Travel Insurance Shopper

For many people a cruise holiday is a trip of a lifetime, so it came as quite a surprise to me to discover that some people do not arrange adequate insurance when booking their vacation. You only have to read a few selected forums or blog postings to learn how those who have decided to forego the purchase of travel insurance have ended up ruining their cruise holiday, and in many cases at great financial cost. How sad to think that if those same people had budgeted for the small additional cost of an insurance policy, all would not have been lost, and in most situations they would have been able to enjoy their holiday as normal.

The problem with insurance is that you never quite know when you are going to need it, and this is a good reason to make your arrangements at the same time that you make the booking for your cruise travel. Of course, you have no intention of cancelling your holiday, but sometimes life’s twists and turns can take us by surprise. Illness or a change in family circumstances could mean that going on a cruise holiday becomes an impossibility, and without insurance, a large chunk of your cash could be lost forever, not to mention the fact that you may have to pay a cancellation fee.

The risk of something going wrong and ruining your vacation doesn’t end when you board the cruise ship. Baggage does go astray from time to time, and while it is usually located fairly quickly, sometimes luggage is officially declared lost. In the greater scheme of things, a missing bag or two is not a huge drama. But when those bags contain all the new clothes that you purchased to wear on your cruise holiday, a drama can turn into a nightmare, especially if you failed to buy insurance before travelling. Another time when travel insurance will come in handy is in a situation where medical treatment is necessary. A fall while showering could lead to a broken wrist or ankle – and treatment for even simple accidents can be costly while cruising. More seriously, if you need to be removed from the ship to be hospitalised, an insurance policy will help to cover the costs – without one, you could end up seriously out of pocket.

Ensuring that you have a travel insurance policy also covers you for those other eventualities that are impossible to predict. It has been known, on a few occasions for a cruise ship to have to abandon a voyage due to mechanical problems or delay the journey due to extreme weather conditions. Both of these situations can be extremely distressing and disappointing, but at least for those who are insured, claims for refunds and costs can be made.

In my eyes, attempting to save money by not arranging travel insurance is a foolhardy way to go about things. When even the most simple problems can ruin your long awaited cruise holiday, why leave yourself in the hands of fate? Just take that extra few minutes to organise cover, and enjoy valuable peace of mind, knowing that if something does go wrong, you’ve got a back-up plan.