The results of InsureMyTrip's annual cruise survey are in. As in last year's survey of U.S. respondents, the prospect of becoming sick or injured, either before or during a cruise, was identified as the ongoing foremost concern among passengers.
Interestingly, health-related issues also made up the majority of travel insurance claims for cruise vacations filed by customers this year.
The majority (43 percent) of those polled said that they were most concerned about illness or injury affecting their trip, be it before or during a cruise. Almost 49 percent were worried that bad weather would affect their planned itineraries, while about seventeen percent identified the possibility of missing their cruise departure their top concern.
As an aside, it was also revealed that roughly one in four respondents had experienced seasickness during a past voyage, which might hint at the source of some anxieties.
Respondents, who voluntarily participated in this survey, had all either researched or actually purchased travel insurance policies within the past 24 months. Of those polled, almost one-fifth (nineteen percent) had previously filed a travel insurance claim for a cruise-related issue.
The most common reasons for filing a claim were medical care required in the course of a cruise; a medical issue that had forced a trip cancellation; bad weather or a missed flight, which led to the delay or cancellation of a cruise; and items being either lost or stolen during a trip.
Other aspects of the survey revealed some other interesting consumer behavior patterns. At least among the survey group, preferred cruise destinations ranked with the Caribbean in first, Alaska in second place and Italy coming in third.
It was also revealed that cruise discounts and itineraries that include more time in port were the major motivating factors when it came to booking a cruise.
Fifty-eight percent of respondents cited cruise deals as a primary motivator for their choices; almost 28 percent said more time at port instead of at sea was most important; nearly ten percent booked according to updated Wi-Fi availability on board, and a little more than four percent prioritized new VIP services for passengers staying in suites.
Cruisers should, of course, do their due diligence when it comes to choosing a travel insurance policy. InsureMyTrip emphasized that comprehensive plans are now available, which cover trip cancellation, trip interruption, emergency medical coverage, emergency medical evacuation, 24/7 emergency assistance, travel delay and baggage protection.
They can also include cruise-specific inconvenience benefits, such as shipboard service disruptions (perhaps a fire, mechanical breakdown or onboard illness disrupts a cruise) or port-of-call changes (i.e., when a cruise line changes its itinerary due to weather or other circumstances).
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