Cruise Wave Season Deals

January started the beginning of Wave Season in the cruise industry, one of the biggest promotion times of the year for great deals for all cruise enthusiasts or even first-timers. Now is the time to take advantage of some great deals that are available. You don't necessarily have to cruise right away. You can book the cruise with a deposit, and cruise in the future. Here are just some of the great deals available. Don't wait, the deals do have a shelf life!

Royal Caribbean - Dive into Deals Sale

What is It: Save 60% off second guest booked in same stateroom with up to $150 Instant Savings + Up to $100 Stateroom Credit (based on stateroom booked)

Eligible voyages include: Select voyages in almost any worldwide destination that Royal Caribbean sails.

Valid: While availability lasts

Princess - All Aboard Sale

What is It: Up to $900 to spend onboard (depending on stateroom booked) + FREE Specialty Dining

Eligible voyages include: All destinations that Princess sails

Valid: While availability lasts

Norwegian's - Take All Free Sale

What is It: Save up to $4,000 + choose up to 6 FREE perks depending on the stateroom booked.

* Unlimited Open Bar *Free WiFi * Reduced Shore Excursions * Specialty Dining * Friends & Family sail FREE *FREE or Reduced Airfare (based on departure city)

Eligible voyages included: All destinations that Norwegian sails

Valid: Through March 31, 2019

Celebrity's - Sail Beyond Event

What it is: For a limited time, save up to $300 on a Celebrity cruise when you book a stateroom on nearly any sailing. Plus, when you book an ocean-view stateroom or higher, enjoy a choice of perk, from beverage packages and prepaid tips to unlimited Wi-Fi and $150 in onboard credit. When you book a suite, enjoy all four perks. Additionally, third and fourth passengers to a cabin save half on their cruise fares.

Eligible voyages include: Select sailings four nights or longer to Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean and more destinations, departing from March 1, 2019 through April 30, 2021 (exclusions, like the Galapagos and repositioning cruises, apply).

Valid: While availability lasts

Holland America's - Right Cruise Perfect Deal Sale

What is It: *FREE upgraded stateroom *Reduced shore excursions *Up to $600 onboard credit (based on stateroom booked) *Airfare credit of up to $1000 *$25 Deposits

Eligible voyages included: All destinations Holland America sails

Valid: While availability lasts

BOGO to Asia This Spring on Star Clippers

What it is: Sail a small-ship cruise to Thailand with a friend this spring; Star Clippers is offering buy-one-get-one-free fares on exotic sailings through Thailand and Malaysia. Fares start at just $1,400 per person.

Eligible voyages include: March through April departure dates of the seven-night Southern or Northern Phuket Island sailings

Valid: While availability lasts

Uniworld River Cruises Spring Sale

What it is: For a limited time, prices have been reduced on select Uniworld sailings in Europe this spring, from Holland and France to Portugal.

Eligible voyages include: Enchanting Danube (March 24 and 31, 2019); Brilliant Bordeaux (April 21, 2019); Holland & Belgium Tulips (March 24, 2019); Portugal, Spain & the Douro (March 21 and 24, 2019); and Paris & Normandy (April 14, 2019)

Valid: While availability lasts

Free Airfare or Up to 30% Savings on Select 2019 Uniworld River Cruises

What it is: Book a 2019 river cruise with Uniworld, and choose one of two offers. Opt for free economy airfare, or select reduced cruise fares up to 30 percent per person.

Eligible voyages include: Select 2019 departures, mainly March through July, including Europe, Egypt, Russia, India and other parts of Asia.

Valid: Through March 31, 2018

Windstar's Beyond Ordinary Savings Event

What it is: Windstar is offering a pick-your-perks promotion this wave season. Choose from up to $1,000 in onboard credit, prepaid gratuities or a free internet package. Plus, save up to 20 percent on fares for upcoming cruises and free laundry service on all sailings 14 days or longer (featured in the line’s Star Collector series).

Eligible voyages include: A variety of sailings around the globe -- from Alaska to Tahiti -- departing in 2019 and 2020.

Valid: Through March, 2019

MSC Cruises Offers Free Drinks & Wi-Fi on Ships in the Caribbean

What it is: Set sail in the he Eastern/Western Caribbean or to Canada/New England on MSC Seaside, MSC Divina, MSC Meraviglia or MSC Armonia and receive unlimited drinks for the duration of your cruise. Book any stateroom category with the Bella, Fantastica, or Wellness Experiences and receive the Drinks On Us package (valued at $250 per person). Plus, for a limited time, receive a standard internet package, as well. Deposits start at $99 and sailings start from $519 per person.

Eligible voyages include: Select sailings aboard MSC Seaside, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Divina and MSC Armonia

Valid: Through March 31, 2019

Save Up to 30% on 2020/2021 Hurtigruten Voyages

What it is: Book an adventure early aboard Hurtigruten and save up to 30 percent on sailings in 2020 & 2021

Eligible voyages include: North America, Mexico & Central America and South America; and up to 25 percent in Svalbard, Alaska, Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, the Northwest Passage and more.

Valid: Through March 31, 2019

Free Air on Select Silversea Sailings to the Caribbean

What it is: When booking your next Silversea cruise, expect free roundtrip air on Caribbean cruises, plus transfers.

Eligible voyages include: Voyages on various itineraries throughout 2019

Valid: Extended through March 31, 2019

Emerald Waterways Offers Up to $1,000 in Savings/Cabin on 2020 River Itineraries

What it is: Guests booking any 2020 European sailing with Emerald, will receive a discount of $1,000 per couple on sailings of 15 days or longer and $500 per couple on sailings of eight to 14 days.

Eligible voyages include: Any 2020 river cruise in Europe -- new for the 2020 season, Emerald Waterways is offering a twist on their popular "Jewels of the Rhine" cruise with a "Tulips & The Rhine" itinerary.

Valid: Through April 30, 2019

Save on Quark Expeditions' Voyages to the North Pole

What it is: Earn a free transfer package valued at $1,995 plus 10 percent savings on early bookings to the North Pole with Quark if you pay by June 15, 2019. Plus, save up to $2,000 on cabins plus complimentary air on select departures of Quark Expeditions' Arctic cruises in 2019.

Eligible voyages include: The 14-day Ultimate Arctic Adventure expedition in June/July 2020. Other promotion applies to various Arctic (Spitsbergen) departures June through September 2019

Valid: Through April 30, 2019

Lindblad Offers Half Off or Free Kids' Fares in Alaska

What it is: When two adults pay full fare to sail select Alaska itineraries in 2019, the first child (categorized as age 22 or under) sails for half off, while the fourth passenger 22 years or younger sails for free.

Eligible voyages include: Lindblad's 2019 "Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness" departures, May through September.

Valid: For a limited time only

Guidelines on Flying with Medicine in Your Carry-on Luggage

Hand luggage: The medical item passengers could have taken from them

Travelers could see themselves having a certain item taken off them when going through security which could be important to their health due to new TSA guidelines. When boarding with carry on luggage, travelers are not allowed to take liquids weighing more than 100ml. The security measure is to prevent dangerous liquids and chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide being brought onboard in large quantities. This includes medicine if it isn’t accompanied with a medical note.

Hand luggage: Inhalers are classed as liquids so must be under 100ml

Inhalers are also included in this which would cause problems for people carrying them. As the item is seen as a liquid, due to the chemicals inside which are then turned into a gas, it must be under 100ml. If not, then a prescription would need to be brought along with it. Thankfully most inhalers come under the 100ml rule.

Many online forums reveal worried passengers wanting to take their inhalers onboard. Passengers are advised to carry one with them in case of a medical emergency (preferably under 100ml, the blue one) and to pack any spares in checked luggage.

Passengers should check with their doctor before traveling with more than 100ml of inhalers. It is also worth having the prescription if entering a country which is strict on certain drugs and medicines. If not, then it could mean having it confiscated at customs.

Countries such as Dubai and China have strict rules when it comes to traveling with medicine. Drugs containing codeine are not allowed, with some painkillers having the ingredient. Codeine is also banned in Greece so passengers should check the ingredient list before traveling with it. While recreational cannabis has been legalized in some countries, many still do not allow it as medicine.

Hand luggage: Inhalers should be put in the plastic bags to avoid it being confiscated

Why Cruise Passengers Should Buy Insurance

A college student’s case of acute appendicitis on a cruise underscores the importance of acquiring travel insurance when traveling abroad.

Here is the reason why you should buy travel insurance when you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a trip. This is the story of an Arkansas family’s harrowing ordeal trying to get their college age student emergency surgery in Mexico, after they hadn’t purchased travel insurance.

What the details point out is the importance of realizing that your U.S.-based health insurance coverage will not be accepted in most other countries, and that without sufficient credit card funds or bank balances, you could be refused treatment for relatively common emergencies.

Chase Kehler, a 22-year-old college student from Little Rock, Arkansas, was evacuated to a private, for-profit Cancun hospital when he was diagnosed by doctors on the Carnival Cruise Triumph as suffering with acute appendicitis. Left untreated, appendicitis can be life-threatening.

When the Kehlers arrived at the Amerimed private hospital in Cancun, they were told that admission cost $6,000, and if Chase Kehler needed surgery, that would cost $25,000, which are standard procedures at private Mexican hospitals.

Chase Kehler’s mother Janie told a local Fox television news station that when she informed the hospital that she could not pay $25,000, “they stopped all of Chase's treatment. They unhooked his IV, they gave him no more medicine,” and sent the family at 2 a.m. to another Cancun hospital. The Kehler’s eventually ended up at Hospital Victoria, a private medical facility that asked for a $6,000 deposit. Chase Kehler had surgery within the hour.

Upfront medical payments for care providers abroad are common
Reviewing Newsweek’s version of the Kehler’s story, Cory Sobczyk, vice president, business development, at Arch RoamRight, told Travel Market Report: “It's very clear to me that a travel insurance policy could have solved all of [the Kehler’s] upfront issues. Their biggest issue was not having access to enough funds or a Guarantee of Payment (GOP), which is unfortunately a common occurrence for non-insured travelers visiting foreign countries,” Sobczyk.

“Many travel insurance plans, even in the mid-tiered price range, offer $50,000 or more of travel medical coverage, which would have more than covered Chase's treatment,” said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com, an online travel insurance aggregator.

Any Arch RoamRight travel insurance policy will carry GOP through an emergency assistance provider, as part of its emergency medical and evacuation benefits, which also include access to 24/7 emergency assistance services.

“If admission to a hospital is deemed necessary by the attending physician, some companies will arrange advance payment if required, and this is contingent on the company being able to coordinate payment with the hospital,” said InsureMyTrip’s Product Expert Meghan Walch.

Then there is the issue of ensuring you are comfortable with the facility where you are going to be treated. The Kehler’s visited three hospitals in less than 12 hours, and Janie Kehler described one of them as making her feel like she was in a “third-world country.” Typically, comprehensive travel insurance plans don't restrict where an insured can go for medical treatment, as long as they are treated by a licensed physician (as defined by the policy), said InsureMyTrip’s Walch.

Still, not all travel insurance plans offer the ability for the insured to choose where they will be treated, Sobczyk said. “Some carriers don’t offer that benefit at all; others offer it as an upgrade or include it with only select plans,” he said. “Hospital of choice coverage is not standard in the industry. If having this coverage is important to a traveler, they should closely read the details of each travel insurance policy before purchase, to ensure hospital of choice coverage is included.”

Sandberg noted that hospital of choice coverage “is generally found in the more premium travel insurance plans. But for most travelers, the standard emergency medical evacuation coverage will be more than enough.”

Arch RoamRight offers hospital of choice coverage through their Pro and Pro Plus plans, which are exclusively sold through travel agents and tour operators. It is also available as an optional medical upgrade to the Elite plan available directly to travelers on RoamRight.com. This upgrade adds both hospital of choice coverage as well as increased medical limits to the travel insurance policy, Sobczyck said.

When it comes to emergency medical evacuation, Walch at InsureMyTrip said, typically an insured would need to be hospitalized, and the attending physician along with the assistance company would need to approve and coordinate transportation from the “inadequate medical facility” to one that is better capable of treating the insured. The hospital that the insured is evacuated to is usually chosen at the discretion of the company making the arrangements, and the evacuation is contingent on the insured being medically fit for transportation, she said.

“All situations are different,” Walch advised, “so it is important to read policy documents to see what services are offered when traveling outside of the U.S., and to know what is excluded from coverage.”

“With the hospital of choice benefit, it is important that travelers understand that they must still be deemed medically fit for a medical transport by an attending physician,” Sobczyck said. “For example, if a traveler's appendix is about to burst, a medical provider will more than likely not approve the traveler for transportation, as it could put the traveler at additional harm. The hospital of choice benefit simply provides you with the comfort knowing that, when you are medically cleared for transport, that you can be moved to the hospital of your choice. In most cases, you will need to be stabilized at the nearest suitable medical facility first.”

Remote medical consultation services equally important
For travelers who don’t purchase a policy with hospital of choice coverage, it is equally as important to understand the type of emergency assistance available through the travel insurance provider, Sandberg sand.

“This means that an insured individual who is experiencing a medical emergency in a foreign country will have access to someone who understands the ‘ins-and-outs’ of that country's health care system and can help coordinate the insured's care as well as the financial and logistical sides of the traveler's care,” he said. “The last thing someone wants to do in the time of medical crisis is to figure out how to navigate a foreign country's medical system. “

Under the standard provisions of emergency medical evacuation coverage, if a hospital is not able to provide the necessary care or treatment, the plan will pay for the cost of transportation to the nearest medical facility that can provide the care or treatment, provided the insured's medical condition would allow them to be moved. “This is where having a regional expert as part of a plan's 24/7 global assistance becomes invaluable. They will know which hospitals can provide which kinds of treatment,” Sandberg said.

Arch RoamRight works with UnitedHealthcare Global and their network of doctors and medical centers to provide medical consultative services so travelers can assess the best place for emergency care. Since UnitedHealthcare Global does not maintain a financial interest in any of their providers, “all referrals are made on the objective basis of the best available care,” Sobczyck said.