05-19-2004, 11:49 AM

"fishman" wrote

    > We rode out Andrew 20 miles inland - we might as well have been on a
    > sailboat in the bay.

Not hardly. You're alive, aren't you?

    > I take hurricanes very seriously, except for maybe little category 1's -
Irene was actually rather fun in comparison.

Andrew taught a lot of us that Hurricanes aren't all "no big deal."

05-19-2004, 12:49 PM

In article <lVxqc.3217$>, "fishman"
<> wrote:

    >It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to
    >happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your
    >attitude.
    >Chris
My first run to the Caribbean was in the belly of a C-130 (acutally if
you have ever been in a C-130 you would know that "bowels" is probably a
better word) delivering a disaster team to St. Criox after their big
hurricane. (BTW: I much prefer a cruise ship). I had worked tornadoes in the
past (being from the Midwest) but this was few orders of magnitude different.
You get a REAL good idea of why the ships work so hard to avoid these after
even one up-close experience like that.

__________________
"No"
Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for
the children of America.

05-19-2004, 12:52 PM

Specifically on cruises, remember that ship can go anywhere. They'll change
their itinerary and sail away (you hope!) from the storm. My first cruise
went within 100 miles of the eye of a hurricane. What a mess! Still had fun,
just not a lot of sun and missed one port.

Yea, every hurricane season forecast is bad... just always a roll of the
dice, especially with a 6 month hurricane season. I live on my boat on the
Gulf Coast... you BET I'm always watching the weather!

__________________

Keith
__
Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy.
"fishman" <> wrote in message
news:lVxqc.3217$...
    > "Sam" <> wrote in message
    > news:N3xqc.76066$iF6.6383188@attbi_s02...
    > > -SPAM-
    > >
    > > I have been hearing bloated hurricain reports for the 20 years I have
been
    > > traveling to the Carribean. Has anyone EVER heard of a GOOD report?
    > >
    > >
    > It only takes one storm, causing wind and rain and great big waves, to
    > happen on YOUR cruise week on YOUR itinerary to make you change your
    > attitude.
    > Chris

05-19-2004, 04:26 PM

"Salty" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > "Skip Elliott Bowman" <> wrote in message
news:<GTwqc.598$>...
    > <snip>
    > > So talk to your travel agent now about trip interruption and trip
    > > cancellation insurance. You'll be glad you did.
    > No they won't. They'll realize that you were spamming.

You are mistaken, Salty. This was a post about hurricanes and how to
mitigate potential losses thereby. I don't get anything from anybody for
mentioning this. Can't you tell from spam? :)

05-19-2004, 05:10 PM

In article <GTwqc.598$>,
"Skip Elliott Bowman" <> writes:

    >Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with most gales forming
    >mid-July through November. While this is no reason not to go or to cancel
    >existing plans, a prudent option would be to hedge your plans with
    >insurance.
[emphasis added]
    > THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT POLICIES AVAILABLE AND ALL ARE A LOT
    >CHEAPER THAN HAVING TO LOSE YOUR $$ OR YOUR VACATION.

I'm sorry to point out that this last is not correct.
Casualty insurance alwasy cost more than it pays out.
This is becasue it has to pay sales commissions and other business
expences in addition to what it pays out. Insurance companies make money.

Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can
afford to sustain. Well, if you can't afford the cost of your vacation,
then stay home.

Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your vacation
money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters
statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions --
certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services
impossible.

My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance.
Every few years you'll have saved enough to treat yourself to a
better vacation -- maybe even a "free" one.

__________________
Charlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA
(hammond@ -- remove "@not" when replying)
All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's.

05-19-2004, 05:21 PM

In article <2GLqc.1850$>, hammond@
wrote:

    >Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can
    >afford to sustain. Well, if you can't afford the cost of your vacation,
    >then stay home.

Paying for the vacation and sustaining the LOSS of the vacation
are two entirely different things. While there are many reason to (or not)
take insurance for trips, this isn't always one of them.

__________________
"No"
Amy Carter when asked if she had a message for
the children of America.

05-19-2004, 05:51 PM

"Charlie Hammond" <hammond@> wrote in message
news:2GLqc.1850$...
    > In article <GTwqc.598$>,
    > "Skip Elliott Bowman" <> writes:
    > >Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30, with most gales forming
    > >mid-July through November. While this is no reason not to go or to
cancel
    > >existing plans, a prudent option would be to hedge your plans with
    > >insurance.
    > [emphasis added]
    > > THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT POLICIES AVAILABLE AND ALL ARE A
LOT
    > >CHEAPER THAN HAVING TO LOSE YOUR $$ OR YOUR VACATION.
    > I'm sorry to point out that this last is not correct.
    > Casualty insurance alwasy cost more than it pays out.
    > This is becasue it has to pay sales commissions and other business
    > expences in addition to what it pays out. Insurance companies make money.

Insurance companies are businesses and I don't begrudge them their
legitimate profits. We insure property, vehicles, even lives--why not a
vacation that could cost over $10,000?

    > Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can
    > afford to sustain. Well, if you can't afford the cost of your vacation,
    > then stay home.

With all due respect, I disagree. If I understand you correctly, should
people save for twice as much as their vacation should cost? I don't think
this is a reasonable proposition for the majority.

    > Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your vacation
    > money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters
    > statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions --
    > certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services
    > impossible.

This is incorrect. Airlines are not responsible for cancellations due to
inclement weather, and hurricanes qualify as inclement weather. They may
refund your money but legally they aren't obligated to do so.

    > My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance.
    > Every few years you'll have saved enough to treat yourself to a
    > better vacation -- maybe even a "free" one.

We take far too much for granted, and vacations are supposed to be memorable
not traumatic. IMHO Insuring a vacation to the tropics, especially during
hurricane season, is prudent at the very least.

05-19-2004, 07:20 PM

"Charlie Hammond" <hammond@> wrote in message
news:2GLqc.1850$...

    > Because of this, the general rule is NOT to insure any loss you can
    > afford to sustain. Well, if you can't afford the cost of your vacation,
    > then stay home.

Not wanting to lose the money hardly equates with not being able to afford
losing the money. And enjoying the fruits of a vacation that cost $10,000.00
is hardly the equal of simply losing $ 10,000.00.

    > Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your vacation
    > money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters
    > statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions --
    > certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services
    > impossible.

Most resorts (as well as liveaboards) have very strict policies in place
that force the buyer to carry all the risk. You might get fortunate and get
a credit for future use, but even that is not assured.

These days, even most First Class airfares have restrictions. Unless you
have paid full boat First Class you will likely see NO protection from loss
in terms of a refund (and in most cases a change or credit will involve a
fee, just like Coach fares). Some non-US carries (particularly Pacific rim
carriers like Thai Air, Singapore Air, Air Nippon etc) have more liberal
policies in this regard, but generally you lose some money. And if you fly
coach, there are very few conditions under which a refund would be
forthcoming regardless of carrier.

    > My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance.
    > Every few years you'll have saved enough to treat yourself to a
    > better vacation -- maybe even a "free" one.

I used to believe this to be savvy policy, then I got ill two days before a
two week trip to the Solomons. Even considering premiums not paid on past
trips I still took a considerable loss. In this case trip insurance would
have been a good idea, in all other cases I would have paid for coverage not
utilized.

Basically it's a crapshoot. But whether or not you do buy it, it's still a
crapshoot played with your own money....the only questions is how much do
you want to play with: the cost of your vacation or the cost of the
insurance.

And if you travel a lot you never get to know if your loss will come on a $
15,000.00 3 week vacation to Europe, or on a $ 800.00 Apple Vacation to
Puerto Vallarta.

05-19-2004, 07:35 PM

On Wed, 19 May 2004 16:10:38 GMT, hammond@ (Charlie
Hammond) wrote:

    >In article <GTwqc.598$>,
    >"Skip Elliott Bowman" <> writes:
    > [emphasis added]
    >> THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT POLICIES AVAILABLE AND ALL ARE A LOT
    >>CHEAPER THAN HAVING TO LOSE YOUR $$ OR YOUR VACATION.
    >I'm sorry to point out that this last is not correct.
    >Casualty insurance alwasy cost more than it pays out.
    >This is becasue it has to pay sales commissions and other business
    >expences in addition to what it pays out. Insurance companies make money.

Sure they do, but only in the aggregate, pooling all persons who pay
premiums and pooling the much smaller number of persons who make
claims. This does not mean that an individual claimant will pay more
in premiums that he collects on his claim.

You also neglect the fact that insurance companies invest the premiums
they collect and make profits on those investments independent of the
relative inflow and outflow of premiums and claims. It is not
necessary for the premiums collected to cover all the expenses of the
insurance company. It is only necessary for the premiums collected,
plus investment income on those premiums, to cover expenses and make a
profit.

The person with a catastrophic illness is going to receive more from
the medical insurance company than he or she paid out in premiums
during a lifetime. The medical insurance companies make their money
on those of us who don't have catastrophic illnesses.

Take it easy,
Ron Knight

05-19-2004, 07:45 PM

"Charlie Hammond" <hammond@> wrote in message
news:2GLqc.1850$...
    > In article <GTwqc.598$>,
(snip)> Also keep in mind that you will probably NOT loose all of your
vacation
    > money. Most resorts and airlines will (inspite of the original posters
    > statements) make a full or partial refund under most conditions --
    > certainly if a hurrican makes thier providing the contracted services
    > impossible.
    > My advice is to SAVE the money you would pay for trip insurance.
    > Every few years you'll have saved enough to treat yourself to a
    > better vacation -- maybe even a "free" one.

I hear you and generally follow that route. However, on my last trip, there
was quite a bit of travelling involved, a number of different destinations
included. I wanted to make sure that I had travel interruption insurance.