Carnival Vacation Protection: Should You Buy It?

Key Takeaways

• Carnival Vacation Protection is a cruise insurance policy that covers common cruise disruptions, including cancellations, interruptions, delays, lost baggage, and medical emergencies and evacuations.
• Carnival Vacation Protection is expensive cruise insurance with significant coverage gaps that’s not worth it for most cruisers.
• It has inadequate coverage for medical costs, though it does offer solid coverage for trip cancellations. Plus, you automatically get Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage at no extra cost when you purchase Carnival insurance.
• The premiums we sampled ranged from 5% to 18% of the cruise cost, which is extremely high compared to typical comprehensive travel insurance.
• Carnival’s claims administrator, AON Affinity, has a very poor customer service record, with many complaints of slow claim processing and unfair denials.
• We strongly recommend purchasing a separate travel medical policy if you choose to purchase Carnival travel insurance.
• Compare cruise insurance plans on Squaremouth before purchasing Carnival Vacation Protection to ensure you’re getting the best plan for your cruise.

Carnival Vacation Protection Pros & Cons

What Is Carnival Vacation Protection?

Carnival Vacation Protection is an optional cruise insurance policy that you can add on to your cruise at the time of purchase. It offers a set package of benefits, like Trip Cancellation and Medical Evacuation insurance, for a fee based on your cruise cost. 

You can also add Vacation Protection after you purchase your cruise, but it’s a good idea to add it before you make your final payment. Carnival allows you to add it up to 14 days before you set sail, but you won’t qualify for CFAR coverage if you purchase it retroactively.

What Does Carnival Vacation Protection Cover​?

Carnival cruise travel insurance provides narrow coverage that only applies to your cruise and other purchases made directly through Carnival, including excursions and airfare. Although the purchases it applies to are limited, it does offer good cancellation protection for your cruise, including Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage at no extra cost.

Carnival Vacation Protection covers: 

• Trip cancellations for a covered reason: You can be reimbursed for 100% of your non-refundable cruise costs, including airfare purchased through Carnival, for a wide range of qualifying reasons. That includes illness, injury, or death of you, your traveling companions, or a family member; hurricane warnings; and natural disasters.
• Trip interruptions: You’re covered for up to 100% of your missed trip costs if your cruise is cut short for a covered reason.
• Trip delays: Carnival will reimburse your costs up to $500 in case your trip is delayed by more than 3 hours.
• Lost baggage: You can receive up to $1,500 reimbursement in case your baggage goes missing on your trip.
• Baggage delays: If your baggage is delayed by more than 24 hours en route to your cruise, Carnival will reimburse you up to $500 for purchase of essential items.
• Medical emergencies: Carnival will cover up to $20,000 in medical expenses for an illness or injury that occurs on your trip.
• Medical evacuations: Carnival provides up to $50,000 for your transportation to the nearest suitable hospital in case of illness or injury.
• Cancellations for other reasons: You can cancel for any reason up until your cruise departure and get a credit toward a future cruise that’s equal to 75% of your non-refundable cruise costs. This is an automatic benefit included within every Carnival Vacation Plan, as long as you buy before making your final cruise payment.

What Does Carnival Cruise Insurance Not Cover?

• Travel expenses outside of Carnival: Coverage generally applies only to expenses purchased through Carnival, leaving gaps for independently booked flights, hotels, and other travel arrangements.
• Serious medical emergencies: Carnival offers $20,000 in medical coverage total, for you and every passenger on your reservation. Since Medicare and personal insurance generally won’t cover you abroad, this could leave you with a large hospital bill in case of a medical emergency in a foreign country. We recommend at least $50,000 of Emergency Medical coverage.
• Medical evacuations from remote areas: Carnival’s $50,000 worth of evacuation coverage is not sufficient to cover pricier evacuation scenarios, which can range over $100,000. We recommend at least $100,000 in coverage, or more if you are cruising very remotely.
• Pre-existing conditions: Carnival’s policy does not include coverage for pre-existing conditions that were diagnosed or treated within 60 days before your cruise purchase.
• Missed connections: Carnival covers flight delays over 3 hours, but does not provide dedicated missed connection benefits, which could leave you responsible for costs associated with missing embarkation.
• Other common cruise mishaps: Carnival’s policy doesn’t reimburse you for many common cruise disruptions, like changed itineraries, missed ports of call, inconveniences like being stuck at sea with power or water.

You can purchase Travel Medical Insurance to pair with Carnival Vacation Protection for just $2-$3 per day. This can be a cost-saving measure for seniors, who may find Carnival’s trip cancellation insurance reasonably priced. Or, you can add on a low-cost comprehensive travel insurance plan to cover medical expenses as well as additional travel costs.

How Does Carnival Vacation Protection Compare to Other Travel Insurance?

While Carnival travel protection offers good trip cancellation coverage, it has major gaps compared to comprehensive cruise insurance, and it’s relatively expensive.

Where Carnival insurance stands out:

• It offers strong Trip Cancellation coverage for your cruise, with a wide variety of qualifying reasons.
• Its CFAR policy can be a good value since it’s built into the premium. Insurers like Seven Corners and Tin Leg charge 50% more to add on CFAR coverage.
• Carnival’s coverage for lost baggage is also very strong, exceeding coverage from insurers like IMG and Tin Leg.

Where Carnival insurance falls short: 

• Unlike comprehensive cruise insurance, coverage is limited to travel purchased through Carnival.
• Carnival’s medical limits pale in comparison to leading cruise insurance policies, which offer $100,000+ for Emergency Medical coverage and $250,000-$500,000 for Medical Evacuation.
• CFAR is issued as a cruise credit, which expires and has blackout dates. With comprehensive cruise insurance, you’ll get a cash refund.
• For travelers under 60, it typically costs more than comprehensive cruise insurance, while offering less protection.

*Sample policy for two 55-year-old customers planning a $3,604 cruise with a $5,000 total trip cost. Coverages may vary.

Cruise plans can vary greatly in price, medical coverages, and additional benefits offered. Visit our Cruise insurance Plans page to get a full view of your options for cruise insurance.

How Much is Carnival Vacation Protection?

In general, Carnival Vacation Protection is very expensive, especially for shorter, lower-priced cruises. We sampled four cruise itineraries of various lengths and price points and found that the cost ranges from 5% to 18% of the cruise cost, or between $21 and $43 per day.

Considering that comprehensive travel insurance typically costs between 4% to 10% of the trip cost, this is extremely high. Only the higher-end cruises in our sampling fall within this range.

If you cruise more than once per year, consider Annual Trip Insurance. Plans cost less than $2 per day on average according to our cost analysis of annual travel insurance, well below the $37 daily average for Comprehensive Travel Insurance.

How Hard Is it to File a Claim With Carnival Vacation Protection?

According to customer reviews, filing a claim with Carnival Vacation Protection can be very difficult. Claims are administered by AON Affinity, which has a 1.1 Trustpilot Rating, with 93% of reviewers giving it 1 star and many citing problems with the claims process. 

Common complaints include:

• The claims process can be very lengthy, sometimes taking months and requiring excessive documentation that delays a resolution.
• Claims are frequently denied for pre-existing conditions, even after providing extensive documentation from doctors.
• Many customers feel that the provider unfairly denies qualified claims.
• Customers also report issues with customer service, including unhelpful representatives and difficulties communicating with staff in overseas call centers.

Squaremouth has a Zero Complaint guarantee for policies purchased on our site. If you believe that a claim was unfairly denied, our team of licensed adjusters will help investigate and mediate with the provider for you.

Is Carnival Vacation Protection Worth It?

Carnival cruise vacation protection is not worth it for most travelers, due to expensive premiums, coverage gaps, and potential claims processing headaches. However, older travelers may find the plan relatively affordable because premiums do not increase with age.

Carnival Vacation Protection may be worth it if:

• You’re over 60 and looking for competitively priced trip cancellation insurance. (You’ll still need to purchase medical travel insurance separately).
• You’re taking a high-end, luxury cruise.
• You want CFAR coverage without paying extra for it.

Comprehensive cruise insurance is the better choice if:

• You have an illness or injury diagnosed 60 days prior to your cruise purchase.
• You’re under 60.
• You’re taking a shorter, inexpensive cruise.
• You need comprehensive coverage for your entire trip.
• You want adequate medical coverage for an emergency.

Better Travel Insurance for a Carnival Cruise

IMG iTravelInsured Choice Cruise

One of the most popular cruise plans available, IMG iTravelInsured Choice Cruise insures a broad array of potential cruise disruptions for an excellent value. You’ll get primary medical coverage and up to $500,000 for medical evacuations, as well as reimbursement for political, personal security, and disaster evacuations. It also covers itinerary changes, missed cruise and tour departures, and inconveniences such as mechanical breakdowns, on-board virus outbreaks, loss of power and water, and port-of-call delays.

Tin Leg Cruise

Tin Leg Cruise is another popular cruise plan that offers broad protection for cruise disruptions. It offers up to $100,000 of primary medical coverage, including a $5,000 advance payment to hospitals, and up to $250,000 for Medical Evacuation. It also includes generous amounts for itinerary changes (up to $250) and missed ports of call (up to $500), up to $400 for pet kennel fees if your cruise is delayed on return, and coverage for inconveniences like missed connections, and lack of power, food, water or restrooms.

Seven Corners Cruise

Seven Corners Cruise is a good choice for families in an emergency because it includes transportation costs for children and traveling companions as well as up to $250,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage if you are sick or injured during your cruise. You’ll get up to $100,000 in Emergency Medical coverage, as well as coverage for itinerary changes, cruise diversions, and loss of power, food, water, or restroom facilities.

FAQs: Carnival Trip Insurance

How Late Can I Add Carnival Vacation Protection​?

You can add Carnival cruise trip insurance up to 14 days before your cruise departure. However, if you add it after making the final payment on the cruise, you won’t qualify for CFAR protection, which allows you to cancel your cruise for any reason. This could defeat the purpose of purchasing Vacation Protection, since CFAR coverage is the strongest benefit of the policy. Coverage is otherwise overpriced with many coverage gaps.

Can You Cancel Carnival Vacation Protection After Booking​?

Carnival allows you to cancel Vacation Protection for a full refund if you notify them within a 10-day look period. You should contact them at 1-800-227-6482. After the look period, you cannot have it removed.

Is Carnival Vacation Protection Per Person​?

Yes, Carnival Vacation Protection is charged per person.

How Do You File a Claim for Carnival Cruise Line Insurance?

You can file a claim via AON’s claim form on www.aontravelclaim.com. Make sure you have all your paperwork in order, including receipts, cancellation notices, and doctors’ notices before submitting your claim. Also, you should promptly report cancellations to Carnival’s program administrator at 1-800-331-2796 before filing a claim.

Can I Get a Full Refund if I Cancel My Carnival Cruise?

You may be able to get a full refund, but it depends on why you cancel your cruise. If you cancel your cruise for a qualifying reason, like an illness, injury, death, natural disaster, or hurricane, you may receive 100% reimbursement for your non-refundable cruise costs. If you can cancel for other reasons, you can only get reimbursed for 75% of your non-reimbursable cruise costs.

Does Carnival Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Medical Conditions?

No, Carnival Vacation Protection does not cover illnesses or injuries that were treated or diagnosed within 60 days of purchasing the policy.

How Does the “Cancel For Any Reason” (CFAR) 75% Future Cruise Credit Work?

If you cancel your cruise for a non-qualifying reason, Carnival will reimburse 75% of your non-refundable cruise costs in the form of a credit toward a future Carnival cruise. You can cancel at any time right up to your cruise departure and receive the credit. On the downside, the credit comes with restrictions, including an expiration date and blackout dates.

Does Carnival’s Insurance Cover Airfare, Hotels, and Excursions?

Carnival Vacation Protection only applies to travel arrangements purchased through Carnival. It will cover excursions booked through Carnival, and it may cover airfare if you purchase it through Carnival’s Fly2Fun program. It will not cover hotels or airfare purchased outside of Carnival.

Is Carnival’s Medical Coverage Enough?

No, Carnival’s medical coverage is not sufficient for major medical emergencies. We recommend at least $50,000 worth of Emergency Medical coverage per person; Carnival only offers $20,000 total for all passengers on your itinerary. Its Medical Evacuation coverage also falls extremely short. While we recommend at least $100,000 per person, Carnival only offers $50,000 total.

How Does Carnival Cruise Insurance Compare to Credit Card Insurance?

Carnival offers stronger protection for cruise cancellations than credit card travel insurance, since it covers 100% of your cruise expenses for qualifying cancellations. The best credit card policies from Chase and Amex offer $20,000 of cancellation coverage at the most. Also, Carnival offers CFAR coverage to protect you against every possible cancellation scenario, while credit card travel insurance doesn’t. Carnival also includes coverage for medical expenses and evacuations, which most credit card policies lack.

On the downside, you have to pay a substantial fee for Carnival Vacation Protection. Credit card travel insurance is a complimentary benefit of card membership that you get just by purchasing a cruise with your card.