Whether you’re basking in the sunshine as you’re cruising the Caribbean, or taking a river cruise through the wine regions in France, there’s plenty of exciting opportunities for US residents looking to vacation on the high seas.
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For information relating to policies purchased prior to October 23 2024, please check the Policy Wording provided with your purchase. You can contact us if you need this sent to you again. For plans purchased after October 23 2024, please see below.
Hopefully your cruise will be smooth sailing, but with any domestic or international travel outside of the US, there’s always the possibility of unexpected surprises. We encourage you to check out our tips for staying safe on your cruise, and also recommend looking into a travel protection plan that includes travel insurance benefits that could protect your cruise.
When you book your cruise, there’s usually plenty of dining options, entertainment, and onshore excursions. You’ll have the opportunity to plan everything ahead of time to make your cruise perfect. There are some things that can’t be planned for though.
If there’s a named storm, it may cause your cruise to be canceled. If you get hurt on a zip lining excursion in Jamaica, you’ll need to get medical care. These definitely aren’t welcome surprises, but they can happen. Because there’s so many things you can’t plan for on your cruise, it could be a good idea to get a quote for a travel protection plan that includes travel insurance benefits to help protect you and your cruise investment.
Some travel insurance benefits could include:
World Nomads can cover losses resulting from participating in more than 250 activities for US residents. Maybe you’ll be dancing the night away onboard the ship or getting up early to play some pickleball. You’ll also have plenty of fun excursions at your ports of call. You could be scuba diving in the Bahamas or hiking in Alaska. We encourage you to review all of the plans offered by World Nomads, as some plans cover more activities than others.
You may experience a little case of seasickness on your cruise, but occasionally it ends up being something more that requires you to get medical care. Your health insurance may only pay a small portion, if any, of your medical expenses onboard your ship or at any of your ports of call.
Travel insurance coverage for your cruise from World Nomads includes overseas accident and sickness medical expenses for US travelers, and you could be reimbursed for things like medication or x-rays that you may need. (Exclusion applies to Adventure or Extreme Activities.)
If you have a severe, acute, or life-threatening medical emergency while on your cruise and the treating medical physician feels you need to go somewhere to get a higher level of care than they can provide onboard, emergency evacuation and repatriation coverage may be able to help. This is included in your World Nomads travel protection plan, and it could even assist with getting you home to the US if your medical team (and the non-insurance 24hr Emergency Assistance Team) feel it’s best for you to seek treatment there.
Baggage and personal effects insurance coverage may help reimburse the cost to replace your belongings if your bag is lost by a common carrier. If you flew to the destination where your cruise will depart from, this could also include baggage lost by the airline. There is also insurance coverage for delays under baggage delay (up to your plan maximum benefit amounts.)
When you’ve dreamed about your cruise for months (or years), the last thing you want to do is think about canceling it. Unexpected things can happen though. What happens if you unexpectedly get sick before your cruise and your doctor says you can’t travel? World Nomads offers trip cancellation as a part of your travel insurance coverage, and that could help if you need to cancel your cruise for a covered reason. As a US resident (except if you live in New York), you could also have the chance to add on optional cancel for any reason coverage if you purchase either the Epic or Explorer plan, which can be especially handy if you book your cruise months in advance. Be sure to purchase your travel protection plan and add-ons within the time-sensitive window and read the terms and exclusions.
If you unexpectedly get hurt while on a cycling excursion during a stop in Australia, you may not be able to participate in other excursions you had already booked throughout the rest of your cruise. Trip interruption coverage could help you be reimbursed for your prepaid, non-refundable land or water travel arrangements if you must interrupt your trip and can’t recover those costs from the travel supplier.
Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes… with all of the amazing cruise destinations throughout the world, many of them have the possibility of unplanned natural disasters that can affect your cruise. Don’t let that deter you from traveling to these awesome locations though-just consider insuring your cruise. You often can’t plan for the unpredictable forces of nature, but World Nomads offers covered perils involving natural disasters as a part of their travel insurance benefits.
Sometimes your cruise may notify you of changes in your itinerary that can affect other elements of your trip. If your small adventure cruise to the Galapagos Islands doesn’t meet the minimum number of people for the cruise, they may move your booking to their next scheduled cruise a week later. In this instance, if you purchased the Explorer or Epic Plans, the trip exchange insurance benefit is included in your plan and could reimburse you for the difference in cost between the original and new plane tickets and pre-cruise hotel rooms. Terms and conditions apply.
When you’re flying to your departure city, you’re at the mercy of your airline to get you there on time so you can board your ship. As travelers ourselves, we know how often flights can be delayed or canceled though.
If you’re flying into Seattle to embark on your Alaskan cruise and your arrival is delayed for at least 3 consecutive hours for a covered reason, the missed connection insurance benefit included in the Explorer and Epic plans could reimburse you for the cost, up to the plan maximum outlined in your plan documents, to join your cruise at their next stop. You may have to catch a flight to Juneau and board the boat there, and your plan may reimburse you for the cost of that additional flight you didn’t plan for. If you miss out on any special activities that you had paid for in advance on the cruise, you could also be reimbursed for those unused, forfeited, prepaid non-refundable payments and deposits for your land or water travel arrangements you made for your trip.
Sometimes cruises bring unexpected inconveniences that are out of your control. What happens if your cruise misses a stop at a scheduled port of call because of situations like bad weather conditions or a natural disaster? We’ve also had nomads who were on river cruises and didn’t get to complete their whole itinerary because of water levels that were too low or too high. In these situations, the travel inconvenience benefit included in your cruise insurance coverage could pay you for your inconvenience (up to the benefit maximum shown in your Schedule of Benefits, and if you purchased an Explorer or Epic plan within the time sensitive period.) Terms and conditions apply.
All cruise vacations are not the same. A river cruise on the Danube could be a smoother voyage than a cruise to Antarctica where you may find yourself rocking your way through the Drake Passage. The waterways are completely different, as are the activities you’ll be participating in. The destination and length of the cruise can also determine your overall investment. These are all important things to consider when you’re searching for a suitable travel protection plan for your cruise.
For US residents, World Nomads offers four options for insurance benefits for your cruise -the Standard, Explorer, Epic, and Annual plans. The Standard Plan is the most basic plan, but still offers many travel insurance benefits for cruise travelers. If you're going to be participating in adventurous excursions, you may want to check out the Explorer or Epic plans, as they may cover more activities. You’ll also see that the Explorer and Epic plans include more benefits, such as trip exchange, trip inconvenience, and missed connection coverage.
If you’ll be going on multiple trips throughout the year (even here in the US), you may want to consider the Annual Plan when you’re doing your comparison of travel insurance coverage options.
We encourage you to compare the coverage side by side though. Every cruise traveler is different, and only you can determine the suitable travel insurance coverage for your particular cruise needs.
You can easily get a quote for a travel protection plan that includes travel insurance coverage for your cruise. It just takes a few minutes to input the specific information for your trip and see prices. You’ll be able to compare the coverage and prices side by side. You’ll see the Explorer and Epic plans are pricier than the Standard plan, but they can cover more activities and offer higher maximum benefit amounts. The Annual plan is pricier as well, but that one could cover all insurable trips that you’ll take in a year-not just one cruise.
If you have questions about coverage or pricing, you can contact us and we can help answer any questions you may have.
We get it… it happens… you’re partying too hard in Mexico, lose track of time, and arrive back at the port to see your ship sailing away without you. Unfortunately, your travel insurance benefits won’t cover additional expenses to catch up to your cruise. Keep an eye on the clock while you’re at a port of call, because travel insurance coverage won’t cover everything.
A few other things that could lead to various coverage exclusions :
Visit your state specific plan document for a full list of limitations and exclusions of your plan.
As cruise travelers ourselves, we’ve learned a few things along the way during our time on the open seas. Before you set sail, we encourage you to consider getting a travel protection plan that includes travel insurance coverages for cruises. We also want to share a few of our other tips for having a great cruise.
While travel insurance benefits could help with canceled or delayed flights on your way to your departure port, your ship isn’t going to wait on you if you’re running behind. To help avoid the possibility of your ship sailing away without you, try to arrive in your departure city with plenty of time to spare. You may even find some fun things to do there before your cruise.
If there’s a shore excursion that you have your heart set on, make sure you book it early. If you’ve been dreaming of whale watching in Juneau and wait too long to book it, you may be super bummed if you miss out. Excursions can sell out quickly and there may be limited options once you’re onboard.
You’ll be boarding the ship before your luggage reaches your cabin, so consider taking along a small bag that includes medication, phone chargers, and anything else you may need. If you’re planning to head straight to the pool, go ahead and throw your swimsuit and sunscreen in your bag as well.
Before your trip, review exactly what is included in your cruise package. Some cruises are all-inclusive, but many have drink packages or certain onboard activities that may cost extra. It’s best to know beforehand so you’re not surprised once you get onboard. Sometimes you can also save money if you purchase those packages ahead of time.
It’s not a bad idea to have a copy of this printed in your cabin as well, but we know our phones rarely leave us. If something happens on the ship or at one of your ports of call, you’ll be able to easily contact us.
If you’re traveling internationally, you can sign up for this free service. The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) allows US citizens to be contacted quickly in case there is an emergency at any of your destinations.
This is not a full list of what is and isn’t covered, so please check your plan document for a full list of terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions that may apply to your specific plan. Any example scenarios provided above are not a guarantee of coverage. All claims are subject to review, require documentation and are considered individually. If you have any questions about may or may not be covered, please reach out – we’re happy to help.
*All information we provided here is a brief summary. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions, and termination provisions of the plans described. Please carefully read your state specific plan documents for a full description of coverage. Travel insurance is included as part of your travel protection plan which contains both insurance benefits and non-insurance assistance services.
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I arrived in Delhi from Rome. Baggage claim help desk informed me that my bag had been delayed in transit. I was without my bag for almost a week before it was finally delivered to me. It was cold in Delhi (being winter, December) and my warm jacket was in my bag, requiring that I purchase a jacket and other items of warm clothing that I had not taken in my carry-on.
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Here are our most frequently asked questions about cover for cruises. You can also find the answers to other questions in our Help Center or you can ask the customer service team.
Whether you need medical or dental assistance or advice, emergency evacuation or travel assistance, our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
Wherever you are, we’re here 24/7 to help you in any emergency.
Are you in need of emergency assistance right now?
Contact Generali Global Assistance:
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+1 954-334-8143 (Collect outside the US)
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Before your trip, check the latest government advice for any travel alerts for your destination.