Check with your credit-card company on what kind of coverage it provides. Know What You Own Find out what your existing health insurance covers when you're overseas. People with private insurance plans are usually covered for emergency medical expenses abroad, although not for the cost of evacuation from a remote jungle or mountain, or from a dodgy second-rate hospital to a better one. So consumer groups say it might be advisable to buy travel insurance if you're going to be exploring the headwaters of the Nile or trekking by camel across the Empty Quarter. But trip-cancellation insurance is better, experts say, because waivers often don't cover you if you cancel in the last 24 hours before sailing.
Waivers can also exclude lots of things like pre-existing medical conditions.
Waivers don't cover you if you have to cancel in the middle of a trip. And finally, buying a waiver doesn't protect you if the cruise line or tour company goes under. Some tourists discovered the limitations of their travel-insurance policies recently when they tried to get refunds from cruise lines that declined to put into Venice because of its closeness to the NATO bombing in Yugoslavia. While policies are getting more liberal, few yet cover people who want to bail on a cruise because of a change in itinerary. So the best advice is, as always, read the fine print.