Hello helpful people of MP! First of all..............MERRY CHRISTMAS! I hope that everyone is enjoying the holidays. Yes, even with the freaky dumping of snow here in BC its still an awesome time.

We are doing it..........going on the Magic in 2010. November if anyone else is going hit us up. Havent purchased the trip yet as I am looking for your wisdom and advice on TRIP INSURANCE.

Does everyone buy this? Have there been horror stories about this? Has this ever saved someone's butt in an emergency? How many of you out there do purchase this?

We never buy insurance for our trips....ever...but this one's a little bigger.

Hope you guys can give me some input.

Once again...Happy Holidays

We've been on three cruises and purchased insurance (through AAA, where we booked the cruises) for each. Compared to the price of the cruise, it's a negligible expense, but it would be so worth it if we needed to cancel.

Get the insurance. So many things can happen that can come between you and the trip. We always buy insurance whenever we take a cruise, or any type of package trip. The company that took your money could go out of business. I'm not saying that would happen with Disney, but, just generally, it's a real possibility, even if you booked through a travel agency. Or someone gets sick right before the trip, or on it. The trip insurance package includes medical treatment and evacuation. It's really such a small cost, for the coverage you get. Just do it.

Just do it! I would never cruise without it.

Always!

We get it for every cruise -- better safe than sorry and the money is worth the piece of mind. :cool:

I'd say for a cruise buy the insurance. Better safe than sorry. When I book Disney vacations staying on property I book the room seperate.Can cancel up to a week or so (can't remember exact) and get your money back. We fly SW airlines they don't charge to reschedule a flight unless the flight is more expensive. Plus you have up to 1 yr to use the ticket. They have the best deal going so far as flying. Some people don't like that they do not have seat assignments but really we have never had an issue gettin a seat.

For a cruise - yes. Always.
However... Like any other insurance policy, be sure you completely understand the policy and how it covers you. Do not take anyone's word for it - get it in writing.

I have collected on trip insurance before - in the aftermath of Hurricane Jeanne. I lost one day of a 7 day land and sea vacation. I got 1/7th of my total costs reimbursed. It was a rather painless process since I kept track of the details of what happened and what I missed from my trip.

I like all of your responses. Seems to me buying the insurance is the way to go.

I will keep in mind the "contracts" on each..

Happy cruising everyone!

My mother in law is supposed to be on a cruise right now. However she ended up in the hospital and with some medical problems. She had to cancel. They made reservations 2 years ago. Thankfully they bought insurance and will receive most of the money back. They will loose the money on the airline tickets as they were purchased seperately and she will not be able to fly anywhere before Feb 09 when the tickets expire.

They will loose the money on the airline tickets as they were purchased seperately and she will not be able to fly anywhere before Feb 09 when the tickets expire.
That brings up a point...
While there are some airlines such as Southwest that are very flexible with rescheduling flights and/or issuing credits, each airline has their own stipulations. Make sure you understand those stipulations as well. Some airlines will sell your TI for those flights at a very reasonable charge.

For our land trip last April, we bought TI on the plane tickets through Northwest. We did so because we had "the Mom's" with us and if for some reason their was a health issue that caused a cancellation, we would not be out the full fare. While I would not normally buy TI for such a trip, it was worth the $11 per ticket for that piece of mind being that both moms do have a few health issues.

Another positive vote for buying trip insurance! It is worth the peace of mind to have it, and it is reassuring to have it when you need it!

My oldest son was injured playing basketball while we were on the Disney Magic over Thanksgiving, and he received medical services onboard the ship, which were charged to the stateroom.

I'm glad I had the trip insurance to help reimburse those expenses--it was most definitely worth the cost of the insurance!

You can also purchase insurance separately from your cruise, through a third-party. A good travel agent should be able to give you those options. :)

(Always better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!!)

Yet another vote for trip insurance. However, I prefer the insurance offered by a third party and not by the cruise line or tour company. There are many benefits to buying outside insurance and, if you need to cancel, after a certain point the policy you purchase from the people your buying the cruise/tour from will only offer you a credit towards future travel whereas a third party policy will pay you in cash for anything the provider will not.

There are many stories I can give where travel insurance has saved the day from a couple that was in Hong Kong when a family member suffered a massive stroke and they were flown back home to a simple illness that could have cost a lot of money, insurance covered the cost.

Hope this helps,

Ted

Another vote here for the trip insurance. We always get it, although not through disney itself. You can get it much cheaper with in some cases even better coverage through other companies.

Always buy the insurance. It is just like your home owners or car insurance. An expense you wish you didn't have, but are so glad you do when you need it.

Yes...buy it.

You have already decided to spend money on a trip and it would be heartbreaking to lose it, but there are other reasons to buy trip insurance.

We buy it for the medical coverage.

There is a good chance that your medical insurance is not valid outside the U.S.

If you become ill or injured and cannot fly back on a regular plane, then you would need to go by a special plane.
It is very expensive.
And if your spouse or child is sick or hurt, then you will want them back to the US as soon as possible.

The ship is not equipped like an emergency room and if someone gets sick enough that the ships doctor feels it is too risky to have the person stay on the ship, then that person will be left in port.
And will want to get home.

I have bought trip insurance a number of times from tripinsurancestore.com.
The reason that I have used them is that their phone number is on their site.
You can call and talk to them and they can help you figure out what coverage you really need. You speak with an American and you can call back and speak with the same person again and again if you want. They also have sent me paperwork to take with us that explains the insurance coverage and includes who to contact in case you need it.

So far, thank heavens, I have not needed to use it, but it is comforting to know that I have it.