Disney Cruise Travel Insurance: Should You Get It for Your Family?
Key Takeaways
- Disney Cruise travel insurance is often overpriced coverage that’s not worth it for most cruisers due to major coverage gaps.
- You’ll pay around 7%-8% of your cruise cost for Disney Cruise insurance, which is especially high for families. Our top cruise plans, in comparison, cost about 2% and don’t charge anything for kids
- Disney Cruise insurance has a few advantages over third-party insurance, including the ability to purchase Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) at a very late date and pricing for older adults.
- Disney’s cruise insurance falls short of third-party cruise insurance in every other way. Its limits for Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation are far too low to cover even a single person, much less a full family, in case of an emergency.
- Disney’s insurance doesn’t cover flights and hotels booked outside of Disney, which can leave a large gap for families with multiple plane tickets.
- You should compare cruise insurance plans on Squaremouth before purchasing insurance for your Disney cruise. Some of our cruise plans cover kids for free.
Overview of the Disney Cruise Line Vacation Protection Plan
The Disney Cruise Vacation Protection Plan, underwritten by Arch Insurance company, is optional cruise insurance that you can add to your cruise at the time of purchase for an extra fee. You can also add it to your cruise at any time up until the last payment on your cruise.
It consists of a Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) waiver and a travel insurance plan that protects you against a variety of cruise disruptions, including lost baggage and medical emergencies. These can protect families against financial loss and exorbitant medical fees on your cruise due to a medical emergency.
What Does Disney Cruise Travel Insurance Cover?
Disney cruise insurance covers you for many standard travel disruptions, including cancellations and emergencies. It covers:
- Cancellations and interruptions due to illness, injury, and weather: Disney will reimburse up to $20,000 in non-refundable cruise costs if you need to cancel for a covered reason, like sickness, injury or death of you, a traveling companion or a family member, and cancellations of a common carrier due to inclement weather. It will also reimburse up to $20,000 if you need to interrupt your cruise for a covered reason.
- Emergency evacuation and repatriation: Disney offers up to $50,000 to transport you to the nearest suitable medical facility in case of an emergency as well as to repatriate your remains.
- Medical costs: You’re covered for up to $20,000 in medical expenses due to illnesses, accidents and injuries during your trip.
- Trip delays: Disney may reimburse you for expenses like hotels, meals, and transportation up to $500, or up to $150 per day, for delays over 6 hours on the way to and from your cruise.
- Lost baggage: You can get up to $3,000 in reimbursement for baggage that’s lost, damaged, stolen, or destroyed.
- Delayed bags: If your bags are delayed more than 24 hours on the way to your cruise, you’re covered for up to $500 for the purchase of clothing and toiletries.
- Cancellations for any other reason: If you need to cancel your cruise for any other reason, Disney will reimburse 75% of your non-refundable cruise costs in the form of a credit toward a future Disney Cruise.
Tip: Some credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer up to $20,000 in Cancellation and Interruption protection. You can pair this with standalone Medical Travel insurance at a low rate to save money on cruise insurance.
How Much Is Disney Cruise Line Travel Insurance?
We sampled three itineraries for a family of 4 with 2 children and found that premiums for Disney Cruise insurance constitute around 7% to 8% of the total cruise cost.
This is on the high side for cruise insurance, which ranges from 4% to 10% of the cruise cost according to our cruise insurance cost report, especially considering that its medical coverages are so low. It’s extremely high for families, who can pay even less than 4% for a third-party cruise plan since many family travel insurance policies let you add children at no extra cost.
| Cruise Cost | Premium | Cost/Day | % of Cruise Cost | |
| Bahamas 3-night cruise | $3,226.12 | $210.16 | $70.05 | 7% |
| Caribbean 7-night cruise | $9,621.68 | $661.92 | $94.56 | 7% |
| Greek Isles 10-night cruise | $15,750.80 | $1,212.80 | $121.80 | 8% |
Frequent Disney cruisers often purchase annual travel insurance, which allows you to insure multiple cruises for an overall lower cost.
Disney Cruise Travel Insurance vs. Third-Party Cruise Insurance
Disney cruise insurance is priced too steeply for what it covers and falls short of third-party travel insurance in almost every area, including its CFAR coverage.
| Benefit | Disney Cruise Line Vacation Protection | IMG iTravelInsured Choice Cruise (covers 1 kid for free) | Travel Insured International FlexiPAX (covers up to 9 kids for free) |
| Cost of premium | $661.92* (7% of cruise cost) | $275.30* (2% of trip cost) | $294* (2% of trip cost) |
| Trip Cancellation | 100% of trip cost ($20,000 limit) | 100% of trip cost | 100% of trip cost |
| Trip Interruption | 100% of trip cost ($20,000 limit) | 150% of trip cost | 150% of trip cost |
| Trip Delay | $500 ($150/day) after 6-hour delay | $1,000/person after 6-hour delay | $1,000/person after 6-hour delay |
| Missed Connection | No coverage | $500/person after 6-hour delay | $500/person after 6-hour delay |
| Baggage Loss/Damage | $3,000 | $1,000/person | $2,000/person |
| Baggage Delay | $500 after 24-hour delay | $300/person after 6-hour delay | $300 after 6-hour delay |
| Emergency Medical | $20,000 (secondary) | $100,000/person (primary) | $100,000/person (primary) |
| Emergency Evacuation | $50,000 | $500,000/person | $500,000/person |
| 24-Hour AD&D | No coverage | $10,000/person | No coverage |
| Cancel For Any Reason | 75% of cruise cost (issued as cruise credit) | No coverage | Optional add on, covers 75% of full trip cost |
*Sample policy for four customers (ages 40, 35, 9 and 7) planning a $9,621 cruise with a $15,000 total trip cost. Coverages may vary.
Where Disney Cruise insurance stands out
- Lower premiums for people over 60: One of the few advantages Disney Cruise Line Insurance has over third-party cruise insurance is pricing for seniors. Premiums don’t increase with age, which means you may pay less for a Disney Cruise plan than third-party cruise insurance for seniors.
- Strong baggage protection: Disney Cruise insurance offers a higher coverage for lost and damaged bags and baggage delays than third-party insurance.
- Flexibility to get CFAR coverage: While third-party cruise plans have a 14-21 day window from your initial deposit to purchase CFAR, Disney allows you to purchase its plan with CFAR up until the final payment on your cruise. And, it offers up to 75% reimbursement, which is higher than the 50% offered by some third-party plans.
Where it falls flat
- High premiums for families and people under 60: The premiums for our top cruise insurance plans are lower than Disney Cruise insurance for families. Our top family cruise plans only charge 2% of the total trip cost for a family of 4 traveling with children, versus 7% for the Disney Cruise plan.
- Doesn’t cover travel booked outside Disney: Disney Cruise insurance only covers flights, hotels, and excursions purchased through Disney, while third-party travel insurance covers 100% of your trip costs.
- CFAR is issued as cruise credit: Disney’s CFAR waiver only applies to travel purchased through Disney, and is issued as a cruise voucher with blackout and expiration dates. Third-party cruise insurance, on the other hand, offers CFAR for your entire trip and reimburses you in cash.
- Won’t cover expensive trips: Disney’s trip cancellation coverage is capped at $20,000, which may be insufficient for a pricier voyage. Many third-party cruise plans offer higher limits.
- Low trip interruption coverage: Disney only reimburses your prepaid, non-refundable trip costs in case of a trip interruption. Third-party cruise insurance reimburses 150% of your non-refundable costs, and covers your return ticket home.
- Insufficient Emergency Medical coverage: Disney offers $20,000 total in medical coverage, which falls below our recommendation of $100,000 per person. Our top cruise insurance plans offer $100,000 in Emergency Medical coverage per person.
- Insufficient Medical Evacuation coverage: Disney offers $50,000 in Emergency Evacuation coverage for everyone on your trip, which falls below our recommended limit of $250,000 per person. Our top cruise plans offer $500,000 in Medical Evacuation coverage per person.
- No pre-existing condition coverage: Disney excludes pre-existing conditions that were diagnosed or treated within 60 days of your policy’s effective date. Many third-party cruise insurance plans will waive pre-existing conditions if you purchase them within a couple weeks of your initial trip deposit.
- Low coverage for trip delays: Disney only reimburses $150 per day for a trip delay, while our top cruise insurance plans offer up to $1,000 in coverage with no daily limit.
- Doesn’t cover missed connections: Disney doesn’t cover missed connections at all. Many third-party cruise policies will reimburse you to catch up to your cruise in case you miss a connection.
- No coverage for hazardous activities: Disney excludes injuries from hazardous activities like scuba diving from its plan. Some third-party cruise insurance plans, especially those with adventure sports coverage, will cover scuba diving.
- Doesn’t cover other types of cruise disruptions: Disney’s cruise insurance plan lacks coverage for cruise-specific disruptions that many third-party cruise insurance policies cover. You won’t be reimbursed for missed ports of call, or inconveniences like virus outbreaks, or loss of power or water.
You should purchase third-party cruise insurance within 14-21 days of making the first deposit on your cruise, to qualify for time-sensitive benefits like pre-existing condition waivers and CFAR.
How Does Disney Cruise’s CFAR Coverage Work?
Disney’s CFAR waiver is a separate benefit from its cruise insurance policy that’s automatically included in the purchase of any Disney Cruise insurance plan. You can purchase it up until the final cruise payment, which is typically due 90 days before your cruise.
The policy covers cancellations for any reason, as long you notify Disney before sailing. In case you need to cancel for a reason that isn’t covered under the insurance policy, Disney will reimburse up to 75% of your prepaid, non-refundable expenses for travel purchased through Disney as a credit for a future Disney Cruise. The credit expires 12 months from the date of issuing and has blackout dates.
Is Disney Cruise Travel Insurance Worth It?
While Disney Cruise insurance is better than nothing, it’s not worth it for most people due to its plethora of coverage gaps. It may be worthwhile for some older adults since pricing doesn’t increase with age, or if you’ve missed the CFAR window for third-party cruise insurance.
However, most Disney cruisers, especially families, will get much better coverage with third-party cruise insurance for a much lower price.
Disney Cruise Travel Insurance Pros & Cons
Pros
- Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) coverage automatically included
- Premium doesn’t increase with age
- Easily add to cruise during booking
- Can add it, including CFAR coverage, up until final payment on your cruise
- Strong baggage protection
Cons
- Very low limits for Emergency Medical and Evacuation
- Only covers travel booked through Disney
- CFAR refund is a cruise credit, not cash
- Doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions
- Cumbersome claims process
What Is the Best Travel Insurance for a Disney Cruise?
IMG iTravelInsured Choice Cruise is our best overall insurance plan for Disney cruises due to its well-rounded coverage. Travel Insured International FlexiPAX is our top choice for families on a Disney Cruise due to its free coverage for kids. Seven Corners Cruise offers the best cruise-specific benefits for a Disney Cruise.
FAQs: Disney Trip Insurance
Do I Need Travel Insurance for a Disney Cruise?
Cruise insurance isn’t mandatory for a Disney Cruise, but we strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance ahead of your cruise. At the least, you need Emergency Medical and Medical Evacuation coverage to protect you against illnesses and accidents on your Disney Cruise, since personal health insurance likely won’t cover you outside the U.S. Also, since Disney cruises can be very expensive and need to be purchased far in advance, trip cancellation protection is a wise idea to protect the investment in your cruise.
When Is the Best Time to Buy Disney Cruise Insurance?
It’s best to purchase travel insurance for your Disney Cruise as soon as possible after making the first deposit on your cruise. Plan to purchase a policy within 14-21 days of your cruise to qualify for time-sensitive benefits like pre-existing condition and CFAR coverage. Purchasing early also lowers the chance of an event occurring that could be excluded from your policy.
Can I Add Travel Insurance After Booking My Disney Cruise?
Yes, you can add travel insurance after booking your Disney Cruise. Disney allows you to purchase its own cruise insurance up until your final payment on your cruise, and most third-party cruise insurance policies allow you to add insurance up until the day before your departure date. However, the sooner you purchase travel insurance, the better.
Does Disney’s Travel Insurance Cover My Flights & Hotels?
No, Disney travel insurance will not cover flights, hotels, or any other travel expenses, unless you book them through Disney as part of a cruise vacation package.
Will Disney Cruise Insurance Cover Pre-Existing Health Conditions?
No, Disney Cruise insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions treated or diagnosed within 60 days of your policy’s effective date.
Can You Get a Refund if You Never Use Disney Cruise Insurance?
You may be able to get a refund for Disney Cruise insurance if you cancel your plan with Disney’s “free look” period. Disney allows you to cancel coverage up to 10 days from purchasing your plan for a full refund. After that, your premium is non-refundable, even if you don’t use any of the plan’s benefits.
How Do You Claim Disney Cruise Insurance?
You can file a travel insurance claim through Aon Affinity Travel Practice, which administers claims for Disney. First, you should carefully gather all the paperwork related to your claim, including receipts, emails, and doctors’ notes. Then you can submit your claim via Aon’s online portal for the fastest claims processing. You can also mail claims to Aon Affinity Travel Practice at 45 Executive Drive, Suite 100, Plainview, NY 11803, or call 1-877-217-0580 to submit a claim by phone. Be sure to report your claim as soon as possible, within 30 days of your loss at least.
Note that many customers complain about slow processing times and claim denials with Aon. These issues are often related to missing paperwork, so make sure you have all your paperwork in order before you submit.