific cover relevant to cruise holidays.”

So, in addition to losses covered by general travel insurance, cruise-specific policies cover:

Missed port departureIf a flight is delayed and the ship has sailed, this covers the cost of travel to the next port on the itinerary.

**Itinerary change **If weather or technical problems mean a port is missed out, this entitles travelers to a compensation payment.

Missed excursion coverPassengers who miss a pre-booked excursion, either due to illness or due to a change of itinerary, can claim the cost if no refund is available.

Cabin confinementIf you are taken ill and miss part of your holiday, this covers a compensation payment for 'loss of enjoyment'.

**Increased baggage and personal belongings cover **Cover is increased because travellers are often required to take more expensive clothes for formal dining on a cruise.

Different types of travel insurance

**Single trip **A policy for an individual, couple or family for one trip.

**Annual multi-trip **Good for frequent holidaymakers, although the total number of trips will depend on the policy terms and conditions. Many insurers impose no limit on an annual policy, although there can be a limit on how many days the holder can spend abroad in one go.

**Worldwide **If going further afield than Europe, you’ll have to get worldwide cover, as medical treatment and repatriation will be more expensive.

**Family travel insurance **This often works out cheaper than buying individual cover. Policies differ and some provide free cover for under-18s.

**Group travel insurance **For members travelling together who aren’t a couple or who don’t live at the same address.

Couple’s insuranceValid if the couple is in a relationship and lives at the same address.

**Over 65s travel insurance **Specialist insurance based on the fact that, the older people get, the more likely they are to suffer ill health. Pre-existing illnesses must be declared.

**Different tiers of cover **Insurance companies often offer different tiers of cover, which could be classed, for example, as Silver, Gold or Platinum level. The lower tier offers a more basic level of cover and is the cheapest.

Where to buy travel insurance

There are several options, including a policy bought through the cruise line (Note: cruise line insurance policies may not include emergency medical or evacuation benefits), travel agent or specific insurance provider. Other choices include policies bought through the Post Office or high-street stores, which often offer incentives such as extra points added to their loyalty programmes. An online insurance aggregator (known as a comparison site) lets users filter search results to include cruise cover and allow people to compare several policies at once. But not all insurance companies use these sites. Direct Line (www.directline.com/travel-insurance) is one that doesn’t.

Policies offered by bank accounts and credit cards often exclude cruise cover in the small print, but may add it as an extra upon request.

Ensure any insurance is underwritten by a reputable and licensed insurer. Ask friends for recommendations.

Pre-existing Illness

Pre-existing medical conditions need to be disclosed, in full, at the time of buying insurance.

Who offers cruise cover?

The following insurance companies offer cruise cover, among others:

Holiday Extras (www.holidayextras.co.uk/travel-insurance.html)

CoverMore (www.covermore.co.uk)

AllClear Travel Insurance has its own cruise insurance website, AllClear Cruise (www.allclearcruise.co.uk), which increases cancellation cover up to £15,000.

Goodtogoinsurance (www.goodtogoinsurance.com) offers cruise insurance cover for people with medical conditions and there are no age limits.