5 cruise miseries, and how to avoid them
Skipping the travel insurance
In the 18 years I've been cruising, I've seen many people fall ill and be taken off the ship in port or even evacuated by helicopter at sea. While always hoping for their speedy recovery, I have also wondered if they had purchased travel insurance. Most cruise lines offer travel insurance, as do several independent third-party insurers like Access America, Travel Guard and Travelex, to name a few.
Most travel insurance policies include coverage for five kinds of problems: trip cancellation (or interruption), trip delay, emergency medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation and lost or stolen luggage. It's important to understand that ordinary medical insurance coverage doesn't travel the same way aboard ship as it does within the United States. Sometimes coverage doesn't extend to foreign travel at all. Medicare beneficiaries should always purchase travel insurance when they cruise, because they do not have Medicare coverage outside the country.
Another consideration: medical evacuation and transportation services, which are seldom covered by ordinary medical insurance policies. According to MedjetAssist, an Alabama-based evacuation operation, domestic air medical evacuation services average $10,000 to $20,000, while international transports can exceed $75,000. If you travel more than once a year, consider buying an annual policy; both MedjetAssist and Travel Guard offer this kind of policy, which can be purchased for as little as $185 a year. I don't travel without it.
Getting robbed in port
Last year a group of 12 American tourists from the Carnival Liberty hired a van driver to explore Limon, Costa Rica. As they were climbing out of their van to visit a beach, they were ambushed by three masked men. Two wielded knives and one held a gun. One of the tourists, a retired U.S. military serviceman trained in self-defense, tackled and killed the gunman; the other attackers fled. This group of tourists was extremely lucky, for the encounter could just as easily have been deadly for one of the passengers.
To avoid this kind of danger, follow all the cruise line's instructions before setting out on a shore excursion. Try to go out in groups and use only the recommended tour providers. And be sure to take all the usual precautions: Watch out for your wallet; carry only small amounts of cash; wear little jewelry; and don't go flaunting expensive electronics such as iPods, cell phones and cameras.
If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then a little research and preparation can go a long way toward keeping your cruise vacation hassle-free.
Sound off! Do you have a comment, an idea, a complaint or a problem for Anita to solve? Send her an e-mail and you might find yourself in her next column. And check out her blog, ExpertCruiser.com.
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