I asked about Zurich, because it’s offered by Costco Travel. I suppose we don’t have to use Zurich and go with another insurance carrier, but apparently Zurich through Costco is a better deal.
Better deal than…… what? Besides looking at their reviews/ratings, are you comparing apples to apples? Is medical primary or secondary? How much does it cover? Does it get you just to the nearest hospital/medical facility or will it also get you evac’ed home if need be? How much for baggage or travel delay/interruption? How long does the delay have to be. How soon do you have to buy it after paying for the first trip deposit to avoid pre-existing?
You’ve probably looked at all this, but if not, it’s helpful to compare equally. Good luck!
3 Likes
Most important rule IMO regarding trip insurance is to NEVER take out trip insurance with the tour company–always use a third party. Some companies self-insure, and if they go belly-up, your policy may be worthless.
7 Likes
What is this? I don’t want those. Unlike the suction cup idea.
I have used InsureMyTrip.com or SquareMouth.com to compare travel insurance for overseas trips.
I look for primary medical coverage - meaning they pay and not my health insurance plan (I have a local HMO), and also repatriation (my sister was on a trip when her friend died and said that piece was invaluable to her and the friend’s family in making arrangements). Once those boxes are checked you can compare costs and amounts of coverage for delays and lost luggage to make your selection.
3 Likes
When I was looking for my son who is leaving next month for a Germany trip, I was told (thru the recommended insurance company above) that it didn’t matter whether you buy the travel insurance as primary or not, you still have to pay up front for medical (that is the only insurance he is buying) and get reimbursed by your insurance company - if the travel insurance is your primary, they will reimburse first then you file with your personal insurance for the balance. Unless you specifically buy a certain kind of insurance - GeoBlue has the Voyager which actually pays the provider directly at service time if you use one of their in-network providers and then you can file the balance with your secondary. They have an app for your phone that will tell you where their in-network providers are by country/city. There may be other insurance options like that as well but they educated me on the primary/secondary really makes no difference as to who is paying up front.
1 Like
Yes, that makes sense for a general rule, but the process for out of area coverage for my HMO is very complex, before adding to that filing documents which are in a foreign language.
I prefer take the travel insurance as primary, then decide if I want the hassle of filing secondary with my HMO after I see the balance of what’s left.
3 Likes
We have a comfort level booking with our AAA agent, getting Allianz insurance through her. (Last year she advised it was better than using the insurance offered with the Viking river cruise, especially since we had other days before/after with self-planned travel.). If we do someday need to make a claim, we assume she will be an advocate if we have problems.
2 Likes
California does have transponders.
Yes, its just that California’s FasTrak is not compatible with EZ-Pass
No, not compatible but CA does have transponders that travel car to car and not just a “license plate” toll system which is more expensive.
3 Likes
We have a California transponder. The problem is remember where we put it between visits!
1 Like
Greece to Restrict Cruise Visits as Islands Struggle With Tourist Crowds
In a country where vacationers are a keystone of the economy, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is embracing a European trend toward tighter tourism regulation.
gift link https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/08/world/europe/greece-cruise-ships-tourists-islands.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JE4.OHRp.vzWuNYeKLD2n&smid=url-share
4 Likes
I’m not surprised some destinations are overcrowded. With Israel, Russia, Ukraine, parts of Poland and Romania being not generally safe to travel to, and domestic destinations losing their appeal, the tourists’ earth just became a little smaller.
6 Likes
I wish our national parks would lose their appeal! Or at least tourists would learn to behave.
7 Likes
I understand why certain destinations are looking for ways to manage the negative impacts from tourism. Over-crowding and poor behavior (and in my opinion, it’s probably more of the latter) have to be dealt with otherwise very few will actually enjoy the destination…the locals as well as the foreign tourists.
DH and I have witnessed questionable behavior on many of our trips. Eliminating all poor behavior may be impossible but I can empathize with challenges faced by certain places in particular.
I also understand this sentiment. DH and I visited Yosemite and Sequoia National Park this year. The crowds were manageable, but for us it was witnessing the blatant disregard for rules that at times would spoil our enjoyment. For instance people crossing over fences to take a picture at the General Sherman Tree negated the warm feelings from the polite and cooperative queue that formed in front of it by the sign. Rule breakers and the seeming inability to enforce those rules is frustrating.
9 Likes
Part of the problem with cruise ships is that the new ones are HUGE. Instead of 2000 people arriving at a port, it is 5000. At some of the older ports they have to tender in, so the guests are required to stand in line, wait, get irritable, act bad, have limited time in the ports, etc. Juneau Alaska is voting whether to limit the days and have no ships on Sundays and some holidays (4th of July), basically giving the locals a day off. They already limit how many ships can be there per day and the times, like some are in port 7 to 1 and then others 2 pm to 7pm. The towns depend on the tourists but there are just too many people.
The National Parks became popular during covid and it just hasn’t tapered off. Ironically, there was a news story yesterday that climbing 14ers in Colorado has really dropped off since the highest covid year of 2020. In 2020, about 415k people climbed 14ers (the trailhead parking lots were insane) and now it is about 260k. They don’t really know why, and speculate that there are fewer young people. I will say my daughter and her BF were 2 who climbed in 2020 and no longer climb; they do other things like play golf and tennis (and go to endless weddings) on weekends.
5 Likes
Social media competition was increasing their popularity a lot before COVID, but their popularity exploded during COVID. Social media competition means certain parks and certain locations within parks will never be under crowded again.
2 Likes
Which parts of Romania are supposedly unsafe? Planning on a trip to Bucharest soon and have not seen anything, although I lived abroad for over a decade and think most advisories tend to be overrated or for folks that have never travelled abroad.
Going to Azerbaijan on the same trip and apparently it has a warning…one of the safest countries I have been to…
1 Like
I managed to book this trip for next June; husband isn’t sure he wants to go so I will also sound out son. At worst, I have until April 2025 to cancel and leave $200 on account. Husband thinks it’s too many days?? I think it includes all transportation and park lodging and takes you to various parts of the park and all we have to do is fly in and out of SFO. Our dates would be June 15-20 and I believe most waterfalls should still be running at that time; any later and maybe not so much.
5 Likes