Travel Insurance

What to look for

Trip cancellation and interruption: pays back non-refundable costs if you or a family member get sick before or during the trip. Cancellation fees can reach 100% of the fare 30-60 days before sailing (see booking topic).
Emergency medical: covers care onboard and ashore. Ship doctors charge separately.
Medical evacuation: pays to move you to a proper hospital or home. This can be very costly without insurance.
Missed connection / travel delay: helps you catch the ship if a flight delay makes you miss sailing.
Pre-existing conditions: many policies cover them only if you buy soon after your first trip payment. Read the policy.

Cruise line plan vs third-party plan

Cruise line plans (for example, Princess Vacation Protection or AmaWaterways' Cruise Protection Plan) are simple to add. Some give future cruise credit instead of cash, and medical limits may be lower. Premiums can be non-refundable (AmaWaterways says so).
Third-party plans can be compared on sites or through your agent; they often cover flights and hotels bought separately and may have higher medical limits.
Check whether Medicare or your own health plan covers you abroad before choosing medical limits.

Your checklist

Buy soon after your deposit.Check medical and evacuation limits.Check whether it pays cash or cruise credit.Make sure it covers flights and hotels you bought yourself.Carry the insurer's emergency phone number ashore.

Sources & what we could not confirm · 3 sources · checked 2026-11

Still being confirmed

Medicare's rules on coverage outside the US could not be read from medicare.gov this round (site did not load); check medicare.gov directly.
State Department guidance on overseas insurance could not be fetched this round.
No price ranges for insurance were verified.
Statements about cruise line plans giving credit instead of cash are general; check each plan.