Travel Insurance Advice

[Passepartout]

Does anyone know of a plan that provides Cancel For Any Reason coverage on a cruise where the deposit was placed several months ago? We never get trip insurance, but we are planning a trip to Alaska. It is expensive (times 5), so I'd like to insure this one. Unfortunately, I booked the cruise back in Feb., and I didn't bother getting insurance quotes at the time because the deposit is refundable through Feb 2026. Any suggestions for handling this? Do I get insurance for everything except the cruise?

Go to squaremouth. You can compare policies side-by-side. any reason cancellation is expensive - possibly more than the deposit. As to the add-ons like what? Excursions are cancellable until the day before use, and air-fare is always cancellable- at least for future credit.

Because we are seniors on Medicare with conditions, we insure pronto on int'l cruises. Alaska- not so much because you're mostly in USA for care.

Jim

 

[2rebecca]

Go to squaremouth. You can compare policies side-by-side. any reason cancellation is expensive - possibly more than the deposit. As to the add-ons like what? Excursions are cancellable until the day before use, and air-fare is always cancellable- at least for future credit.

Because we are seniors on Medicare with conditions, we insure pronto on int'l cruises. Alaska- not so much because you're mostly in USA for care.

Jim

I looked at Squaremouth based on recommendations upthread. I like how it compares policies, but it doesn't offer CFAR policies since I paid the deposit months ago. (Probably not specific to Squre Mouth.) We have always self-insured our vacations, but we are in our 50s now, and life has changed--older parents, teenagers in sports--so the odds of needing to cancel/interrupt the trip are higher. This is a much more expensive trip than anything we've done in the past.

As for the add-ons, in addition to the shore excursions, we are planning to stay a few extra nights to see more of Alaska. We will have a rental car, rooms, & more excursions. The quote for the 4 days on land came in at $10k. That is outside my budget, and I'm looking to trim costs, but you can see why I'm interested in trip insurance! lol. Plus, airfare is coming in between $3,800-$5,000. I don't want that much tied up in a future credit.

 

[Passepartout]

I looked at Squaremouth based on recommendations upthread. I like how it compares policies, but it doesn't offer CFAR policies since I paid the deposit months ago. (Probably not specific to Squre Mouth.) We have always self-insured our vacations, but we are in our 50s now, and life has changed--older parents, teenagers in sports--so the odds of needing to cancel/interrupt the trip are higher. This is a much more expensive trip than anything we've done in the past.

As for the add-ons, in addition to the shore excursions, we are planning to stay a few extra nights to see more of Alaska. We will have a rental car, rooms, & more excursions. The quote for the 4 days on land came in at $10k. That is outside my budget, and I'm looking to trim costs, but you can see why I'm interested in trip insurance! lol. Plus, airfare is coming in between $3,800-$5,000. I don't want that much tied up in a future credit.

Oh, I understand your frustration, but know of no carrier offering CFAR insurance late in the reservation. It's expensive to buy even at the time of your initial deposit.

Sorry. Maybe someone else has a suggestion.

 

[Passepartout]

One thing that may or maybe not make a difference is that some cruise lines offer deeply reduced deposits for Black Friday. If that happens, you might consider cancelling and re-booking your reservation. Celebrity allows you to change a reservation for $100 per person from the earlier reservation then you may be able to get CFAR insurance on the 'new' ressie. It might not work because transferring the 'old' deposit to the new reservation won't update the date by which you could buy travel insurance. We have not done this, but are holding out because we are looking at a Trans-Pacific in '27 that they want a $900pp deposit on. They have, in the past had deposits as low as $100 on Black Friday sales.

Bottom line is that like buying a timeshare, once the rescission period has passed, it's REALLY hard to get out of- or buy travel insurance past a couple weeks beyond paying the deposit.

Sorry.