Going on a cruise can cost you a pretty penny, so it makes sense to consider cruise insurance to protect your finances if something goes wrong. When you’re shopping for a cruise or travel insurance plan, it’s important to understand what types of coverage are available and what is covered by different plans. This can help you find the perfect balance between getting the coverage you need and keeping the price of cruise insurance as low as possible.
Here’s what you need to know about what cruise insurance covers, how it works and when your travel credit card insurance applies to going on a cruise.
Cruise insurance guide
What is cruise insurance?
Cruise insurance is a specific type of travel insurance you can buy to help cover the costs of expenses caused by covered events, such as trip cancellations, delays or medical emergencies. Many general travel insurance policies also cover cruises.
The cost of a cruise insurance plan depends on the types of coverage and coverage limits that are included. For example, some plans offer cancel-for-any-reason coverage (CFAR), which is an additional cost but allows you to cancel your trip for any reason and be reimbursed a percentage of the cost. If you prefer to have the flexibility of CFAR coverage, AIG’sTravel Guard Preferred plan is CNBC Select’s best cruise insurance plan for CFAR coverage. This option provides coverage up to 48 hours before your originally scheduled departure.
Travel Guard® Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
Travel Guard offers a variety of plans to suit travel ranging from road trips to long cruises. For air travelers, Travel Guard can help assist with tracking baggage or covering lost or delayed baggage.
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You can usually purchase cruise insurance directly from the cruise line when you book your trip. Alternatively, you can purchase it separately from a third party. In any case, it’s always important to shop around to compare not only prices but also what’s covered.
What does cruise insurance cover?
Cruise insurance plans offer a range of coverage options, including:
- Trip interruptions or cancellations
- Trip delays
- Delayed or lost baggage
- Travel to and from the cruise
- Pre-existing conditions
- Medical evacuation
- Emergency medical care
- Missed connections
- Job loss cancellation
There are stipulations, coverage limits and deductibles that can apply. For example, if a pre-existing conditions waiver is offered, you’ll typically need to purchase it shortly after booking your cruise and paying for the initial deposit(usually within 2-3 weeks).
Insurance plans have exceptions where the coverage won’t apply. If you’re injured while intoxicated, don’t expect your travel insurance to cover your medical expenses or missed travel. Certain high-risk activities may also be specifically excluded from a cruise insurance plan, such as scuba diving or jet skiing. If you plan on participating in an excursion that isn’t normally covered, you’ll want to take a look at the World Nomads Explorer Plan, which has a list of hundreds of sports and adventure activities that are covered by the plan.
World Nomads Travel Insurance
Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
Policy highlights
World Nomads offers travel insurance for all sorts of travelers, from families to solo adventure travelers. Policies are underwritten by Nationwide and offer strong coverage of emergency accident and illness situations, as well as emergency evacuation scenarios.
24/7 assistance available
Should you buy insurance for a cruise?
Cruise insurance normally costs 3% to 8% of the cost of the cruise, but can be higher if you opt for expensive add-ons, such as CFAR coverage. It’s important to shop around to ensure you’re getting the coverage you need, the right coverage limits for your trip and the best price. Before you purchase a separate cruise insurance plan, make sure your trip isn’t already covered by your credit card or any other travel insurance you may have.
Does credit card travel insurance cover cruising?
Credit card travel insurance usually covers cruise trips and the travel you book to and from your port of call. For your credit card coverage to apply, you’ll need to pay for the trip with an eligible card.
Before you whip out your card and use it to book your trip, double-check that it includes travel insurance and be aware that the level of coverage you get with a credit card won’t be as robust as what you can get with a dedicated travel or cruise insurance plan.
That said, one of the best cards for cruise bookings is the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. It offers insurance for trip delays, trip cancellation/interruptions, baggage delays, lost baggage, rental cars, emergency medical and dental, emergency evacuation and travel accidents. It also earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which are a valuable type of travel reward you can use to book cruises, flights and rental cars.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rewards
Earn 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3X points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases plus, 10X points on Lyft rides through March 2025
Welcome bonus
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
Annual fee
Intro APR
Regular APR
Balance transfer fee
Foreign transaction fee
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Bottom line
Cruise insurance can be a relatively inexpensive investment to protect a costly vacation. Depending on the plan, it covers delays, cancellations, emergency medical and more while you’re on a cruise or traveling to and from your cruise. Some cruise insurance plans even offer cancel-for-any-reason coverage, which provides the ultimate flexibility when your plans change. With so many options available, it’s important to understand what is and isn’t covered by each specific cruise insurance policy.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
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