Let’s start with a hypothetical story: A young couple, their newborn child, and both sets of grandparents decide to book the family cruise they have been talking about for years. Why now? One of the baby’s grandfathers has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and the family wants to spend some relaxed quality time together before his dangerous and complicated treatments begin.

Unfortunately, this family is going to have some trouble booking a cruise.

Many cruise lines have minimum age restrictions and policies dictating the health of passengers prior to sailing. Specifically, most cruise lines (including Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival and others) set a minimum age at 6 months and for many transatlantic trips, the minimum age is 1 year. The Disney Cruise Line sets a minimum age of 12 weeks.

The reason for this is that the company operating the cruise lines has researched safety and medical options for their passengers. When medical care is deemed difficult to obtain either by onshore facilities or through the on-board medical team, and of course it would be for infants, then the company deems it too risky for those travelers.

The same is true for pregnant passengers. Because pregnant travelers are more likely to need medical care, cruise lines restrict pregnant travelers from sailing if pregnant for 24 weeks or less at the start of the cruise. Many cruise lines require pregnant travelers to send a medical certificate indicating their due date prior to embarkation. Similar to age policies, you’ll need to check your individual cruise line’s policy for more information.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center expects the 2011 hurricane season to be worst than normal in the Atlantic.

Current 2011 Hurricane Predictions for the Atlantic

NOAA predicts a 70% chance of 12 to 18 named storms, including 6 to 10 hurricanes. In addition, 3 to 6 of those hurricanes are expected to significantly disrupt travel and weather.

Current 2011 Hurricane Prediction for the Pacific

NOAA predicts a 70% chance of 9 to 15 named storms, including 5 to 8 hurricanes. In addition 1 to 3 of those are expected to be major hurricanes.

In the aftermath of previous storms, U.S. citizens traveling abroad have encountered uncomfortable and, in some cases, dangerous conditions that lasted several days while awaiting transportation back home. In addition, many U.S. travelers were forced to delay travel plans due to infrastructure damage to airports or limited flight availability. Roads that are washed out or obstructed by debris adversely affect access to airports and land routes into and out of affected areas.

Protecting your Travel

It’s important to remember your travel insurance benefits must be in effect before a storm is named if you are to have coverage for hurricane-related travel disasters. This includes the following benefits:

• trip cancellation
• trip interruption
• travel delay

In addition, travel insurance protection for hurricanes cannot be purchased once the storm is named.

Staying on Top of Hurricane Warnings

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center recently joined the Twitter-sphere and has two Twitter accounts: one for the Atlantic basin, which includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and one for the Eastern North pacific basin.  Stay on top of alerts like public advisories on tropical cyclones and tropical weather warnings.

On World Blood Donor day, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights the need for blood donation (especially in developing countries) and honors the millions of people who donate blood every year. This annual event focuses on motivating people to become blood donors and demonstrates how health systems have worked to make blood donation safe and transfusions more accessible.

Theme

The theme for this year’s World Blood Donor Day is: “More blood: More life,” a theme that reinforces the need for people around the globe to donate life-saving blood.

A few facts

According to the World Blood Donor day site:

Take a moment and consider whether you can give blood this week. You never know, it could save your life.

Many families view their pets as four-legged family members. The average American pet owner will spend between $150 and $275 on pet-boarding services in 2011 according to the American Pet Products Association. As more and more lodging becomes pet friendly, many pet owners are taking their pets with them when they travel.

Traveling safely with your pet in a car

When traveling with your pet, there are a few basics to remember:

• Buckle up – according to a 2009 survey by the American Pet Products Association, 61 percent of pet owners do not secure or restrain their dogs in a moving vehicle. Unrestrained dogs can distract the driver, a known driving hazard. Unrestrained pets can also become seriously injured or cause serious injury to others in a car accident. Just like ensuring your kids are buckled up, it’s important to buckle up your pets.  A number of dog seat belts and carriers are available for purchase at any pet products store. Of course, traveling cats are far better off secured in a carrier.
• Stay hydrated – just as with humans, pets have to stay hydrated because hydration is how they remain cool and avoid heat stroke. When the weather heats up, dehydration and heatstroke in pets is far more common because of their fur coats. Portable water bowls are an easy packing item to ensure that your pets receive enough water throughout the day while traveling.

Traveling safely with your pet in an airplane

When traveling with your pet in an airplane, it’s important to understand:

• Pets who are small enough can travel in the cabin of the airplane (under the seat in front of you) in a pre-approved container.
• Pets who are too large to fit under the seat can travel in the cargo area in containers that are strong and well ventilated. These containers must be large enough for the dog to stand up, turn around, and lie down comfortably.

As always, check with the airline for specific requirements for carriers, and check the rules at your destination for vaccinations, quarantines, etc. before you travel.

Getting injured or becoming ill on a cruise vacation is a lot more common than you might think – cruise ships originate from and travel to and through many countries guaranteeing far greater exposure to global viruses and more. In addition, there are no common standards defining minimal credentials for medical doctors or the equipment available to them. While the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has developed recommendations for onboard medical facilities, these are adopted voluntarily by the cruise operators.

While spending time in the cruise ship’s medical ward is not on your travel agenda, it’s important to understand what you are facing if this happens.

At a minimum, most ship infirmaries will have:

• one or more doctors and nurses
• equipment for delivering oxygen
• cardiac defibrillators
• external pacemakers
• stretchers and wheelchairs
• immobilization equipment for back and neck injuries
• sutures, medicines, and bandages

In short, a cruise ship’s onboard medical facilities are no substitute for a fully stocked and fully staffed medical hospital. If you have a medical emergency while on your cruise, you could be shelling out a lot of money because, except for minor illnesses and injuries, you will have to be medically airlifted off the boat to the nearest hospital where you can adequately be treated.

Of course, after you are treated, you’ll also have to get back to the ship (if possible) or back home.  Having adequate travel medical coverage and evacuation coverage is the only way to protect yourself in this situation.

These days, it’s easier than ever to find a cheap flight with all the comparison engines like Kayak, Orbitz, and Expedia that are available. You can even compare prices and amenities on lodging using Hotels.com, BedandBreakfast.com, and Vacation Rentals by Owner, but knowing the hidden fees – that’s a different story.

You may not know about all of these fees, but they can add significantly to your travel costs:

1. Peak travel costs – experts contend that every day in June, July, and August are considered high travel days, which means airline are less inclined to be competitive with ticket prices and many tack on additional surcharges for the summer travel season.  Spend some time researching flights and comparing them with the airline websites, which sometimes have specific low-cost days to fly that aren’t apparent to the flight comparison engines.
2. Baggage fees – with all the uproar over this issue, you’d think the airlines would relent, but most carriers still require passengers to fork over additional money for hauling their luggage to the same destination. To avoid baggage fees – pack light and carry your bag on board. See our Tips on Avoiding Airline Baggage Fees too.
3. Fuel surcharges – with the cost of fuel continuing to rise, each airline has taken a different road when handling fuel surcharges. Sometimes these fees are bundled with the federal taxes – to identify them as a generic fee increase. There’s not much you can do about the fuel prices, but you can stick to airlines that aren’t tacking on additional disguised charges.
4. High parking fees – many airports, even those with remote parking lots, have significantly increased their parking fees. To combat this problem (and generate business) some hotels near airports will let you park your vehicle up to 10 days for free if you stay overnight with them before flying. These airports often have a shuttle that can take you back and forth as well. This little trick can save you $8-$15 or more per day on parking fees.

Of course, having even a basic travel insurance plan can save you loads of money on unexpected medical expenses, trip delays, and more if something happens on your trip as well. See our Buying Guide for more information on the best travel insurance for you.

Many businesses routinely send their employees overseas without adequate travel insurance or rely on the employee’s credit card agreements to cover any unexpected travel-related expenses.

If you are injured, or become ill, or have a medical emergency in another country while on business, your company may or may not cover the unexpected expenses. If you are hospitalized, or worse, are killed, on a business trip, how will your family visit you or get your body home for burial? What about significant travel delays such as those experienced by travelers last year when the volcanic ash cloud halted air travel and forced travelers to extend their stays and/or try for alternative travel? Will your company pay for those unexpected costs?

If the company you work for won’t provide travel insurance protection, you still have a number of affordable options to protect yourself and your family from financial harm – even if the company won’t cover the bill.

There are many travel insurance plans focused on business travelers and their needs. These plans also often cover non medical emergency evacuations for reasons such as political uprisings and civil unrest. Often, these plans are very affordable and can be purchased on an annual basis, so if you are having to take a number of trips each year for business, your travel insurance plan remains the same. Plus, you’ll have business travel assistance services to call when issues crop up. One number to call when you need help.

With luck, you can show your management the value and expense the travel insurance plan later!