InsureandGo Australia International Travel Insurance - Bare Essentials Cruise

As the name implies. Just Insure and GO – My Insure and Go Policy was easy to purchase and with the 3 tiers of options, it was clear which would be suitable for what I wanted. Medical only as I didn't forsee any issues whatsoever. Boy was I wrong! Now here's a story for you. The unexpected. I had booked a 14 night cruise to the Antarctic with NCL aboard their Norwegian Star, embarking… Read more ·  3

from Buenos Aires (Argentina) on the 29th Jan 2023. The holiday included 4 nights in Buenos Aires prior to the cruise, and a further one week after. All was going well until the 29th Jan. I arrived at the passenger terminal at 11:30am, expecting to board by 12:30pm. Our cruise itinerary included a stop at Punta Arenas (Chile), and in the T&C's, buried somewhere, it was stated that visas and travel documentation was the responsibility of the traveller. I had applied for a transit visa for Chile, over a month prior whilst still in Sydney. This application was still processing as I left Australia on the 24th Jan 2023. I had received at least 3 emails in the fortnight prior to embarkation, from NCL and my travel agent regarding the need for Covid related documentation. Aghast! I was not permitted to board the vessel without this visa. This was the first I had known of this situation happening. Previous cruises had allowed passengers without the Chilean visa to board. In the past, one could apply for the visa whilst onboard, or, if this was not possible, they would merely stay aboard the vessel, and NOT disembark in Chile. I was not alone. About 50 or more Australian passport holders were not allowed to board the vessel at Buenos Aires. All had not received a visa from the Chilean Consulates in various capital cities in Australia. 8 hours later (after waiting for my luggage to be retrieved off the boat), I booked into a nearby hotel, and emailed my local member back in Sydney (14 hour time difference), and told them of my predicament. The following day, a received a reply, stating my local member would assist, and asked for names and passport numbers of the affected Aussies. I only had the details for myself, my wife, and two travel companions. The second day, I received the visas via email. I could rejoin the cruise at the 2nd port of call at Puerta Madryn Day 3 of the cruise. My Travel Agent was also working on an alternative, whereby we could rejoin the cruise after the Chilean port, on Day 8 of the cruise, at Ushuaia, but had not contacted me yet, as advised. That evening, I decided to make my own way to Puerta Madryn, and booked 4 air tickets ....it was after midnight now, and the flights were for noon the following day. I received confirmation of the payment, however not confirmation of the ticket allocation. I advised our travel agent of our decision, and of the attainment of visas........it was 2:30am. The morning came, and still no ticket confirmation, so after breakfast, we headed to the airport to check-in. (Our agent had read my email, and arranged a hotel overnight at Puerta Madryn). At the airport counter, we were advised there was only one ticket booked, and the flight was sold out. I argued that the online company had accepted payment for 4 passengers, and 4 pieces of checked-in luggage, and showed him the emails pertaining. He answered that the airline does not manage the online sales by third-party sales....we were sunk!! No other flights were available, and the following day would be too late. Bus or train options were also not practical. At this airport, in the car rental section, they had two booths called "Remiss"...which I gathered was "car with driver". This seemed like an option....They quoted an 8 hour drive.....sure , it was extreme, but we really wanted to board the cruise. They quoted an amount of 750000 pesos......without hesitation, my companions said, let's do it...there's not much choice....I had to agree. Out came my companion's American Express card, and payment was swift. The Remiss company had to ring around to find a driver and car, during which time they checked the route....."Oh the trip might be 12 to 14 hours long!"....We were committed by then. We waited at the airport for a further hour, for the company to arrange the details, and we left the airport at around noon, in a Renault Kangoo, a small wagon of sorts, quite uncomfortable for the 3 in the back, and even for me, with my knees jammed against the dash. Our driver was very experienced, a 63yo gentleman with "No hablas Anglaise"...great! Two hours into our long journey, we had only just crossed the outskirts of Buenos Aires, and the GPS still said another 14 hours to go.....Via Google Translate, I asked to driver to go a little faster, and indicated we did not want to take breaks....He obliged and sat on the speed limit from then on. At 3am, 15 hours into this drive, we were all jolted by an almighty "thump ker bang!".....we had hit a large pothole, and burst two tyres on the right-hand passenger side. The driver kept the car travelling straight until it stopped. We were in the middle of nowhere. No street lights, no cell coverage, no internet...nothing. My GPS indicated we were still 2 hours from Puerta Madryn, and our driver had fallen into complete shock. He didn't know what to do. He was "useless" (poor bugger). Things didn't get better after this, suffice to say, we did finally reach our hotel on Puerta Madryn at 9:45am, had breakfast, a shower, and checked out again by 10:45am to meet the boat at the pier. At the pier, we waited for over two hours to be allowed to board...standing with our luggage, no seats, no shade, just surrounded by police with automatic weapons......Great! For the sake of expedience, I won't outline these details after the blown tyres....this review would get far too long. I know the onus is on the traveller to obtain all required travel documentation, and that I and 50 other Australians had failed to do so for this particular cruise. Everyone suffered due to this omission, some more than others. Do you think Insure and Go might/ could be of assistance to me and my companions?

Yours sincerely mikef50

Cover not fully explained as to a combined Australian/New Zealand cover – Only problem is that there was not an Australia & NZ cover so we chose the NZ & Pacific, hopefully covering Australia on an AU/NZ cruise. We do hope this policy will cover both countries as the cruise is a 28 day Australian & New Zealand cruise Show details ·  4