When you book a river cruise, you can opt to add on travel insurance which is always a good idea.
One group advises shopping around before you “check that box” as they’ve extensively researched cruise policies. After an influx of calls from Viking Cruise clients, they share some o their findings.
Only Protects Your Cruise Costs
By far, the most significant area of concern in a river cruise travel insurance policy is that they only protect the costs associated with the cruise itself. If you have to travel to your port of call, your hotel and flights the day before and after the cruise aren’t protected if you unexpectedly cancel your trip. Instead of purchasing an additional policy to protect these non-cruise-related expenses, you could purchase a single travel insurance plan (and save money!) to protect both your cruise and other trip costs using third-party travel insurance companies.
Strict Cancellation Covered Reasons
Although cruise companies offer cancellation coverage, you’d have to cancel your trip for a limited number of specific reasons if you want a full cash refund. Otherwise, they can offer you a voucher, but it has to be used within 12 months of issuance.
“For older travelers or families, this is especially detrimental as they may not be able to use the voucher within the allotted time,” said Terry Boynton, co-founder, and president of Yonder. Purchasing a policy through a comparison site like Yonder Travel Insurance offers you 15-18 more cancellation reasons and is usually much more affordable than the overpriced policies offered by cruise companies.
Coverage Doesn’t Measure Up
Compared to general retail policies, plans offered by cruises lack the exact amounts of coverage. Coverage found in Viking Cruise policies has 60% less medical expense and 75% less medical evacuation coverage than policies found elsewhere. When shopping online you may find 50% more covered cancellation reasons, plus expert travel insurance advice from others.
Source: Yonder Travel Insurance
