GeezerCouple

Did you read what Steve posted in response to your concern? If so, why are you concluding at this point that the insurance was a waste of money? I'm assuming he'll either help get it sorted out for you, and you'll get your reimbursement OR he'll find out what the actual problem is such that the claim was indeed declined. (That could be something like you didn't meet the terms and conditions of the type of insurance policy/coverage you purchased. Or perhaps you just need to still submit better documentation for the claims...?) We've had several claims, and a few were relatively large. The big ones were for complete cancellations, either because one of us got sick at the last minute or in one case, because very elderly MIL was suddenly hospitalized with heart trouble. Note: We ALWAYS get coverage that does *not* exclude pre-existing conditions. ALWAYS! We've also had some smaller claims, although not necessarily "small" (just "smallER"), for things like a flight cancellation leaving us stranded in Barbados (hey, better there than elsewhere!!), or when I landed in hospital overseas and many of our plans had to be changed at the *very* last minute, plus needing special transportation because I wasn't well enough to do our planned taxi/train/train/taxi/ferry/taxi... We also purchase through Steve/TripInsuranceStore, but we've used Travel Insured, and they pay very promptly. And because of their claims payment history, we'll stick with them, even if other insurers had "less expensive" coverage. That "less expensive" might turn out to be "MORE expensive".... 😡 GC

Yes, Swells1... quite a lovely arrangement! We also use the tiny (generic) ziploc type plastic bags, and they are very handy indeed. But as Mangrove Snapper mentioned, we now also need to step up our game, too! 🙂 However, for ALL of our Rx meds, we label them by asking the pharmacist to print out an extra set of "labels" for each med. That means we get an official "stick on" label that is exactly the same as what the pharmacists slap on the little amber plastic vials. Those are usually waaaay too big for the meds actually dispensed... This is because some years ago, our local pharmacies did away with the smallest sizes, to stock less inventory. Thus, often the dispensed quantity barely covers the bottom of the cylindrical container, and it almost never fills more than about 1/10 to 1/4 of the volume. That's a LOT of wasted space... the air in those containers. And worse, because they are cylinders rather than rectangles, none of the containers fit neatly together... lots more wasted space between the containers, too. Plus, it's all rigid. 😠 With these little ziplocs, one can squeeze almost all of the air out. (BTW, we do the same when we put things like chopped veggies/etc., into the freezer with the "freezer" Ziploc bags.) These can then be mostly flattened nicely and stacked, or perhaps stuck in between other items in the "med kit". We just hand label any simple OTC meds. As for the question, "Is that legal" (or insert substitute word for "legal")? Yup, at least where we live. We "got the idea" when one of our regular Rx fills was dispensed in that exact way: In a little ziploc-style bag, with the label slapped on the side. (If necessary due to size, we just spread the label around the edge so it's slapped on both sides.) We each looked at what we were handed, and the proverbial light bulb went on over each of our heads. It makes the packing so much easier, and eliminates soooo much otherwise-unused space. No, we don't re-date them every time we get a new refill. Those "good until" dates are very conservative. If one has the original packaging available (sometimes our meds are dispensed in the manufacturer's original package), that "good until" type date is usually much later than the relatively standard "one year from date of initial Rx fill" that the pharmacy label displays. Likewise, we have letters from physicians documenting the medical need for some of the meds. We don't update these each time, and not each year, either. As long as there is relatively recent and *official* medical documentation, it's fine. We've almost never needed to show any of this, but we feel much better having it with us, especially since some of our meds are not necessarily considered innocuous in other countries, or even in the USA. We check very carefully for the med rules in any country we'll be visiting, and get ALL of the necessary approvals when needed. The only "problem" we've had is that Japan does *NOT* allow any of the original formulation Sudafed tablets. And the newer, OTC formulation of Sudafed [kept behind the counter, not on the shelves, although no Rx is needed, at least in our state] has never worked for us. {And surprise! It was recently announced that the newer Sudfed version... does NOT work when taken orally. And those *pills*... are taken *orally*, or at least by us...!} So we crossed our fingers and toes, and hoped for "no bad head colds..." Finally, we've added those Covid test kits. WE want to control any testing that is "just in case". We don't need/want any cruise officials to know if we used a test if it was *negative*. If it were ever to be positive, we'd be the first to announce that to whatever "authorities" need to be notified, and we'd obviously sequester until safe, etc. But we do NOT want to get "more room service than we planned" IF we are negative. We do the same thing at home, "just in case". (DH's University teaching finally went "in person" starting Sept, 2023, so there's now a lot more "exposure", TO us as well as possibly from us if he were to bring something home. Before that, we were almost entirely isolated, due to very high risk concerns. We took our first short domestic (USA) flight/trip this past weekend (since December, 2019). There's still a WORLD OUT THERE! ✈️ 😁 😁 🎉 GC

If nothing opens up at "final payment" deadline, just keep a lookout at any of the eclipse cruises of interest to you. There are times when people cancel later because... they must... family illness or whatever. We've been on both sides of that: cancelling a cruise (twice!) at very last minute (less than 2 weeks) due to medical emergencies, and also grabbing a dynamite suite at a sweet ( 🙂 ) deal, probably because someone else needed to cancel at almost the last minute. The time we grabbed something, it was a few weeks from sailing date. We had travel insurance, so at least we got fully reimbursed. But the cruiseline did collect twice, even if the "second" time was probably more of a bargain due to the very last minute timing. For something like an eclipse cruise, people will probably try very hard *not* to cancel, but there are times one just cannot avoid it. Good luck! We made plans several months ago to head to a "land based" eclipse experience. *Everything* at that location is now totally sold out, and at many other good locations, too. The airline with non-stop service there (which was part of the reason to choose *there* vs. elsewhere)? They recently cancelled that non-stop flight. 😡 Sigh. We'd much rather be on a cruise, but that wasn't going to work for us next spring, unfortunately. That would be awesome... IF the ship can find a way to chase the clear sky... GC

Someone recently made a disparaging comment about "auto-corrupt" I think that is just PERFECT! 😄 GC

We also purchase through TripInsuranceStore. Call them and have them help you with this. They can run interference if necessary, or just get someone to take another look, or get your claim out of the bottom of the pile, or whatever. We use Travel Insured, and have had very prompt claims payments. The only time ther was any delay was a summer when there were several major hurricanes. Travel was disrupted for a lot of people! Our claim wasn't weather related, but we got stuck in that backlog. We called TIS without realizing why there was a delay this time, and I guess they made a call or something, and then our check arrived. Usually a check arrives within 2-3 weeks after we've sent in the documentation. I also did ask them to check our first claim submission, as that was all new to us, before we sent it in, but never bothered them with that again. We get coverage that does *not* have any restrictions about pre-existing conditions, and that does seem to make everything easier, and much faster! The only medical records needed are those directly related to the claim (e.g., why the person cannot travel on this particular trip), and we don't need to send any previous records, etc. GC

My understanding is that the malaria vaccine is relatively new, which may be why it was never mentioned for previous travels. It's not as effective as some other vaccines, but perhaps it's better than nothing! And IF it's required by some authority, then it's your choice to get it and go, or not... GC

We just saw this mentioned elsewhere on the news. Roninman got here before us to post it. Apparently a "ballistic missile" was fired at a "commercial vessel". (We are assuming that was more likely a freighter, not a passenger vessel, but still, it only takes once, even if "only" a mistake...) GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! As suggested above, contact the "Special Needs" group at whichever cruiseline you'll be sailing. Let them know as much as you care to share, and what you think would help. You might also ask them if they have any other suggestions, given this is your first cruise. This is what that group "does". They may have a special form for you to fill out. If so, you'll probably find that many of the questions don't apply to you, so either leave those blank or put something like "N/A" (for not applicable). You won't be the first passengers to request assistance for something like this. And, importantly, the cruiseline/ship staff can't help if they don't know there is any difficulty, etc. And once on board, be pro-active if you need anything and ask at Guest Services, or such. (And they may give you a specific contact person, depending upon the cruiseline.) IMPORTANT: Please study the deck plans of the ship, like floor plans of complete decks. Try to find a cabin/suite that is surrounded by other PASSENGER accommodations: on both sides, across the hall, and above and below. Try to stay far from any "night club", and not under something like a fitness center. Discuss this with the Special Needs folks, too. Enjoy your cruise! GC

Thank goodness for modern medicine/surgery. SO glad things went well for you. 🙂 GC

Yup, apparently it sure did. Unbelievable, truly unbelievable that passengers weren't notified until the very last minute like this! Quite obviously, I was unable to imagine this really happening like this! The only exception I could ever comprehend is if there was a last minute maintenance problem that made the cabin/suite uninhabitable. [We had to be relocated from a suite to a tiny balcony cabin for a couple of nights once because of a massive plumbing failure. We weren't appropriately compensated in our minds, but the situation was an emergency and we were *happy* to be moved temporarily. Our bigger complaint was how long it took for them to acknowledge the severity of the problem. But that was SO different from being left at the dock!] There have been enough really "bad" situations that seem to be mishandled by several cruiselines recently. This may tip the scales for us about cruises vs. land trips. There are obviously a few cruises that just cannot be done as land trips, but our remaining "cruise wish list" doesn't include much of that. There are still plenty of land destinations that beckon... It's just a shame that the cruise line powers-that-be can't figure out the right thing to do (or *one* of the possible right thingS to do). GC

Why would you need to ask this? Why would you *not* call Special Needs? >> This is "What They Do"! And if you haven't notified them about your needs/situation, there is no way they can know how to assist, including in emergencies. We *always* notify "Special Needs", and NCL has a special form to make it easier to communicate. (Our "needs" are very different from yours, but the principle still applies.). Also, no need to worry about whether some phone rep "made a notation" or not... or even made the *right* notation. The form is extensive, as different pax can have very different needs. Just fill out whichever parts applies to you. As for the width of the special chair? WHY wait to contact Special Needs just in case it turns out it does not fit? How would it be better to find this out after you have boarded rather than in advance? Our approach is: IF we need help with something, we want to make getting that help as easy for us as possible. And this almost always requires that we also make it relatively easy for those who might be helping us. Others can't read our minds (in advance or even in person). GC

We have noticed for some years now (and not on cruise ships) that even some top restaurants have been creating dishes/menus with, uh, ultra-creative combinations of ingredients. This started before Covid, and we attributed it back then to some sort of "race to be creative and different", and that was definitely an appropriate description! But the combinations were often odd, as though "the more different the combined ingredients, the better". We felt it was definitely a step down, and in some cases, a huge step down. Forcing "novelty" without regard for whether ingredients worked together, and often discarding long-term favorites, or favorite combinations. We haven't sailed since December, 2019, so we can't speak to whether what is described above is similar to this trend we've noticed or not. GC

[emphasis added] I don't think the "separate folio" bit is involved in requiring "clearing/zeroing the ship". I thought there are some cruises (not in the USA) where different passengers embark and disembark at different ports. Each of those passengers will have a "folio" for their trip (under phrasing "folio" or some other wording). And there's no need to "clear the ship" in order to have each of the departing passengers get their accounts settled. GC

Yes, the "right question" should be How late is too late to book travel insurance And as you mention, there can be time limits from the date of first payment to get some types of insurance. I'd suggest that you *promptly* contact a travel insurance broker who deals with several insurers. You might be able to find a policy that works for you. We are among many here on CC who work with www.TripInsuranceStore.com But CALL them. Don't rely upon the online summaries; those simply cannot capture the full range of benefits and restrictions, by definition. GC

I'm surprised that Oceania doesn't have (even if it had been secret in the past) some sort of insurance for problems where passengers would be in danger, or might be with a non-trivial probability. They can NOT want to have even one passenger injured for a reason like this, obviously! I can't imagine the lost business on the off chance that something actually does happen, even if a "small event" of some sort (and maybe it wouldn't be). We always get CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) insurance, which would give us 75% cash back. However, even IF we did not have that, we would personally be thinking of the "sunk cost fallacy". The cost of the cruise is gone. Full stop. In terms of a movie or Opera or whatever, for example, if we have spendy tickets that cannot be returned/sold/exchanged, and we no longer want to go, for whatever reason...? Well... "They have our money. We do NOT also have to give them our time!" Etc. Ditto with a cruise, but on a [much] larger scale! If we would NOT now spend $XXX to sail on this cruise because "we just do *NOT* want to be on it!", then we... aren't going to get on it. Full stop. And "all the more so" if the reason is potential serious safety issues rather than "Oh, we've been there before; I'm now sorry we planned to go there again: and I'd really rather relax at home or do XYZ instead" or such. We are probably more risk averse than many others, but that's "us", and this is how we'd react. NOTHING I've written here negates some of my other very negative comments about how Oceania has handled this. We are unlikely to sail with them again, which is unfortunate. Or maybe not... 😡 GC

OMG! Thanks for pointing this out. One of the posts there (on the RCI board) is pretty clear: This is beyond comprehension... 😡 Someone(S?) made some huge mistakes here! This wasn't just one couple, and not just two....... And apparently they didn't give those "bumped at the dock" a HUGE "offering"!! 😱 Given the money at stake in each sailing with the big ships, it is only a tiny percent that would be needed IF PLANNED appropriately (!) to make a few volunteers very happy to take the "offer they can't refuse", and before they leave home. Duh! This is a new one to us! And it would have been enough to cause us to say, Never RCI again for us, but that's not a cruiseline we've ever sailed with or ever planned to. This episode just cements that understanding. Unthinkable. This does make me think back to an overbooked flight about 20 years ago. They weren't getting volunteers. So they started offering "perks", and the offers kept getting better and better. It ended up with First Class tickets later in the day or the next day (including hotel costs) PLUS a nice sum of money. No one ended up angry. Several people apparently felt like they hit the jackpot. (I was flying to a family member who was suddenly critically ill, or *I* would have jumped at that offer. 😉 ) GC

This is NOT "done at the terminal"! WHY would they wait until then? (They do not want angry - possibly screaming?? - pax at the dock who are being denied passage!) This is done WELL IN ADVANCE, when everyone has time to consider, "Do I want the cruise we booked, or do we want this other cruise, at this great deal!??" 😉 And the cruise line has PLENTY OF TIME to "go down their list", trying to find "an offer that <someone/someones> can't refuse". This is a GOOD THING not not a bad thing, for goodness sake! Someone who thinks it's "a better deal" can take it. Those who do not think that, "Just say no", etc. This process may involve "bumping" (as you call it) someone from one category to a *better* category, with or without some extra $$. We are NOT interested in "upgrades" like that, because we do care just where our cabin or suite is located. (We do not want to risk near a noisy area, etc., and we choose accordingly up front. Others may be delighted to have a "better deal" if they are not worried about placement.) And they'll just keep making a better offer until they can have a cabin or suite to assign to ALL of the guarantees. You keep making this into a negative that almost never happens. I'm not sure if it ever happens this way. I suppose it could if there were some repair absolutely needed that kept a cabin or suite out of commission at the last minute... But that's not at all what we are discussing here. These "adjustments" DO happen, and no one is "unhappy", unless one considers that someone might not be happy with their "guaranteed" assignment... in which case the problem is *theirs* for making a "guarantee". The guarantee is to be on the ship with the category selected or better. Full stop. GC

Then they very likely wouldn't offer it to you. But note: These offers, at least the ones we are familiar with, are NOT being made to someone with a "guarantee". The offer we received was when we had a confirmed reservation with a suite number selected ages ago. The cruiseline was trying to entice some others to "move", so they could adjust accommodations so that all guarantees had what they were guaranteed or better. However, they could certainly try to entice a "guarantee" to move. I have no idea how they (or their algorithms) select the offers and the "offer-ees". GC

As I mentioned above, this DID happen to us, but it was the cruiseline *trying* to "make us an offer we couldn't refuse". It was strictly voluntary. They offered us a very nice plan for an unfortunately completely different itinerary (probably a cruise that wasn't selling well, no surprise) AND a big amount of cash as well. We weren't able to make the switch, but someone else was probably very happy to make a change like that. If the cruiseline had trouble with that offer, they may have needed to up the quality of the offer (better suite, more cash back, both?). Again, VOLUNTARY. There was absolutely no reason at all to react badly. "Just say no." 😉 GC

This, but it already got to be that way, for the most part, at least for us. When it became clear that DH really had zero interest in retiring, but... the remaining time to "take those dream trips" was, er, getting shorter, I told him: "I'd much rather that you have your laptop on your laptop on a ship or resort balcony than on a desk at home... let's get going!" 😁 And so we did! (And I had my laptop on my laptop, too. 😉 ) (We made one early very expensive mistake in not understanding how the connection rates worked if one didn't get some plan at the very start of the cruise, but... live and learn! After that, we *always* get an unlimited plan if it's available, and one usually is, so he doesn't have to worry about logging off while he drafts an email reply or such or if there's just more online needed than expected. We just consider that as "part of the cost of the trip", and not as something optional. To some extent, just "knowing he could log on whenever he wanted to" took away some of the "away from work" worries.) GC

Have you contacted a travel insurance broker, someone who deals with several travel insurance vendors, each of which probably have several different policies? And CALL, don't just read online summaries. The value of a broker is the discussion, where not only do you ask questions, but *they* ask you questions (usually) to help figure out the best policy for you (or for you, for this trip). We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com - to get policies from Travel Insured. (no extra cost to traveler to use a broker) We've had several claims and all paid without nonsense. Importantly, the "Q&A" in our discussions made a huge difference in terms of "when we made claims, everything worked well... no surprises..." We looked into annual plans, and for several reasons, they were non-starters for us. One thing was that IF one hit the coverage limit for a year, then it was likely going to be *too late* to start policies for remaining trips. GC

For our policies, the additional premium to add the CFAR coverage rider is a percentage of the regular premium without the CFAR. So, I don't know for sure how that plain vanilla premium is calculated. There might be separate parts for the "cost of the trip", for the "medical coverage", and also for age, etc. For example, the first payment, for the initial coverage, even if it's just the deposit, is disproportionately high, because in addition to what might be a small deposit, is the medical coverage also. So adding more to the trip cost payments doesn't add to the medical coverage; that's already there. (This is why some people who want medical coverage only get "trip cost coverage" for a minimal $500 or such. They've then got the medical. This doesn't work for policies where ALL non-refundable costs must be included in the insurance coverage, but only some policies have that requirement.) "It's complicated" certainly applies! GC

Right. That's why I wrote the second paragraph part, above, about calling some of the "protections" to be "protection plans" and not calling them "insurance". I mean, if the contract "covers" the event in a similar fashion, why can't or won't they allow it as a different kind of benefit or arrangement or whatever the proper rubric is? That just seems to be overly parentalistic... 😡 Or is there some legal reason why this couldn't be a "protection plan", perhaps something like the way one can get a "protection plan" for something like a TV. Is there something inherent in a cruise not being a specific "consumer physical item" that makes this impossible? Or do the powers that be simply not like/approve of such a "plan" under any heading? True, it would no longer be regulated by the state Insurance Commissioner's Office, but, um, isn't that the point in this cas?? 😉 GC

Yeah, that is tough, for sure. I wonder what the actual "thinking" (if it is indeed "thinking"!?? 😠) is behind that... I know they (the powers that be, etc.) are trying to "protect" consumers/citizens. And I think NY isn't the only state to be, uh, "extra protective", but at some point, it becomes burdensome and restrictive" instead. I thought that in some cases (?), some of these "restrictions" could be avoided by not calling a service "insurance", if it doesn't strictly fit the definition of insurance (and that's certainly fair enough). I think some policies (not called "insurance"!) do call some features "protection plans" instead of insurance for this reason. But at least, in those cases, the "coverage" is available! GC

Welcome to CruiseCritic! And thanks for your input. However, the "Jones Act" does not cover passenger vessels. The similar, but separate, Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) covers, yes, passenger vessels. And more important, in terms of actual sailing, than the just what flag is flown/etc., is the effect of that on what routes are allowed, especially for USA ports. This is what is behind the requirements for some cruises that taking passengers between two USA ports is prohibited for foreign-flagged vessels... why a near or distant port of call is required if the itinerary starts and ends in the USA, etc., depending upon the specific itinerary. Here is more information in case you are interested: https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Article-23?language=en_US GC