Is it possible to get a credit or refund?

[TMS9539]

My brother and his wife left on their very first cruise from Baltimore on saturday afternoon. That night my sister-in-law's father died suddenly. They are disembarking in Port Canaveral this morning and flying home. Does anyone know if the cruise line will give them a credit or a partial refund? I know the airlines are very accomodating when there is a death, but I'm not so sure about the cruiselines.

 

To add insult to injury, in addition to having to buy airfare to get home, the Port Authority is charging them $300 per person for disembarking at a different port. That just seems wrong to me. Of course, they aren't even thinking about any of this right now, but I'm wondering if after things settle down if they'll have any recourse. I have a feeling that they are out of luck without trip insurance, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had any experience with this. Thanks.

[dohertm1]

They should definitely contact customer relations at Royal Caribbean and explain the tragic situation. It is worth a try. Your family has my condolences.

[chef_christoph]

My condolences to your sister-in-law and brother for their loss.

 

It may be possible for them to receive a credit towards a future cruise but I doubt a refund will happen. There was a recent topic where, although the circumstances were different, RCI gave a future cruise credit to that person so it might be possible for your brother/sister-in-law.

 

I believe, the $300 per person is a fine for violating the PVSA and I'm not sure what can be done about that. I'm sure someone here better versed in the PVSA might be able to help more than me

 

Best of luck to your sister-in-law and brother during these times.

[Attapooch]

I know the airlines are very accomodating when there is a death...

 

While that used to be the case, I wouldn't count on it anymore. When my FIL died a couple years back and the wife had to fly down to Florida the same day because my MIL was having a meltdown, the ticket agents laughed at the idea of bereavement fares.

 

Long story short, we were about $3,000 out-of-pocket to get her down to FL and from then on out my wife has refused to fly except under extreme duress. The silver lining is that it was her newfound unwillingness to fly that led us to cruising out of New York.

[CaptData]

Sorry for their loss. This is why insurance is important. I doubt that they have any recourse as they signed the contract. So sorry.

[Cuizer2]

My brother and his wife left on their very first cruise from Baltimore on saturday afternoon. That night my sister-in-law's father died suddenly. They are disembarking in Port Canaveral this morning and flying home. Does anyone know if the cruise line will give them a credit or a partial refund? I know the airlines are very accomodating when there is a death, but I'm not so sure about the cruiselines.

 

To add insult to injury, in addition to having to buy airfare to get home, the Port Authority is charging them $300 per person for disembarking at a different port. That just seems wrong to me. Of course, they aren't even thinking about any of this right now, but I'm wondering if after things settle down if they'll have any recourse. I have a feeling that they are out of luck without trip insurance, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had any experience with this. Thanks.

 

I am afraid I have bad news, and more bad news. The bad news is the cruise line is not likely going to give them any sort of refund or credit. This is the reason people should buy insurance.

 

The more bad news is by disembarking in in Port Canaveral they are in violation of the PVSA. As a result they will be fined $300 each.

[firefly333]

OP just to clarify, since they got off the ship in another US port, and the ship probably did not hit a foreign port, thats why they are being charged $300.

[Cuizer2]

OP just to clarify, since they got off the ship in another US port, and the ship probably did not hit a foreign port, thats why they are being charged $300.

 

If the ship had hit a foreign port I'm sure that would have been reported by all the news media. :)

[emen822]

My condolences to your brother and sister in law. I know all to well about getting news like this while on vacation as it happened to us last year. Fortunately, we did have travel insurance so we got back some money for our flights home. Royal was not obligated to give us anything back but did give us a FCC of $100 pp after I had sent an email giving 'kudos' to all the workers who helped get us off the ship. So as others have suggested, maybe they can send an email when they get around to it.

[cruiseguy1016]

It looks like everyone here is assuming that they didn't have insurance. OP - did your brother and sister-in-law have insurance for the trip? If so, they will be able to recover just about all of the money that they are out, minus whatever the deductible is. If they didn't purchase the insurance, their chances of getting reimbursed for anything are slim.

[ryano]

It looks like everyone here is assuming that they didn't have insurance. OP - did your brother and sister-in-law have insurance for the trip? If so, they will be able to recover just about all of the money that they are out, minus whatever the deductible is. If they didn't purchase the insurance, their chances of getting reimbursed for anything are slim.

 

Directly from the OP :)

 

I have a feeling that they are out of luck without trip insurance, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had any experience with this. .

[Marie51]

No travel insurance = no refund.

 

Another reason to always get insurance. Sorry this happened to them.

[crazy4themouse]

I feel awful for the OP's family, I really do. But I will honestly never, ever understand why people spend thousands of dollars on a trip without batting an eye but then draw the expenditure line at ridiculously inexpensive travel insurance. For my son and I for the cruise, it's $75. (!!) I am a serious cheapo by nature, but no way would I gamble $2-3K for a measly $75 protection plan. And we don't even have to fly into the port. But there are so *many* things that can go wrong... I just can't imagine not protecting the big money I've already spent on a trip.

 

 

[Greghouseo]

I feel awful for the OP's family, I really do. But I will honestly never, ever understand why people spend thousands of dollars on a trip without batting an eye but then draw the expenditure line at ridiculously inexpensive travel insurance. For my son and I for the cruise, it's $75. (!!) I am a serious cheapo by nature, but no way would I gamble $2-3K for a measly $75 protection plan. And we don't even have to fly into the port. But there are so *many* things that can go wrong... I just can't imagine not protecting the big money I've already spent on a trip.

 

 

 

Wot themouse said!!!!!

[ownedbypets]

My mom passed away unexpectedly last October. It was 4 days before our cruise and we had no travel insurance. I called to cancel and was told if I sent a copy of the death certificate the would give me a full refund applied to my credit card. We were very fortunate and won't cruise again without insurance. And, of course, we never boarded the ship.

[Cuizer2]

I have a feeling that they are out of luck without trip insurance, but I thought I'd see if anyone else had any experience with this. Thanks.

 

It looks like everyone here is assuming that they didn't have insurance. OP - did your brother and sister-in-law have insurance for the trip? If so, they will be able to recover just about all of the money that they are out, minus whatever the deductible is. If they didn't purchase the insurance, their chances of getting reimbursed for anything are slim.

 

The above statement from the OP is probably why everyone is assuming there is no travel insurance.

[sherilyn70]

I will honestly never, ever understand why people spend thousands of dollars on a trip without batting an eye but then draw the expenditure line at ridiculously inexpensive travel insurance.

 

Because we actually are batting an eye at the thousands of dollars fo rthe trip. Then you get to thinking about all of the other nickle and dimed stuff after that like airfare, drinks, souveniers, etc. I (almost) skipped the insurance on my last cruise but about 1 month away from it I got very scared as everyone around me was getting pneumonia and bronchitis... and with asthma that put me at high risk of getting sick and being bed ridden for a week. So I did purchase it at the last minute and I will never purchase another large package like this again without it.

[Cuizer2]

Because we actually are batting an eye at the thousands of dollars fo rthe trip. Then you get to thinking about all of the other nickle and dimed stuff after that like airfare ...

 

Airfare is "nickle and dime" cost to you? Which airline are you flying??

[gbcruise]

Why is it that everytime something happens to someone that entitlement happens? Trip insurance was offered, and refused. Something happened, tragically, and of course that part of the situation has my utmost sympathies! However, why should any cruiseline hand out a refund, or credit for a future cruise because this family CHOSE to not pay for travel insurance? (You & I are even paying for this in the long run when cruiselines refund or credit)

I'm trying my darnest to teach my children that you are not entitled to anything other than the consquences when you make bad choices.

[sherilyn70]

Airfare is "nickle and dime" cost to you? Which airline are you flying??

 

When you compare $600 for airfare to the $3200 room it's not a huge purchase. I spent almost $500 on my last cruise since it was 7 days with 5 ports on top of that as well. $50 for parking at the airport, $200 for drinks and sodas, and the list just grows. My last cruise started at $1500 before I added on an upgrade... ended up at around $5000 total spent in the end after airfare and extras were added on.

[BeachChik]

Why is it that everytime something happens to someone that entitlement happens? Trip insurance was offered, and refused. Something happened, tragically, and of course that part of the situation has my utmost sympathies! However, why should any cruiseline hand out a refund, or credit for a future cruise because this family CHOSE to not pay for travel insurance? (You & I are even paying for this in the long run when cruiselines refund or credit)

I'm trying my darnest to teach my children that you are not entitled to anything other than the consquences when you make bad choices.

 

Where exactly in the original post did anything come across as a sense of entitlement?

 

He clearly states he feels they are SOL but wanted to ask anyway. He is stating that they don't expect anything but sometimes companies make exceptions so why not ask.

 

It appears he is just trying to help his family/Friend yet people here feel the need to lecture about getting insurance. That is irrelevant at this point and serves no purpose.

 

The answer is no one here knows. Contact the cruise line, explain the situation and see if they are willing to do anything with the understanding that they don't owe them anything. You can't know for sure unless you ask.

[ryano]

Where exactly in the original post did anything come across as a sense of entitlement?

 

He clearly states he feels they are SOL but wanted to ask anyway. He is stating that they don't expect anything but sometimes companies make exceptions so why not ask.

 

It appears he is just trying to help his family/Friend yet people here feel the need to lecture about getting insurance. That is irrelevant at this point and serves no purpose.

 

The answer is no one here knows. Contact the cruise line, explain the situation and see if they are willing to do anything with the understanding that they don't owe them anything. You can't know for sure unless you ask.

 

I agree............No sense of entitlement whatsoever in the OPs post. I was just about to ask the same thing :confused:

 

While there is a big chance the answer from RCI will be NO, it NEVER hurts to ask. They have certainly shown sympathy in the past.

 

Never ceases to amaze me at how fast some are so quick to jump down someones throat over a simple question around here.