Protect your travel investment Canadians are pretty savvy when it comes to travel insurance. You know the risks of travelling out of the country without adequate health insurance, and you know that your provincial government insurance isn’t going to do anything for you. All cruise lines sailing out of U.S. ports offer supplementary medical emergency insurance plans that are primarily designed for American patrons, the vast majority of whom have private insurance (usually employee or retirement plans). The basic coverage limits ($10,000 to $25,000) are usually very low by Canadian standards, and patients are expected to pay doctors and hospitals directly and file for reimbursements with their insurers. These plans are inappropriate for Canadians. Your Canadian travel insurance covers you for up to five or $10 million for medical emergencies, and also pays providers in foreign countries directly. Securing your medical coverage at home − as you have always done − is the easiest decision which you canmake. However, buying cancellation or trip interruption coverage requires diligence. All cruise lines offer cancellation and trip interruption policies that will refund deposits or full payments which you have made if they cancel a cruise. Or they may offer you “future cruise credits/vouchers” − often with value-added benefits such as a $150 credit for onboard spending on your next cruise. That’s OK if you’re prepared to lend out your money to the cruise line in the meantime. But cash is still king, and you can always book another cruise later, if and when you feel the urge to set sail. Join the lineup Before the pandemic, Canadians were taking almost one million cruises annually; the great majority were out of U.S. ports − mostly to the Caribbean, the world’s most-favoured cruise destination. And, according to various cruise industry sources, more than 50 new or refurbished cruise ships are expected to be delivered by 2025: among them− the first with an on-board roller-coaster, another with vertical skydiving, and another with a tattoo parlour. Just what you’ve been waiting for. Medical writer Milan Korcok, a dual Canadian/U.S. citizen has been reporting on cruise ship safety and sanitation issues for medical journals since 1978, shortly after the CDC instituted its Vessel Sanitation Program. He is a resident of Fort Lauderdale. CSANews | SPRING 2022 | 23 Travel
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