Travel Insurance is a Must

Travel Insurance covering you in case an unforseeable event delays or prevents a scheduled vacation is a must. But where should you purchase this insurance?

If you book your cruise through a consolidator, chances are that the cruise, airfare, and any hotel accomodations will be obtained from different vendors. For instance, our cruise in November is booked by an agent who obtained the cruise we wanted from Celebrity. They then obtained the airfare from British Airways from Miami to London, with the link from London to Barcelona still not defined. Likewise, our 2 nights stay in Barcelona prior to the cruise are still not booked.

The insurance through the cruise line covers only the cruise portion of the trip. What happens if the cruise ship has a problem and must cancel or delay the cruise? With only the cruise line insurance, the cruise would be compensated, but you would forfeit the amount paid for airfare and hotel accomodations. The travel agent sometimes can offer complete coverage, but in most cases, the coverage is limited to only the direct costs paid.

We used insuremytrip.com to compare coverage from several different companies. Some offer more coverage for baggage, some more for medical. Choose the plan that best fits your needs and your budget.