Starshine Travel, Inc.

Travel insurance is extremely important, as it covers you not only for many unforseen events which could cause you to cancel your vacation, but for emergency medical treatment and evacuation as well.

Cruise lines charge significant cancellation penalties, up to the entire cost of your cruise. An illness or accident the week before your cruise could cause you to cancel your trip and lose your entire vacation investment. What if a family member became ill and you had to cancel your cruise to be with them in a hospital - would you be prepared to lose thousands of dollars?

Although losing your vacation investment would be unfortunate, it is nothing compared to the expense of emergency medical care or evacuation. Soon after your ship sails, you will enter international waters and will no longer be in the United States. Most health insurance policies do not cover you outside the U.S.

If you became ill aboard the ship or slipped on deck and broke your leg and had to go to the hospital at the next port, how would you pay the hospital bill or extra plane fare back home? What about the expenses for your traveling companions - they would probably want to disembark with you.

What if you were at sea and you fell down a flight of steps and broke your neck? What if your appendix burst? An emergency medical evacuation by helicopter can cost more than $30,000.

The right travel insurance policy would cover all of these situations and more. Insurance is a very important component of your vacation, and it's more affordable than most people think.

For more information about travel insurance, please check out the "Information About Travel Insurance" section of our Links page, or click the CSA logo below.