Why I’ll Never Cruise Without Travel Insurance Again
I haven’t always purchased travel insurance.
Years ago, I was definitely one of those people who looked at it as an extra expense and wondered if I really needed it. But the more I traveled—and especially once I became a travel advisor and learned just how many different situations travel insurance can cover—the more my perspective changed.
I’ve purchased it for my own trips for years now.
As a travel advisor, I offer travel insurance to all of my clients. And while I always let them make the decision that’s right for them, I’m definitely more persistent about explaining its importance when they’re cruising or traveling internationally. These conversations usually revolve more around trip cancellation and trip interuption coverage.
Until recently, though, I had never personally needed it for anything major.
I’ve had clients use their insurance for things like flight delays – even some that left them stuck in another country for an extra night or two, with unexpected hotel and meal expenses before they could get home. I’ve seen it work. I’ve known why it matters.
But I had never experienced the kind of situation where travel insurance could potentially make a life-changing financial difference.
Then we sailed to Alaska on the Norwegian Encore.
And someone traveling with me ended up with almost $35,000 in medical expenses onboard the ship.
Our Cruise Took a Very Serious Turn
One day during our cruise, someone traveling with me became very ill.
We were in Skagway that day, and we knew something wasn’t right. Eventually, we made the decision to take her to the medical center onboard.
It turned out to be much more serious than any of us realized.
I won’t share the personal medical details, but I can say this: I truly believe the medical team onboard may have saved her life.
She spent more than 24 hours in the ship’s medical center receiving treatment. Even after she was released, she had to return multiple times for additional testing, vitals and monitoring while the medical team made sure she was stable enough to safely remain onboard.
They were incredible.
They took the situation seriously from the beginning, provided the care she needed and continued monitoring her throughout the cruise. I cannot say enough good things about the medical team aboard the Norwegian Encore and the care she received.
But when we first walked into that medical center, we had absolutely no idea how any of this was going to end.
At That Point, There Were So Many Unknowns
We didn’t know if they would be able to treat her onboard.
We didn’t know if she would need to be taken off the ship.
We didn’t know if she would need to stay behind in Alaska.
We didn’t know if she would need an emergency medical transport.
And if she had to leave the ship, we didn’t know if one of us would need to leave with her.
That last part is important because we were in Skagway when she went to seek medical care. Skagway doesn’t have a hospital. There is a local medical clinic, but patients who require hospital-level care may need to be transported elsewhere.
Suddenly, all of those scenarios you read about when you’re deciding whether to purchase travel insurance didn’t feel hypothetical anymore.
We were living one.
The One Thing We Didn’t Have to Worry About
There were a lot of unknowns that day.
But there was one thing we didn’t have to worry about:
Money.
Everyone in our travel party had travel insurance.
Our policies included trip interruption benefits for covered situations involving a traveling companion. So if she had needed to leave the ship and one of us needed to go with her, we knew we had coverage that could help with the interruption to our trip.
If our plans needed to change, we could change them.
If she needed additional medical treatment, she could get it.
If someone needed to stay behind with her, we could do that.
If we needed different flights, hotels or transportation to get home, we’d figure those things out when the time came.
We weren’t sitting in that medical center asking ourselves:
Can we afford to do this?
We were able to ask:
What does she need?
And in that moment, that peace of mind was worth everything.
Almost $35,000 in Medical Care
Thankfully, the medical team was able to continue treating her onboard.
She didn’t have to be medically transported off the ship. She was eventually cleared to remain onboard and was able to finish the cruise with us.
She did miss an excursion while receiving medical care, and Norwegian reversed that charge for her, which was very much appreciated.
Then there was the bill.
Her onboard medical expenses totaled almost $35,000. None of which was going to be covered by her regular medical insurance.
Her travel insurance is covering her eligible medical expenses according to the terms of her policy.
Health insurance coverage outside the United States and onboard cruise ships varies considerably, so this is something every traveler should understand about their own policy before leaving home. You should never simply assume your regular health insurance will cover medical care while you’re traveling.
I Hope I Keep Wasting My Money on Travel Insurance
For years, I’ve purchased travel insurance and come home without needing it.
And I’m completely okay with that.
I hope I “waste” the money on my next trip.
And the one after that.
And the one after that.
Because buying travel insurance isn’t about trying to get your money’s worth.
It’s about protecting yourself from the trip where suddenly you do need it.
For years, I understood that in theory.
Now I’ve lived it.
And yes, almost $35,000 in medical expenses is a pretty convincing example of why travel insurance can matter.
But strangely enough, that’s not actually the biggest thing I took away from this experience.
It’s the peace of mind we had while sitting in that medical center.
Someone we cared about was experiencing a potentially life-threatening medical emergency. We had no idea whether she’d be staying on the ship, leaving the ship, being transported somewhere else, or whether one of us would need to leave with her.
There were enough things to worry about.
Thankfully, how we were going to pay for it wasn’t one of them.
We could focus on getting her the best care possible.
That’s what travel insurance did for us.
And that’s why I’ll happily keep “wasting” my money on it.
Jenny Even
As I grew up, my main bucket list item became to visit all 50 states (which I just completed in 2023 with an island-hopping trip in Hawaii)! When asked what my favorite type of vacation is I never have an answer – I love to do it all! And now being a mom of two young kids it has been fun getting more into the family vacations for our own family.I plan vacations because I love to help people have the best experience and make unforgettable memories.
