cruise travel insurance recommendation, please

[Trickysite]

I am stage IV oc. I have found a cheap 15 day November cruise but the only insurer I have got a quote from so far wants £2000. Any recommendations for cruise insurance please, lovely ladies? They keep asking Are you terminal? I say I am stage IV which means I won’t get rid of the cancer, so yes, I am terminal, but may have a good few years yet. This all seems too subtle for them. Terminal to them means you will pop off at any time. But modern treatment means I may live with cancer for a fair time still. They don’t seem to have digested that idea. ....

[Lyndy2]

I get why you say terminal (no one gets out of life alive right?) but please don’t say it to an insurance company…they come over all of a flutter. They mean has your clinician told you that you are terminal? ie. Not expected to live more than 6 months. So say no to that question and you should get a lower premium xx

[kristinaapril in reply to Lyndy2]

I agree with this! Also if you are stable please mention it to the insurance company because that often will bring the quote down some!!

[Mai46]

Terminal nowadays means you have run out of treatment options which it sounds like you haven’t. So you‘re not. I also have Stage IV & will never be out of treatment but I would not refer myself as terminally ill.

[Trickysite]

That is very helpful advice, ladies. I have completed first line of chemo and had one op and am now stable on Olaparib. I will try the new approach! You are all terrific on this site!

[NewtonEmma1900]

Try ‘Insurewith’. Albeit I am stage 3 peritoneal on 2nd line chemo. I recently went to the Alps for one week and paid £72. Although as I understand it organised holidays and especially cruises are loaded. Also I would ring them rather than using ‘online’. Good luck. 🚢

[Alice77]

I recently enjoyed a two week holiday in Italy and managed to get insurance although I have Primary Peritoneal Cancer which is not curable and am currently on Niraparib maintenance. The insurers want answers to the same questions every time so getting a quotation can be a bit tedious but don't bother with the comparison sites and go straight to specialist insurers by telephone. I found only two companies which would insure me and even when you try the others it all comes back to these two in my experience. I found the cheapest option was SAGA with a cashback offer but the cost will inevitably be a significant part of your holiday expenditure. Still, it is important to have cover. SAGA would not offer me an annual policy but the annual policy with the other company was about £1400! Explain that you have had treatment and are currently receiving treatment to prevent a recurrence of the cancer

[Trickysite in reply to Alice77]

Thank you all for your advice.

[Marie101]

I used Allclear in the summer for my travel insurance and they were brilliant. Good luck

[OvacomeSupport Partner My Ovacome Team]

Hi there Trickysite

Thank you for your post. I can see that some members of the forum community have shared their experiences about travel insurance which I hope have been useful.

I wanted to let you know that Ovacome have an information booklet about travelling abroad, with a specific section about travel insurance. Whilst we don’t recommend a particular company or policy, this booklet includes a list of companies that our members have found useful in the past. You can find the booklet here on our website: ovacome.org.uk/travelling-a... - Just let us know if you would prefer a copy of this to be sent to you in the post instead, free of charge.

In addition, the Summer 2022 edition of the Ovacome magazine focussed on travelling abroad, with some details about finding travel insurance after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer. I hope this may be of interest. To view our magazine, please visit: ovacome.org.uk/ovacome-maga...

I hope that you will find a suitable policy to suit your own individual requirements for your upcoming cruise.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’ve got any further questions or would like to talk things through with a member of the Ovacome support team. You can call us on 0800 008 7054, email [e-mail] or message us directly through this forum if you prefer. We’re here Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm.

Best wishes

Annie – Ovacome support

[Realistic in reply to OvacomeSupport]

Brilliant very useful information l.do find this site extremely useful and l really think it also gives us hope for the future.Thanks for all your hard work. SheilaFxxx

[Trickysite]

thank you and keep up the good work!

[Lolsy]

Try ‘ insurancewith’ this was the cheapest company that I found.

[Jacky5]

We've booked quite a few holidays, including a cruise for next June and found Insurewith to be very reasonable.

We just have the insurance for the period of the holiday....not a full year.

Have a lovely holiday.

Liz xx

[Trickysite in reply to Jacky5]

my stumbling block is that I am stage 4. Can I ask what stage you are,, please?

[Jacky5]

Stage 3. Ive had chemo, surgery and 2 years of olaparib.

I think being stable and not needing any new investigations could be the key.

Have you had a quote from insurwith?

I think the other ladies are right, unless your dr has told you you're terminal now, I don't think that word applies to you at all.

My gp husband fills out my insurance form and answers no to are you terminal.

Theres a difference between incurable ( which I consider myself to be ) and terminal.

A person can live for years with incurable cancer.

I understand terminal as disease is progressing (rather than stable) and treatment isn't effective. Any treatment given then will be aimed at making a persons remaining life comfortable.

Sorry for such a lonr reply.

All the very best.

Liz x

[Trickysite in reply to Jacky5]

dear Liz, thank you for your very helpful response. I have asked my CNS to clarify what answer I should give to the dreaded Are You Terminal question and am waiting fir response. I may be going wrong by saying YES! To insurers. In that I can’t be cured. I have asked the insurers, How do you define Terminal? but none can explain apart from “life shortening”. They don’t say e.g. 6 or 12 months to live. Well, my onc said that something else other than OC May see me off. Iam 76. On the other hand, no one can predict but my Olaparib has another 14 months to run. Btw, can I borrow your GP husband for the purpose of filling out the form!

[Jacky5 in reply to Trickysite]

My onc said something similar when I finished my Olaparib....I don't want you to spend the next 10 years worrying about this cancer when it could be something else that finishes you off!

My husband says of course you can 🙂.

He says Terminal is generally used to describe a life expectancy of less than 6 months...so definitely doesn't apply to you.

I'll be interested to know what your CNS replies.

Good luck.

L. Xx



[Trickysite in reply to Jacky5]

Big thanks to you and your husband! My CNS called and said since the insurance telephone responders can’t define what their company means by “terminal” (ridiculous!), I am to email my CNS the 3 tricky questions they all ask me and she will send me my relevant medical details and I can forward to insurers and the underwriters can jolly well assess and make their minds up about me. Painful process by which time cruise will probably be sold out. To be cont..,, xx

[Jacky5]

Hmmm....

Fingers crossed, but f you don't have any luck with this cruise, I would suggest speaking to your onc at your next review...you will get a definitive opinion and be ready to snap up the next offer you see. Xxx





[Trickysite in reply to Jacky5]

Just to say thanks to everybody for their comments. Brilliant advice all round. Yes, I shall be going to the ball/cruise! I ended up getting Saga insurance as cheapest at£1500! Crikey! But cruise itself is a giveaway at £700 for 15 nights, which brings total cost to well within normal cost for cruise. And Saga ask their questions in a sensible way and don’t tie you up in medical knots. What I have learnt, which I did not realise at start of this escapade, is 1. Cruise insurance will cost an arm and a leg, especially if you are stage 4 like me and have had, within the last 6 months, rocky episodes (e.g. blood transfusions for olaparib induced anaemia). 2.Best to get in writing from your CNS answers to any tricky questions e.g, are you terminal .(CNS said no, even though I am stage 4). That way you can waive the evidence at them should insurance query/try to wriggle out. 3.Don’t apply online (I got refused by Saga online but got it over phone.). All advice you lovely ladies gave me but I sort of learnt the hard way and must have spent 6 hours on phone. Btw, I found insurewith very difficult to deal with as they want it online, if you ring them they say someone will call back next day and then they don’t, and their questions did tie me in knots and their telephone staff, unlike Saga, did not seem knowledgeable or prepared to give me time to discuss. If I did not fit the tick box, they did not know how to help. Maybe this a new policy on their part.

Sorry about long post. I realise I am one lucky lady to be able to afford this splash out. I wish joy and peace to all on this site. Emma xx

[Jacky5]

That's fantastic news Emma!

I was only thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you got on. It was long winded for you but well worth it in the end.

Great advice re getting the CNS involved too.

Have a fabulous holiday!

liz xxx



[Rosebine2]

Well done getting insurance sorted. Where are you off to on your cruise ?

[Trickysite in reply to Rosebine2]

A little winter sunshine. Ambassador cruise line, Spain, Canaries, Madeira, Portugal, Casablanca. Lucky me! x