Why You Need Travel Insurance When Going On A Cruise?

Note - It’s not necessary that a cruise insurance plan would offer you better coverage than normal travel insurance. Do check the policy terms and conditions as there are chances that regular travel insurance will offer you more coverage and a better payout. You can check with your consultant for easy comparison between the two.

A cruise is quite expensive and most travellers can face sea-sickness, weather uncertainties, trip cancellations, or, in the worst case, accidental drowning. Any number of things can happen on board. Therefore, if you are planning a cruise holiday, it is necessary that you buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy with cruise coverage or cruise insurance that safeguards you against all financial risks.

Whether you are going for your honeymoon, a family vacation or an individual trip, travel insurance policy is a must. We have highlighted some of the possible risks on a cruise that an overseas travel insurance policy should cover –

1. Trip or Cruise Cancellation - Imagine you have made all the bookings, payment is done, but due to certain reasons, you get to know that your cruise has been cancelled or delayed by a few weeks. It would be a huge loss for anyone if the cruise is cancelled after paying such a huge amount. But, your travel insurance policy would cover you against such delays and cancellations. Please, go through the policy terms and conditions before making the purchase.
2. Luggage Loss or Delay - Loss or delay of luggage on a cruise is not as common as on a flight, but sometimes, it can be routed erroneously. Also, getting your luggage back in such a situation can be more strenuous. You might end up losing your entire luggage or would have to wait for a longer duration. Sometimes, items in your luggage can also be lost. In such situations, a comprehensive travel insurance policy would help in recovering your luggage. You would also be compensated for missing items and any emergency purchases that you made in order to replace the lost belongings in the luggage.
3. Missing the Cruise- Due to multiple reasons, you can miss your cruise. For instance- What if you meet with an accident on your way to the port? Also, various other factors like a traffic jam, theft or loss of luggage, missing a bus or a flight, missing/lost travel documents can make you late for your cruise. To cover any such reasons, having cruise travel insurance handy can be helpful.
4. Sickness while on the Cruise- Dealing with medical emergencies whilst travelling on a cruise can be a challenging task. Anyone from your family, especially elderly parents and kids, are more prone to injuries. Regardless of the medical facilities available on the cruise, a comprehensive travel insurance policy can cover you against medical emergencies. If the need arises, you might even get an assisted emergency medical evacuation and emergency repatriation to the home country. While on the ship, evacuation can be done by airway only and the expense for that can be exorbitant. Therefore, travel insurance that provides coverage during cruise travel is highly recommended.
5. Emergency Assistance - It is exciting to take new journeys, but taking an emergency medical, legal, travel, or financial assistance can make it challenging. If need be, your cruise travel insurance would also offer you foreign language assistance.
6. Misplaced or Lost Travel Documents/Cards/ other Valuables - Take the worst-case scenario into consideration- What if you happen to misplace or lose your important travel documents like passport, visa, and other belongings in your bag including wallet, cash, debit or credit card? You certainly don’t want to be at the mercy of local authorities. Your comprehensive travel insurance policy with cruise coverage would help you in acquiring duplicate documents or passport. You would not need to run clueless from pillar to post in a new country if you take preventive measures before the trip.

Conclusion - So, if you really want to enjoy your cruise without any worries and unnecessary hindrances, then you must look out for various travel insurance policies that offer insurance to travellers going on cruise holidays.