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Last minute cancel due to Hurricane Irma


MTnesters2014
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I live in Florida and can't go on 10/4 Explorer sailing due to the effects of Irma on my business.

 

I tried calling Regent but got the standard answer to a non-standard situation.

 

Does anyone know of a high-level contact that I can plead my case to?

 

Lots of companies are trying to work with Irma victims and hope Regent is one of them (as a Florida based company)!!

 

Thanks in advance...

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MT, I'm sorry to hear about the issues with your business - and I'm afraid I'm going to echo Flossie's comments - without trip insurance, Regent is under no obligation to compensate you for missing your cruise. I'm pretty sure any good insurance coverage would have kicked in for effects from a hurricane, but it's a moot point.

 

You could try working with Regent directly, but I honestly don't know who to point you to. I'm sure whoever you get in touch with will show you the clauses in the contract that absolve Regent of any responsibility due to acts of God, family crises, etc...

 

Sorry.

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MTnesters2014, (love your cruise critic name)

 

First, sorry to hear that Irma has affected not only your business but your

cruise plans--know from reading your previous posts how excited y'all were to be sailing on the Explorer.

 

Have sent a copy of this thread to Regent corporate just as an FYI. Have no idea if they will reply/act. FYI, Jason Montague is the President of Regent and he is very responsive on his Facebook page.

 

Am guessing that you booked directly with Regent vs having a Travel Agent (TA) book this Explorer cruise.

 

Has your TA, or you asked Regent if you could transfer your booking to another sailing as you get your personal/business affairs in order.

 

Hoping for the best (as u know well a good business looks out after the long term interests of loyal clients) both for your personal & business situation and that you get some consideration from Regent for your unfortunate Irma affected cruise plans.

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Hope that Regent can be flexible and offer you a future cruise. Or a significant credit toward one. It is too late for you to do anything about travelers insurance.

But this is a good opportunity to remind everyone that your cruise is very expensive and the cost of insurance gives you peace of mind in case of unforeseen events when traveling. Most important, we would never travel without insurance in case we have a medical emergency while abroad.

Best of luck.

Sheila

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Think your going to be out of luck, sorry but insurance is the way to go-that is why you take it out for the unknown. We had to cancel a cruise in an Owners Suite on "O" 2 days before the cruise. Ended up in the hospital for 10 days, had no idea before-in fact we were packed and ready to get the plane the next day before going to the hospital. I called to see what we could work out--they were nice but the final answer was sorry, but no refund or credit. We had insurance. But even if we didn't I understood why-they have expense's too. But it's worth a try.....you never know.

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I was contacted last year by my travel agent, who had a client whose husband died and the widow was forced to cancel a Regent cruise with no travel insurance in place. After some negotiation, what Regent did allow as an exception to the normal rules was to permit the TA to "transfer" the cruise to another passenger at cost.

 

Unfortunately, we were not able to take the cruise, but perhaps this is a solution that might work for you.

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Last year we had to cancel a cruise on a Explorer Med cruise after my husband had an serious accident. We attempted to transfer the fully paid cruise to a future cruise ( which,incidentally, was a more expensive cruise); Regent refused and filled our room from the wait list. Good deal for them as they were paid for that room twice. However they were well within the contract. Fortunately we had insurance and collected on the policy. Regent, after initial refusal to credit us the days since we had paid in full, did call me and credited our Silver Seas account.

So I'm not optimistic your efforts to get your money back will be successful, but you may be credited the days.

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MTn - appreciate what's going on as I have my own business, too. But if Regent made an exception here they'd need to make exceptions for everyone. There are policies out there that include "cancel for business reasons" - you may want to look into those for your future travels. Travelex has just such a rider to their Travel Select policy...$99 for the "Prof,essional Pak" is quite reasonable for peace of mind.

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We book a pretty comprehensive insurance travel policy...preexisting medical, etc. but not for any reason out there. Our house was severely damaged by a huge bolt of lightning 11/2 years ago that blew apart a 18 ft chimney like a bomb and it took 4 months to repair after immediate mitigation of water damage inside ,and covering holes in roof. Mold is the bad guy! Even blew out neighbors windows and ruined our newly plastered pool and decking due to large brick and cement chunks. A lot of electrical issues and removing of sheetrock, carpet, and huge noisy dehumidifiers. It was a mess. I asked out of curiosity if we would have been able to cancel a cruise. Luckily our nearest was 6 months away. Answer, probably not.

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MTnesters - To rather brutally state the obvious, how is your situation more compelling to Regent than that of someone whose spouse died shortly before the cruise or who was obligated to cancel because of a serious medical condition requiring surgery and hospitalization. (Full disclosure here - the latter was my case; and I did not expect Regent to absorb the loss. Fortunately, I had a travel insurance policy.)

 

While there is no doubt that everyone of this board has great sympathy for the dreadful situation that you and many others face in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, it is also worth considering that individual cases of severe circumstances also occur. How would it be more kind of Regent to give special dispensation to the victims of Hurricane Irma than to the victims of individual challenges or tragedy?

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We book a pretty comprehensive insurance travel policy...preexisting medical, etc. but not for any reason out there. Our house was severely damaged by a huge bolt of lightning 11/2 years ago that blew apart a 18 ft chimney like a bomb and it took 4 months to repair after immediate mitigation of water damage inside ,and covering holes in roof. Mold is the bad guy! Even blew out neighbors windows and ruined our newly plastered pool and decking due to large brick and cement chunks. A lot of electrical issues and removing of sheetrock, carpet, and huge noisy dehumidifiers. It was a mess. I asked out of curiosity if we would have been able to cancel a cruise. Luckily our nearest was 6 months away. Answer, probably not.

FWIW, we’ve had to cancel once - the entire first level of our condo was flooded out due to a sprinkler pipe rupture. A three-month schedule ballooned into an eight month gut and rebuild. We were displaced and up to our eyeballs in contractors, overruns, and multiple insurance companies. One call to our TA and some supporting documentation and we were able to get reimbursed for our missed cruise.

 

I was a reluctant believer in travel insurance before, now I’m a complete convert. It’s fairly expensive, but worth it.

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Very sorry to hear that you were impacted by the recent storms and that it will prevent you from enjoying this cruise. I do feel that regent should help you out (at least by issuing a credit) if they are able to sell that room to someone on a waitlist.

 

I'm also scheduled for that trip although not in a Grand Suite, I'm pretty confident that Regent will find someone who is interested in that suite.

 

As other have said perhaps the best bet is to call your credit card company. Many cards are more then generous and often are willing to go beyond what is in writing (especially if you have a relationship with the issuing bank etc.).

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I feel bad about the situation. But everyone makes choices in life, some buy insurance-some don't - but you make the choice. Would it be fair that you buy insurance, but everything when great during your cruise- So would you ask the insurance company for your money back because you didn't need it. It's really the same thing. That's why you buy insurance. I'm really sorry about the problem-but like one poster said should Regent or any company go back and give refunds to every person that had a problem. It's worth a try, but I wouldn't expect anything.

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Thanks again...to add some color, we lost our business and need to layoff 95 people starting 10/1...I need to do it in person...may not compare to the death of a spouse in reality or contract clauses, but it is like a death in the family to us...again not sure the insurance would have covered it

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I'm so sorry. So many people hurting after Harvey, Irma, and Maria. We have a condo in Port Aransas (Harvey with cat 4 winds hit) and the building has been deemed unsafe with lots of repairs needed but we are blessed because it is a second home. So many lost their permanent homes and businesses. It's devastating. I hope business insurance will help you rebuild and hire back your employees.

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Very sorry to hear that you were impacted by the recent storms and that it will prevent you from enjoying this cruise. I do feel that regent should help you out (at least by issuing a credit) if they are able to sell that room to someone on a waitlist.

 

I'm also scheduled for that trip although not in a Grand Suite, I'm pretty confident that Regent will find someone who is interested in that suite.

 

As other have said perhaps the best bet is to call your credit card company. Many cards are more then generous and often are willing to go beyond what is in writing (especially if you have a relationship with the issuing bank etc.).

 

Also, some credit cards have some travel insurance (although probably not enough to cover a grand suite); so definitely worth checking with your credit card company.

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This is so sad. Unfortunately I think the insurance with cancel for any reason clause would be the only one that would help. Our insurance is so prohibitive now that we just take the regular insurance or use the insurance provided by our Chase card.

 

We were booked on an early December cruise and we were in the penalty period, but took the penalty. Different line where you get penalty for named suites but others can apply it to a future cruise. Also lost the two first class plane tickets. We felt that although we wished to be supportive, at least my husband would not leave the ship because of standing water and various insects, so we would just take the hit. Sometimes that happens in life and we just have to be grateful that it doesn't happen all the time!

 

Hope all turns out well in the end.

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We use a specific travel insurance company. There are two excellent ones. Insurance may be expensive but we would never travel without it. We would never use either ship insurance or the credit card as insurance. The battles are difficult to recover all costs. This gives me total peace of mind.

Three years ago, we were booked on a Regent cruise from Venice to Rome and I wound up in the hospital four days before we were leaving. We had insurance that covered the cruise and the cost of redepositing our miles. Yes, Regent kept all our money and filled our suite. But more important, we sent all the documentation to the insurance company and we were made whole regarding our costs.

As to covering a Grand Suite, we would take insurance to cover the cost. There is no limit amount to cover the cost of a vacation.

We are getting up in years and no one can predict what can happen. Whether it is becoming ill before leaving or on the cruise, and needing to be transported home, we cover all circumstances. It also includes pre existing conditions, if insurance it takes within two weeks of initial deposit.

We would never plan a vacation without covering ourselves with a good insurance plan.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Who are the two companies you prefer?

I like Travelguard best. We had to make a claim and they were efficient and check came quickly. I will be happy to supply more information and which level we choose when I see you at the meet and greet end of November. Or send me an email - bubbema@aol.com.

Regards

Sheila

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