Archive for travel insurance
Why Are You Here?
Posted by: | CommentsThat’s the question that was posed by native New Yorkers to the Cruise Professor many times over the weekend as our family shopping entourage braced a 15 degree wind chill factor along Canal Street. Especially when we told people we lived in South Florida! But plans were made in advance so we refused to allow a little thing like “The Blizzard of 2010” to impact our outing. Luckily, Manhattan escaped the brunt of the storm with only lots of wind and snow flurries. But to the south of us things were certainly different. . . .
As I watched the storm steadily progressing toward the mid Atlantic region, two words immediately came to mind – Trip Insurance. It was clear very early on that this storm was going to impact thousands of travelers including many who planned to cruise from southern ports over the weekend. There were over 20,000 flights canceled between Friday and Sunday at several dozen major airports. These cancellations impacted several hundred cruise passengers who undoubtedly missed their ships in Florida ports. Once again, a strong case was made that every cruiser should purchase trip insurance that offers protection against weather -related delays. While this coverage can’t magically transport you high above the weather to your destination, it can take some of the sting out of the cost and inconvenience caused by events like “Snowmageddon”.
It doesn’t matter what time of year that you plan to cruise. Always, always add trip insurance to your travel plans to make sure that coverage for all those “what ifs” is in place. Your www.iCruise.com personal cruise counselor will be happy to explain the affordable trip insurance plans available with any cruise. Don’t trust your travel plans to luck or fate only to learn the hard way that sudden storms and other factors can severely impact your trip.
The good news for the Cruise Professor and group? We missed a major snow event and were able to stuff all 15 purses in the overhead compartment and arrived back in Florida in time for the Super Bowl!
Happy (and snow free) Sailing from the Cruise Professor
Read more about Travel Protection Insurance here; http://www.icruise.com/travel_protection.asp
Expect the Unexpected when Flying
Posted by: | CommentsI am writing from the American Airlines Admirals Club at the Chicago International Airport. Got here at noon to catch a 2:15 flight to Miami. Unfortunately, due to mechanical problems the flight was cancelled and we are now booked on a 6:15 flight – a full four hours after our original departure time.
We are just heading home after a short weekend in the Windy City to celebrate a 40th birthday with some friends. But this exact same experience happens every week for cruise passengers flying to their cruise departure cities. I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety I would feel if I knew I would be late for my cruise because of situations beyond my control.
When planning your flights for a cruise, always plan for the unexpected. Book the earliest flights you can and even consider coming in a day early just to reduce the risk of missing your ship due to flight delays caused by inclement weather and mechanical problems.
If flying internationally or coast to coast, go in 2 days early to acclamate to time differences from jet lag, sight seeing in your departure port, and give you a chance you collect any delayed luggage.
Finally, always buy travel insurance. Travel insurance covers trip delay, trip interruption, and lost baggage. This means that if you do miss your ship due to a flight delay, your insurance will help cover the cost of your additional travel expenses.
I’ll go into a lot more detail in a future blog about what I learned from this particular trip. Hopefully, my next blog will be from the comfort of my home or office and not from this lounge again in 3 hours.
