World2Cover’s Cruise Travel Insurance

Planning a cruise getaway is exciting, but unexpected situations can arise at any moment, whether you're onboard or exploring a destination in another country. The World2Cover Cruise Benefits Option is tailored specifically for cruise passengers, offering cover for both international and Australian cruises against a variety of unforeseen events that standard travel insurance may not include. Before purchasing, make sure to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to determine which level of cover suits you best, and to understand the terms, conditions, and exclusions that apply.

What Does Cruise Travel Insurance Cover?

The World2Cover Cruise Travel Benefits option offers a variety of protections to help you feel confident from the time you book your cruise trip until you arrive back home. Below is a general overview of the main areas of cover. Terms, conditions, limits, sub-limits, and exclusions apply, so please refer to the PDS for complete details.

Unlimited* Overseas Medical Expenses

If you become unexpectedly ill or injured while on an international cruise, World2Cover’s international plans provide unlimited* cover for overseas medical and hospital expenses, helping protect you from potentially very high medical costs in a foreign country. Any treatment must be provided or approved by your treating doctor or our consulting medical officer.

Emergency Medical Evacuation

Emergency evacuation from a cruise ship to the nearest suitable medical facility can be one of the most expensive situations a traveller may face. Under World2Cover’s international policies, medically necessary emergency evacuation and repatriation costs are covered as part of the overseas medical benefit, subject to the policy terms and conditions.

Trip Cancellation and Lost Deposits

If you need to cancel your cruise booking prior to departure due to a covered unforeseen incident, World2Cover may compensate your non-refundable deposits and cancellation charges, subject to your chosen plan type and cancellation coverage level. Early booking will give you more time to make sure your coverage starts at the very beginning.

Trip Interruption and Emergency Expenses

If your cruise is interrupted due to an unforeseen event, such as unexpected illnesses or a family emergency, World2Cover may reimburse you for additional out-of-pocket travel and accommodation expenses required to return home, subject to your chosen plan and coverage limits.

Luggage and Personal Effects

Your valuables count. World2Cover can cover the loss, damage, or theft of your baggage and personal items throughout the whole period of your travel, whether during the cruise or ashore, in compliance with item sub-limits as defined in the PDS

24/7 Emergency Assistance

Emergencies can happen at any time. For your own safety, World2Cover provides you with access to 24-hour emergency assistance service, subject to the terms, conditions, sub-limits, and exclusions of your chosen policy. Please refer to the PDS for complete details.

What Type of Cruises Can Be Covered?

World2Cover Travel Insurance offers cover for various cruise types, including ocean cruising, river cruising and open water sailing in both international and domestic waters. Understanding the type of cruise that fits your travel experience will help you determine which coverage applies when requesting your quote. Refer to the combined PDS/FSG to determine if cruise cover is required for your trip.

Ocean Cruising

Ocean cruising is the most popular form of cruise holiday experience. For the purposes of World2Cover Travel Insurance, a cruise refers to ocean cruising on a commercial vessel for at least two nights. If your ocean cruise involves one night, you will receive automatic coverage even if you do not select the Cruise Benefits option.

International ocean cruises require you to include the countries or regions that you will visit in your destination list while purchasing your policy. Currently, there are no vessel size or medical facility restrictions that apply to international ocean cruises.

River Cruising

Whether you're cruising Vietnam's Mekong River, Europe's Danube, or Australia's Murray River, World2Cover’s single and annual multi-trip policies automatically include river cruise coverage. Please note, river cruise coverage is included without selecting the Cruise Benefits option, but additional cruise-specific benefits, such as cover for cabin confinement, are not available. For full details of what is and isn’t covered, please refer to the PDS.

International river cruises are covered for medical evacuation and medical costs, subject to the terms and conditions of World2Cover Travel Insurance. For domestic river cruises, medical expenses are not covered due to medical provision; however, you may still be eligible for other benefits, such as luggage and travel delays under the domestic plan. Please refer to the PDS for full details.

Open Water Sailing

There is an automatic exclusion on all types of open water sailing, including sailboat cruising and motor yacht cruising that sail further than 12 nautical miles away from any landmass. The exclusion applies to all types of open water sailing that use wind or motor power as their mode of transport. However, the activities that take place less than 12 nautical miles from any landmass, for instance, sailing along Croatia or the Whitsundays, are automatically covered without needing to select the Cruise Benefits option.

International & Domestic Cruise Coverage

Depending on where your cruise is departing from or its destination, the level of cover available will depend on your cruise itinerary. Australian cruises and international cruises are covered differently in this policy, and it's good to know about the role the Medicare system plays in covering (or not covering) certain medical services.

International Cruise Cover

For international ocean cruises, you need to select the Cruise Benefits option when purchasing your policy and include all destination countries and regions when requesting your quote.

This gives you access to all benefits available under your chosen policy, including:

• Unlimited* overseas medical and hospital expenses
• Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation
• Trip cancellation and interruption cover
• Lost or delayed luggage
• Travel delays
• Personal liability cover
• Cruise-specific benefits such as cabin confinement, missed ports, missed shore excursions, and formal wear cover (see Section 21 of the PDS).

There are no restrictions on vessel size, or the requirement for medical facilities to be present onboard for international ocean cruises. Medical costs and evacuation are covered subject to policy terms and conditions.

For cruises that depart from Australia and visit both Australian and international ports, for example, Sydney to Brisbane and then to the South Pacific, please select Australian Cruise and add all countries being visited to your destination list. Medical treatment received onshore in Australia is not covered under this type of policy, as this is provided by Medicare.

For full details of coverage, including limits and conditions, please refer to the PDS.

Australian Cruise Cover

The rules of cruising in Australia differ slightly from those of international cruising, so it’s important to fully understand the following information before making an insurance purchase.

There are three main scenarios for Australian cruises:

• Commercially operated cruises around Australian ports with medical facilities and trained medical staff onboard: Select Australian Cruise when purchasing your policy. This provides cover for medical evacuation and onboard medical costs, as some medical providers onboard are not registered with Medicare.
• Commercially operated cruises around Australian ports with no medical facilities or staff onboard: Select Australia – Domestic cover when purchasing your policy. Please note this will not include cover for medical treatment onboard or for medical evacuation.
• Chartered or self-operated vessels: Select Australia – Domestic cover. The domestic policy does not include any medical, hospital, dental, or evacuation cover.

Medicare does not cover medical treatment provided onboard cruise ships. If your cruise has medical facilities onboard, Australian Cruise cover may provide additional protection for those onboard costs.

What's Covered & What's Not Covered?

Understanding the scope of your cover is an important part of choosing the right policy. The following is a summary to help guide your decision. Always refer to the PDS for the complete list of covered events, conditions, and exclusions.

What’s Covered?

• Emergency medical treatment and hospital expenses while overseas or onboard
• Emergency medical evacuation and repatriation when medically necessary
• Trip cancellation and lost deposits due to covered unforeseen events
• Trip interruption and additional emergency travel and accommodation costs
• Cabin confinement benefit if a ship's doctor confines you to your cabin due to illness or injury (available on policies with the Cruise Benefits option)
• Missed port benefit if your cruise docks at fewer ports than scheduled (available on policies with the Cruise Benefits option)
• Missed pre-paid shore excursions due to circumstances beyond your control (available on policies with the Cruise Benefits option)
• Marine rescue diversion benefit if your cruise diverts to conduct a marine search and rescue (available on policies with the Cruise Benefits option)
• Luggage loss, theft, or accidental damage
• Personal liability cover
• 24/7 emergency assistance worldwide

Cover for river cruising is automatically included without selecting the Cruise Benefits option. The Australian Cruise policy also provides these benefits. When purchasing cover for a cruise that includes both Australian and international ports, please select ‘Australian Cruise’ and ensure all countries being visited are included in your destination list.

What’s Not Covered?

• Domestic medical costs covered by Medicare (medical expenses incurred onshore in Australia are excluded)
• Medical treatment onboard or evacuation for domestic cruises around Australian ports on vessels with no medical facilities, or for chartered/self-operated vessels
• Open water sailing more than 12 nautical miles from any landmass
• Cruises on vessels that do not meet the policy's definition of a commercially operated cruise
• Cruise-specific benefits (Sections 21A–21D) on domestic policies – these are not covered under the Domestic plan
• Cruise-specific benefits (Sections 21A–21D) on river cruises – these are not covered for these types of trips
• Trips where the Cruise Benefits option has not been selected (for international ocean cruises)
• Existing medical conditions not disclosed, assessed, and accepted at the time of purchase
• Events caused by, or related to, circumstances you were aware of before purchasing the policy

This is a summary only. Full exclusions are detailed in the General Exclusions section of the PDS. Policy criteria and conditions apply.

Cruise-Specific Protections

When you add the Cruise Benefits option to your international World2Cover Travel Insurance policy, you’ll receive additional features designed specifically for cruise travel, alongside the standard policy benefits. For comprehensive information, please refer to the PDS. All cover is subject to the policy’s terms, conditions, and limits.

• Unlimited* Medical Expenses: No cap on overseas medical and hospital costs if you fall ill or get injured at sea.
• Emergency Medical Evacuation: Covers reasonable costs of emergency evacuation and repatriation, subject to approval by World2Cover Travel Insurance.
• Trip Cancellation: Covers non-refundable deposits and cancellation fees if you cancel due to a covered unforeseen event, up to your selected limit and dependent on the plan chosen.
• Trip Interruption: Covers additional travel and accommodation costs needed to resume or cut short your trip due to a covered event.
• Travel Delays: Covers reasonable additional expenses caused by unexpected delays, subject to waiting period and daily limits.
• Luggage and Personal Effects: Covers the loss or theft of personal items onboard and during shore excursions. Item sub-limits apply. Accidental damage is not specifically included, please refer to the PDS for details on what is and isn’t covered.
• Personal Liability: Covers legal liability up to $10,000,000 if you accidentally injure someone or damage property.
• Cabin Confinement (S21A): $100/day lump sum if a ship's doctor confines you to your cabin for 24+ hours due to illness or injury (incl. COVID-19).
• Missed Port (S21B): $150 lump sum per missed port if your cruise docks at fewer ports than scheduled.
• Missed Shore Excursion (S21C): Reimburses non-refundable costs of pre-paid shore excursions missed due to circumstances beyond your control (incl. COVID-19).
• Marine Rescue Diversion (S21D): $100/day lump sum for each day your cruise is diverted to conduct a marine search and rescue.

Why Choose World2Cover?

When you select the Cruise Benefits option on an international World2Cover Travel Insurance policy, you will have access to a set of cruise-specific protections in addition to the standard policy benefits. Full details are available in the PDS. All benefits are subject to policy terms, conditions, and applicable limits.

Unlimited* Medical Expenses

All international policies cover unlimited* overseas medical and hospital expenses. No caps, no worries.

24/7 Emergency Assistance

Round-the-clock emergency support in any time zone, helping coordinate medical care, evacuation, and assistance from anywhere in the world.

Clear and Transparent Policy Documentation

The full Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determinations (TMDs) are available online. Review them to understand exactly what’s covered before you buy, so there are no surprises.

Cover for Both International and Australian Cruises

Whether you're cruising the South Pacific or the Australian coast, there's a cover option to match your voyage.

Dedicated Cruise Benefits Option

Section 21 adds cruise-specific cover on top of your standard policy, including cabin confinement, missed port, missed shore excursion, and marine rescue diversion.

Choose the Right Cruise Policy

World2Cover offers three international plans: Top Cover, Essentials Cover, and Basics Cover, as well as an Annual Multi-Trip option. Each plan type includes different benefits, limits, and sub-limits to suit different types of travellers and trips. Taking the time to compare them before you buy your policy will help you identify whether World2Cover Travel Insurance has the right cover for you.

Step 1: Select Your Cover Level

Compare the three international plan types and their cruise-related benefits:

• Top Cover: Our highest level of cover, with benefits including unlimited* overseas medical and emergency expenses, and the full suite of cruise-specific benefits when the Cruise Benefits option is selected.
• Essentials Cover: A mid-range option with unlimited* overseas medical expenses and access to the full suite of cruise-specific benefits when the Cruise Benefits option is selected.
• Basics Cover: Entry-level cover with unlimited* overseas medical expenses and the same cruise-specific benefits as the other plans, available when the Cruise Benefits option is selected.

All three plans provide the same cruise-specific benefits when the Cruise Benefits option is included. Please refer to the PDS for details of all inclusions and limits.

Step 2: Complete Your Policy Details

It’s important to add all countries and regions being visited to your destination list when requesting your quote. Ensure all travellers are listed on the policy and complete any required medical declarations. If you have existing medical conditions, you can request assessment during the quote process.

Step 3: Enjoy Your Cruise

Once your policy is purchased, keep your Certificate of Insurance and the 24/7 emergency assistance number accessible throughout your trip. If something goes wrong, contact the 24/7 Emergency Assistance Team as soon as possible.