Cruise travel insurance

What is cruise travel insurance?

Typically, 'cruise insurance' isn't an actual standalone policy. Rather, you'll need to buy a normal travel insurance policy, check if it includes cruise cover, and add it as an optional extra if it doesn't include it by default.

Travel insurance for domestic and international cruises

Best cruise travel insurance Australia (Domestic cruise travel insurance)

When organising travel insurance for your domestic cruise, it's suggested you purchase an international policy, even if your cruise isn't leaving Australia. This is because domestic travel insurance policies do not include cover for medical expenses and the medical expenses onboard a cruise ship can be extremely costly.

Importantly, Medicare is unlikely to cover you for any medical care you need onboard the ship, even if you're within Australia. To be covered by Medicare, the onboard doctor would have to be Medicare registered and this is unlikely to occur because the major cruise lines aren't typically owned by Australian companies.

Therefore, those taking off on a cruise around Australia are encouraged to take out an international travel insurance policy because then it'll cover you for eligible medical expenses.

International cruise travel insurance

This one is simple. If you're going on a cruise that takes you internationally, you just need to purchase an international policy and make sure you've got cruise cover either included by default or added as an optional extra.

Best Travel Insurance for cruises

While we can't give you a specific policy that is the best travel insurance for cruises, we can give you some best practices when comparing.

To find the best cruise travel insurance for your specific needs, it is essential to understand how coverage levels differ across the market. Most Australian providers offer a tiered structure to cater to different budgets and risk profiles. A Basic or Medical-Only tier typically focuses on essential maritime medical expenses and emergency assistance but may exclude baggage or cancellation cover. A Standard tier often introduces moderate limits for trip disruptions and lost items. Finally, a Comprehensive tier provides the highest level of protection, often including unlimited medical cover, higher cancellation limits, and specialized cruise benefits such as formal attire protection.

You'll also want a policy with comprehensive medical coverage, including emergency assistance and repatriation, as cruises often venture into international waters. You won't be covered by Medicare, private health insurance, or even reciprocal health care, when you're on a cruise ship.

When evaluating medical protection, passengers should look for specific dollar-value limits. While many top-tier comprehensive policies offer "unlimited" medical and hospital expenses, entry-level or budget options may cap this at $5 million or $10 million. Given that a single ship-to-shore medical evacuation can cost tens of thousands of dollars, ensuring these limits are robust is a critical step in securing the best cruise travel insurance.

One note about finding the best travel insurance for cruises is to pay close attention to the fine print regarding activities covered onboard and during shore excursions. Most cruise-goers won't run into trouble, but even non-risk seekers can stumble into activities that aren't covered by their travel insurance.

Navigating pre-existing medical conditions is another vital aspect for cruise travellers. Many insurers automatically cover a list of common conditions, such as mild asthma or well-controlled hypertension, provided certain criteria are met. However, more complex conditions often require a formal medical assessment and an additional premium. Failure to disclose these can lead to the rejection of claims for onboard medical treatment or emergency evacuations

Is cruise insurance mandatory?

For some cruise lines, purchasing insurance before departure is mandatory. For others, it's not. Whether or not you need this will likely depend on where you're going, the length of your trip and the cruise line. Because of this, there's no rule that's consistent among them all.

Detailed nuances of trip cancellation protection are also important to consider. Unlike standard flights, cruise cancellations often involve complex "reconnection" costs if you miss the initial departure. Comprehensive policies may provide unlimited cancellation cover for pre-paid costs, whereas lower tiers might cap this significantly or exclude it entirely. It is important to verify if your policy covers cancellations due to unforeseen weather events or mechanical failures of the vessel.

Your cruise line or travel agent will let you know if you need to arrange travel insurance before you depart.

Does cruise insurance cover you for the time you spend onshore?

It does, yes. You can be covered in a few ways:

• Your policy inclusions for things like medical cover and personal effects will apply both on land and while you're onboard the ship.
• You can have cover for more specific things like shore excursions by ensuring you pick a policy that covers events such as; trip disruption expenses, trip cancellation expenses, travel delay expenses and rental vehicle excess.

Keep in mind, the above discusses benefits that are typically available. Not all will be included by default, you'll likely have to add some of these benefits as optional extras. Every product disclosure statement is different, be sure to read it thoroughly.

What does cruise insurance cover?

Below is a list of benefits that a travel insurance policy with cruise cover can include. Every provider's policy inclusions differ so be sure to read the PDS to know exactly what you're covered for.

Common cruise woes and how travel insurance can help

FAQs

• Do you need special travel insurance for a cruise?

  There's no 'special' travel insurance for cruises but you do need to ensure your policy covers cruises. To do this, you can go to purchase a regular travel insurance and then add cruise cover as an optional extra. If cruise cover isn't available as an option, it could be because:

  1. They don't offer cruise insurance. In this case, look for another insurer.
  2. It may be included by default. If you can't find cruise cover in the optional extras, check to see if it's included in your policy by default. You can do this by checking the product disclosure statement (PDS) on the provider's website.

• Will Medicare cover be if I'm onboard a cruise within Australia?

  No, it's highly unlikely that Medicare will cover you if you're onboard a cruise, even if you're travelling within Australia. This is because the doctor would have to be registered with Medicare and that's not likely given that most cruise lines are not Australian owned.

To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Tim Bennett as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Peta Taylor

Publisher of Insurance

Peta Taylor is a publisher at Finder, working across all of insurance. She's been analysing product disclosure statements and publishing articles for over 2 years. Peta is passionate about demystifying complex insurance products to help users make well educated decisions with confidence. Peta is part of Finder's insurance awards team and works alongside editorial and insights experts to bring users the best insurance products every year. See full bio