The Ritz Herald
The Grand Princess cruise ship sails through Golden Gate Bridge on March 9, 2020 in San Francisco. © Liu Guanguan

Royal Caribbean Requires Travel Insurance for Unvaccinated Travelers


What policy should I buy?

Published on June 30, 2021

Two unvaccinated travelers recently tested positive for COVID-19 on a Royal Caribbean cruise. A few days later, Royal Caribbean announced it will now require unvaccinated guests over 12 to provide proof of travel insurance for all Florida cruise departures between August 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021. Even if cruisers are vaccinated, having a travel insurance policy provides extreme peace of mind when planning your long-awaited cruise.

The experts at Yonder Travel Insurance (insureyonder.com) provide advice as to what to look for in a cruise travel insurance policy:

Insurable Trip Expenses

Most travel insurance policies offered by cruise lines only protect the nonrefundable cost of your cruise. Other non-refundable trip expenses such as your airfare, excursions, or additional accommodation expenses are not insurable under a cruise line travel insurance policy. By purchasing a comprehensive policy through a travel insurance comparison site like Yonder, you may insure all nonrefundable trip expenses under one travel insurance policy.

Trip Cancellation List of Covered Events

When looking at a travel insurance certificate, the first benefit highlighted is often a list of covered trip cancellation events. In a previous study of airline and cruise line insurance policies, it became very apparent that cruise line policies have a substantially smaller list of covered events for trip cancellation.

“We’ve seen cruise line policies with as little as 5 reasons to cancel,” says Beckah Morris, Operations Manager at Yonder Travel Insurance. “A comprehensive policy bought elsewhere includes 20-30 covered trip cancellation events on average.”

In addition, Cancel for Any Reason has seen a dramatic increase in popularity this past year due to pandemic exclusions. Yet, with cruise line policies, Cancel for Any Reason will likely result in a future cruise credit instead of a cash refund.

Medical Expense Limits

Medical treatment or an emergency medical evacuation from a cruise ship can quickly add up. Royal Caribbean now requires unvaccinated travelers to provide proof of insurance with a medical limit of $25,000 and a medical evacuation limit of $50,000, common minimum limits on a standard comprehensive travel insurance policy.

The experts at Yonder Travel Insurance have poured over hundreds of policies from the best travel insurance providers in the US to provide the best travel insurance recommendation for how YOU travel. Run a quick quote and compare travel insurance policies for your next trip using their instant quote tool. Yonder donates meals to vulnerable children in need with each policy sold so you can travel well and do well when you go Yonder.

Lifestyle Editor