Straight answer

Do I really need travel insurance?

Yes. It is a condition of booking with us, and not for our benefit: the cancellation charges on package holidays are real, and insurance is what turns a family emergency three weeks before departure from a financial loss into a claim. Buy it when you book, not the week before you fly, because cancellation cover only works if you hold the policy when the thing goes wrong. For a cruise, check the policy covers cruising specifically; many standard policies do not.