Why you should have a good cruise-only travel agent. And read all the fine print in your trip insurance, cruise docs,etc.

If you read the fine print in your cruise docs you wouldn't get on the ship. Basically the cruise line isn't responsible for anything, including the seaworthiness of the ship.

You know, it's funny, the agent said that they couldn't get travel insurance because they didn't pay anything for the trip. That kind of doesn't make sense to me, when you're talking about medical insurance and evac, as those aren't items that you pay for anyway, unless you are actually injured. When I book travel insurance through Insure my Trip, you just put in however much you want on the cost of the trip. You don't have to provide receipts or anything. Travelling at 89 years old, they should have gotten insurance regardless. And they could have bought medical evac all by itself, and should have....

First of all, a good travel agent will go to bat for your and does not have to be a cruise only agent to do so. We had to cancel a cruise to Alaska and our travel agent was really on the ball.

I know cruise only agents are recommended here. However, our travel agent as been in the business for well over 40 years and truly works for her clients.

She is not a cruise only agent and I do not know of a single person that has booked a cruise through her agency that has had a problem.

Something is wrong with a travel agent telling these people that they could not get insurance.

Before we used our now travel agent, I simply called Travel Guard and booked my insurance. I did have to let them know the cost of the trip. So trip cancellation insurance for a free cruise would be a problem.

It seems to me that the travel agent concerned should have recommended some type of medical evacuation insurance considering their age instead of just telling them they could not get insurance.

Sue

Carol: I thought the story was kind of hinkey, too. I am not 89-yet-but I would never leave home without trip insurance. I have seen too many visitors here who didn't think of it and are amazed to see that they are responsible for a $20,000 medical evacuation bill.

And, Sue, you know that we are big fans of Bonnie and Paul at Cruise One around here! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Yep, I know that. However, we booked a cruise through an agent that has the same franchise as Bonnie who is obviously a great agent. We did not have a great experience.

Our current agent and everyone that works for her have all kinds of "certified cruise agent" etc. (May not be the exact wording). So, they are very experienced in booking cruises. We would never use some one with no experience and not certified for booking cruises.

Because of our ages (early and late 70's) our agent always tells us not to take insurance from the cruise line because it does not cover medical evacuation.

Sue

I don't know whether cruise line insurance doesn't cover medical evac or not. I thought it did, but definitely best to always check the fine print on any insurance, as 'the devil is in the details' and nowhere is that more evident than with insurance.

I see in our paper this morning that Royal Caribbean has now agreed to pay all of this fellow's medical bills.

Cruise line policies offer standard travel coverage and in addition to cancellation for covered reason, will cover lost/delayed baggage, trip delay/interruption, supplemental medical and emergency evacuation. The primary subtle differences with the cruise line's policy and the policy we carry through Travel Guard is the policy limits for those coverages above.

I always, always stress the need to my clients for travel protection. When asked my opinion I usually respond if I were to have a crystal ball, I would not need either homeowner's protection or auto coverage. If my client choses to decline coverage I respect their decision but request they provide the waiver in writing (email) to me. Memories can wane with time.

While the coverage may not be used, typically if there is a serious issue, all prior premiums are often recovered with one incident. I have too often seen stretchers taking passengers to waiting ambulances on the pier. From heart attacks or severly broken bones. I had a client on a river cruise out of Paris who while waiting for the River Seine boat trip fell and broke her ankle. She was taken to a local hospital to be stabilized and the carrier even upgraded their return fligh to business class so her leg could be elevasted during the long fligh home. Our policy offers a concierge for contact while travelinbg to assist with particulars in the event of an injury/illness.