Got your sea legs ready for a cruise around Australia? If you’re heading on a multi-night ocean- or seagoing domestic cruise around Australia, you need to add our Cruise Cover Boost to your policy from the day you board until the day you disembark in order to be covered.
Cruising covered when Cruise Cover Boost added at an additional cost to the base policy.
To get cover on your multi-night ocean- or seagoing cruise, it is mandatory to add our Cruise Cover Boost for all days you’re onboard, from the day you board to the day you disembark.
What better way to explore the most iconic port destinations of this Great Southern Land than on a cruise ship?
Just remember, if you’re going on a ocean- or seagoing cruise that is longer than two nights (multi-night) and enters international waters (such as Brisbane to Sydney or Sydney to Hobart), you must have our Cruise Cover Boost added to your Explorer Plan at an additional cost for all the days you’re onboard. We will automatically add this cover to your quote.
On the other hand, if you’re only cruising on a river within Australia, you do not need to add our Cruise Cover Boost.
Get a quote and buy a policy in minutes! If you’re going on a multi-night ocean or seagoing domestic cruise, select your destination as ‘Domestic Cruise’ or ‘South West Pacific Cruise’.
When you select ‘Domestic Cruise’ or ‘South West Pacific Cruise’ as your destination, we’ll automatically add our Cruise Cover Boost to your Explorer Plan and you’ll need to pay a premium for it (this add-on is mandatory to be covered for cruising).
Once your Cruise Cover Boost has been added to your Explorer Plan, checkout, pay and you’re ready to set off on your domestic cruise!
We've made buying travel insurance easier by bundling medical, trip and belongings cover in our single Explorer Plan. Get a quote and buy your policy in minutes.
If you need additional coverage for your trip or favourite gadgets, you can build upon the Explorer Plan by adding any of our Trip Extras.
Last-minute ski trip? Need a rental vehicle or motorcycle for the day? Embrace spontaneity and toggle on additional activity coverage for the days you need it.
We've simplified travel insurance with our bundled Explorer Plan that you can build upon with extra coverage. This way, you only pay for the coverage you need on the days you actually need it.
We provide coverage for overseas medical expenses, including hospital expenses for approvable claims. If things go really wrong, we can help with emergency repatriation or evacuation to bring you home.
Only applies to Overseas Explorer Plan
If you need to amend, delay or cancel your trip, we can help smooth out bumps in your travel plans. You can even increase your cancellation coverage in increments of $1,000 by paying additional premiums.
When things go wrong overseas, travel insurance can be the unexpected hero of your trip. Freely's Overseas Explorer Plan offers coverage for medical and dental, emergency evacuation and repatriation, trip cancellation and amendment, and lost and delayed luggage.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you become sick or injured while on your trip, we may provide cover for unexpected medical and hospital expenses.
If you need to pay for unexpected dental treatment during your trip, we may provide cover for emergency overseas dental expenses.
If you become sick or injured while on your trip and need emergency repatriation, we may provide cover for that.
Some existing medical conditions are automatically covered by our Explorer Plan (subject to the criteria outlined in the PDS). If your existing medical condition falls outside the criteria or isn’t on the list, we may still be able to provide cover for your condition subject to the outcome of a short medical assessment, an additional premium may apply.
If you become sick or injured while on your trip and need emergency evacuation, we may provide cover for that.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, if approved, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, if approved, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you need to unexpectedly amend or cancel your trip for a covered reason, we can reimburse you for the costs of your prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements.
If you encounter unexpected accommodation and/or transport costs during your travels because of a covered event, we may provide cover for the additional expenses you incur.
If your pre-booked, prepaid transport is temporarily delayed during the journey for at least 6 hours due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control (including a cyber incident), we may provide cover for the related expenses you incur up to $2,000.
If you need to return to Australia while you're on your trip because of the sudden serious injury, sickness, disease, or death of your relative or business partner, we may provide cover for the cost of resuming the journey up to $2,000.
If, due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control, your journey would otherwise be delayed – resulting in you being unable to arrive in time to attend a wedding, funeral, 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, or a prepaid conference, music festival or sporting event that cannot be delayed due to your late arrival – we may pay for the reasonable additional cost of using alternative public transport to arrive at your destination on time.
If you become unintentionally legally liable to pay compensation for damage caused to someone, we may provide coverage of up to $3,000,000. Limits, sub-limits, conditions and exclusions apply.
If your luggage or travel documents are lost, stolen, or damaged on your trip, we can reimburse you for your items or for repairing your items. The limit per item is $750.
If your luggage is delayed by a transport provider for more than 12 hours during your trip, we can reimburse you for the costs of several personal items purchased.
We may pay you for the cost of replacing travel documents and credit cards lost or stolen on the journey. We may also pay for your legal liability arising from their illegal use. You must, however, comply with all the conditions of the issue of the document prior to and after the loss or theft.
If your cash, bank or currency notes, postal or money orders are accidentally lost or stolen on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of the loss.
It's easy to assume that travel insurance is only necessary for overseas holidays – but travelling domestically within Australia's borders carries many of the same risks! Freely offers coverage for all domestic travel: from the bustling hubs of Sydney and Melbourne to more regional, nature-based destinations such as Tasmania and the Gold Coast.
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your death, we will pay your estate the amount (provided your death occurs within one year of the accident).
If you suffer an injury caused solely and directly by violent, accidental, visible and external means (as opposed to being caused by sickness or disease) that results in your permanent total loss of sight in one or both eyes or the loss of use of one or more limbs, we will pay you the amount shown in the Plan purchased (provided the loss occurs within one year of the accident).
If you need to unexpectedly amend or cancel your trip for a covered reason, we can reimburse you for the costs of your prepaid, non-refundable travel arrangements.
If you encounter unexpected accommodation and/or transport costs during your travels because of a covered event, we can provide cover for the additional expenses you incur.
If your pre-booked, prepaid transport is temporarily delayed during the journey for at least 6 hours due to an unforeseeable circumstance outside your control (including a cyber incident), we can provide cover for the related expenses you incur up to $2,000.
If you need to return to Australia while you're on your trip because of the sudden serious injury, sickness, disease, or death of your relative or business partner, we can provide cover for the cost of resuming the journey up to $2,000.
If, due to an unforseeable circumstance outside your control, your journey would otherwise be delayed – resulting in you being unable to arrive in time to attend a wedding, funeral, 25th or 50th wedding anniversary, or a prepaid conference, music festival or sporting event that cannot be delayed due to your late arrival – we will pay for the reasonable additional cost of using alternative public transport to arrive at your destination on time.
If you become unintentionally legally liable to pay compensation for damage caused to someone else's property or for the injury or death of someone, we may provide coverage of up to $200,000.
If your luggage or travel documents are lost, stolen, or damaged on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of replacing or repairing your items. The limit per item is $750.
If your luggage is delayed by a transport provider for more than 12 hours during your trip, we can reimburse you for the costs of several personal items purchased.
If your cash, bank or currency notes, postal or money orders are accidentally lost or stolen on your trip, we can reimburse you for the cost of the loss.
Build on your Explorer Plan by adding Trip Extras to get greater protection for your personal belongings, and enhanced delay and cancellation coverage. You can also toggle on Daily Boosts to get coverage for certain activities, from motorbike riding to adventure sports – and toggle them off when your plans change!
Although a cruise around Australia is relatively close to home, unexpected accidents can still happen and interrupt your cruise holiday.
Importantly, while things like falls and seasickness are common on cruises, there’s a misconception that Medicare will cover these incidents. Even on a cruise between Australian ports, Medicare may not reimburse you for onboard medical costs.
Plus, getting sick on a cruise often means having to miss pre-booked, prepaid onshore activities, or being advised by an onboard doctor to stay in your cabin for a period of time.
Additionally, your luggage might get lost or stolen from your cabin, or delayed before you board your cruise, leaving you stranded without essential personal items and forced to replace them last-minute.
Cruise travel insurance – such as what Freely’s Cruise Cover Boost offers – can provide cover for a range of possible mishaps while onboard.
For more detail, be sure to read the PDS.
Medicare and private health insurance providers may not cover medical expenses incurred onboard a cruise, even when a cruise is only travelling between Australian ports.
This means that once you leave port on a domestic cruise and you get sick or injured onboard, you may be dealt an expensive medical bill as a result of any treatment you have onboard.
In order to be covered for medical costs onboard a cruise, the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website recommends buying travel insurance for your cruise, such as what Freely offers.
For multi-night domestic cruises that enter international waters (such as Brisbane to Sydney or Sydney to Hobart), Freely’s Cruise Cover Boost must be added to your base policy at an additional cost for all days you’re onboard. This Boost offers cover for onboard and ship-to-shore medical costs, as well as seasickness, emergency dental and cabin confinement.
Terms, conditions and limits apply. For more detail, please read the PDS.
Some olders travellers prefer to hop on a domestic cruise knowing that they’re covered for medical emergencies that might happen onboard – especially when Medicare typically won’t cover onboard medical costs.
Freely’s Cruise Cover Boost can offer senior travellers protection against medical costs that they might incur as a result of getting sick or injured onboard, including ship-to-shore medical (subject to criteria outlined in the PDS), COVID-19 (sub-limits and a special excess apply) and, if deemed necessary, evacuation to be returned to shore.
Importantly, travellers must add the Cruise Cover Boost to their base policy at an additional cost, for all the days they’re onboard, in order to be covered for cruises that enter international waters (such as Brisbane to Sydney or Sydney to Hobart).
For more detail, be sure to read the PDS.
Here are some helpful tips to consider ...
Seasickness is rarely a problem when you’re onboard a cruise ship due to their size and steadiness. However, if it’s something you’re prone to, ask if you can have a cabin on the lower level as close to the centre of the boat as possible. Refrain from having a heavy meal before you board the vessel for the first time, and avoid hitting the booze too hard. Your inner ear canal contains small crystals that are super sensitive to vibration and movement – and lying down to rest can help stabilise you if you feel dizzy or nauseous.
Respiratory illnesses (such as influenza and COVID-19) and gastrointestinal infections are the most commonly reported illnesses onboard cruise ships. Be sure to wash or sanitise your hands regularly, which we should all be good at by now! The buffet can be a bit of a breeding ground for bugs, too – as they thrive in foods kept at room temperature. Let the medical staff onboard know immediately if you start to feel unwell.
Even standing on the deck when it’s cloudy can expose you to high levels of radiation – let alone frolicking on exotic beaches or strolling through local towns licking an ice-cream cone. Cover up with long-sleeved clothing and top up your sunscreen every couple of hours. To avoid dehydration, drink lots of water!
