Travel insurance is a necessity on any voyage leaving the United States and can be helpful on shorter, local cruises, as well. Most health insurance plans do not cover international medical costs, and the care available internationally may not be comparable to the care you receive at home.

It is important that you consider the costs associated with seeking emergency medical attention abroad, as well as procuring new flights home and incidental expenses during your medical stay in a foreign country. These can easily reach tens of thousands of dollars. Travel insurance will cover these expenses in most situations.

Moreover, travel insurance would also cover cancellation of your trip in the event you, your traveling companions or if one of your immediate family members becomes ill. Many of our cancelled trips are because of illness of a non-traveling family member, and this would still be covered under any of our recommended travel insurance policies. Cancellation penalties vary by cruise line, but all cruise lines eventually reach 100% non-refundability between at least 15 to 30 days prior to departure. Please also note that our air-inclusive packages are completely non-refundable after final payment. We highly recommend for our guests to purchase travel insurance. Please refer to our Travel Insurance page for further details.

Visa requirements change frequently and for various reasons. As a result, our Personal Vacation Managers are not always able to provide the most current visa information.

The best way to obtain up-to-date information regarding visa requirements is to visit the official US government website for Americans traveling abroad, Travel.State.Gov, which details specific information on the countries you would like to visit, including visa requirements.

Some cruise lines offer visa services for your cruise at an additional charge. However, this is not always available.

You may also use a third-party visa service, such as CIBT. These services require an additional service fee but make the process of applying for a visa much simpler.

The Agency Deposit works just like the cruise line’s deposit. It secures the room for you and reduces the total amount due at final payment. It is not a charge in addition to your cruise fare. It is non-refundable after 24 hours, but in the event of cancellation, it will be held on file and can be used towards your next cruise. You have six months from the date of cancellation to use the agency deposit, or it is forfeited.

Keep in mind that your cruise need not sail within six months, but only needs to be booked within that time period.

Booking a Guarantee stateroom means that you are asking for the best available stateroom in your category, and if that cannot be provided, you will receive the best available stateroom in the next available category above yours. Upgrades happen often with Guarantees, but the cruise line may not upgrade you if a stateroom in your category is available.

Also, since you may receive any stateroom in the category you booked or higher, the cruise line cannot accommodate any requests regarding location of your stateroom on the ship if you book a Guarantee. If you have specific stateroom requirements – for example, mid-ship or on the port side – then you should not book a Guarantee.

Once you have received a stateroom number, you may be able to switch the stateroom if others have opened up in the category that you have been assigned. If not, you may not switch your stateroom without paying the full difference in cruise fare from your category to the category in which you would like to stay.