Travel insurance for yachting & cruising

At SeaDream we are continually reviewing the global situation regarding travel for UK guests so that we can help make important decisions about future bookings at a time when information can be confusing and hard to review in the context of forthcoming travel planning. 

One element of travel that causes concern during the current pandemic is of course travel insurance. Insurance has always been a relatively straightforward purchase, often coming down to price with many policies already included with premium bank accounts and credit cards. However, with FCO advice against travel to certain countries and indeed forms of travel like cruise, insurance has become a bigger concern as the general understanding is that if the FCO advises against, there is no possibility of getting covered.

However, cruises are operating again and UK guests are travelling again. Small-ships are gradually returning to service as SeaDream has done so successfully in Norway and UK guests are still able to secure insurance for peace of mind, often in conjunction with strong booking assurances from the cruise operators themselves, such as SeaDream’s ‘Ultimate Booking Assurance’.

The main considerations of travel insurance for cruise during the pandemic are cover for COVID itself. There are policies that will cover cruising (inspite of FCO advice) and COVID but they are limited and can be a little more expensive. You’ll need to check age ranges too for the COVID cover element.

Other policies will cover COVID but not cruise but many travellers consider the cruising element to be so safe with regular testing, temperature checks and other measures, that the COVID insurance element is sometimes not seen as so important. And with the booking assurances, having to cancel for reasons of government advice is also a risk that has been removed for the guest.

To summarise, yes you can get travel insurance to cover your cruise and COVID measures but we recommend you check the terms carefully to make sure they meet your needs. A portion of those we have spoken to are happy to take insurance that covers cruise but not necessarily COVID too as they feel the cruise lines are safe now with focused testing and hygiene protocols, combined with the booking assurances should a trip need to be cancelled before sailing.

So it’s a personal choice as to what level of travel insurance you would currently feel comfortable with, but there are policies out there to cover most elements of concern, if not all. Travel always requires taking responsibility for yourself as well as expecting it from your principle operator, but many will consider a Barbados voyage with SeaDream something that ticks enough of the boxes to book.

Please Note! This post is aimed to be helpful and based on our understanding of the matter at the time of publishing. We are not recommending or promoting any specific insurance product this is an opinion guide only.