Compare Cruise Insurance Plans & Prices (2025)

Carnival Cruise Line is one of the most popular cruise brands in North America, with a fleet of 27 ships. Their cruise trip insurance plan, dubbed Carnival Vacation Protection, is an optional add-on to customers when purchasing.

Carnival Vacation Protection includes a form of Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage at no additional cost, unlike many third-party options. The plan’s Travel Delay coverage is also respectable, providing reimbursement for delays that exceed 3 hours.

However, Carnival’s plan falls short on a number of fronts, including:

• Trip Cancellation: Only covers a customer's airfare and cruise expenses, and does not provide protection for other non-refundable travel expenses like rental cars, hotel stays, or prepaid excursions.
• Emergency Medical: Includes just $10,000 in cruise medical insurance coverage per person, the lowest of any plan offered by a cruise line.
• Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Offers $30,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage, which is likely not enough to cover the cost of emergency transportation services at sea.
• Pre-Existing Conditions: Does not provide any coverage if you experience a flare up of a pre-existing medical condition during your trip.

Princess Cruises is a popular cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation that operates primarily out of the West Coast. They currently offer two Princess Vacation Protection plans to their customers; Standard and Platinum.

Both plans include CFAR coverage that can reimburse up to 100% of your cruise booking if you choose to cancel your trip. Similar to Carnival’s protection plan, Princess Cruise insurance also offers Trip Delay coverage if you’re delayed at least 3 hours.

With that said, even Princess Cruises’ Platinum policy lacks in the following areas:

• Trip Cancellation: Only covers a customer's cruise expenses, and does not provide any protection for airfare or other non-refundable trip costs like rental cars, hotel stays, or prepaid excursions.
• Emergency Medical: Includes just $20,000 in cruise medical insurance, which falls $80,000 short of Squaremouth’s recommended coverage limit for cruisers.
• Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Offers $100,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage, which is less than the $250,000 we recommend for coverage in this area.
• Pre-Existing Conditions: Does not provide any coverage if you experience a flare up of a pre-existing medical condition during your trip.

Royal Caribbean is the world's biggest cruise line with routes to more than 270 destinations around the globe. Their travel insurance offering, named Royal Caribbean Travel Protection, is offered to all customers as an optional add-on during the checkout process.

The plan mirrors that of other cruise lines mentioned, with built-in CFAR protection that reimburses 90% of cruise expenses in the event of an uncovered cancellation. Royal Caribbean’s plan also features generous Travel Delay coverage, offering $2,000 for delays that exceed 3 hours.

Some downsides to Royal Caribbean’s insurance plan includes:

• Trip Cancellation: Only covers a customer's cruise expenses, and does not provide any protection for airfare or other non-refundable trip costs like rental cars, hotel stays, or prepaid excursions.
• Emergency Medical: Includes just $20,000 in Emergency Medical coverage per person, falling way short of Squaremouth’s recommended $100,000 coverage limit for cruisers.
• Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Offers $50,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage, which is likely not enough to cover the cost of emergency transportation or repatriation services while at sea.
• Pre-Existing Conditions: Does not provide any coverage if you experience a flare up of a pre-existing medical condition during your trip.

Disney Cruise Lines brings the magic of Disney to the high seas with a wide-range of unique experiences and routes. They currently offer a Disney Cruise Line Vacation Protection Plan which allows customers to protect themselves from financial loss if their cruise takes a sudden turn for the worse.

Like other cruise protection plans, Disney Cruise Lines’ offering includes CFAR coverage at no additional cost, reimbursing 75% of cruise expenses for uncovered cancellations. The plan also features among the best Baggage Loss protection of any cruise line plan, providing up to $3,000 in reimbursement for lost, damaged, or stolen luggage during a trip.

Before purchasing this coverage, we recommend considering the following:

• Trip Cancellation: Disney cruise insurance covers all trip costs up to $20,000, which may not be enough coverage if you’re planning a long trip or have high travel expenses.
• Emergency Medical: Includes just $20,000 in cruise medical insurance, which falls $80,000 short of Squaremouth’s recommended coverage limit for cruisers.
• Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Offers $30,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage, which is likely not enough to cover the cost of emergency transportation or repatriation services while at sea.
• Travel Delay: The only major cruise line to require a 6+ hour delay to receive reimbursement.

No, while many cruise lines offer travel protection to customers, it is not required. In fact, many cruisers opt to insure their cruise through third-party travel insurance providers due to lower premiums and better coverage.

Travel insurance requirements vary by cruise line. In most cases, travel insurance is not required to take a cruise. With that said, almost all cruise lines strongly recommend that customers purchase travel medical coverage before embarking on a cruise vacation.

Opting for cruise cancellation insurance can help recoup prepaid expenses if your trip is disrupted for a covered reason. Be sure to check your cruise line’s insurance requirements before departing for your cruise.

Almost all comprehensive cruise plans purchased through a third-party provider will protect your entire trip, including expenses relating to airfare, cruise bookings, excursions, and hotel stays. Travel protection plans offered by cruise ships are more restrictive, and typically only cover your cruise expenses.

We recommend purchasing travel insurance for cruise ships within 14 days of making your initial trip deposit. In most cases, this will be your cruise booking.

Purchasing trip insurance for cruises at this stage of your trip planning will provide you with the longest possible coverage period, and may make you eligible for time-sensitive benefits like CFAR and Pre-Existing Condition coverage.