American Cruise Lines Travel Insurance - 2024 Review

American Cruise Lines

American Cruise Lines offer both river and ocean cruises to their customers traveling with a sophisticated travel experience within and around the US.

American Cruise Lines provides many of the traditional entertainment options such as onboard music, entertainment, and onboard experts such as historians and naturalists, who present informal lectures and discussions.

With their themed cruises ranging from holiday cruises, food and wine cruises, music cruises, historical cruises (such as Lewis and Clark, the Civil War, and Mark Twain), there is a wide variety of entertainment to suit most travelers.

In this review, we will compare the coverage, benefits and quality of their cruise cancellation plan against other travel insurance plans available in the wider travel insurance marketplace. We explore the cost and value for money of the plans and help you determine which one is the best choice for your travel needs.

American Cruise Lines Travel Insurance

The first thing to note is that American Cruise Lines does not sell travel insurance. Instead, they offer their own cancellation-only program, which they call their Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan.

You can purchase the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan plan at the time of booking with your American cruise. Whilst the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan does allow you to cancel your trip and recover your money, it is not travel insurance and does not contain many of the normal benefits that comprehensive travel insurance provides to protect you on your vacation.

It is also worth pointing out that the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan does not cover any other portion of your trip, such as the cost of flights and hotels. The only thing it covers is the cancellation of the cruise. You if you have reason to cancel your trip, if you want to be fully protected for all parts of your vaction, from airline to transfers to hire cars, you would need to buy a travel insurance plan i any event to give you complete coverage. Arguably it makes sense to consider a single travel insurance plan to cover 100% of your holiday investment.

If you buy the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan, only cancellation benefits are covered. It lacks basic travel insurance needs such as medical coverage and medical evacuation. This is a massive concern to us at TripProtectors. We are more than aware of the potential costs of medical emergencies whilst on vacation and medical evacuation if needed. It is essential to board your cruise ship with a comprehensive insurance plan in place. The protection the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan offers is incomplete compared to a comprehensive travel insurance plan.

Our Cruise: Chesapeake Bay Cruise

The best way for us to demonstrate what other travel insurance options look like is to book an American Cruise Line trip. So sit back, relax and enjoy your sail-away cocktail as we set sail with American Cruise Lines.

Our trip is a seven-night cruise that explores the roots of our country. This wonderful cruise begins and ends in Baltimore, Maryland, and focuses on the “Historic Triangle” of Yorktown, Williamsburg and Jamestown, key locations of the American Revolution.

Our travelers are aged 55 and 60 and we have chosen the Owner’s Suite with private balcony for the cruise.

The base cost of this cruise with our chosen suite is $11,310.

Price of American Cruise Lines Cruise Insurance

As an add-on, we can opt to include American Cruise Lines’ Cancelation Protection Plan For $570 per person.

As mentioned above, this plan is NOT insurance and to be fair it does clearly state this. There is no suggestion it is trying to be anything it is not. It simply provides a refund or cruise credit if you cancel. How much is refunded will depend on when the refund is requested. There is also a $250 per person ‘Cancellation Administrative Charge’ which is deducted from any refund or cruise credit given. If you purchase this plan within 14 days of the deposit for the cruise, the Deluxe Protection coverage will apply. Otherwise, the Basic Protection coverage is used.

The difference between the Deluxe and Basic protection is the amount of money refunded. The Basic plan will provide an 80% refund up to 9 days prior to the trip departure, whilst the Deluxe provides a 90% refund up to 9 days prior to the trip departure as shown below in the summary.

For our two travelers, adding the Cancel For Any Reason Protection Plan to the cruise will cost an additional $1,140 to our cruise cost. This brings the total cost of our cruise and the protection plan to $12,450.

At TripProtectors we know we can get a better option at a lower price with far more coverage. Let’s see what those options look like.

Comparison Quotes

Based on our sample couple, ages 55 and 60, we created comparison quotes using TripProtectors’s travel insurance marketplace engine. The trip cost used for the comparison is the cruise cost (without the amount for the Cancellation Protection) for both travelers, namely, $5,655 per person for price of $11,310.

When traveling overseas, TripProtectors recommends that you should travel with a policy that gives you at least $100,000 Medical Insurance, $250,000 Medical Evacuation, and it at all possible, get a travel insurance plan that has a Waiver of Pre-existing Medical Conditions.

Since this cruise travels entirely within the United States, we recommend at least $100k in medical coverage. We also recommend at least $250k in Medical Evacuation for trips to Hawaii and Alaska, since they are a long way from the continental United States.

Turning to the output from the quote, the least expensive plan with adequate coverage on our quote from TripProtectors is the Trawick First Class. This plan also includes a Waiver of Pre-Existing Medical Conditions, if purchased within 14 days of the initial trip deposit.

The Trawick First Class travel insurance costs $649.11, This is a $490.89 savings over the American Cruise Lines cruise cancellation-only plan, which does not provide medical coverage at all.

If you want the added ability to cancel your trip for a reason that is not covered under the policy document, you need a Cancel for Any Reason policy. For a Cancel For Any Reason policy, we chose the Trawick First Class (CFAR75%), because it is the least expensive plan with Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) benefits and would be comparable to the American Cruise Lines Cancellation Protection Plan.

The Trawick First Class (CFAR 75%) is the same policy as the Trawick First Class plan, but adds the Cancel For Any Reason option to the policy. The cost of this plan is $1,103.49, which is $36.51 LESS than the American Cruise Lines cancellation plan, and also giving you far more protection including medical coverage and medical evacuation coverage.

We often find the best way to see the differences between plans is to review them side by side. The chart below lets you see the value for money and protection levels available between the American Cruise Line Cancellation Protection Plan and the Trawick policies.

Benefit	American Cruise Lines Cancellation Protection Plan	Trawick First Class	Trawick First Class(CFAR 75%)
Trip Cancellation	None	100% of trip cost	100% of trip cost
Trip Interruption	None	150% of trip cost	150% of trip cost
Medical Insurance	None	$150,000	$150,000
Medical Evacuation	None	$1,000,000	$1,000,000
Baggage Loss/Damage	None	$500/article up to $2,000 per person	$500/article up to $2,000 per person
Baggage Delay	None	$400	$400
Travel Delay (Incl quarantine)	None	$1000 per person	$1000 per person
Missed Connection	No	$1,000 per person	$1000 per person
Cover Pre-existing Medical Conditions	No	Yes if purchased within 14 days of deposit	Yes if purchased within 14 days of deposit
Cancel For Work Reason	No	No	No
Interrupt For Any Reason	No	No	No
Cancel For Any Reason	Yes Varying scale of refund	No	75% of trip cost If purchased within 10 days of trip deposit
Accidental Death & Dismemberment	None	$25,000	$25,000
Cost of Policy	$1,140 (10.08% of trip cost)	$649.11 (5.74% of trip cost)	$1,103.49 (9.75% or trip cost)

Price and Value

As you can see, the American Cruise Lines cancellation plan is not only expensive (10% of the trip cost), but also lacks all coverage other than cancellation. 

When you compare the American Cruise Line plan to the Trawick First Class, you can immediately see how much protection is absent from the American Cruise Line cruise protection plan. Not only does the American Cruise Line policy offer significantly less coverage, but it also costs $480.89 MORE than the Trawick policy. This additional savings could be used for airline tickets, shopping, or a night on the town.

Comparing the American Cruise Lines plan to the Trawick CFAR policy, we see that it is more expensive than the Trawick First Class (CFAR75%) by $36.10 and has substantially less coverage.

Below we will discuss some of the core benefits we expect to see in a comprehensive travel insurance plan.

Trip Cancellation

Sometimes things just don’t work out the way we plan. Unforeseeable events happen.

What if you fall sick right before the amazing trip you planned for months, or you suffer an injury and can’t travel? Or you test positive for COVID right before traveling?

What happens to your money if you must cancel your trip before your departure date?

Thankfully, Trip Cancellation refunds the full Trip Cost if you cancel for a covered reason. Trip Cost is the total price of all prepaid and non-refundable expenses.

Unfortunately, American Cruise Lines does not offer a comprehensive travel insurance plan. Instead, they only cover the cost of the cruise if you cancel your trip. It does not include the cost of hotels or flights. Essentially, it is an expensive upgrade from the standard cancellation American Cruise Lines penalty. Let’s look at their Protection Plan Summary again:

Typically, American Cruise Lines permits cancellation within 24 hours of the purchase for a 100% refund.

After 24 hours, American Cruises Lines charges a $250 per person cancellation fee. The fee applies even if you purchase the additional cruise line’s cancellation program.

With the American Cruise Lines’ plan, you can cancel your trip for a 100% refund until 91 days before the departure date of your trip. But what happens after that?

If you cancel 10 days or less before departure, you receive a 90% refund.

If there are 9 days or less until the start of your cruise, American Cruise Lines provides an 80% refund in cruise credits, not cash. Any travel arrangements you made yourself, like flights, are complete losses.

In contrast, the Trawick First Class policy pays a 100% cash refund if you cancel for a covered reason, even at the last minute.

The Trawick First Class policy covers the following cancellation reasons:

• You, a family member’s, a traveling companion’s, business partner’s, or a child caregiver’s death
• You, a family member, traveling companion, a business partner, or a child caregiver falls sick or is injured
• You are hijacked, quarantined, subpoenaed, or summoned for jury duty
• There is a fire, flood, burglary, or natural disaster at your or your traveling companion’s home
• A named hurricane makes your residence or destination uninhabitable or inaccessible
• You are involved in a car accident on the way to the airport or cruise port (must file a police report)
• A strike or inclement weather prevents travel
• Terrorism in a city on your itinerary that occurs within 30 days of your departure date
• The airline, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel provider goes bankrupt/defaults (must occur more than 10 days after policy purchase)

• Your passport or visa is stolen (you must file a police report)
• A national disaster that causes a government-mandated shutdown of an airport
• You or a traveling companion, who are military, are called to emergency duty for a national disaster (not including war)
• Your family or friends you are staying with, who live abroad, become sick or injured and are no longer able to have you stay with them
• Adverse weather or a natural disaster causes a mandatory evacuation (ordered by local government authorities at your destination)
• You are delayed by the common carrier and that causes you to lose 50% or more of your trip

Trip Interruption

What happens when you must go home early from your trip?

Suppose you are on your vacation and you are injured. You miss several days of your vacation, or the doctor tells you that you cannot continue the rest of your trip. You still have a lot of things scheduled that you already paid for.

Luckily, Trip Interruption covers you for a refund of your unused trip costs. Plus, Trip Interruption includes the additional transportation cost to rejoin your travel party/cruise or return home.

The Trawick First Class policy reimburses you for 100% of your Trip Cost, and also provides a 150% refund in case you experience a covered Trip Interruption.

Unfortunately, the American Cruise Lines plan fails to provide Trip Interruption at all. If you had to go home early due to a family tragedy, you’d lose all the money you paid for the unused portion of the trip. You would also be out of pocket for the cost of your return trip.

Medical Insurance

Medical Insurance is extremely important to have on a travel insurance plan, even when you stay within the US.

Although most health insurance covers you while you’re in the United States, your insurer may charge higher co-pays or deductibles for out-of-network care. For seniors with Medicare, Federal coverage is national, but your supplement or advantage plan might be state-specific. In that case, you, too, may have higher out-of-pocket expenses than anticipated. Travel insurance reimburses you for those out-of-pocket expenses.

Additionally, if you purchase travel insurance with Primary Medical coverage, you do not have to file a claim with your own health insurance plan first. That’s less paperwork and hassle for you. File the claim directly with the travel insurance plan and it pays for your medical expenses while on your trip.

Regrettably, American Cruise Lines fails to help with Medical Insurance coverage. If you need treatment, you must use your health insurance plan. You may pay more for out-of-state care than at home.

The Trawick First Class plan includes $150,000 of Medical Insurance. This protection gives you peace of mind that you are covered for out-of-pocket expenses that your insurance plan requires you to pay if you suffer a critical illness or injury on your trip.

Emergency Medical Evacuation

Medical Evacuation is another essential coverage that travel insurance includes.

Emergency Medical Evacuation ensures transportation to the nearest medical facility capable of treating your illness or injury. Although your health insurance plan covers you while in the US, keep in mind that the nearest facility may be out-of-network. In that case, you pay for the extra cost of the deductibles and coinsurance.

Suppose you feel short of breath, chest pain, and numbness in your arms during the cruise. If you are on the ship and need immediate medical attention, a helicopter will airlift you to the nearest hospital. If you are onshore, an ambulance will take you to the closest medical facility.

Either way, Medical Evacuation pays to transport you.

The hospital stabilizes your condition, but since you had a heart attack, you need further treatment. Medical Evacuation also gets you to a hospital near your home. Imagine if you will the cost of transporting you home or to a medical facility near your home. The financial implications could be eye-watering.

Medical Evacuation is another area where the American Cruise Lines cancellation plan falls flat since Medical Evacuation is also missing from the policy.  

Fortunately, the Trawick First Class includes Medical Evacuation up to $1 million per person.

Pre-existing Medical Conditions

Another major concern for a traveler is coverage for Pre-existing Medical Conditions.

Usually, travel insurance plans exclude coverage for any Pre-existing Medical Conditions. However, you can cover any pre-existing medical condition with a Pre-existing Medical Exclusion Waiver. Simply purchase the plan within 14-21 days (depending on the policy) of the first deposit or payment for your trip.

TripProtectors recommends, whenever possible, that travelers include a Waiver of Pre-Existing Medical Exclusion in their travel insurance. The waiver covers you for any Pre-existing Medical Conditions as long as you are medically fit to travel the day you purchase the policy.

But what if your trip is within the US, and you have great health insurance? Do you need a Pre-Existing Medical Exclusion Waiver? Yes!

All travel insurance plans exclude Pre-existing Conditions from coverage. That applies to all benefits offered by your trip insurance, including Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption.

That means if you cut your trip short and go home early because of a Pre-existing Condition, you are not covered. Only a travel insurance policy that includes a Pre-Existing Medical Exclusion Waiver can cover you for anything that involves a Pre-existing Condition.

Fortunately, the waiver is available with the Trawick First Class plan. To qualify for the waiver, buy the plan within 14 days of the initial trip payment date.

Unfortunately, the American Cruise Lines plan does not include medical benefits, so coverage for Pre-existing Medical Conditions is also missing from their cruise insurance.

Cancel For Any Reason

So far, we only discussed what happens when you cancel your trip for a covered reason.

Although the generous list of cancellation reasons covers most scenarios, sometimes you must cancel your trip because of something else.

How can you recover the money if you’re unable to travel because of a non-covered reason?

Cancel For Any Reason travel insurance solves this situation. It allows you to cancel your trip for literally any reason, not just the ones listed in the policy.

Although Cancel For Any Reason does not pay a 100% refund of your trip cost, it prevents a complete loss. You’ll enjoy the most flexibility when you include this extra cancellation benefit with your travel plan.

American Cruise Lines focuses on Cancel For Any Reason above all other considerations.

American Cruise Lines does not have a list of covered cancellation reasons. Instead, the American Cruise Lines plan determines your refund based on when you cancel.

As mentioned earlier, if you 91 days or more before your trip, you are entitled to a full cash refund, less a $250 administration fee.

If you cancel between 10 and 90 days before your trip, you receive a 90% refund, less a $250 administration fee.

However, if you cancel nine days or less before the departure date, American Cruise Lines denies you a cash refund. Instead, American Cruise Lines only offers an 80% of your cruise cost in cruise credits for future use. This is true whether you cancel because you don’t want to go or due to an accident or illness preventing you from traveling.

On top of all that, American Cruise Lines requires you to use the future credit within 12 months, or they purge it from your account. If you have a debilitating health condition that prevents you from traveling in the future, you will lose everything you paid for the cruise and the extra cancellation plan.For this reason we beleive that a cancellation benefit should only be paid in cash, so you can decide if and when you next travel and which cruise line or holiday company you travel with.

American Cruise Lines charges nearly 10% extra for the trip for the right to cancel but you only receive 80% back in cruise credit.

Also, note that the American Cruise Lines only covers the cost of the cruise. Therefore, all other prepaid expenses such as airfare and hotels are unprotected from loss.

By comparison, the Trawick First Class (CFAR75%) plan works differently. You can cover all prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements on travel insurance from TripProtectors. To include the Cancel For Any Reason Benefit, buy the Trawick First Class (CFAR75%) plan within 10 days of your Initial Trip Deposit date.

Furthermore, the Trawick First Class (CFAR75%) does not reimburse you using credits. You recover 75% of your total trip cost in cash. The only requirement is that you cancel your trip 48 hours or more before your departure.

Conclusion

The American Cruise Lines’ cruise insurance is not a travel insurance policy. It is merely a very expensive enhanced cancellation fee plan that only covers the cost of your cruise. Therefore, it excludes all other benefits that are covered in a comprehensive travel policy.

Additionally, if you cancel 9 days or less before the start of your cruise, then American Cruise Lines does not refund you in cash. Instead, you only receive a fraction of your trip cost in credits for a future trip, and it must be booked through American Cruise Lines.

Also, the American Cruise Lines cancellation plan lacks crucial benefits such as Trip Interruption, Medical Insurance, Medical Evacuation, Pre-Existing Conditions, and more.

With American Cruise Lines, you not only miss out on these essential benefits, but you also pay more while receiving less. We rate American Cruise Lines a 7 out of 10.

To ensure you receive the best value for your money, compare policies before you purchase travel insurance.

TripProtectors is a travel insurance marketplace that helps you find the best travel insurance for your trip. We run your quote through multiple insurers to help you find the lowest cost plan that fits your needs.

There are much better options to insure your trip on the wider travel insurance marketplace. Compare your options for cruise insurance with TripProtectors.

Still have questions? You can chat with us online, by email, or give us a call at +1(650) 397-6592. We are happy to assist you with your travel insurance needs.

Safe Travels!