Top Cruise Travel Insurance Plans
There are many cruise insurance plans on the market, but these plans are highlighted for their ample benefits and high coverage limits for emergency medical treatments and evacuations, missed connections, travel delays, and more.
See a complete breakdown of these plans and more in our full list of the 10 Best Cruise Travel Insurance Companies of 2025.
What is Cruise Insurance?
Cruise insurance is a specific type of travel insurance designed to protect you while on land and at sea during your cruise vacation. These plans can protect you from things like emergency medical treatments and evacuations, trip cancellations and interruptions, travel delays, and missed connections, etc. They can also reimburse you financially for medical bills, missed on-shore excursions, missing the ship, missed hotels and flights, and more.
Cruise insurance is especially useful for families, seniors, or those with pre-existing medical conditions, but it’s also a smart choice for anyone going on a cruise.
Benefits of travel insurance for cruises:
- Designed specifically for cruise scenarios
- Protects you on land & at sea
- Coverage before & after boarding the ship
- Covers shore excursions & missing the ship
- Covers medical evacuation to shore & medical bills
Ideal for:
- Families
- Seniors
- Pre-Existing Conditions
Do I Need Travel Insurance for a Cruise?
All major cruise lines recommend buying cruise insurance, mainly because medical evacuations at sea can be extremely expensive.
Some cruise lines even require passengers to show proof of travel insurance before boarding the ship.
We recommend reviewing your cruise line’s recommendations and guidelines before boarding to see if travel insurance is required.
Additionally, most U.S. health insurance plans, including Medicare, do not cover medical care outside the country. Not having a travel insurance plan could leave you on the hook financially if an emergency arises at sea.
In an emergency, quick access to medical support is essential. At a minimum, we recommend buying a travel insurance plan that provides strong emergency medical and evacuation coverage.
What Does Cruise Insurance Cover?
A comprehensive cruise insurance policy from Squaremouth protects you from departure to return, covering a wide range of disruptions from a missed cruise departure to a medical evacuation.
Without cancellation insurance, many cruise lines only offer vouchers for rebooking at a later date, which only addresses part of the total cost of your trip. Cruise trip cancellation coverage can reimburse you for up to 100% of your trip cost, including airfare, cruise bookings, food and beverage packages, and off-shore excursions.
Cruise ship insurance can cover the cost of evacuating you to the nearest adequate medical facility for treatment. Due to the high costs of medical emergency evacuations at sea, we recommend selecting policies with at least $250,000 of Medical Evacuation coverage.
Having the proper medical coverage in place is important as cruises often travel in international waters, and U.S. health insurance and Medicare don’t work internationally. The best cruise insurance plans will cover the cost of emergency medical expenses, such as hospital bills, and emergency dental services. We recommend opting for plans with at least $100,000 of Emergency Medical coverage.
In recent years, hurricane seasons have become more active due to warming ocean temperatures, which can leave you in a bind if your cruise is affected. hurricane and weather coverage can reimburse you if you are forced to cancel your cruise due to inclement weather at your residence, port of departure, or destination. To be eligible, you must purchase your travel insurance policy before the storm is named.
If you’re forced to cut your trip short or need to change your itinerary due to a covered reason, travel interruption coverage can reimburse you for up to 150% of your trip cost and help you with rebooking. For example, if you fall ill and need to be hospitalized for a few days, this coverage can pay for alternate arrangements and new bookings to help you pick up where you left off.
If you run into travel delays on your trip, your plan can reimburse you for meals, accommodations, and transportation expenses incurred as you await your new departure time. Each plan has different waiting time criteria for when this coverage takes effect. If you have a complex itinerary or plan to fly to the port of departure, consider plans where missed connection coverage takes effect for shorter delays.
Cruise insurance often includes missed connection coverage, which can protect you if you miss your ship’s departure due to a covered reason, such as flight delays. Missed connection coverage can pay to help you catch back up with the ship and continue your vacation, and often reimburses you for missed tours or excursions as well.
All plans sold on Squaremouth include 24/7 travel assistance services. If you run into issues while traveling, you can call and get emergency assistance with things like managing emergencies, finding a nearby doctor, help with rebooking, and more.
How Much Does Cruise Insurance Cost?
Comprehensive cruise insurance policies typically cost between 4% - 10% of your total insured travel expenses. According to these industry benchmarks, a $10,000 cruise vacation will cost anywhere from $400 - $1,000 to protect with comprehensive coverage.
While industry-wide reports estimate the average cost of cruise travel insurance between $177 - $570, proprietary Squaremouth sales data from the past 12 months (Dec 1, 2024 - Dec 1, 2025) reveals that the majority of cruisers are spending between $100 - $820 on their policies. However, this amount varies by coverage type.
Here is a look at how choosing different types of coverage affects the cost of cruise insurance.
| Policy Type | Avg. Cruise Insurance Price |
|---|---|
| Travel Medical | $102.78 |
| Comprehensive (Medical + Cancellation) | $508.69 |
| Comprehensive with CFAR Add-On | $819.23 |
Methodology: This analysis is based on anonymized purchase data from Squaremouth’s proprietary travel insurance quote and booking engine from Dec 1, 2024 - Dec 1, 2025. Premium amounts reflect finalized purchase prices, segmented by policy type. All sales included in this data set had Squaremouth’s ‘Cruise’ filter activated at the time of purchase.
Where Can I Buy Cruise Insurance?
You can buy cruise insurance plans directly from your cruise line, from a travel insurance provider, or from travel insurance comparison sites. The best way to find affordable cruise trip insurance is to use a comparison site like Squaremouth, which allows you to compare coverage and prices from multiple providers.
That said, there are benefits to buying cruise insurance through a third-party travel insurance provider instead of through a cruise line.
Benefits of Third-party Cruise Insurance
Although it’s convenient to buy your travel insurance from your cruise line at checkout, cruise-line-sponsored plans are often more expensive, offer limited coverage inclusions, and offer less flexible options versus buying a third-party policy.
In a nutshell, buying a third-party cruise insurance plan can often get you better overall coverage limits at a more affordable price than buying direct from your cruise line.
It’s important to note that some plans offered by cruise lines only cover cruise-specific scenarios, meaning you may miss out on coverage before and after your time on the ship. For example, plans offered by the cruise lines may not pay for flight delays, late or lost baggage, or reimburse you for hotels. Many third-party cruise insurance travel policies are able to insure your entire trip and reimburse you for flights, hotels, on-shore excursions, and more if you are forced to cancel or cut your trip short due to a reason covered by the policy. Third-party plans often offer higher medical coverage limits and better Trip Cancellation protection overall.
When you buy travel insurance on the open market, you can often get a better deal as providers compete on price. However, policies sold by cruise lines are often more expensive as they anticipate that most customers will opt for their plan out of convenience. When comparing prices, it's important to consider the price versus the benefits offered. For example, the dollar amount may be the same for a third-party policy and a plan through your cruise line, but one may offer more benefits or higher coverage than the other, leading to a better value for your money.
Most cruise insurance plans sold through the cruise lines come with standard coverage and no option to raise the coverage limits or customize the plan with extra benefits. Although this may not be an issue for everyone, it can make finding the right coverage difficult for people with certain needs, like people with pre-existing health conditions. Third-party plans are more flexible and typically offer options for raising coverage limits and choosing optional add-ons for coverages like Cancel For Any Reason.
Apart from offering less flexible plans, most cruise lines typically only offer one or two insurance options, but there are hundreds of travel insurance plans available on the open market from third-party providers. If you have specific coverage needs that aren’t included in the plans offered by your cruise line, you may want to shop around. Comparing cruise travel insurance plans is an easy way to find the coverage you want and a price you can afford. Comparing plans side by side lets you easily identify where each plan excels and where it lacks.
Cruise Insurance Reviews by Cruise Line
Here is a look at how travel insurance plans from major cruise lines stack up to third-party travel insurance. Below, we highlight some of the weak points we found when reviewing each plan.
Carnival Cruise Insurance Review
Carnival's cruise trip insurance plan, dubbed Carnival Vacation Protection, is an optional add-on for customers when purchasing.
Starting off with the positive, Carnival Vacation Protection offers an alternative to Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage, which allows you to get up to 75% of your cruise booking cost back in the form of a voucher for future bookings when you cancel for any reason at all. The plan also offers good baggage protection valued at $1,500, providing reimbursement for delays that exceed 3 hours.
Although the Carnival cruise insurance plan is great for cancellations, it falls short on several fronts, including:
- Emergency Medical: Carnival only covers up to $10,000 of medical expenses for illness and injury, which is $90,000 lower than Squaremouth’s minimum recommendation.
- Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Carnival covers up to $30,000 of Medical Evacuation costs, which is much lower than the CDC’s recommendation of $250,000 of coverage.
- Pre-Existing Conditions: Carnival offers no pre-existing condition coverage as part of its Vacation Protection package.
- Trip Cancellation: Carnival only covers cruise & flight expenses, but doesn’t refund other trip costs like excursions, hotels, or rental cars.
Princess Cruise Insurance Review
Princess Cruises offers its Princess Vacation Protection package, which is available at two different coverage levels:
Both plans include a form of Cancel For Any Reason coverage that can reimburse you via a cruise voucher for use on future bookings. The Standard plan covers up to 75% of your cruise cost versus 100% with the Platinum plan. Similar to Carnival’s protection plan, Princess Cruise insurance also has strong baggage protection with $1,500 of coverage.
Although this plan is great if you plan to cancel and rebook with Princess, even the Platinum policy falls short in several ways:
- Emergency Medical: Princess covers only $20,000 of medical expenses for illnesses and injuries, which is $80,000 short of our recommended coverage limit for cruisers.
- Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Princess can cover up to $100,000 for Medical Evacuations, which is higher than other policies, but still less than the $250,000 we recommend for cruises.
- Pre-Existing Conditions: Princess’s travel insurance plan also excludes pre-existing condition coverage, which is not ideal for people with ongoing health concerns.
- Trip Cancellation: Trip Cancellation: The trip cancellation coverage only applies to the cruise booking and cannot reimburse airfare or other trip expenses like hotels and excursions.
- Travel Delay: Princess breaks travel delay coverage into “before” and “after” your cruise, offering less coverage before, which is likely when this protection is most important to have.
Royal Caribbean Cruise Insurance Review
Royal Caribbean is the world's largest cruise company, servicing over 270 destinations around the world. Their Royal Caribbean Travel Protection is offered as an optional add-on during the checkout process when buying your cruise.
This plan is similar to plans offered by other cruise lines and includes CFAR protection that can reimburse 90% of your cruise expenses in the form of a cruise voucher for future use. Royal Caribbean’s plan also offers strong Trip Delay coverage of up to $2,000 if delays exceed 3 hours. While this plan is better than those offered by other cruise lines, it’s still not as strong as third-party travel insurance.
The drawbacks of Royal Caribbean’s insurance plan are as follows:
- Emergency Medical: Royal Caribbean will cover up to $25,000 for illness and injuries, which is still $75,000 lower than our recommended medical coverage limit for cruises.
- Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Royal Caribbean can cover up to $50,000 for Medical Evacuations, which is well below our recommended limits and may not be enough to protect you while at sea.
- Pre-Existing Conditions: Much like other cruise lines, Royal Caribbean’s insurance plan does not cover pre-existing conditions.
- Trip Cancellation: This plan only reimburses your cruise expenses, and will not cover airfare or other trip expenses like tours, on-shore lodgings, or rental cars.
Disney Cruise Insurance Review
Disney’s cruise insurance policy is known as the Disney Cruise Line Vacation Protection Plan.
This plan can reimburse 100% of your trip costs if you cancel or are interrupted for a covered reason. It also offers a CFAR reimbursement voucher for up to 75% of the cost of your cruise if you cancel for non-covered reasons. It also features very high Baggage Loss protection of up to $3,000 for lost, damaged, or stolen luggage.
The weak points of this plan are as follows:
- Emergency Medical: Disney only covers up to $20,000 of medical expenses, which is $80,000 less than our recommended amount for cruises.
- Medical Evacuation & Repatriation: Disney can cover up to $50,000 for Medical Evacuations, which is better than some, but well under the $250,000 limits we recommend for cruises and international trips.
- Travel Delay: For travel delays to be covered, Disney stipulates that they must be over 6 hours long.
Is it Worth Paying for Cruise Insurance?
Yes, buying cruise trip insurance is well worth the cost as it can save you thousands of dollars if something goes wrong, whether you are on land or at sea.
Although plans typically cost about 5% to 10% of your trip price, cruise insurance can reimburse you for up to 100% of your total trip cost in some cases. Therefore, it's a small price to pay for the ample benefits cruise insurance offers you, including the peace of mind that comes from knowing you are protected.
Most comprehensive cruise travel protection insurance plans can cover you for:
- Medical Emergencies: If you get sick or injured during your trip, cruise insurance can help pay for expensive onboard medical care or treatment in a foreign port.
- Medical Evacuations: If you need to be evacuated from the ship for emergency care, insurance can cover transportation costs, which often exceed $50,000.
- Cruise Cancellations: If you have to cancel your trip due to illness, injury, family emergencies, or other covered reasons, insurance can reimburse your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses.
- Missed Cruise Departures: If a flight delay or other travel issue causes you to miss the ship's departure, insurance can help cover the costs to catch up to the next port.
- Lost Luggage: Cruise insurance can reimburse you for lost or delayed baggage, helping you replace your belongings or make essential purchases.
Browse Other Policy Types
FAQs: Cruise Travel Insurance
No, while many cruise lines offer travel protection to customers, you’re not required to purchase protection directly through your cruise operator. Most 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 travel insurance plans purchased through third-party providers will include cruise and flight insurance coverage. This includes reimbursing you for lost expenses relating to airfare, cruise bookings, excursions, and hotel stays. That said, 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 Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage and Pre-Existing Condition coverage.
When comparing cruise insurance plans, look for a policy with coverage for risks unique to being at sea. You have the option to choose between a comprehensive cruise plan or a travel medical cruise plan. A comprehensive policy provides protection for your cruise expenses, coverage for medical emergencies while cruising, and other benefits for travel disruptions like flight delays or lost luggage. Travel medical policies offer most of the same benefits, with the exception of cancellation coverage for your cruise expenses.
Regardless of the type of policy you purchase, the best cruise plans offer at least $100,000 in Emergency Medical coverage and $250,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage.
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