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An unsettling situation with NCL. Your thoughts and suggestions ?


zdad59
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This is happening to a close friend of mine, not me personally. I am reposting their Facebook post to me and others All I ask here is your thoughts and possibly suggestions on things they might be able to do.

 

Thanks

 

For those of you planning a cruise or family vacation please verify ALL of the fine print and study company policy before booking.



We were FINALLY able to schedule a family vacation. If you have adult children then you know how hard that is with schedules. Our trip is a Bahama cruise May 2018. So the short story is this - Apx 40 days from sail date we found out Anthony is being deployed overseas during the planned vacation. We contacted Norwegian Cruise Lines and CSA Travel Protection insurance company (where we purchased the travel insurance from) to notify them of the deployment.

CSA stated "Military deployment is not a valid reason for filing a refund claim". NCL basically said the same thing. NCL will cancel the cabin within 30 days but penalize us 75% of the trip value. This is inexcusable. NCL and CSA do not support our military personnel who have no control over these deployments. It's not like they can say NO. It's a terrible practice. These insurance protection companies are a scam. They'll do anything to deny claims. And shame on NCL for their policy.

So remember this the next time you plan a vacation. And yes, I've been filing the BBB complaints and other boards......

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Ok....sorting though this and focusing solely on the cost factors that seem to be the issue (Thank you for your Service) ....why would the cabin need to be cancelled entirely because of one person? It is stated this is a family vacation. If the cabin is paid in full then that part is over and done, the family vacation part remains and the sailing part is what is left.

 

The only residual issue is how to backfill the cost for the Military Deployed guest who will not be there if that cost was shared since its not covered by insurance.

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Ok....sorting though this and focusing solely on the cost factors that seem to be the issue (Thank you for your Service) ....why would the cabin need to be cancelled entirely because of one person? It is stated this is a family vacation. If the cabin is paid in full then that part is over and done, the family vacation part remains and the sailing part is what is left.

 

The only residual issue is how to backfill the cost for the Military Deployed guest who will not be there if that cost was shared since its not covered by insurance.

Not 100% sure. All kids are adults in the family. I am not certain of the booking details.

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I echo all those in thanking Anthony for his service to our country. Even if deployment was a allowable reason for a refund everyone else wouldn't be eligible for a refund. Couldn't the rest of the family go ? Would NCL allow someone else to take his spot on the cruise ? Additionally it;s refreshing to see someone not try and "game the system" by canceling last minute and claiming sickness. Quite easy to pretend to be sick and obtain a doctors note.

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I guess this is a lesson for all of us to read terms of insurance carefully. Does any insurance cover military deployments?

 

I always buy trip insurance through NCL. I like the fact that they offer a cancel for any reason option: https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/booksafe

Norwegian Cruise Line will provide guests who are denied due to a non-covered reason with a future cruise credit equal to 75% of the non-refundable cancellation charge to use on your next cruise with us. For guests who upgrade to BookSafe Platinum Protection, this credit is increased to 90% of the non-refundable cancellation charge. Important note: Cruise credits cannot be applied to government taxes and fees, port expenses, air add-ons, land packages, travel protection, Shore Excursions, gratuities, incidentals, or any purchases of a personal nature. They are non-transferrable and may not be combined with other cruise credit certificates or fare reduction coupons.

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OP might also want to post this on the Travel Insurance sub-forum of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=635

 

There might be useful comments for many of us about which types of insurance (if any) do include deployments (or other employment conflicts).

 

I know that there are some with "employment conflict" coverage, and presumably a mandatory deployment would fit that!

 

GC

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First I want to say I am a vet. What we don't know is how many people in the group. How many cabins are involved and if they are trying to cancel the entire group or just his part? Does this leave a cabin with one person?

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First I want to say I am a vet. What we don't know is how many people in the group. How many cabins are involved and if they are trying to cancel the entire group or just his part? Does this leave a cabin with one person?

I've asked. When I get more details on the booking, I will update

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I think most insurance policies exclude military action (including training exercises and service). I’m not judging the practice, I just think it’s standard (it’s an exclusion in the NCL-sold policy.)

 

The issue I have (and it was being discussed on another forum yesterday) is you have to read the contract - which the quoted poster is telling people to do, as a “lesson learned.”

 

If they didn’t read the contract, why is it now the company’s fault?

 

I’m actually surprised that a military family wouldn’t have run into this issue before. Military service is very risky, which is why we should be thankful for those who serve.

 

“Cancel for any reason” policies may cover deployments, but it would depend on the specific policy, and those policies need to be purchased very early.

 

 

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As a military family, when I purchase travel insurance, I verify that changes in military orders is stated within the terms for cancelation. The military can revoke leave and deploy members without much notice, so it's never a good idea to plan an expensive trip without it.

 

I don't think this is case of a company being heartless. It's business. There are plenty of policies available for purchase who do offer this coverage for members of the military. Always read the fine print.

 

I know it's a tough lesson learned for the entire family when they are already sad about an unexpected deployment.

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As the wife of a retired military officer first off my heart goes out to your friends. He has no control over what the military does or does not do. We cannot give travel agencies but I would suggest a large military bank that also offers travel and travel insurance. They are now open to all ranks in the military are accustomed to handling our military and their families. I pray that Anthony deploys and returns safely.

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Suggest checking to see if insurance is available from credit card company that may have been used to book the travel plans. As an example, just checked my Chase Sapphire Reserve guide which states it covers "Change in military orders for you, your spouse or your domestic partner".

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I guess this is a lesson for all of us to read terms of insurance carefully. Does any insurance cover military deployments?

I always book through NCL/CAS, decline their insurance, and purchase insurance through USAA. Their travel insurance covers change of orders and leave rescinded.

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It sounds like the non-military parents paid for the cruise fare and insurance. If their child recently enlisted, one can understand how they might not have known military deployment is not usually covered. It also read (to me) that since this was primarily a family get together cruise the family doesn’t seem keen to continue with the cruise missing a member of their family.

 

 

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I've asked. When I get more details on the booking, I will update

 

I understand you are saying the one who is being deployed is not getting a refund.

 

But also, it only makes sense that the rest of the 'family' can not cancel because one is deploying. From cruise line's point of view, all of the others can travel. So no NCL refund or insurance refund should be due the rest of the family.

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I don’t think this, in any way, is somehow a lack of support for the military. That’s merely an unrelated fact. The direct point is the son can’t go because of his job, which so happens to be working for the military.

 

So many insurance companies, offering so many different policies, covering a ton of situations for many different price points. So,it is important to read the terms of each and buy what fits best.

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Perhaps they can check to see if NCL will allow them to reschedule for a future date (for sometime next year). This way, no money is lost. They can reschedule for a tentative future date. Then they can reschedule again once they determine an actual date that works best for everyone.

 

 

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You might want to have them contact a different department within Ncl. Perhaps an email to guest services?

 

Not Ncl but an impressive customer service story: My daughter’s boyfriend was due back from deployment last year. They planned a vacation to Hawaii and I booked them a room at Aulani using my Disney vacation points. They purchased Alaska Airlines airfare. No trip insurance and both bookings with Alaska Airlines and DVC were non refundable/highly restrictive. It was a fairly inexpensive vacation in comparison to a cruise and so trip insurance was not even something that had been contemplated.

 

 

His deployment was extended after we bombed Syria last year. Alaska Airlines rescheduled both their airfares with zero fees and zero additional cost to switch dates-even daughter’s airfare and she was just a girlfriend.

 

 

Disney vacation club threw in some pixie dust and got them a room for the later date too. They ended up with a fabulous vacation.

 

 

I was extremely impressed how great both companies were willing to help. I had previously thought very highly of both companies but i’d have to say Alaska Airlines and Disney now at the top of my list for best companies. It wasn’t any hassle at all and both companies voluntarily offered up a simple solution without even asking when we called to cancel.

 

 

Best of luck to this family. I never knew how difficult it is for military families to plan in advance for something like a cruise. Certainly something I as a civilian, and someone who plans vacations far in advance to save $, had previously took for granted.

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