Imagine this: you’re all packed and ready to go for your family’s first cruise. You’ve spent months preparing, saving, and planning. Your kids can hardly sleep because they’re so excited. You wake up to an email saying that your flight is delayed due to weather. The delay continues, and eventually your 8 AM arrival turns into a 4 PM arrival...and your cruise ship departs at noon. There’s no physical way to make it to the ship, and you miss your cruise.

In another scenario, you make it onto the cruise. You’re busy soaking up the sun and enjoying your vacation, and then you get sick. Really sick. Most infirmaries on cruise ships are only equipped to handle minor injuries and illnesses. If you’re sick enough, they might tell you to get off the ship and seek medical attention at a hospital in the next port. Depending on the country’s healthcare system, you may need to be medically evacuated to another country.

Or maybe you’re two steps away from a killer selfie that will make everyone back home jealous. Just one more step to get that perfect—oops. Now you’re headed back with more than just a bruised ego—you have a sprained ankle too.

Unfortunately, while not common, accidents like these do happen. So how do you protect your wallet and your health at the same time? Start by asking yourself a few questions to see if you need travel insurance for your cruise:

• Do you have any elderly or ill family members that may need your assistance if they have a medical emergency while you are on your trip?
• If you were unable to travel would the loss of prepaid costs for your trip such as airfare, cruise, and excursions hurt you financially?
• Are you traveling to another country? Most health plans do not provide cover outside of the country of residence.
• Is your cruise during hurricane season?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should consider investing in an iTravelInsured travel insurance plan.

When making your deposit or the final payment for your cruise, you may notice an insurance add-on option from the cruise line. So, what’s the biggest difference between buying insurance through the cruise line and buying it directly through an insurance company? Some cruise lines will offer a cancellation waiver which only provides a future cruise line credit. Even if the cruise does offer an add-on option with cash benefits, you should really compare those benefits to other plans available before signing up. IMG’s iTravelInsured products offer a variety of coverages. We understand that one size does not fit all. When selecting an iTravelInsured plan you can elect to insure your total trip cost for non-refundable trip expenses including flights and excursions- and not just the cruise.

Before you take the “easy” route and add-on the cruise line insurance, consider what you need most in an insurance plan and get a quote from IMG to compare prices and benefits. Visit our travel insurance page for more information about iTravelInsured and how to protect your trip.