Floods Show Need for Insurance

The Danube River, one of the premier rivers in the world for cruise boats, has been experiencing record flood levels recently. Flooding has also affected the Elbe. I was curious about what is happening to all those cruise ships and the cities where they dock, and found some information on www.cruisecritic.com/news.

It appears that many cruises have been cancelled, and even after the flood waters subside damage to certain cities and structures may require changes to itineraries. Torrential rains in Florida may also impact some cruises, since Florida is a major hub for Caribbean cruises.

To me, all these weather events point to the need for insurance when you travel on a cruise, particularly if that cruise involves air travel (and most do.) While the lines are required to compensate passengers when cruises are cancelled, they may not cover the cost of air fare to the destination unless it was booked as part of a package.

Friends of mine from Ottawa greatly enjoyed their Danube cruise earlier this year. They are avid travellers, and had booked the cruise and another trip to Peru and Ecuador through a travel agent. In cases of difficulty, it can be very helpful to have a travel agent in your corner. While the internet is great for a lot of travel planning, if you are taking an expensive cruise or package it won't cost any more to book through an agent, and may save you a lot of grief if things go wrong.

The difficulty now may be finding a good travel agent. Many experienced agents left the business in recent years, so you may have to search for a while.