Carnival Cruise Travel Insurance - 2024 Review

Carnival Corporation Overview

To understand quite how large the Carnival Corporation is, is quite monumental task. Within the Canival umbrella they have 10 major cruise brands, over 100 cruise ships, and control nearly 50% of the entire global cruising market. When one looks at the on-board metrics it is even more astonishing. Carnival has nearly 200,000 berths, and that number seems to get bigger every year as more ships arrive with greater sailing capacity.

Carnival Cruise Line is the largest of Carnival Corporation’s 10 cruise brands. Based in Miami, Florida, Carnival operates 25 massive cruise ships as a stand-alone brand that is responsible for over 20% of all cruise nights sailed, worldwide. Whilst Carnival Corporation is huge, Carnival Cruises is the cherry on an exceedingly large cruising cake.

Summary of Carnival Vacation Protection

Carnival has a very strong insurance partner in Aon Affinity who are a well-known company in the travel insurance field. However, as we find with many of the own brand cruise travel plans, the coverage from Aon offered through Carnival is lacking in many key areas, most notably Medical Insurance and Medical Evacuation coverage.

On the other hand, Carnival does offer decent Trip Cancellation Insurance and a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) option; although the CFAR coverage is in the form of a future cruise credit and not a cash refund. At Cruise Insurance 101, we always prefer a CFAR benefit to pay out in cash as a future cruise credit may not be something you can use in the timeframe given.

One of the upsides of Carnival Travel Insurance is that it is very easy to purchase. As you go through the website to book your cruise, the trip insurance is an easy add-on at checkout if you wish for it.

To determine whether the Carnival Cruises Travel Insurance represents good value for money, coverage and benefit limits, versus other plans avalable in the wider travel insurance marketplace, it is necessary to step on-board a Carnival cruise. So without further ado, let's head to the sail-away party on the lido deck and sample our Carnival cruise.

Our Sample Cruise: 6 Day Caribbean Cruise From Miami

Our sample trip leaves from Miami, Florida for an 8-day adventure to the Caribbean, visiting Princess Cays, Grand Turk, Nassau, and Freeport.

The cruise cost for our sample couple, ages 55 and 60, is $959 per person plus taxes bringing the total cruise cost to $2,243.72. As airfare can vary significantly, we will only include the cost of the cruise for this review.

To add Carnival’s own travel insurance, the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan, would cost $109 per person for a total of $218. You can choose to add it as part of the checkout process.

What the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan Insurance Includes

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan is a basic policy covering Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption, $10,000 for medical coverage and $30,000 for medical evacuation. It also provides the ability to Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) and receive a 75% refund in cruise credits (not cash) which are valid for future travel, though blackout periods may apply. The Trip Cancellation coverage only covers the original airfare cost and NOT the total trip cost.

The best way to determine how good the Carnival plan is versus other plans available is to run a compariosn quote and see what other options could be available.

Comparison Quotes

Based on our sample couple, ages 62 and 60, we created comparison quotes using Cruise Insurance 101’s travel insurance marketplace engine. The trip cost used for the comparison is the cruise cost for both travelers is $2,243.72.

When traveling outside the United States, the team at Cruise Insurance 101 recommend a minimum coverage of $100,000 in Medical Insurance, $250,000 in Medical Evacuation, and if at all possible a travel insurance plan that contains a Pre-existing Medical Condition Waiver. We used these criteria to choose the selected quotes.

The least expensive plan with adequate coverage on our quote from Cruise Insurance 101 is the Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%). This plan would be comparable to the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan.

The Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) provides $250,000 of medical coverage per person, $1 million of medical evacuation and coverage for pre-existing medical condition provided the policy is purchased on or before the final trip payment.

Next, we’ll break down both policies for a side-by-side comparison.

Benefit	Carnival Vacation Protection	Trawick Voyager CFAR 75%
Trip Cancellation	Up to Total Original Airfare Cost	100% Trip Cost
Trip Interruption	100% Trip Cost	150% Trip Cost
Medical Insurance	$10,000	$250,000
Medical Evacuation	$30,000	$1,000,000
Baggage Loss/Damage	$1,500	$2,500
Baggage Delay	$500	$600
Travel Delay	$500	$1,000
Missed Connection	No	$1,000
Cover Pre-existing Condition	No	Yes
Cancel For Work Reason	No	No
Cancel For Any Reason	75% Cruise credit refund of Trip Costs	75% Cash Refund of Trip Costs
Accidental Death & Dismemberment	No	$25,000
Cost of Policy	$218 (9.7% of the total trip cost)	$253.54 (11.4% of the total trip cost)

Cost Comparison

Overall, it is clear that the Carnival Vacation Protection Program has minimal coverage. Their CFAR benefit only provides a cruise credit which is only valid for one year.

By shopping for cruise insurance through Cruise Insurance 101 our two travelers can have 25x times the medical coverage and 33x times more medical evacuation coverage than the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan. If this wasn't enough, our travelers can also receive actual cash back if they choose to cancel for a reason that is not specified in the policy, instead of a cruise credit. At Cruise Insurance 101, we feel it’s important for travelers to know that a policy with more appropriate coverage limits is available for only $35.54 more than the Carnival policy.

In the following sections, we discuss know what to look for when shopping for travel insurance for your Carnival cruise.

Trip Cancellation

A significant concern for travelers is Trip Cancellation. If you became ill or had an accidental injury prior to your departure date, you may have to cancel your travel arrangements, resulting in financial losses. While disappointing, Trip Cancellation is doubly painful without cancellation insurance.

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan permits cancellation for the following reasons:

• Unexpected injury, illness, or death of traveler or non-traveling family member
• Involvement of a traffic accident that causes you to miss your cruise
• Residence uninhabitable by natural disaster, fire, flood, burglary
• Destination uninhabitable or unreachable by fire, flood, or natural disaster
• Revocation of military leave
• Subpoena or being called to serve jury duty
• Hurricanes

Unfortunately, Carnival’s list of cancellation reasons lacks some important coverages that we wuld expect to see in a comprehensive travel insurance plan.

We recommend policies that also include:

• Strikes
• Terrorism
• Default or bankruptcy of the common carrier or travel supplier
• Cancel For Work Reason (traveler required to work during the trip)
• Employer-initiated transfer of 250 miles or more
• Mechanical breakdown of a common carrier
• Mandatory evacuation
• Documented theft of passports or visas.

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan also does not cover any travel arrangements booked outside Carnival other than airfares.

The Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) policy can cover all travel arrangements, regardless of where you booked them. In addition, this plan offers a broader list of covered reasons.

Trip Interruption

A Trip Interruption is a situation during your trip that causes you to miss some or the rest of your vacation. It’s like Trip Cancellation but happens during your travels.

The most common trip interruption is the injury or illness of a traveler. If you had an injury or illness on your vacation but can continue traveling after treatment, trip interruption reimburses the unused portion of the trip, and the cost to rejoin the trip in progress.

Trip interruption also includes a family member who had a sudden grave illness or passed away. If your covered situation requires curtailing the trip and going home early, Trip Interruption also reimburses for the unused portion of the trip, plus the added cost of going home early.

In the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan, Trip Interruption provides a 100% refund of trip costs, while the Trawick Voyager policy offers 150% refund of trip costs.

Cancel For Any Reason

Cancel For Any Reason cruise insurance provides the highest level of flexibility and reimbursement if you must cancel your trip for any reason not covered by the policy.

If you cancel your Carnival cruise for a reason not listed in their travel policy, they grant future cruise credits up to the total cruise cost. However, blackout dates apply so you may not be able to cruise on the dates you want. Credits typically expire after one year and not redeemable for cash. When it comes to refunds, at Cruise Insurance 101 we always prefer cash since future credits may not be used, and if not used, you will lose your entire holiday investment.

Alternatively, travel insurance policies like the Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) pay a 75% cash refund of all prepaid, non-refundable trip costs including arrangements made outside of Carnival. This could include hotels, excursions and transfers.

Cancel For Any Reason policies have several stipulations:

1. Purchase the policy within 10 - 21 days (depending on policy), of your initial payment or deposit date and
2. Insure 100% of the prepaid trip costs subject to cancellation penalties or restrictions. For additional prepaid non-refundable payments made after the purchase of the policy, insure within 10-21 days (depending on policy), of each subsequent payment added to your trip, and
3. Cancel your trip 2 days or more before your scheduled departure date.

Medical Insurance for Emergency Treatment

One of the most important factors in selecting trip insurance is having adequate Medical Insurance when you travel. Anything can happen, including accidental injuries or sudden illness.

If you have a medical emergency when traveling and don’t have proper medical insurance coverage while overseas, you could find yourself with huge, unexpected hospital bills. Many Americans mistakenly believe countries with universal health care will treat them for free. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Instead, Americans receive treatment at private hospitals, not public, and must pay like anyone else. Admission for inpatient care can cost $3,000-$4,000 per day, plus the cost of treatment, x-rays, surgeries, and specialists.

A common misconception is that Medicare will pay for hospitalization overseas.  Unfortunately, they won’t. Medicare does not pay providers outside the US. Some Medicare supplements do cover overseas, but have lifetime limits or reduced benefits, and pay for emergencies only. They can still require you to pay 20% of the costs. As a result, you could go on vacation and end up with medical bills in the thousands.

Cruise Insurance 101 urges overseas travelers to take travel medical insurance of at least $100,000 per person. In a medical emergency, $100,000 provides ample health care and helps protect your retirement savings from unexpected financial burdens.

Carnival’s Vacation Protection Plan provides a $10,000 benefit for Medical Insurance. The Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) policy includes $250,000 per person of Medical Insurance, so you can receive proper treatment without ending up in debt.

Emergency Medical Evacuation

Medical Insurance isn’t the only potentially expensive part of a trip. Emergency Medical Evacuation transports you from the place of injury or illness to the closest hospital. Once you’re stable enough for transport, Medical Evacuation brings you home via commercial flight or, if necessary, private medical jet.

Medical flights can cost up to $25,000 per hour and regular health insurance does not cover it. In addition, the US State Department does not offer any medical treatment or evacuation assistance for US citizens. Cruise Insurance 101 advises travelers to get at least $250,000 Medical Evacuation to assure there’s enough coverage to get them back home from almost anywhere if they experience a serious medical event.  However, if traveling to Asia or Africa or beyond, we recommend a minimum of $500,000 for Emergency Medical Evacuation due to the distance from the US.

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan includes Medical Evacuation up to $30,000 per person. The Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) offers $1 million per person for Medical Evacuation, so you can feel secure knowing you have adequate coverage to transport you back home if needed.

Pre-existing Medical Conditions

A significant concern for senior travelers can be pre-existing medical conditions. A Pre-Existing Medical Condition is one in which you’ve received medical treatment, testing, medication changes, added new medications, or received a recommendation for a treatment or test that hasn’t happened yet. Most travel insurance policies exclude pre-existing conditions unless you purchase the policy within the required time period from your initial trip deposit date (called the Time Sensitive Period). Otherwise, the insurer will look backward 60, 90, or 180 days (depending on the policy) from the date you purchased the insurance to see if there are any pre-existing medical conditions they won’t cover. This is called the Look Back Period. Any medical conditions older than this Look Back Period, unchanged or stabilized with no medication dosage changes are covered, as are any new conditions that arise after you purchase the policy.

If you must cancel, interrupt, or seek medical treatment for a medical condition while traveling, travel insurance policies typically exclude claims related to Pre-existing Medical Conditions. However, if you purchase the policy within a few days of your Initial Trip Payment or Deposit date, many policies add a Waiver to the policy that covers Pre-existing Conditions. As a result, there is no Look Back Period and Pre-existing Conditions are covered.

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan does not cover Pre-Existing Conditions inside the Look Back Period of 60 days.

The Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) covers Pre-existing Medical Conditions if you purchase on or before your final trip payment.

Price and Value

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan offers minimal coverage for a relatively similar price as other available options. The medical insurance coverage is only $10,000, and only $30,000 medical evacuation, which may not be adequate for a serious illness or injury. It does not offer a Pre-Existing Condition Exclusion Waiver. Cancellation reasons are somewhat limited, and the Cancel For Any Reason option only grants future cruise credits instead of cash. Overall, the Carnival Vacation Protection Plan offers limited value for the price.

In contrast, by comparison shopping, we found the Trawick Voyager (CFAR 75%) policy comes in at $253.54, which is only $35.54  more than the Carnival plan. It includes superior medical and evacuation benefits, a pre-existing medical condition waiver if purchased within a Time Sensitive Period of 14 days from the deposit date, and a robust list of cancellation reasons. Plus, it includes a Cancel For Any Reason provision that refunds 75% of trip costs back in cash, rather than future credit. It has superior coverage over Carnival’s policy at minimal additional cost.

Conclusion

The Carnival Vacation Protection Plan provides travelers with a minimal insurance policy and could leave travelers unpleasantly surprised during an emergency. Medical coverage and medical evacuation limits are low, and there is no option to cover a pre-existing medical condition. Overall, we rate it a 6 out of 10.

Travelers planning a Carnival cruise vacation will find the best value for their money and peace of mind when they shop for travel insurance at Cruise Insurance 101 Travel Insurance Marketplace. There, you can review dozens of options and select the best policy to fit your needs.

To help you find the best policy, Cruise Insurance 101 recommends having at least $100k in travel medical coverage and $250k emergency medical evacuation when traveling outside the US. And, if you purchase the policy within the 14-21 days of initial trip payment, please consider a travel insurance policy with the pre-existing condition waiver included to ensure the most coverage for your money.

If you are planning a Carnival cruise in 2022, be sure to pack insurance before you travel. You never know when you may need it.

Have questions? Chat with us online, send us an email at agent@cruiseinsurance101.com or alternatively call us at +1(786) 751-2984. We would love to hear from you.

Safe Travels!