To take or not to take travel insurance. That’s a subject that’s beyond the scope of one post, and often an individual decision. One of my clients who takes very expensive trips informed me years ago that he “self-insures,” figuring, if he cancels one in 20 trips, he will still come out ahead. (So far he hasn’t canceled any.)
But a frequent response I get from travelers is “Well, even if I’m feeling lousy, we’re still going.”
And other travelers might take insurance, but if they feel just a little under the weather, they decide they don’t want to skip the vacation and decide to go anyway..
These days, however, maybe not.
CLIA – Cruise Lines International Association has announced that their members will be using “enhanced screening procedures” during the current H1N1/swine flu virus. Passengers will be “required to complete and sign a written questionnaire prior to boarding a CLIA member cruise ship anywhere in the world.”
And there will be a “secondary screening” for passengers who report symptoms or have other risk factors. Medical staff will make case by base decisions on boarding. CLIA adds that “passengers will not be permitted to travel if they exhibit influenza-like-illness or meet the suspect case conditions for Influenza A (H1N1) as defined by CDC.”
This means, say, if you think you just have a little food poisoning, but you look as though you could have flu, you may not be going anywhere.
Ditto if you’ve been around people with flu, or if you have other symptoms or anything that sets off alarms. And even though the hysteria seems to be dying down, it’s their call, not yours.
No word yet on what happens for passengers who are denied boarding and haven’t taken insurance, but I wouldn’t count on getting money back. At least easily. Now, if a passenger is denied boarding and turns out NOT to have swine flu, well, that’s an interesting legal issue.
It’s enough to make you long for the days that cruisers just worried about getting seasick.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
