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Cruise

Travel Insurance for Your Cruise

Whether you’re planning a cruise to the Pacific Islands, a European river cruise, or sailing through the Caribbean, travel insurance can help protect your trip. At Cover-More, our goal is to provide you with cruise insurance cover to help keep you safe. All Cover-More NZ policies automatically include travel insurance cover for your cruise. Make sure you disclose all of your existing medical conditions to ensure you are aware of what your policy will cover. If you have specific questions, visit our cruise travel insurance cover FAQs page.

Why do I need cruise travel insurance cover?

Cruises are a great way to relax, bask in the sun, and enjoy the sea breeze. So, it may come as a shock if your cruise experience isn’t always smooth sailing. From delayed luggage to falling seasick, it can be difficult to predict what will happen on board. Let alone the money you might not be able to get back if you have to cancel your cruise before you leave home. To enjoy the trip you deserve on your cruise, consider taking out a travel insurance policy with Cover-More to help protect against financial loss.

Optional or included cruise cover 

If you purchase our Options or Essentials plan online, cruise cover is automatically included in your cover. For details on this cover, please read the Policy Wording. 

If you have purchased our YourCover or Essentials plan over the phone, you will need to let us know you’ll be going on a about your cruise during your trip and pay an additional premium to receive access to our full range of cruise-specific benefits. For the full list of benefits and their limits, please read the Policy Wording

Our COVID-19 cruise cover

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19 while on board a multi-night cruise, you’ll have cover for:

  • Any on-board emergency medical and dental expenses incurred
  • Ship-to-shore medical expenses (if approved by us)

Keep in mind there is no cover for claims arising from cabin confinement claims directly or indirectly caused by COVID-19 (whether you are diagnosed with COVID-19 or not).

Medical costs on board

Our travel insurance policies provide medical cover for usual and customary expenses incurred onboard the ship and if you are offloaded from the ship. Without this cover, you could be out of pocket hundreds or thousands of dollars for a medical incident that happens whilst on a cruise. Claims are subject to review and approval in line with the terms and conditions, limitations, and exclusions set out in the Policy Wording.

One Cover-More customer visited their onboard cruise doctor after a sniffle which developed into influenza. Although quick, the visit resulted in a $700 medical fee. Luckily, they had a Cover-More policy with cruise cover included so we were able to settle their claim.

Emergency evacuations

Cruise travel insurance cover is vital to protect against more serious medical claims. If you’re in the middle of the ocean, it can be expensive to be transported to the nearest hospital.

In 2016, one of our customers fractured their leg on a cruise ship in the South Pacific. The air ambulance cost to bring them back home for surgery totalled $86,000. 

To prepare for your trip with protection against potential medical costs in mind, get a quote online for travel insurance today.

You or your luggage misses the boat

If your ship sets sail without your bags, our delayed luggage cover may be able to help. This cover can reimburse you for any reasonable expenses incurred to replace delayed items. If you want to be insured for more expensive items, you can include these when purchasing.

If you miss the boat due to a delayed connection, our cruise cover benefit may be able to set you on your way again. For example, a group of Cover-More customers missed their cruise because of a delayed flight from Wellington to Auckland. To add to their worries, their luggage still hadn’t arrived by the time they landed in Auckland. By the time they reached the cruise terminal (without their luggage) it was too late to board their cruise. Missing the first segment of their trip, they opted to fly to Vanuatu, where they were able to meet their cruise. We settled their claim for extra travel costs of $1,560.

For more information regarding our delayed luggage cover and benefit limits, read the Policy Wording.

Recover non-refundable expenses

If sudden illness, injury or an unexpected weather event prevents you from experiencing your cruise, travel insurance can help. This includes recovering non-refundable, unused, and prepaid expenses such as deposits or onshore bookings.

One of our customers was about to embark on a cruise to Sydney for their 50th birthday. Sadly, a few months before their trip, they were diagnosed with leukaemia. Advised against long-distance travel while undergoing chemotherapy, they cancelled their cruise immediately. As they purchased adequate cancellation cover and we approved the existing medical conditions they declared, we reimbursed their $1,500 loss of deposit.

Get in touch with us

If you have questions about cruise cover for your next holiday, give us a call on (0800) 500 225 or visit our cruise travel insurance cover FAQs page.

Cruise ship in greece