TRAVELLERS have warned others about a big mistake they have made when booking cruises that ended up costing them a fortune.
Holidays are expensive enough as it is without silly errors causing people to lose out on cash they don’t need to.
However, when booking cruise insurance, a lot of people leave themselves at risk of losing out on money.
Wyletta Mitchell thought the $400 (£322) travel insurance policy she bought would cover the $9,300 (£7,500) cost of the Alaskan cruise she booked for her 20th anniversary.
However, when travel delays resulted in her missing her connecting flights and in turn her cruise, she was left shocked by how much she received in compensation from her insurance policy.
She told WSBTV about how she received just $322 (£260) – less than she paid for her policy meaning she was still out of pocket for the insurance, while also not getting the cost of her cruise back.
She said: “It said that our trip was going to be covered 100%.”
Wyletta booked the insurance through the cruise company, which is something that former travel agent and consumer advisor Clark Howard said passengers should never do.
He told the same network that cruise guests should always buy third-party travel insurance.
He said: “My ironclad rule: Never, never, never buy trip coverage from a cruise line.
“You pay too much and it’s always junk.
“The brochure will tell you all the wonderful things, but it’s the contract…that has the bad stuff.”
Others have explained how passengers can make sure that even delays don’t mean they end up missing their cruise.
Christine Kesteloo lived and worked on a cruise ship half of every year in her old job and knows all about how to make the most out of her time on board.
She shares her experiences from her time on board the ship on Tiktok (@dutchworld_americangirl), showing people what it was like to live on one of the liners.
She said that passengers need to arrive at the port with plenty of time to make sure they’re on board when the ship sets sail.
However, some people risk missing the boat by flying in on the same day they’re due to leave.
Christine said: “I would never fly in the same day that my cruise is leaving.
“So many people miss the ship just because they booked their flight for the same day that the ship’s leaving. Don’t do that.”
Instead Christine recommends flying in the day before and staying near to the port in a hotel to make sure you have enough time to get to the ship.
Meanwhile this couple missed their cruise after making a very simple passport mistake.
And this is the secret code word you never want to hear when you’re on board a cruise ship.
