The cruise industry has had a tough stretch of bad publicity. Capsized vessels, boats adrift at sea with no power and short on supplies, all accompanied by the multiple images of stressed and stranded travelers. Let’s use the Triumph situation as a study into expectations, obligations, and travelers protection while vacationing the open seas.

1. Jim Grace Presents:
Travel Insurance
and Cruise Disasters
A look into the
current concerns
of cruise traveling.
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2. The deteriorating conditions aboard stranded ships
dominated travel headlines…
You’re more likely to fall in the
shower than have a travel mishap.
But how often does the media cover shower falls?
The cruise industry has had a tough stretch
of bad publicity.
Capsized vessels,
boats adrift at sea with no power and short on supplies, all accompanied by the
multiple images of stressed
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and stranded travelers.

3. The deteriorating conditions aboard stranded ships
dominated travel headlines…
When the ill-fated
Carnival Triumph
finally docked in Mobile, Alabama after
passengers had endured four days of discomfort following a fire that knocked out
much of the ship’s power, the deteriorating conditions aboard the ship had dominated
travel headlines for days.
Let’s use the Triumph situation as a study
into expectations, obligations, and travelers protection.
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4. No matter what any cruise line ultimately does or doesn't
do for its passengers will invite opinions on all sides…
Carnival Cruise Lines
made efforts to patch things up with the understandably
shaken passengers of the Triumph. The cruise line’s arrangements to charter buses
and planes, book blocks of hotel rooms, and secure ways for all of the Triumph’s
travelers to get home safely and quickly have been the subject of much scrutiny.
No matter what any cruise line ultimately does or does not do for its passengers will
invite opinions
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on all sides.

5. No matter what any cruise line ultimately does or doesn't
do for its passengers will invite opinions on all sides…
The trouble is, as consumer advocate Clark Howard aptly pointed out, Carnival was
not actually obligated to do anything
to assist these unfortunate
passengers. Contracts of carriage aboard cruise ships don’t usually include any kind of
language that barely hints at the cruise line bearing responsibility for passengers’
happiness, comfort, or transportation needs should something on board go awry.
By offering the assistance they had, the cruise line had already gone well beyond what
it’s contractually
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obligated to do.

6. If Carnival had chosen not to extend these offers
there wasn’t a legal obligating for them to do so…
With the laws as they were at the time, if Carnival had chosen not to extend offers of
assistance, there wouldn’t have been any legal need for them to do so.
Presumably, it would have resulted in an even worse
nightmare
public relations
the likes of which no company aiming to stay in business would ever
have wanted to experience. In the event that the cruise line had
its passengers’ immediate needs, what recourse did they have?
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not
taken care of

7. A comprehensive travel insurance plan may have helped
these travelers with the difficulties they experienced…
Travel insurance
may have provided solutions for many of the Triumph’s
passengers in that circumstance.
Comprehensive travel insurance
plan —
one purchased from a third party, not from the cruise line — would very likely have
covered most,
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if not all, of the difficulties experienced by these travelers.

8. A comprehensive travel insurance plan may have helped
these travelers with the difficulties they experienced…
Damaged belongings.
If conditions aboard the ship — whether fire or flood — led to property damage,
the baggage coverage included in a travel insurance package policy could have helped
with replacing the
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affected items.

9. A comprehensive travel insurance plan may have helped
these travelers with the difficulties they experienced…
Medical Care.
If a passenger fell ill or was injured on board, the medical coverage on their travel
insurance policy might have helped to cover the costs of their treatment, if those costs
were not
already covered by their primary health insurance carrier.
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10. A comprehensive travel insurance plan may have helped
these travelers with the difficulties they experienced…
Rebooking.
The Triumph’s passengers all ended up having to get home through
arrangements,
alternate
not using the means they had originally planned. A reputable
travel insurance company would not only have assistance available to make the
necessary arrangements for transportation and, if necessary, lodgings, but would also
potentially reimburse those costs.
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11. A comprehensive travel insurance plan may have helped
these travelers with the difficulties they experienced…
Reimbursement for pre-paid expenses.
If any passengers had made arrangements for further travel beyond the scheduled
return of their cruise and lost the opportunity to fulfill those plans, travel insurance
could have helped recover
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any pre-paid, nonrefundable expenses.

12. Asking questions and understating your options is important.
It is important
to have a plan. We all love to travel, and spend so much time and
energy, and money, into visiting our favorite places and making lifetime memories.
Unforeseen events happen. No one on that cruise thought their voyage would turn the
way it did.
Know your options, and what terms and coverages protect your
itinerary. Protect them even further with Travel Insurance from a reputable company.
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13. Asking questions and understating your options is important.
I can help, and know dozens of other trusted and experienced resources available
to consumers. Reach out to me on twitter, follow my blog, and most importantly,
know what you are purchasing.
@JimGrace3
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