Traveling on a cruise is an exciting experience to try at least once in a lifetime. A cruise offers a range of amenities for adults and children, including live music, concerts, water activities, and delicious meals. However, embarking on a cruise means that one will be away from home for at least a day or two, if not longer. Having cruise insurance can help address various situations that may arise while on board the ship. Last-minute cancellation refunds One might have to cancel a cruise trip at the last minute for various reasons, including a family or health emergency. However, cruises have terms and conditions that may prevent the issuance of a refund. If one is faced with this situation, one might lose all the money spent on the cruise package. However, having a cruise insurance plan could offer complete reimbursement or credits. Coverage for missed cruises Sometimes, one might need to fly to a city to board a cruise. If the flight gets canceled due to extreme weather conditions, there is a high chance one may miss their cruise and not get a refund in the process. In such situations, signing up for travel insurance can help reimburse an individual for eligible meals, hotel stays, and lost prepaid expenses if a trip delay is experienced. Moreover, trip interruption benefits can also help secure reimbursements for the cost of transportation to the cruise’s first port of call, where one board the ship. Healthcare benefits A cruise has basic healthcare amenities onboard to help travelers manage an illness emergency. However, this might cost a lot more than one might anticipate. Even Medicare does not cover health care services when the ship is more than six hours away from one of the country’s ports. A healthcare emergency may require physical evaluations, which could mean getting airlifted to the nearest hospital, which may amount to as much as $100,000.

Travel credit cards offer a host of perks for travelers. Some such perks include discounted first-class flights, free checked baggage, complimentary meals, and elite hotel room access, among many others. To access these benefits, users simply have to use their accumulated travel credit points while being aware of the card company’s usage rules associated with their services. While this seems easy, it frequently leads to users making common mistakes with their travel credit card. 1. Allowing travel miles or points to expire Most travel credit points come with a set expiry date. This means that if users do not redeem these points within a certain amount of time, they will lose them once that deadline passes. Credit card holders who do not make the most of such use-it-or-lose-it rewards are essentially wasting this money. To prevent points from expiring, one can use them to make small purchases or redeem them for travel plans regularly. Further, it is important for cardholders to know the rules of their travel credit card. One can set calendar alerts on their phone to avoid missing out on travel credit card benefits due to expiration. 2. Buying points and miles when not needed Many credit card companies enable users to purchase miles or points flexibly to reach their next redemption faster. Although this makes things convenient, buying points or miles is not a wise decision, even when they are available at reasonable prices. It is best to avoid doing so without a specific reason. The only two exceptions are when new points are accessible to users for free or at significantly low prices or when users are just a few hundred points or miles away from reaching the required amount for booking a hotel stay or flight using points. 3. Spending too much Most travel credit cards today come with spending-centric offers that provide customers with a lump sum of bonus points after they meet a set spending threshold.