We recently had to cancel a cruise due to an illness of my elderly father. We booked vacation protection through princess cruises on both bookings (2 cabins, 4 travelers), this shows up on our booking confirmation as well. Deposit was given upon booking on one cabin, the second cabin had a promotion and no deposit was needed. Final payment was made on time and the cruise was cancelled during the 50% cancellation schedule. I submitted a claim to the insurance company along with Physician statement and received an email back that the vacation insurance was not purchased until the date final payment was made and that the illness was not covered because of the dates not being covered based on the final payment dates (the 60 day lookback period). We were never told that the payment for insurance needed to be made specifically for vacation protection at the time of the booking. We were not told that the deposit did not cover the payment or any other instructions that coverage would not begin unless payment was made specifically for the vacation coverage.
Upon looking at the booking confirmation now, I see in very small print, that it states "Princess vacation protection coverage becomes effective upon payment of plan cost". Has anyone had this happen to them? I feel as if it is a very poor, deceitful way of doing business not to specifically explain that payment needed to be made on that date. We are VERY careful about having vacation coverage because my parents are elderly with many health concerns. I have always used an independent company for my own insurance so I did not even think about needing to pay separately for this, as I've had no experience purchasing through the cruise line. I received SO many emails after booking about upgrading my cabin, upgrading to plus package on the cruise, book excursions, but nothing explaining the travel insurance vacation package needing payment.
Use this as your cautionary tale for your future bookings. If you have had this happen or have experience with this, I would love to know if you have any tips for fighting this.
