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Considering a cruise? You'll need the right type of cover to protect yourself and you trip. Discover our top tips for buying Cruise Cover
Cruise holidays are on the rise. If you want to travel the world in luxury, visit multiple countries in one trip or travel down the world’s most beautiful rivers, then a cruise should be right up your alley.
There are cruises for every budget. However, without proper travel insurance, you could spend a lot more than you bargained for.
Here’s are our top tips to avoid common mistakes when purchasing cruise cover:
Travellers often wrongly believe that onboard medical facilities are free to passengers. Still, doctors on cruises are usually private practitioners. Meaning that the cost of any tests, treatment or prescriptions could be very high.
The Association of British Insurers highlighted such a case where a traveller on a cruise in China suffered a brain haemorrhage and had to be flown back to the UK on an air ambulance from Hong Kong. Luckily, they had insurance in place which covered their £200k bill.
So, it’s essential to make sure your policy includes high levels of covers for medical bills and repatriation. You can get up to £15 million of cover with an AllClear cruise policy.
You’re likely to be visiting, stopping off or at least sailing by several countries and you need to make sure your cruise insurance covers them all.
It’s also important to think laterally. For example, if you are on a European cruise, visiting ports in the Mediterranean there may be points where Africa is closer than mainland Europe. If they aren’t included in your policy, you could end up with expensive medical bills.
It’s worth reading your policy documents carefully to make sure your insurance covers the right countries, you could also consider a worldwide policy to make sure you’re covered no matter what.
It’s also important to declare any pre-existing medical conditions you might have. Failure to do so might invalidate any claims related to that condition. Some cruise companies will not allow you to board your cruise if your existing medical conditions have been excluded from the policy.
The next thing to look at is the level of cancellation cover you need. Cruise holidays cost more on average than other trips. So, you need to make sure you get the right level of cover.
The moment you buy your policy (or from the date you decide with an annual policy) you are covered. So, the earlier you buy, the better you’re protected should you need to cancel.
Some travel insurers offer special cruise policies or add-ons. Such policies or add-ons feature cover for things that you don’t get with a standard policy. This may include; Cabin Confinement, Cruise Interruption, Missed Port Departure, Unused excursions and Itinerary Change.
These extras can be useful so you should consider them if the following cover options are worth it when buying.
Could we help you with specialist medical travel insurance, why not check out our specialist cruise travel insurance?
Join over 3 million holidaymakers who have trusted AllClear, start by comparing up to 61 prices online.
Written by: Lydia Crispin | Travel Insurance ExpertLast Updated: 1 March 2023
[1] Based on Trustpilot reviews of all companies in the Travel Insurance Company category that have over 30,000 reviews as of January 2023.