Cruise cancelled by Cruise Line

[Delta Queen]

Does anyone know if there is travel insurance company that covers you when the cruise company cancels a cruise especially if you have bought your own air tickets & hotel? We do not need medical coverage.

 

Thank you

[6rugrats]

I bet I can guess what cruise line you are asking about! I don't know, only "cancel for any reason" coverage comes to mind", but I am researching this right now. I don't want to get stuck again.

[Delta Queen]

I bet I can guess what cruise line you are asking about! I don't know, only "cancel for any reason" coverage comes to mind", but I am researching this right now. I don't want to get stuck again.

 

Fancy meeting you here ! :o

 

If you find out anything please let us know.

[cruiseco]

Several insurers offer this coverage depending on the circumstances. Here's from CSA's list of covered reasons for trip cancellation:

 

"2. arrangements canceled by an airline, cruise line, motor coach company, or tour operator, resulting from inclement weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship or boat or motor coach on which the Insured is scheduled to travel, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation."

 

As long as you insured your air ticket cost, if the cruise was cancelled because of a covered reason I presume you'd get a refund of your cruise fare from the cruise line and would be reimbursed for the cost of the air tickets from the insurer.

[6rugrats]

The cruise line OP is asking about has cancelled several cruises. The new owners have decided to refurbish the ships, thus canceling the cruises, and my insurance company, Travelguard, does not consider this a covered reason for reimbursement of expenses.

 

The cruise fare will be returned, if that's the passenger's choice, but the change fee for airline tickets and any other nonrefundable expenses are not considered covered. And having your deposit returned does not make up for your other losses. This is the second cancelled cruise in a row with this cruise line for me, and I am not very happy.

 

I haven't found any company that will cover this except under "cancel for any reason" coverage.

[Louise22]

I had something similar happen a few years ago. The ship was in an "accident" they claimed and the company kept rebooking cruises and taking new customers. The company eventurally went under and my insurance would not cover unless bankruptcy was declared which never happened. If it were to happen to me again, I would get my money back right away with the economy the way it is now. And, I would never pay again with other than a credit card. Fortunately, it turned out well for me as I was on the first cruise of the season which was canceled. I was paid back after 6 months but I am sure with money for bookings they were still taking. Don't know what happened with the people after me but hope it worked out for them - there were never any more cruises.

[Delta Queen]

 

"2. arrangements canceled by an airline, cruise line, motor coach company, or tour operator, resulting from inclement weather, mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, ship or boat or motor coach on which the Insured is scheduled to travel, or organized labor strikes that affect public transportation." quote]

 

But it makes no mention of a company cancelling a cruise for a refurbish or a charter (which has happened.) So what I'd like to know is this: is there a company that will insure against this happening ? If so, who is it & how much does it cost? None of our airfares & hotel costs are cancellable (is there such a word ????) & because we are extending our vacation into England we have more air fares than usual.

[cruiseco]

 

But it makes no mention of a company cancelling a cruise for a refurbish or a charter (which has happened.) So what I'd like to know is this: is there a company that will insure against this happening ? If so, who is it & how much does it cost? None of our airfares & hotel costs are cancellable (is there such a word ????) & because we are extending our vacation into England we have more air fares than usual.

 

As far as I know, other than the already mentioned Cancel For Any Reason plans, there isn't any plan that would cover this. Cost is high of course, and depends on the amount of trip cost you're insuring and your age. For example, with TravelSafe for a 65 year old cruiser insuring a $3000 trip cost the premium would be $319.50 + $8 admin fee. That's about 10% of the amount you're insuring and it quickly gets pricier if you're further up in the age brackets. Plus, you'll probably only be reimbursed 75% of your loss.

 

Before I'd pay that I'd be sure to check the cancel/change policies of the airline I'm using. I'd hate to pay this much more to insure the air tickets (including only getting paid 75%) and find out the extra expense is more than what the airline would have charged me for a change fee. Same with the hotels -- I'd really, really have to want to stay someplace with a no refund policy and have to also pay this high cost of insurance rather than booking some place with a more typical and reasonable 24 - 48 hour no-cancel-fee policy.

[6rugrats]

I found this in a TravelSafe Vacation Classic Policy, Plan F952C:

 

On Page 8 Under Trip Cancellation or Interruption:

 

Benefits will be paid up to $150 for the cost of an airline imposed change or reissue fee if your trip is canceled by a Travel Supplier of Land or water Travel Arrangemnents.

 

Would this cover the airline change fee if a cruise line cancelled a cruise?

[cruiseco]

I found this in a TravelSafe Vacation Classic Policy, Plan F952C:

 

On Page 8 Under Trip Cancellation or Interruption:

 

Benefits will be paid up to $150 for the cost of an airline imposed change or reissue fee if your trip is canceled by a Travel Supplier of Land or water Travel Arrangements.

 

Would this cover the airline change fee if a cruise line cancelled a cruise?

 

It should. And it looks like it would apply to ANY cancellation by the cruise line no matter what the reason as there no qualifier added on. So, while they may not reimburse you for the cost of the tickets themselves it looks like they'd cover your change fee. Every little bit helps. That TravelSafe plan is toward the high end of the premium range for most cruisers but it's got some nice benefits.

 

By the way, I'd crunch the numbers if this situation ever came up. Once you make a claim against a policy it can't be transferred to a replacement cruise. So you'd need to figure if it's more cost effective to eat the change fee and move the coverage to a replacement cruise or go ahead and claim the change fee amount.

[6rugrats]

I didn't have this policy for my cruise, but wanted to post it for the OP. The cruiseline has agreed to reimburse me my airline change fees for both cancelled cruises, so I'll be rolling over my premium to a new policy for my land trip.

 

If I wasn't being reimbursed, yes, it was cheaper to just transfer the old policy premium to purchase a new one, not file a claim. Thank you for your help.

[sirwired]

I didn't have this policy for my cruise, but wanted to post it for the OP. The cruiseline has agreed to reimburse me my airline change fees for both cancelled cruises, so I'll be rolling over my premium to a new policy for my land trip.

 

If I wasn't being reimbursed, yes, it was cheaper to just transfer the old policy premium to purchase a new one, not file a claim. Thank you for your help.

 

It's good that they covered your change fees; it's the least I would have expected from any reputable line.