Best Travel Insurance For Cruises

What Is Cruise Insurance?

Which Cruise Insurance Benefits Do Travelers Really Need?

Selecting the right cruise ship health insurance can feel overwhelming. Quite often, travelers get confused to understand the important of different benefits - whether it’s emergency medical coverage, evacuation, Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR), missed port protection, or pre-existing condition coverage. Without proper guidance, it’s easy to either buy insufficient coverage or miss out on important protections by waiting too long.

Having chosen the cruise line, below is a simplified and practical advice in order to know about what to insure and when to buy them:

• Emergency Medical and Evacuation: The most essential benefits for any cruise, as onboard medical care is limited and serious cases necessitate transfer to the nearest port. Thus, travelers must look for a minimum of at least $100,000 in medical coverage and $250,000 – $500,000 in evacuation coverage, particularly for remote sailings
• Pre-Existing Condition Coverage: It is important for seniors or travelers managing chronic conditions. Cruise ship insurance coverage offering acute onset of pre-existing conditions or full pre-existing condition coverage provide peace of mind when traveling far from advanced medical care.
• Missed Port & Cruise Interruption: Cruise itineraries may be affected by changes due to weather, mechanical breakdown etc... Missed port coverage, cabin confinement, and cruise interruption benefits help travelers recover costs when the itinerary changes unexpectedly.
• Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR): It is suitable for tourists who want maximum flexibility. CFAR allows cancellation for personal reasons such as fear of bad weather, change in health conditions, family problems, or even just being uncertain about the journey but also requires that the plan be bought in advance (generally within 10-21 days of making the first payment for the trip).
• When to Buy Medical Insurance For Cruises?
  • Purchase comprehensive trip insurance right after booking to unlock cancellation and CFAR benefits.
  • Purchase cruise medical insurance only before the trip begins, though earlier is still better to ensure coverage for pre-existing condition needs.

American Visitor Insurance empowers travelers by clearly explaining the purpose of each benefit, the timing needed to acquire it, and thus allowing them to make confident and well-informed decisions—that is, choosing to have the right protection during the entire cruise.

Who Is Eligible to Buy Cruise Insurance?

• Anyone planning to travel in Cruise outside their country borders are eligible to purchase the Cruise insurance.
• The US domestic health insurance plans do not offer coverage outside of the US National borders and for US citizens on Cruise vacation, having Cruise insurance can be wonderful.
• Most insurance companies offer Cruise insurance for all ages, however there might be some coverage restrictions depending on the age and pre-existing conditions.
• In American Visitor Insurance, we have plans that offer cruise insurance mostly for mostly for US citizens and US residents.
• There are cruise insurance for seniors and Cruise insurance plans with "Cancel for any reason" benefit.

Is Cruise Insurance Different From Travel Insurance?

• Yes, Cruise insurance provided by the cruise companies covers eventualities happening in the Cruise or directly related to the cruise only.
• However travel insurance by known US insurance providers has coverage going well beyond the cruise itself.
• Travel insurance becomes effective as soon as the travel insurance is purchased which can be months before the proposed cruise.
• The travel insurance can be used in the event of cancelling the cruise for covered reasons such as severe illness, injury or death, adverse weather conditions like hurricanes, or severe Covid pandemic related cancellations.
• If one has bought the ‘cancel for any reason’ benefit, the travel insurance provides complete flexibility to cancel the cruise even for personal reasons.
• Travel insurance also covers expenses not directly related to the cruise itself, expenses such as flight cancellation, baggage loss or baggage delay or missed hotel bookings.

Why Buy Cruise Insurance?

• Most US health insurance plans will not cover the traveler on a cruise especially if you leave the US national borders.
• Cruise insurance protects the insured for any prepaid non-refundable expenses should there be a cancellation, delay, or interruption in the Cruise vacation.
• Cruise insurance also provides health insurance coverage for medical emergencies, emergency medical evacuation and repatriation.
• Cruise insurance with Cancel for Any reason coverage can be purchased and become effective soon after booking the cruise. So you are eligible for a refund should you cancel the cruise for any reason.

What Are Some of the Reasons for Buying Cruise Travel Insurance?

Why Choose American Visitor Insurance for Cruise Trip Insurance?

Why Families Need Cruise Travel Medical and Trip Cancellation Insurance?

• When families travel overseas, it is important to buy proper travel medical insurance.
• Since the family is traveling outside familiar territory which can involve long air and road travel, acclimatising to different weather patterns and eating unfamiliar food there is an element of risk involved and vulnerability to falling sick or even having an accident.

• Furthermore, injuries or illnesses may happen before your trip and cause the whole trip to be cancelled.
• In that case, some cruise travel insurance insure the value of your trip allowing you to get your money back and rebook the trip another time.
• Trip insurance can be purchased for the whole travel group, so if Grandma breaks her leg and everyone decides to cancel, you can do so; even unrelated people can go on one policy for school reunions or company gatherings.

What Is the Best Cruise Insurance for Families and Multi-Traveler Groups?

Cruise holidays are popular with families, friend groups, and multi-generation travelers. A single medical event or travel delay can affect the entire group’s itinerary and finances.

• One plan can cover all family members
• Children can often be added for low cost—or sometimes free
• Trip cancellation/interruption applies to each traveler
• Baggage and delay coverage helps families traveling with essentials (medications, baby items, etc.)

• Ability to add multiple travelers under one booking
• Child/infant coverage options
• Strong emergency medical and evacuation benefits
• Pre-existing condition waivers (important for parents, grandparents)
• Coverage if a member cancels due to illness, injury, or emergencies

The best cruise trip protection insurance plans like Travelex Ultimate, Seven Corners Cruise Insurance, ITravelinsured Travel Choice Cruise, ITravelinsured Travel Choice and iTravelInsured Travel SE are popular for families and groups.

• Family cruise vacations
• Group cruises with friends
• Multi-generation trips (children, adults, seniors)
• Destination weddings and family reunions on cruises

Do Seniors With Medicare Need Travel Insurance for International Trips?

Yes. US seniors with Medicare should buy international travel insurance because Medicare provides very limited coverage outside the United States. Overseas medical treatment and emergency evacuation can be extremely expensive, making additional protection essential for older travelers.

Buying a Medicare supplemental international travel insurance plan is strongly recommended for senior citizens traveling abroad.
Learn More »

What Does Cruise Travel Insurance Cover?

Given all these benefits, it is important that cruise vacationers buy the best cruise travel insurance given the relative low cost of cruise insurance.

The cruise insurance protection offered by cruise lines provides very little benefits given their cost, this is particularly important for Seniors cruise vacationers who are most vulnerable and likely to need the benefits offered by the best cruise travel insurance plans.

What Does Trip Cancellation Insurance Cover for Cruise Travel?

Trip cancellation insurance not only covers your trip investment expenses, but also your medical expenses while on a cruise trip. If a traveler misses the cruise due to a delayed flight, or must cancel the vacation because they fell sick or for any other covered reason, the insurance reimburses all non-refundable trip expenses. It also covers medical care needed during the cruise.

Some cruises have medical facilities to treat minor injuries. However, if the injury or sickness is severe, the traveler may be required to leave the ship at the nearest port to receive medical care. When adequate treatment is not available locally, the traveler may need medical transportation or evacuation to the nearest hospital, and trip protection insurance will cover these costs.

Which Is the Cheapest Cruise Insurance for Trips for Cruises?

Finding affordable travel insurance for cruises involves comparing various plans to identify one that balances cost with adequate coverage. Here are some options to consider:

Which Is the Best Travel Insurance for Cruise?

* The price shown is for a 15-day trip with a $10,000 trip cost for a 45-year-old traveler.

Why Onboard Cruise Medical Care May Be Limited?

A lot of travelers think that cruise are just like hospitals in every way, but the onboard medical facilities are small, even for luxury cruise lines are designed primarily for basic and emergency care, not advanced treatment.

• Cruise ship medical facilities are equipped mainly for basic and non-complex medical needs
• Most ships have only only one physician and a small nursing team
• They may lack advanced equipment for cardiac events, strokes, or trauma
• Serious cases require emergency evacuation to the nearest port with adequate medical facilities
• On expedition or in a remote destination, the nearest hospital may be as far as hundreds of miles away.

• Emergency assessment and stabilization onboard
• Transportation to the nearest medical facility with appropriate care
• Emergency air evacuation if needed
• Medical repatriation back home for continued treatment

Does Cruise Trip Protection Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Conditions?

Yes, you can get trip cancellation insurance that includes coverage for pre-existing medical conditions for your cruise but only if you meet the purchase requirements set by each insurance provider. Many cruise-friendly travel insurance plans offer a pre-existing condition waiver, which removes the exclusion for pre-existing medical issues as long as you buy the policy within the required time window.

This waiver allows you to receive coverage for medical emergencies linked to pre-existing conditions, as well as trip cancellation if a condition worsens before your cruise begins.

Even though we hope your cruise is smooth and worry-free, it’s reassuring to know you're covered whether it’s a missed connection, a medical issue at sea, or a last-minute cancellation.

At American Visitor Insurance, we're here to help you find the right cruise travel insurance insurance with pre-existing condition coverage, so you can travel with confidence and peace of mind.

How Much Does Cruise Medical Insurance Cost?

The cost of cruise medical insurance can vary widely based on several factors, including your age, trip duration, destination, and the coverage limits you choose.

• Basic cruise medical insurance only coverage would cost $40 to $150 per person
• More comprehensive plans that include medical and evacuation coverage generally cost $150 to $400 or more per person
• Cruise insurance for seniors, particularly those over 65, will cost more due to higher health risks.
• Cruise health insurance with more comprehensive benefits, such as those covering pre-existing conditions, will be priced higher.

Longer cruises tend to cost more to insure, as the duration increases the risk of illness or injury.

Cruises to remote or exotic locations, where access to medical care is limited, can result in higher premiums.

How Much Does Cruise Travel Insurance Cost?

How Does Cruise Travel Insurance Compare to Other Insurances?

Cruise medical insurance and cruise travel insurance are related but serve different purposes. Here's a comparison to clarify the differences:

How Do I Choose the Best Cruise Insurance?

There are several factors to consider when choosing an insurance to cover your cruise.

• Firstly, you may be offered insurance by the cruise line. BEFORE you accept it, consider:
  • If you would rather insure the whole trip (including air travel to and from the ports or travel by vehicle to the port of disembarkation)
  • Whether you would like to also have health insurance while you are on your cruise and for all the stops along the way

If you think you might want a more complete plan, consider checking options on American Visitor Insurance to compare benefits and prices for best cruise travel insurance.

• If you’ve decided on a more inclusive plan, the main things that limit your choices are:
  • How much you want to insure the trip for (should include all non-refundable portions of your trip cost)?
  • How much medical expense coverage you think you will need?

Remember that if something happens while at sea, you may need emergency medical evacuation from the ship, which is covered by all our trip cancellation policies and may NOT be included in the policy offered by the cruise line.

When Is the Best Time to Buy Cruise Ship Health Insurance?

Travelers often wonder when to purchase insurance for cruises:

• Buy as soon as you book to secure full benefits.
• Some valuable protections—like trip cancellation for medical reasons—require buying the plan within a specific window after your initial trip payment.
• Cruise travel insurance medical only can be purchased even up until the day before departure, but earlier is always better.

Explaining these makes it clear why generic travel insurance may not be sufficient for cruises.

What Should I Look for When Selecting Cruise Insurance Coverage?

Look for the following while looking for Cruise insurance:

• Ensure that the plan provides good coverage for Emergency Medical Evacuation, Repatriation, Accidental Death and Dismemberment in case of any unforeseen emergencies.
• Make sure that the Cruise insurance covers trip cancellation, trip interruption, loss of luggage, personal property, travel delay and baggage delay. This makes it easier to recover the trip cost or the cost of personal property or damage in case the trip gets cancelled or delayed respectively.
• Check to see what the age of the traveler is. If the traveler is senior traveler, look if they need coverage for any existing conditions.
• Look for a plan that provides higher policy maximum limits, in case of any unexpected medical emergencies.
• Ensure that the plan provides flexible and comprehensive coverage in order to have sufficient coverage while outside the country.

What Factors Should You Consider When Buying Cruise Insurance?

What If I Need to Be Airlifted Off of the Cruise?

The plans offer a benefit called emergency medical evacuation. This benefit can move you from your cruise ship to the closest hospital that can attend you. It can also move you between hospitals if your current hospital cannot accommodate your needs. Also, it can move you to a hospital close to your home if a physician deems it necessary.

Which Is the Best Cruise Trip Insurance With Medical Evacuation?

Traveling is an extraordinary adventure and a thrilling experience, but it requires thorough preparation due to its extreme environment and isolation. Natural disasters or severe weather conditions can lead to serious illnesses or injuries which may require treatment beyond the capabilities of local facilities. Evacuation involves specialized procedures which can be extremely expensive.

Evacuations often involve multiple stages, including transport to a research station and then airlift to a hospital in South America, New Zealand, or Australia. Sometimes helicopters are used for short-distance evacuations to nearby research stations or ships or fixed-wing aircraft is used for long-distance evacuations, often requiring specially equipped planes for ice landings and take-offs.

Following Are Some of the Best Cruise Trip Insurance With Medical Evacuation

Which Is the Best Trip Cancellation Insurance for US Seniors?

Welcome to American Visitor Insurance! We are glad you found your way here. We are dedicated to getting you the least expensive, but most appropriate policy to put your mind at ease when you travel whether it’s on a getaway to Hawaii or an adventure across the globe to Mt. Fuji. We offer policies for pretty much anyone traveling nearly anywhere!

If you are an older US resident planning a trip (up to 99 years), we have a relatively new policy that you should consider. IMG has been in the travel insurance business for many years with travel and trip insurance products for all travelers.

Their latest trip cancellation plan is called iTravelInsured Choice Insurance. It is economically priced for trips that cost less than $10,000 per person (their other products can insure more expensive trips). While trip cancellation plans are often pricey, if you are an older traveler, they actually offer very competitive rates and often have much higher medical maximums and lower deductibles than straight travel insurance plans. Technically, you are not required to insure all of your trip or all your pre-paid non-refundable expenses. Minimum trip cost that can be insured is $500.

The most you insure for should be the total pre-paid, non-refundable portion of your trip cost. You will have to show your loss to get this benefit paid to you. Furthermore, if you go on your trip, this policy will provide coverage up to $100,000 for medical expenses as well as emergency medical evacuation of $500,000. There is no deductible on this plan. Also covers baggage loss or delay, trip delay and trip interruption.

The reimbursement for the trip interruption benefit will be the proportion of remaining trip multiplied by the insured amount of the policy. The policy will also help with lost or stolen passports, credit cards, and personal items.

Cruise Travel Insurance Protection Timelines

Going on a cruise vacation can be an expensive and a simple delay or missing a flight can spoil the entire vacation. Given the constant changes in the weather conditions, delays with airline and airport chaos, factors like covid pandemic in famous cruise destinations, travelers should have good Cruise travel insurance to protect the money spent on the cruise.
Cruise travel insurance provides coverage well before the start of the cruise, continues with the coverage during the cruise at Sea till the Cruise journey is completed. Given below are the coverage details at different stages of the Cruise.

How Cruise Travel Insurance Offers Coverage For Illness And Evacuation?

The travelers on cruises are not aware of the expensive healthcare costs while on a cruise ship. The basic diagnosis and treatment of regular health conditions can cost thousands of dollars on board. In case the passenger has to be evacuated to the nearest port, the cost can be astronomical.

Cruise insurance policy offers travelers medical coverage for unanticipated illness or injury during the cruise, including on-board treatment and emergency evacuation.

Travelers whose domestic insurance does not cover care outside the US should choose comprehensive cruise insurance. Some plans also provide coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions.

How To Buy Insurance For A Cruise?

At American Visitor Insurance, you can find several trip insurance plans and cruise insurance plans many of which offer 100% trip cancellation and over 100% trip interruption benefits.Before buying, make sure you understand the coverage you need and review the exclusions to know what is not covered.

Why Search & Rescue (SAR) Coverage Is Essential for Remote Cruises?

Travelers who go on cruises to Alaska, Antarctica, Arctic regions, and remote islands are far away from major medical facilities. In case a traveler gets lost or injured in the wilderness environment, Search & Rescue operations may still be necessary, and may cost thousands of dollars an hour.

Local authorities and rescue agencies often bill travelers directly for:

• Helicopter extractions
• Rescue boat deployment
• Ground search teams
• Emergency wilderness retrieval

The Search & Rescue benefit is not included in most cruise travel insurance policies.

The iTravelInsured Travel LX Insurance Plan is one of the plan to specifically cover Search and Rescue; therefore, this plan is the best option for cruises that visit remote destinations.

• Glacier hiking
• Remote kayak routes
• Snowfield or mountain treks
• Polar expeditions
• Off-route wildlife viewing tours

Why Adventure Excursions Need Special Cruise Insurance Coverage?

Most cruises offer on-shore experiences such as glacier hikes, kayaking and snorkeling, helicopter rides, zip-lining adventures and more. While these experiences are memorable for most people who travel by cruise, they also create unique risks that may not be covered by standard travel insurance.

If you are injured or experience an accident while doing an adventure experience off of the ship, you may require specialized medical care, emergency evacuation, or even search-and-rescue assistance costs that can be extremely high and not covered by your cruise line.

When purchasing travel insurance for cruises, you should look for coverage that includes:

• Coverage for adventure sports or high-risk sports
• Medical evacuation benefits (recommended $250,000–$500,000 in coverage if you are in a remote area)
• Trip interruption coverage if you are injured on an excursion and cannot continue the cruise

Cruise trip cancellation insurance like Travelex Ultimate include optional adventure-sports protection, making them ideal for travelers planning physically demanding excursions.

Do I Need Royal Caribbean Medical Insurance?

Many travelers prefer separate cruise travel medical insurance rather than only relying on onboard care, which can be limited and expensive. A standalone plan offered by American Visitor Insurance provides higher medical limits, evacuation, and broader coverage — see our detailed Caribbean cruise insurance options for more information.

Best Ocean Cruises

Alaska

Antarctica

Caribbean

Pacific

Best Travel Insurance for European River Cruise Travelers

• European river cruises usually require strong medical coverage, evacuation benefits, and protection for trip cancellations.
• Travelers on European rivers should look for a travel insurance plan that includes pre-existing condition waivers, missed connection coverage, and trip interruption benefits.
• Since healthcare in Europe is good but expensive for non-residents, choosing the best travel insurance for European river cruise itineraries ensures peace of mind and financial protection.

Best European River Cruises

Rhine River

Danube River

Elbe River

Rhone River

Real-World scenarios: How Cruise Insurance Really Helps Travelers

Travelers often underestimate the importance of travel health insurance for cruises until something unexpected happens. These real, anonymized scenarios show how insurance saved travelers from huge financial losses:

Cruises Insurance, Cruises Cancellation Insurance FAQs

Traveling outside of one’s home country always requires some good recommendations and tips for a smooth and safe trip. Here is some information that may be helpful while you plan an international trip.

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